Midland Park June 22, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Nativity’s shepherds enjoy newfound fellowship They have worked with the Midland Park Love Fund and were instrumental in starting the “Jack Funesti Memorial Fund,” established this past March at the time of the death of Nativity’s Pastor Peter Funesti’s father. The fund’s purpose is to contribute towards vestments and vessels for Nativity in Jack Funesti’s name. All is not work, however. A book club has been developed within this group, and during “Shepherds Playday,” those who want to may learn or play bridge/chess and other games. They also hosted a speaker on “The Spirituality of Aging,” and look forward to additional lectures and a trip or two in the future as the group overcomes the natural growing pains of a new organization. “We are still taking baby steps,” Balog says. For additional information, contact Balog at 201444-6362. Shepherds at their last luncheon until fall. In the Bible, shepherds were among the first to congregate at the Stable in Bethlehem, and they remained as guardians of the Christ child at the manger. At the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity in Midland Park, The Shepherds are a group of senior citizens, many of whom were the original parishioners of the church in the 1950s, who still remain committed to the church and its needs. They gather for companionship, growing spiritually as well as personally. The group came into being following a parish-wide summit in 2009 that determined a need for a ministry for senior citizens. Parishioner Mary Lou Balog took on the task of developing the program and has “shepherded” it with the help of volunteers Jo Thompson, Kathleen O’Shea, Claire Drexler, Terry DeSimone and Mary Lombard into a popular program attracting 45 or 50 men and women every month. Nativity’s Shepherds meet on the First Friday of every month, attending the 12:10 a.m. daily Mass and then “grazing” for lunch before a meeting. They are involved in many of the other parish ministries and have speakers pertinent to seniors and issues of social justice.