A Family Wide Pastoral Council

As I have mentioned previously we will be moving to a Family Wide Pastoral Council made up of 3 members from each of our four wonderful parishes (12 members total). This will happen in January of 2024. There will be two members from each parishes current pastoral council and one new member who will be nominated by any of you who in the pews. Then selected from the nominations by each individual council. There will be nomination forms at the back of each church that you can fill out and drop in the collection or at the parish office. We will also have the nomination form link that you can access on each parish’s website and the link will also be on the Facebook page and sent through Flocknote.

People that you nominate you should prayerfully think about if they have the interests of St. Jospeh, Pillar of Families Parishes, their pastor/priests, and their particular parish all at heart. That they would be able to help us continue to move Beacons forward. They should be people of prayer who are seeking to be deeper friends with Jesus. As our parishes are ordered toward the salvation of souls which ultimately means becoming friends of Christ for all of eternity.

This adjustment will help to orient our pastoral council towards a Family of Parishes mindset while also respecting the individual identity of each of our churches. It will also make it easier for me to field concerns and ideas as right now with 30 plus members of pastoral council it is extraordinarily hard to listen and process so many viewpoints. Now obviously our pastoral council members need to bring a variety of viewpoints and the viewpoints of all parishioners. So to be clear I want that to continue but this move will help me to better hear and process opinions. As this is the feedback I have heard from other pastors and Families of Parishes that have already moved to Family Pastoral Council.

Again, how it will work for large expenditures and other items that need official approval for an individual parish is as follows: The 3 pastoral council members from Parish A , the head of the finance committee from Parish A, and the head of the buildings and grounds committee from Parish A will make up the executive pastoral council for Parish A that will vote on the matter listed above. Meaning the Family Pastoral will NOT be making official financial approvals for individual parishes.

I hope this refresher helps to explain how all of this will work and put to rest some fears I have heard from people. I am so thankful for the amazing job our pastoral councils continue to do in giving me feedback and aiding me as pastor. Thank them for their service if you get the chance.

Also, please note that Tuesday, August 15 is the Solemnity of the Assumption which is a holy day of obligation. Vigil Masses on Monday, August 14 will be: 6 PM at Ss. Peter & Paul (SPP), 7 PM at Holy Angels (HA), and 7:30 PM at Sacred Heart (SHJ). Masses on Tuesday, August 15 will be: 5 AM at SHJ, 7 AM at HA, 7 AM at SPP, 8 AM at SHJ, 8:25 AM at St. Michael (SM), 8:30 AM at HA, 11:40 AM at HA, 7 PM at SHJ, 7 PM at SM. Mark your calendars for the Mass that will work best for you and your family. Please share Facebook posts about the Mass times and remind each other of this beautiful solemnity on which we celebrate our Blessed Mother.

Thank you to all of our amazing employees they have been doing amazing with all of the moves and transitions. I am so grateful for each of them and their dedication to our parishes and our Lord. They are simply the best!

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Jarred Kohn