The Letter From St. Elizabeth Parish Council to Bishop DiLorenzo

The Honorable Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo
Catholic Diocese of Richmond
811 South Cathedral Place
Richmond, VA 23220

Dear Bishop DiLorenzo,

We are writing on the behalf of the St. Elizabeth Catholic church family to express our surprise and disappointment by the announcement from Father Andrew that he has been assigned to another parish as of June 25, 2007.

With grateful hearts we thank God every day for Father Andrew's presence with us. He is an excellent spiritual leader and administrator. During these past few months we have supported Father Andrew and each other to get through a very stressful time. Father Andrew proclaimed to us to trust in God and we did and we continue to.

In a few short weeks, he will be leaving this parish family to join another. We understand that a part of his vocation as priest is mobility, however we expected him to be with us longer than one year. Since Sister Cora Billings's departure, St. Elizabeth has had two different priests within two years, and prior to that a variety of visiting priests to do Mass on Sundays.

We ask that you consider allowing Father Andrew to stay at St. Elizabeth for another year to see the fruits of his labor and continue to add stability in the Highland Park Community. He has done so much while with us, that it is almost a shame to ask him to leave before all of our work is completed.

Respectfully yours,

Barbara Vaughan
Chairperson, Parish Council

Phyllis Booth
Secretary, Parish Council