Parish Administrator’s Notes
By Phil Grant, Administrator and Safe Environment Coordinator
pgrant@st-matts.org or 651-224-9793
August 24, 2025
Your Attention, Please
Phil Grant, Pastoral Administrator and Safe Environment Coordinator
“It’s a truism that what has your attention is automatically important to you at that moment, and competition for attention is relentless. Essayist E.B. White wrote, ‘I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it difficult to plan the day.’” (Source: Peter Leschak’s essay in the Minnesota Star Tribune, August 17, 2025)
Leschak gave me a lot to think about. To start with, I’m mindful that Jesus saved the world—quite the improvement! He also enjoyed the world. Recall how He enjoyed time and meals with friends.
Next. When I arise in the morning, I think about what I can do to improve the world, at least my part. When I check my work email, I often see that the Archdiocese, colleagues, tenants, and St. Matt’s staff and parishioners want my attention. I only have so much time, so I must choose which to respond to, and when. There’s always more than I can possibly manage in any given day. (Consider this an apology for not always responding immediately when you email me!)
I do think about how I can enjoy the world, which is why my Danebod summer camp experiences, music, theater, and friends are important to me. (All work and no play make Phil a dull boy.) Last weekend, for example, I enjoyed a porch concert in Northfield with old friends.
I also attended the Guthrie Theater’s production of Cabaret, the well-known 1960s musical about Germany in the 1930s. Great production; sad story. By the end of the musical (spoiler alert!), two love stories have ended unhappily and the Nazis are taking over.
I’ve learned that this particular production leaned into current issues. That is, it artistically showed what can happen when some people (e.g., Nazis) treat other people (e.g., Jews, LGTBQ+, and others) as inferior. I can think of nothing that is further from the Gospel message: everyone is a child of God, deserving of love and humane treatment.
Thank you for your support, and have a great week!
Parish Administrator’s Notes, August 17, 2025
