A new year and a whole lot to do
As we start another calendar year, it is good for us to take stock of how far we have come over the past number of months in regard to our new Family of Parishes. First, let’s just start with stating that we are working together, and I have observed that people have made comments like, “I love the reverence and love for the Eucharist we have in our parishes,” “I have noticed Confession lines are longer than they used to be,” and “Did you hear that we have more people coming to Schoenstatt classes?” or some adult faith session. Essentially, we are seeing that people are hungry to grow in their Faith and want to seek out opportunities that make this happen. We had some couples decide they wanted to do Witness to Love even though they did not have to. This has been a wonderful sign that as a Family of Parishes, we want a friendship with Jesus Christ, Mary, the Saints, and each other. As a testament to this, I have seen parishioners from each of our parishes at Mass at each one of our parishes. So, people are becoming more willing to travel to each parish and develop friendships with people from each of our wonderful communities. This shows real interest in expanding one’s horizons and friendship circle. This has also been the case for our staffs as all of them have come together a number of times to talk about the way forward and how we can become a more unified and a better Family of Parishes. Pastoral Councils have also started meeting together to help everyone to get others’ perspectives and start working together as a Family.
Another important thing to note is that our churches are still full. Last year (2021), we had an average Mass count in October, adding each our four parishes’ Masses together, of 3,469. This past October (2022), we had 3,466. So, we had a shift down by three people. Which, statistically speaking, could be accounted to a normal fluctuation. So, we are holding strong and ready to grow.
On that note, help us to best serve you as priests, staff, and volunteers by taking time to take the Disciple Maker Index survey which will go live on January 21, 2023. You will be able to fill out the survey using a link and a QR code that will take you to the survey, along with having paper options. This survey will help you to understand where you are at in your journey of faith and help us to understand the people in our pews better. Please note that there will be a different survey (including a different link and QR code) for each of our four parishes. Taking your time to fill this survey out will help our Family of Parishes more than you know.
Finally, this week, you will find an insert that explains the importance of each of our current patrons, both now and into the future. We can then understand why it is a wonderful thing that each campus will retain its particular identity, and that each identity will only strengthen the Family of Parishes as a whole. Next week, you will find the four possible patrons for our Family of Parishes as an insert. The voting for this will be the weekend of January 14-15. The four possible patrons for our Family of Parishes will be St. Joseph, Pillar of Families (which fits because he always made room for others and invited them in as shown in his willingness to welcome Mary and Jesus, despite initially having some fears and not feeling up to the task), Mother Thrice Admirable, Holy Family, and St. Philomena. Please prayerfully consider which patron is the best for our Family of Parishes. Please ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance before casting your vote.
Thank you to everyone who was so generous to the needy, our parishes, and your priests during Christmas. It is a humbling experience to have people show you such generosity. So, thank you and please know of my prayers for each of you. And I apologize, I do not think I will get to write thank-you notes this year. I am sorry.
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Jarred Kohn