A beautiful gift from the past: Recently I received a nice note from Fr. Jim Swiat. Along with his card was the original crucifix in Holy Family’s first Church—the little white hall—dating back to 1946. The crucifix shows the “wear” of its age, but is still precious. I am not sure where to put the […]
Year of Mercy: This special year began on December 8, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Pope Francis has asked that this year be a year of tenderness. We, as a parish community, are hoping that all of us experience God’s amazing mercy and love for us and also be merciful to others. In […]
Year of Mercy: The much anticipated Year of Mercy begins this Tuesday, December 8, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In a nutshell, God wants us to experience his mercy and then be merciful to others. We as a parish are going to be focusing on the year of mercy and we want to […]
First Sunday of Advent: Here we go, another liturgical year begins this weekend with the First Sunday of Advent. When the Church celebrates Advent, we try to make present the expectancy of the Messiah. As we prepare for Jesus’ first coming among us, we renew our desire for His Second Coming as well. One of […]
Audit: Our parish will receive an audit of our finances the week of December 7 -11. This is a normal procedure by the diocese when a new pastor arrives at a parish. We will gladly provide a summary to you when they are finished giving us a report. Positive Feedback: Recently our school had their […]
A Mother’s Plea: I received a very humble email from one of our parishioners, Shelley Rariden. Her college-age son, Robby, needs a kidney transplant—and the sooner the better! After exhausting her family and friends and other resources for a kidney match for her son, she is looking for help from her parish family. If you are willing to donate a […]
Off to School: On October 26 & 27 I attended a ‘new pastor’ conference at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. It was very informative. There were only three ‘new pastors’ there. We had meetings on legal issues, lay ministry, personnel, facilities, deacons, evangelization and the business side of running a parish. Usually when a new pastor takes over […]
When the Saints come Marching in: One of my favorite feast days is All Saints, which we have the opportunity to celebrate this weekend since November 1 falls on a Sunday this year. Who is your favorite saint and why? St. Theresa of Lisieux, St. John Vianney, St. Maria Goretti and St. Maximilian Kolbe are […]
A Big Thank You!: It was a joy and blessing to be with you for the installation Mass and the reception last weekend. I can’t express my gratitude enough to all those who helped and served in a special way. And the background music at the reception provided by Paul & Beverly Dunlap was a […]