St. Raymond Community,

Thank You! Gracias! Salamat! First and foremost, I want to thank Fr. Erick for the time we’ve spent together these past 6 months and for the opportunity in allowing me to come back and serve our St. Raymond community. I have enjoyed seeing so many of you again, catching up, saying hi, and serving alongside such a dedicated and committed group of team members in our parish and school office. I have learned so much from all of you when I first began my career at St. Raymond in 2013 up until now. I can truly say that the people and experiences I have encountered here at St. Raymond in my first 5 years and in my last 6 months has made me a better person, both professionally and personally.

My hope is that I leave this wonderful community in a better place, especially during the Realignment for Mission process that Fr. Erick and I worked together on. Our Realignment for Mission focused on making sure that we align all our resources to ensure that we show commitment to our mission. During this process, challenging and difficult decisions were made, but know that these decisions didn’t happen without a lot of prayerful discernment and consultation. Hopefully you have noticed some of the changes we’ve made in our staffing and in the management of our parish community including a new landscape company helping us keep the grounds looking nice for the community to enjoy and be proud of. We want to ensure that we continue to also be good stewards of the generosity of all our parishioners and the sacrifices you make to support our parish community financially. Fr. Erick will be sharing more on this in August.

Sometimes we may think we have the best mapped out plans for our life and for our careers, but then God steps in to show us sometimes our plans are not always His plan for us. As Fr. Erick has mentioned in previous communications, I will be leaving at the end of the month for another opportunity to serve our Tri-Valley Community by becoming the new Chief Operating Officer for CityServe of the Tri Valley. I hope that you will have an opportunity to check out CityServe by visiting www.cityservecares.org and I look forward to staying connected with you as well. You can email me at eric@cityservecares.org.

Thank you all for the support you have showed me during the time I came back to serve you these past 6 months. I will continue to keep all of you in my prayers as I hope you will keep me in yours. May God continue to bless this community, bless your families and all of our ministries at St. Raymond Parish and School.

With gratitude,
Eric

Eric Hom
Director of Business Operations
St. Raymond Parish