When I walked into our church this morning & saw Fr. Michael, I told him this was our last Sunday mass before we move. Tears welled up in my eyes as I told him. He gave me a hug & gathered all 7 of us close to him & said, let's pray. He spontaneously prayed such a beautiful prayer for us & our family with his arms wrapped around us.....by the end of his prayer I was crying. I'm sure going to miss him, and I'm definitely going to miss All Saints and all the friends we've made through this incredible church. Fr. Augustine said mass that morning & at the end he asked if 'the Shingledecker Family' is present. We raised our hands & shyly semi-stood up.....he asked us to come to the altar.....he told us not to be shy & come up onto the stairs. He told the congregation that we are leaving & we'll be missed....I was so sad & crying. Then he asked the congregation to raise their hands to send us off with a blessing. Whoa. How very special. Nearly a thousand people raising their hand to bless us!? Wow. Little Gabrielle provided a little comic relief for us and the church as she squirmed out of John's arms & fell (harmlessly) down one carpeted stair....it made me laugh (she was fine!) The people of All Saints are awesome......and the priests.....they are ONE OF A KIND. Thank you Fr. Augustine, and Fr. Michael for being who you are, and doing what you do. Words cannot express how much I (& we, my family) love you!
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