Pastor’s Corner — July 30th, 2023
Aug 20 Discernment BBQ with Bishop Boyea
Each year the Bishop and the seminarians of the diocese host an informal BBQ at the St Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt for any young man (junior in high school, in college or older) who might be willing to even consider the priesthood. (This year’s date is Sunday, August 20 from 3-6pm). This low-key event is where guys can hear from seminarians on what it is like to be in the seminary, to ask questions, to meet the bishop and vocation director, and just simply connect with other guys seriously praying about where God is calling them. We plan on carpooling to the event from St Pat’s. If you know someone who might be open to going to this BBQ, please let Fr. Miguel, Deacon Josh or I know.
Parish Council Nominations for Fall 2023
Our parish council is a consultative body of parishioners that provides critical input and feedback both on how we are fulfilling our mission and on other key projects and initiatives such as the Church renovation. In addition to the bi-monthly meetings each council member seeks input from the parish and brings that feedback to everyone on the council. The parish council assists me in making good decisions for the parish. The council, in my mind, is one of the key ways that I get the pulse of how things are going in the parish and get input on what direction to take the parish.
Because we have three council members who finished their terms in June, we are in need of three more parishioners willing to serve on the parish council for a three-year term. If you’re personally interested in serving on parish council, please fill out and submit the Parish Council Nomination Form found here. These are available in the front office as well. These nomination forms need to be submitted to me by email or dropped off at the parish office by August 25, 2023.
New: Physical Healing Prayer Available after 11:30am Masses, Starting August 6th
Shortly before the COVID pandemic broke out, we had teams of trained parishioners available to pray for physical healing after Sunday Masses. For various reasons, we are just getting to rebooting this ministry now. (We will have prayer teams composed from twenty parishioners who have been trained to pray with people for healing. Occasionally Fr. Miguel and I will join as well) I’ve been wanting this ministry to be available for a long time. Most of you know I’ve been a bit shy about sharing a lot about healing ministry in the parish as I think it’s important for people to share their own testimonies. But God is absolutely still healing the sick today. I just heard today from a parishioner how significant healings broke out on a mission trip he was on. The healing testimonies from the Summer Intensive of Encounter a couple of weeks ago were significant too. More information on this new ministry next weekend!
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias