Andrea Watkins Stepping Down as DRE

From Fr. Mike:

After nine years of dedicated service as the Director of Faith Formation, Andrea Watkins has informed me that she will be leaving her position at the end of May. On behalf of the St. Catherine of Siena Parish community, I wish to thank Andrea for all her years of service to our families. Andrea has made a significant impact as the Faith Formation Director at St. Catherine of Siena Parish. The Lord called you, and you said yes. You chose to make a difference, and you have. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of those who haven’t said it, thank you for all that you do. Thank you for your passion and guidance. Thank you for the example that you set. Thank you for the service and sacrifices you and your family have made. Thank you for persisting and not giving up when things were difficult. Thank you so much, Andrea, for what you have done for the parish and prayers and blessings upon you and your family in the journey of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In prayer and discernment, I am reviewing the overall needs of our Faith Formation program in our call to fulfill our Mission. I ask for your patience and prayers at this time of transition. I hope to share more information soon. 

From Andrea:

To our beautiful St. Catherine's family,

My gosh, how time flies! When I first gave my notice to Fr. Mike back in the beginning of March, I thought we'd have many years still ahead of us here in Martinez. I thought we'd have a lot of time to try out different ministries, watch our kids in different roles in the Children's Nativity Mass, and celebrate as they received their future Sacraments in our beautiful church.

However, April taught us first hand what happens when you tell God your plans! We have a very different path ahead of us now, as Seth has been transferred to Texas. Now, our time here has been cut short, and seems to have gone by too quickly! Before we knew it, May came and brought us to Sacrament season, where we got to celebrate Charlie's First Holy Communion. This is always my favorite time of the year, for after we have prepared the students all year, we watch them receive Jesus for the first time. Such a blessing to witness!

Here we are in June, and now it's time for us to say goodbye. My time here as the DRE was very special to me. I am honored to have been given the chance to help your children grow in their faith. I have been blessed over the years with phenomenal Catechists! We have always been a very close team and worked together throughout the ministry, guiding the children through their classes, retreats, events, and Sacraments. Never did I feel that I was doing this alone, as these wonderful volunteers were always there for me. As a team, we felt the Holy Spirit with us and have always had the support of our wonderful Deacons and Priests. I thank you all!!

I just wanted to take this moment to tell all of you that although we will be moving this month, we will cherish the friendships, the memories, and the many blessings that have been bestowed on us during our time at St Catherine's. We love you all. We will miss you, and we will pray for you from Texas!

Many blessings,
Andrea