We are moving into the heart of the Fall Season, and isn't it beautiful! Praise God for the colors of His creation! I am grateful to God every day for the gift of being called to be your shepherd. Thank you for your commitment to our parish family as we grow closer to God day by day. I invite you to be attentive to some of the following events taking place in the days and weeks ahead.
Listening Sessions Please see the invitation in today’s bulletin to attend one of the
Listening Sessions here at the parish. These sessions will provide an
opportunity for me to get to know you and listen to your insights about the parish so that together we can engage in some visioning work. Your story, presence, hopes, dreams, and ideas matter deeply to me. You all have a stake in our past, present, and future!
Heart of a Shepherd Campaign Receptions (Oct 30-31) I am excited to kick off our Heart of a Shepherd Campaign here at St. Patrick Parish! The Heart of a Shepherd Campaign seeks to raise funds to renovate the seminary living spaces, fully fund the priest pension account, and establish a fund to assist newly ordained priests pay off college debt. A good portion of money raised will come back to St. Patrick Parish to support some of our capital improvement needs. I invite you to attend one of our parish receptions for the Heart of a Shepherd Campaign after Masses the weekend of Oct 30-31 where you can hear more about the campaign and how to support our work in the diocese and here at St. Patrick’s. More information and an RSVP card are included in today’s bulletin and on our website.
Retreats for our Priests Please pray for Fr. Spisak and me as we prepare for our retreats after Masses this weekend. We have visiting priests covering Masses and emergency requests. All priests are asked to take a week of retreat each year for spiritual and pastoral renewal. Both our retreats were cancelled last year because of COVID, so we are more than due for one! These retreats are usually scheduled 6-12 months ahead of time. Because of the reality of my transfer this August, there was not an opportunity to align our retreats on different weeks. Please know we will be able to schedule our retreats more fittingly going forward. Fr. Spisak will return to the parish on Saturday, October 23, and I will return on Wednesday, October 27. These are silent directed retreats, meaning that we will be phone-free for the week and in daily conversation with a spiritual director appointed to us. We will not be able to answer emails/phone calls while we are away, but will return messages as soon as we are reasonably able upon our return. As you are praying for us, please know that we are praying for you!