Pastor’s Corner — October 10th, 2021
Parish Council and Church Renovation
Every year parishioners rotate on and off of our Parish Council for three-year terms. Last week we welcomed four new members to our Parish Council: Jennifer Wiergowski, Sharon Koss, John Doyle and Kathie Janego. We agreed that Tony Bozaan will be the new Chair, Mark Cascarelli will be the Assistant Chair and Pat Schuch will continue to serve as our Recording Secretary. We have thirteen members overall. (One is serving a transition term for a member who left due to health.)
We spent most of our time in this past meeting with a presentation by Ryan Nardozzi (Director of Parish Operations) and Ben Luther (Catholic architect) on the newest plans for the modest renovation of the interior of the Church. The council members unanimously recommended that I move ahead with the project and to plan a special presentation to the parish in mid-November on where we are with the process. Save the date: Tuesday, November 16th at 6:30 PM.
Civil Marriage Initiative: A Step Forward
A couple of weeks ago Deacon Dave preached on our parish Civil Marriage Initiative, in which we welcome and encourage couples who are only civilly married to begin their journey to sacramental marriage at the altar. Deacon preached beautifully on this. (If you missed the homily, please go here). Whether or not you’re sacramentally married matters. A lot. The goal of this outreach initiative is to invite couples to consider seriously to seek a convalidation, or what some call “having their marriage blessed” in the Catholic Church. Whatever the reason one doesn’t have a marriage in the Church doesn’t matter. We are willing to work with anyone; we’re sincerely here to help.
If you or anyone you know (parishioner or not) may be interested in going through the Civil Marriage Initiative, please register here for Friday, October 15th (7-9 PM) in McCann Hall for the free Civil Marriage Welcome Event. Childcare is also provided.
Two Great Upcoming Opportunities for Women
1) Undone: Freedom for the Feminine Heart Retreat will be coming to Christ the King Parish in Ann Arbor Thursday-Saturday, November 11th-13th. Do you desire to dive deeper into the freedom that you were created for? Do you feel restricted and bound by the knots of sin and shame that conceal the profound beauty of your feminine heart? I cannot recommend this enough for women looking for deeper inner healing and freedom. For more information and to register for this retreat put on by the John Paul II Healing Center, please go here. The leader of the retreat, Carrie Schuchts-Daunt, wrote a book with the same title. (You might know one of the people who endorsed it)
2) Registration is still open for this Saturday’s (October 16) Michigan Women’s Conference: Outpouring: His Love, Our Hearts in Lansing, MI. The speaker line-up is great! For more information and to register go here.
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias