Beloved Family:
“You should have been here!” That expression is typically invoked when someone who has participated in or witnessed a great event emphasizes to someone who was absent, what he or she missed. I do not, for a moment, fault anyone who was not able to travel to church for Mass this past weekend due to fairly extreme weather conditions—and there were a lot of us in that grouping! Rather, Fr. David and I feel compelled to share with you that our maintenance team did a stupendous job of clearing snow and ice from the sidewalks, driveway and parking lot here on campus! So, while a rather small proportion of the total parishioner community were able to witness it, I hope you will join me in thanking our team for all of their efforts this winter on our behalf.
We ask your prayers on behalf of the parish leadership team of Saint Mary, as on Monday of this coming week—February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (and yes, I know, also “Groundhog Day”)—we will be participating in a day of recollection away from the parish campus. The parish office will be open during the usual daytime hours. One of our intentional goals is to increase our occasions for prayer and reflection together. Cultivating a fruitful spiritual life, as individuals and as a body, can only benefit the productivity of our labors!
I would like to elaborate on an item that appeared recently in our bulletin. Once again, it is that point in the yearly cycle of parish life where a rotation of part of the St. Mary Parish Pastoral Council takes place. Recently, Bishop Malesic approved updated guidelines for this consultative body. Here is an excerpt from the section on membership/make-up:
8. Parish Pastoral Councils consist of eight to fourteen members of the parish who are chosen by the pastor.
a. Members could serve either two or three-year terms, at the discretion of the pastor, that are renewable no more than once. At the conclusion of two consecutive terms, a member may be reappointed only after a period of one year not being on the council.
b. Elections for membership of the council are not permitted. However, the pastor may invite parishioners prayerfully to share the names of members of the community to serve on council, in addition to inviting members to serve on his own initiative.
i. Closely related family members (e.g. parents, siblings, children, or spouses) should not serve concurrently on a council.
ii. No closely related family members of parish paid staff may serve on a council (e.g. parents, siblings, children, or spouses).
c. Once nominated or invited, the pastor should discern council membership with the prospective member as appropriate.
With this in mind, I ask you prayerfully to consider placing your own name for consideration of service on parish council and to take the opportunity to encourage another to do the same. Please communicate with me on this matter, through the parish office, with a target date of February 13.
Let His Peace be with you,
Fr. Stephen
