Parking and Together in Mission

(Note: this was my "pastor's reflection" in the Good Shepherd Parish Bulletin, February 21, 2010.)

Sorry I didn't write any reflections last week. Enough of you asked about it to make me happy to know it's being read. Sometimes I get a bit overloaded, and something's gotta give . . .

Last Tuesday, I celebrated Mardi Gras by spending the whole evening at the City Council, along with pastors and representatives of the other churches in Beverly Hills, waiting for the parking meter issue to come up. This was the third time we were there, after having waited in vain until 2:00 am two weeks earlier.

The heart of the proposed ordinance would authorize the operation of parking meters throughout the city from 6:00 am to a minute before midnight, seven days a week. The actual times of operation within that range would be determined by the Traffic and Parking Department. The position of the churches -- ourselves and our neighbors All Saints and Beverly Hills Presbyterian here on Santa Monica, as well as Mt Calvary Lutheran on Beverly Drive and Olympic -- was not to oppose the ordinance itself but to support the recommendations for implementation proposed by the staff, who had met with us beforehand to be sure our needs were accommodated. After considerable discussion and clarification from the staff, and our own input from pastors and members of the various churches, the Council unanimously voted to support an amended version of the ordinance that would ensure that any changes to the hours of operation for the parking meters be given thirty days' public notice and subject to the approval of the City Council.

The bottom line, as it impacts us church members, is that there will be no change in the operation of the parking meters of the parking structures across Santa Monica Boulevard. Evenings and Sundays will continue to have free parking in these structures as well as the streets with meters near the churches. Because the text of the ordinance was amended, it will have to have another final vote in two weeks, but that will, I think, be merely a formality. The real issues were hashed out last week, and the whole Council supports the accommodation for the churches.

Thank you for your attentiveness last week to Dr. Karen Kallay's presentation on Together in Mission and its importance to Ascension Catholic School in South LA, where she is principal. And thank you for your pledges to this important annual appeal. I must share with you that, as a result of her moving talk, I reconsidered my own pledge, and increased it from $1,000 to $1,500. Do you think you could do something similar?

Thank you all for the many ways you participate in and support the life and mission of our Catholic Church as a whole, and our Good Shepherd Parish community in particular. May God continue to bless you, especially as we seek, during this season of Lent, to empty ourselves so that God may find greater welcome in every aspect of our lives. I love you.