News

A New Beginning For Our Lady of the Wayside

Dear Friends,

Perhaps it is only fitting that installation of our new livestreaming video system was completed just prior to the Mass of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary —  Our Lady of the Wayside’s patroness.

This morning, we cut the final chord — the wire that connected the old livestreaming video system, and Our Lady of the Wayside, to your homes…

And we restored the altar to its original (beautiful) state…

With this, we can now livestream Masses, Sacraments and Church events to your homes in much-improved, high-definition video with almost endless capability.

This was no small nor easy task.  It took a dedicated team of passionate experts from beginning to end.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t especially thank parishioner Martin Bauer (and his patient wife Elizabeth and son Michael) for getting the initial streaming video “contraption” up and running, shortly after COVID-19 shut our church down completely.  It was a dark (pun) time for our Parish, and Martin’s vision, effort, generosity, and commitment lifted us up and lit the spark that culminated in where we are today.

I’d also like to thank Father Arthur for his vision for our Parish’s future and his deep faith that the Holy Spirit and Blessed Mother would see our effort through. They did!  This was most evident, perhaps, when a very generous parishioner committed a large sum of money to make this (and other technology upgrades to be highlighted later) all possible.  He was the genesis of the “Opening our Doors to the Future” matching funds campaign.  Without his vision and financial commitment, we would be attempting to stream Christmas Masses with inadequate, unstable technology on a cluttered altar of wires and electronics.

Additional thanks go out to our generous parishioners who have contributed to the “Opening our Doors” campaign.  As of this morning, you have donated $32,600 to our Parish’s future which, when matched by the initial donor’s dollars, puts us at 65% of our goal.  Amazingly, this money was raised in just over one month’s time!  I am completely humbled by the generosity of our parishioners, and your commitment to Our Lady of the Wayside’s future.  When the chips were down, you stepped up!  #differencemakers.

And there are many others well-deserving of thanks also — those who worked diligently, behind the scenes, to bring us to this point today.  In these COVID-19 times, we celebrate “hybrid” Mass — not only livestreamed, but with a limited number of parishioners in attendance also.  This would not be possible without one of the very best Volunteer Teams in the Archdiocese.  When you attend OLW Mass and are assisted by a team member, please extend your gratitude for their tireless service.

So, today we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of our Holy Mother while also celebrating the Season of Advent.  And very soon, with great joy (and a state-of-the-art livestreaming video system) we will celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ — the ultimate #differencemaker.

Peace, joy, and good health to All this Christmas Season! May God’s endless blessings be upon you and yours,

Sean Reilly,
Director of Communications