“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Mathew 5: 14-16
Gifts, gifts, gifts – we are surrounded by them! I am not talking about the ones with bows. I’m talking about the ones we were born with – the ones given to us by God. The one’s we are implored to “let shine.”
Artistic gifts shine particularly bright during Advent. We are surrounded by the beauty of trees decorated with exquisitely crafted ornaments, whole neighborhoods skillfully decorated with lights, beautiful songs like O’ Emmanuel and Holy Night written to help us prepare for, and rejoice in, the birth of Jesus. Homemade Christmas cards and beautifully carved nativities made in imitation of the first nativity created by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223.
Do you have an artistic gift? Are you a musician, artist, poet, photographer, sculptor, knitter, mural painter, or writer? Many of our community
members are, and we want to encourage them to let their light shine by sharing their work.
SHARING YOUR GIFTS
The first artist to share his work is George Dooley, the Province’s CFO. Not all math whizzes possess artistic gifts, but George is as talented with music as he is with numbers. His songwriting group recently gave a homework assignment to write a holiday song. George is sharing his “homework” in this holiday song entitled “A Prayer for Peace”. He agreed to develop the attached video to share the message during this blessed season. We hope you enjoy it.
Meet George Dooley!
George is the Chief Financial Officer for the Province of Saint Barbara. He has been in that role for about three years and is also serving on the Board of Directors for the CASA and the St Francis Center. He previously served on the Board of the St Anthony Foundation.
George’s roots as a musician/singer/songwriter go back to his college days where he was the lead guitarist and singer for the folk mass group at his college known as “the God Squad”. Thankfully, they have since changed their name to the Trinity Singers! The weekly mass at the college became so popular that the local Bishop attended to hear what all the fuss was about, and then asked the group to tour other parishes in the state to spread the joy. An avid Miami Dolphin fan, during that time, he also (reluctantly) played guitar and sang at a mass for the rival New England Patriots before all their home games (only because they gave him free press pass tickets!). He has continued to follow his musical passions while raising identical twin daughters and recently celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary with his lovely wife Dawn.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR ARTISTIC GIFTS!
This is the first of our new segment to showcase the artistic talents of our Province-wide family. We encourage you to share your art, sculpture, writing, photography, painting, knitting, music or other artistic talents. Please reach out to Kathleen Flanagan, Executive Director, Office of Mission Integration and Ministry Support at kathleen@sbofm.org to share your art.
