Pastor’s Corner — September 17th, 2023
Welcome Heather Dent, Our New Marriage Prep Coordinator
Since I wrote about Mackenzie’s decision to stay at home with her two children, we’ve been looking for a Marriage Prep Coordinator for the parish. I am very happy to announce that we hired parishioner Heather Dent! As you’ll see in her little bio below, she has been involved at St Pat’s in our parish in various ways. She brings with her experience in social work and law as well as a deep desire to help couples come to know the Lord in their path to marriage. Here is a little note she wrote to the parish:
Hello St. Patrick Family. I’m excited to be joining the St. Patrick’s team as the Marriage Preparation Coordinator. Born and raised in New Jersey, I moved away from home to attend Franciscan University of Steubenville. It was there I met my husband, Matt, lost my accent, and moved to Michigan. We’ve been here ever since and just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. Following college, I spent a couple years as a social worker in Detroit, working to reunite families separated by abuse and neglect. Afterwards, I attended Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor. I’ve practiced as an attorney for the last 17 years, while balancing all the adventures of married and family life, and enjoying every minute of it! Well, most minutes anyway.
We found our way to St. Patrick’s Parish about 6 years ago following a move from Canton to Hamburg Township. What a gift this parish has been for us! In these 6 years, my family and I have been blessed by so many ministries here at St. Patrick’s—Walking with Purpose, Restored, Women’s retreats, Encounter events, CYO sports, Young Church. I’m sure many of you can relate--the staff and programming here at our parish helped us navigate a worldwide pandemic, our oldest daughter graduating high school and heading off to college, and my 16-year-old daughter ready to fly the coop as soon as we hand her the car keys. Left in their wake, I’m so grateful to use my time and skills to help engaged couples prepare for their big day, and even bigger life! I feel very blessed that God has given me this opportunity and I look forward to meeting and getting to know many of you soon!
Reminder About Scams
If you receive any email from me or any staff member, please check the email address immediately to make sure it’s authentic. Scammers are at it again and sending emails pretending to be me asking for gift cards. We do not email parishioners asking for you to purchase gift cards. Our official domain is stpatchurch.org. If you get an email from any other domain claiming to be us, it’s very likely a scam.
The Arm of St Jude the Apostle Coming to St Pat’s!
I’ll probably say more about this in a future column, but I’m excited that our parish will be hosting this relic. From the Diocese: The arm of Saint Jude the Apostle has arrived on American shores for the first time ever and is now on its way to the Diocese of Lansing.
“The apostle’s visit is an effort by the Catholic Church to give comfort and hope to all who need it,” said Father Carlos Martins, Director of the Treasures of the Church apostolate and custodian of the Saint Jude relic to EWTN News Nightly on Monday.
“The visit provides an opportunity for individuals to experience intimacy with someone who dwells in heaven and beholds God face-to-face.”
From this month to May of next year, the Church across the United States is hosting “The Apostle of the Impossible: The Tour of the Relics of St. Jude the Apostle”. You can venerate the relics and pray for Saint Jude’s heavenly intercession at the following locations across the Diocese of Lansing:
Tuesday, October 10, 2023:
St. Patrick Catholic Parish
Public veneration of Saint Jude Relics begins: 1:00 PM
Special Mass celebrated in Saint Jude’s honor: 7:00 PM
Public veneration ends: 10:00 PM
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias