Dear Parishioners,

Since its inception in 1919, St. Clare Parish, a little church overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, has had her fair share of natural disasters in the City of Waveland. The effects of hurricanes on our church properties and on the parishioners of this parish have caused enormous changes to our church population.

It is gratifying, however, to note that despite all these challenges, the parish has been growing steadily. There are families who have witnessed the many transformations that have occurred and those who have moved to other parishes. The good news is that many more new families have joined the parish.

All of us, as St. Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:19-22, are part of the Household of God. “So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God.” If we all belong to one family of God, then one thing that can connect us to one another in order to celebrate our faith together is a pictorial directory. As we look at these photos, it is my prayers that we will remember that every face is a beloved child of God, deserving of love, respect and compassion. This                         directory is a demonstration that our parish is not just a building but a family. May this directory inspire us to reach out, connect and serve one another, as we strive to be the face of Christ in our world.

I wish to thank in a very special way our immediate past Shepherd, Rev. Fr. Jacob-Matthew Smith, O.F.M., who conceived the noble idea of making a new pictorial directory. I thank sincerely the volunteers who offered their hours to collect data and assist parishioners to take their photographs. To our hardworking parish secretary, Michelle Fleming, who did all the collating, we say a big thank you.

I am honored to be in your midst as your pastor. It is my ardent prayer that all of us will work together as one family to expand the Kingdom of God here on earth through our faith.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Charles K Arthur, Pastor