
Holy Smoke Welcomes New Members
By Deacon Sal
My name is Albin Arulanandu. I am a freshman at Mountain Ridge Highschool. I have been a member of this church community my whole life; almost 13 years now. My love of this parish and my commitments cause me to consider St. Thomas More my second home. I serve with the 5:00 pm Saturday evening band, playing trumpet. Also, I am a member of TUF, Teens United in Faith.
Outside of church my activities include, playing football on the Mountain Ridge football team and running track and playing volleyball.
My interest for joining the staff of Holy Smoke is to expand my abilities as a journalist and challenge myself further while spreading my love for God.
Karen Albers: Many years ago, my husband and I moved to the northwest area of the valley and found St. Thomas More. The church has been wonderful for us and our children.
In the beginning, I was involved in the Sunday morning preschool program that was held in the office building. Then when we were blessed with our son and daughter and as they grew up, I volunteered in the Christian Formation program.
Life is busy with our son who is a 7th grader and daughter who is a 6th grader. We tend to be very involved in their school and activities, and cherish this time with them. I am blessed to be able to focus on our children and volunteer at school, scouts, and church.
In the past, I worked in Human Resources as well as in Training Design & Instruction. I very much enjoyed working in this field and hope to return when our children are older.
I am looking forward to being on the staff of Holy Smoke and hope that my contributions will be informing as well as entertaining.
December 31, 2017