Serving the friars, parishioners, and staff of St. Gertrude's for the last 11 years has been a joy and has brought me more blessings than I can count. After working for 40 years, I now have the opportunity, and the need, to spend more time helping my parents (who are in their 90s), and so I am retiring from my position on August 17. I will be working one day a week, as time permits, in a different capacity: updating our membership database. You may get a call from me or see me at a parish Coffee, asking for any changes to your membership information.

I want to thank all of you for the many gifts I have received here, most of all your prayers and friendship. I wish I could list each one of you by name! I am daily in awe of how you live your lives with such faith and generosity, and how you share yourselves with the St. Gertrude's community.

When I came to St. Gertrude's, I thought being a church secretary might be almost like retirement, and perhaps the days would pass too slowly. Any of you who are aware of our 50+ ministries, scheduling demands and the general pace of helping to support such a thriving parish knows how naive I was! Each day I have learned something new and the years have flown by.

One of the most eye opening aspects for me has been working with the Dominicans on a daily basis and experiencing the way their faith guides every decision and action. Their responsibilities to the Church, the parish and their own community are many, and I have seen them approach each one with the love, faith and devotion that Jesus asks us to give in our lives. I'm not sure how apparent that is to the parish; we may each have our favorite homilists, or prefer one or another friar through the years, but I assure you this is true of each Dominican I've met!

I have been blessed beyond measure to have worked with Fr. André-Joseph and all of the priests, and to have experienced the energy and spirituality of each Novice class.

Finally, as some of you may know, I was not Catholic when Fr. Ken hired me. The priests' examples and kindness, yours, and the Holy Spirit have finally reached me and I am thrilled to have come into the Church this Easter! Truly, this is the greatest gift I have ever received. I would like to especially thank Fr. Ezra and Fr. André-Joseph for their guidance and catechesis this past year.

Thank you again and I'll see you in church! God bless, Suzy Quinn