Pastor’s Corner — June 12th, 2022
Congratulations to our Newly Confirmed!
Last Thursday, Bishop Boyea celebrated a beautiful confirmation Mass here and confirmed fifty-seven of our parishioners as well as nine for St. Joe’s. I know a lot of work and sacrifice went into preparing these students for confirmation, so special thanks to all of you. Join me in praying for our newly confirmed that they may continue to grow in holiness and witness to Jesus throughout their lives.
Two Major Announcements of Good News: From Last Weekend
These two announcements on Pentecost Sunday are signs of God’s grace at work here in the parish.
• Renovation Update: Bishop Boyea approved the design of our Church renovation with slight modifications.
o Paint speakers to match ceiling
o Enlarge cross to make it more prominent
o Move devotional image from wall by ambo to where Mary and Joseph statues are currently and move those statues to the gathering space.
o Bishop has chosen the white marble altar and ambo.
o I have decided to take the large stained-glass window out of the project, so that, we can follow up on a recommendation of Bishop to take another poll of the parish and rethink the new window’s design. (Keeping the window in this project would delay the start date considerably)
o An updated tri-fold that reflects these approved changes is forthcoming.
•Timing: When we officially made our renovation presentation to the parish back in November, we were in much better financial position than most of the people knew. My commitments in this project were always:
1. We weren’t going to do another long campaign for this
2. We were going to pay the debt off in less than five years.
o Because of our strong financial position, the big debate behind the scenes was on what to do first: pay off debt or start renovation, then pay off debt. Both Pastoral Council and Finance Council met on this subject multiple times.
• Major Announcement #1: Because of considerations around inflation and our strong financial position, both Pastoral Council and Finance Council voted unanimously last month to start the renovation project before paying off the debt. I’m announcing that because just last week the Diocese gave us final approval to start this renovation, and we will be starting as soon as final bids are complete and approved.
• Major Announcement #2: Because of the 1) generosity of parishioners in giving to the parish in Sunday donations, and 2) the recent generosity of parishioners who have given specifically to the renovation project, and because of 3) some government relief funds we were eligible to receive through various pieces of legislation, we are making a very large payment on our debt this week. So in addition to starting our renovation first, I am also announcing that by July of next year our whole debt should be completely paid off. For a breakdown on these financials, please see Ryan’s section of the bulletin.
• Thank you to all of you who have given to this initiative already. Out of sheer gratitude for these graces from God, I want to invite all families who haven’t yet given to the Renovation Project to prayerfully consider giving so that our whole parish family together can take ownership of renovating our Church home.
• These donations will help us recoup the significant savings we’ve used both on the renovation and the large debt payment.
o There are two ways to give: one-time or recurring online donations or by writing the words “Church Renovation” in the Memo line of a check written out to the parish.
• The speed at which all of this has happened is nothing other than the grace of the Holy Spirit working in all of you and in our parish. Join me in praising and thanking God for his provision for us!
DSA Thank You: Parish Goal Met, but Parish Participation is Almost There
It’s been a while since the Diocesan Services Appeal was presented at the parish. This appeal supports the good work of the Diocesan staff as well as key ministries and programs like seminarian formation. I’m happy to announce that we’ve far surpassed our parish goal of $198,189 with 897 gifts. If you’ve given to this already, thank you so much! Since our participation goal is 1,000 gifts, if you or your child who is confirmed or older hasn’t participated yet in this appeal please have them donate here, no matter how big or small it is. Each person doesn’t have to give much, even if half of what our parish gives over our goal comes back to the parish. Be sure to click “St Patrick, Brighton” in the drop-down menu. We want to break a record of participation this year.
Celebrating Twelve Years as a Priest
This Saturday, June 11, I celebrate twelve years as a priest of Jesus Christ. I’m truly grateful for the Father’s loving hand in my life as I minister out of his love for his people. Priests are not ordained for themselves, but for the people they serve. I truly experience the Father’s joy being a priest for you and loving through the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. I’ve personally grown a lot in these past twelve years and I hope I have many more years not just as a priest, but as your Pastor.
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias