Special thanks to team and candidates of ECHO 229. What a moving experience this ECHO was! God blest us with a full house and the depth of your sharing touched us all and renewed our Spirit. We welcomed candidates from Orleans, Sandwich, Barnstable and Bourne as well as several other areas and we hope to see lots of you at the weekly reunions at Christ the King on Tuesdays and at Our Lady of Victory on Thursday. The real growth in faith comes from attending the weekly reunions and the Barnstable and Mashpee reunions welcome you with open arms.

 ECHO 230 will begin on Friday, April 4th and the Closing will be held at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville on Sunday April 6th at 7 p.m. Plan to support the team and candidates with your palanca. Once again we remind you that palanca means prayer and sacrifice, the lifting of our hearts and minds to Jesus asking Him to touch the hearts of the candidates and fill them with His Spirit.

The Palanca Room is located in the Barnstable Recreation Building on Main Street, Centerville and is open from 6:30 to 9p.m. Friday, and Saturday from 10a.m. - 8p.m. The Palanca Room is not open on Sunday. Please make sure all Palanca is at the Recreation Building by 7p.m. Saturday so it can be sorted. Palanca may not be delivered by sponsors or family to Craigville.

The palanca room for this weekend will be run by Mike Mahoney, Matt Jones, and Adam Jurzek. Please support them with your prayers and presence.

The theme for the weekend is “I’ll be There for You” from the song by Graham Nash. Please plan to join the young men of ECHO 230 as they celebrate the gift of Jesus in their lives:

When you feel like you’re drowning
And waves crash all around
I’ll be a rock you can stand on, I’m your solid ground.
And love knows no reason, love knows no rhyme
So just reach out and I’ll be there time after time
I’ll be there for you, wherever, whenever, whatever for you
I’ll be there for you, whatever you do.
In your darkest day I’ll send you the sun and take away the rain
And whenever life is too much to bear
Open your heart, and I will be there.

ECHO 230: Rector: David Ryan, Rector-in-Training: Keith Caldwell,Inside Ass’t: Jim Buckman, Outside Ass’t: Mike Fell, Spiritual Directors: Fr. Mark Hession, Fr. Craig Pregana, Deacon Greg Beckel, Ideals: Peter Askew, Paschal Mystery: Fr. Mark, Witness to Paschal Mystery: Ryan Sifflard, Penance: Deacon Greg, Witness to Penance: Sean Dacey, Community of Love: Frank Green, Piety: Ryan Jarves, Choosing a Christian Life: Dick Perella, Signs and Communications: Fr. Craig, Marriage: Peter and Cathy Faherty, Christ the Man: Ed Lariviere, People of God: Mike LeBrun, Confidence in Christ: Matt Green, Christian in Action: Noah Driscoll, Fourth Day: David Ryan

Candidates: Barnstable: Zach Lagadinos, Bobby Ibanez , Billy Allen Bourne: Tito SantosSilva, Joe Coggeshall,
Sandwich: Phillip Baxter, Swansea: Nathan Dominque.

The crosses for ECHO 230 have been donated by the Goveia Family in memory of their beloved Rita.

Community News:
STATIONS OF THE CROSS: On Tuesday, April 15th the Mashpee reunion group will pray the Stations at 7p.m. as part of the regular meeting. What a wonderful way to spend Holy Week in preparation for Easter.
Good Friday Canal Walk: This annual event raises money for the poorest of the poor in Haiti and is a wonderful way to reflect on Christ’s passion, death, and His great love for you as you walk the canal. Forms may be obtained from Bobbi Paradise or Cathy Carpenter.
BOWLING: This message was sent after the last bowling night from Jean Giddings: “Well you missed a super evening. We had an awesome turnout. There were 11 Guys and 10 Girls bowling. The competition was close, except for Dwight who had a high score of 109 and 94.”
....We had a great time, lots of laughs, strikes, spares and gutter balls. And of course Friendly’s after.”
The next night is Wednesday April 2nd at 7p.m. at Leary Family Amusement in Falmouth. Hope to see you all there. (Skill not required!)
Baby Center in Hyannis is desperately in need of donations of baby clothes, diapers etc. for needy expectant mothers. Bring any with you to reunions and we will see that they reach the proper folks.

Prayers: for Fr. Francis Connors, Dick Paradise, Rita Goveia, Stephen Cody,(Jen’s father. Jen was on the last girls’ Echo) and Kaitlin Silk (Echo 214) who have returned to the Father, for the sick, Fr. Bob Donovan, and for our troops fighting in Iraq and their families, for the homeless, for the poor and the lonely, and for peace in our world.
This has been a difficult month for the ECHO community. The sudden death of Kaitlin Silk and the death of Jen’s dad, Steve Cody made us all aware how fragile life really is. Our prayers and sympathies go out to both families.
Remember Tuesday is ECHO prayer day!

WORTH SHARING: This e-mail from Tiffany Hanson has a special message for us all:
“ Somedays I sit and wonder how the Lord knew we all belonged together but then I realized I already have the answer. Some are here to find a cure for cancer, others to solve world hunger; we were put her to make a difference too. We don’t need to cure cancer, yes it would be nice, but we are still important. It doesn’t matter if we empty the trash for our neighbors or run a successful business because we are all “ECHO People”. We all made a commitment to the Lord and He is counting on us. If we help to make one person’s day brighter, to turn a person for the better, we have made a difference and made God proud.”

REMEMBER BOWLING ON April 2nd!

APPLICATIONS: are now being accepted for the November 2003 Girls’ ECHO. Get those applications in early. Interested in serving on the Youth Board and being on team?…then show up at the weekly reunions so folks will come to know you and see your commitment to the program. YOUTH BOARD: have done a fantastic job this year. Love their special shirts!!
EASTER BLESSNGS: to one and all. Make these last weeks of Lent a time of prayer and sacrifice for our country, our world, and one another.