I hope and pray that this welcome message finds you well. My name is Fr. Paul Norman, your new Pastor. I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and come to know you as well. This takes time and effort so feel free at any point to introduce yourself. I will be sure to greet you after Mass. I believe it is always good to get to know the people you are called to serve so that you build good and healthy relationships with them. It just so happens that I am a native of Adams, so coming to know some of you may be easier given we may have gone to school together, perhaps we might be related, or we are already existing friends. I grew up on Sayles Street just a stone’s throw from Renfrew Field in which I spent many of my younger days. I used to love root beer floats at Kelly’s on the Corner, would often be found with my mother shopping at Schiff’s Clothing, or sitting and waiting for my mother and sister as they shopped at Shea’s! This helped me to grow in patience in more ways than one can imagine. (Chuckle)I attended Hoosac Street School and would sneak over to the Polish bakery who made the best Paczki’s around. I then attended Adams Memorial Elementary School and C.T. Plunkett before my parents moved to Clarksburg where I graduated from Drury High School. I spent my younger years working in nursing, following in the footsteps of my mother. I was also a Habilitation Specialist for BFAIR for a number of years. To this day, I have a devotion to the sick and those who live with Developmental Disabilities. I have a love for music, have played in a band, and continue to play the guitar, piano, and sing, although my taste in music has changed as I have grown in my faith. In my late twenties, a traumatic experience led me to a deep conversion in which I felt a call to the priesthood. As a result, I spent a year discerning in a priestly discernment program at Madonna House in Combermere, Ontario. This led me to a beautiful vocation with the Franciscan Friars of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Steubenville, Ohio where I studied at Franciscan University and continued studies in Philosophy at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. During this time, I felt the Lord tugging on my heartstrings to serve our Diocese and so began studies at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts and was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priesthood for the Diocese of Springfield. While this is certainly the abridged version of my life, it is a pleasure to share a bit of myself with you. My hope and prayer is that as we come to know each other, we will build trusting relationships by which, through the lens of our faith, we can face our current challenges together and overcome them according to God’s will, which always and in every way will lead his people to a greater good.