Hello Father, I have been somewhat bothered for quite some time now. I love and respect our Pastor and his associate. They are fine men, but at Mass they sometimes joke back and forth with each other and the associate is quite prayerful, but often inserts Ole & Lena or some other joke into his homily or remarks from the altar. In a good-hearted way, he is trying to raise money for the Church and will hawk raffle tickets from the pulpit and at other gatherings, i.e., funeral lunches. Should this not be bothering me? It also has been commented on by many other parishioners. What do you think?

A little levity, done with care, can be acceptable but sounds like it may be borderline, if truly a number of parishioners are talking about it among themselves. Still, I would be very careful and hesitant to broach the matter with the pastor, as unless it is clearly crossing the line, then you may set him against you or strain your relationship without sufficient cause. God bless.

Father Echert

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