This pastor's column is going to cover two subjects: "thank you's" to those who labored behind the scenes and/or those who did so in the beautiful liturgies of the Paschal Triduum AND our V.I.P.'s for the month of May. You will no doubt see a nice connection with both of these. Firstly, I must first give the utmost praise and thanks to Lynne Border, our choir director and organist and the choir who not only sang beautifully at all the liturgies of the Triduum, but also spent much time in practice for those liturgies. I appreciate Deacon B.J. for assisting on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Of course to the liturgical ministers who navigated the unique liturgies of the Triduum as they happened and came to practices ahead of time, I give thanks to God and to them. Dave Witchger, as always, did a good job of getting the Easter Fire going and monitored it before, during and after that part of the liturgy. Finally, there are the "behind the scenes" people who put up and take down, fold up and put away our beautiful drapery in the sanctuary multiple times in a short period of days during Holy Week and at other times throughout the year. Two of these couples, Deacon Larry and Jan Lipsmeyer, and Rita and John Osmond are "retiring" from this ministry after doing it since the inauguration of this ministry 10 years ago. A special thank you to them and to the ones who are stepping in to start helping in this ministry.
The last of my thanks goes to our sacristan, Mark Lukasavige and his wife Michele who worked so hard before and after our Easter Triduum liturgies with many chores, set-up's and put up's that are demanded for our Holy Week liturgies. They are the V.I.P.'s for the month of May. As head sacristan, Mark coordinates ALL YEAR LONG the "sacristan" ministry in scheduling sacristans for weekday and weekend Masses, orders supplies, coordinates the flower donation ministry, and trains new sacristans. As with so many in this parish, Mark does much more. He is on the liturgy commission and is an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist for Mass and for those at Mt. Carmel Assisted Living Home. He is a third and fourth degree Knight and serves as the Council's Faith Director. He works for the Knights at meal events that raise money for charity and he maintains the grounds by the rectory (which I certainly appreciate)! Michele assists Mark at times with sacristan duties, is an E.M. at Mass, cleans altar linens, was, until recently, the liturgical ministry scheduler for 4 years (which assigns all the liturgical ministers for ALL Masses), and helps with set-up and other needs for Knight's activites. Please personally congratulate and thank Mark and Michele when you next see them (look for their picture in our pictorial directory if you don't know them) for all they do and for their upbeat and positive demeanor which I'm blessed to see often!
The last of my thanks goes to our sacristan, Mark Lukasavige and his wife Michele who worked so hard before and after our Easter Triduum liturgies with many chores, set-up's and put up's that are demanded for our Holy Week liturgies. They are the V.I.P.'s for the month of May. As head sacristan, Mark coordinates ALL YEAR LONG the "sacristan" ministry in scheduling sacristans for weekday and weekend Masses, orders supplies, coordinates the flower donation ministry, and trains new sacristans. As with so many in this parish, Mark does much more. He is on the liturgy commission and is an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist for Mass and for those at Mt. Carmel Assisted Living Home. He is a third and fourth degree Knight and serves as the Council's Faith Director. He works for the Knights at meal events that raise money for charity and he maintains the grounds by the rectory (which I certainly appreciate)! Michele assists Mark at times with sacristan duties, is an E.M. at Mass, cleans altar linens, was, until recently, the liturgical ministry scheduler for 4 years (which assigns all the liturgical ministers for ALL Masses), and helps with set-up and other needs for Knight's activites. Please personally congratulate and thank Mark and Michele when you next see them (look for their picture in our pictorial directory if you don't know them) for all they do and for their upbeat and positive demeanor which I'm blessed to see often!
Are you curious about the "inner workings" of the Church? Of course one would need to be more specific since the Catholic Church is so large. Are you interested in the inner workings of the Church in Rome, or in our diocese, or on the local parish level. Obviously, we should know the most about what happens on the local level since that's the one that we connect with, hopefully, on a regular basis. Then there is the diocesan level.
There are people who have asked me how it is decided how long a priest, especially a pastor, will stay at a parish before moving on to a new assignment. The short answer is that it is decided by the local bishop. Unlike some dioceses that have a determined limit in the number of years a pastor can stay in any one parish, our bishop has not established such limits. Once a year every priest receives a survey which solicits his input on a possible change of assignment. He can indicate that he is pleased with where he is, or he is eager for a change of assignment, or he is open to a change of assignment. The bishop looks at what the priest puts on the survey, and in conjunction with a priest board of advisors comes up with possible changes. I am honestly not sure how the bishop considers how the parishioners as a whole are satisfied or dissatisfied with their present pastor and how much this influences him in moving priests or keeping them where they are. I'm sure he would be honest in saying he does receive correspondence from people who express dissatisfaction with their pastor and why this is so. Sadly, people who are satisfied with the leadership of their pastor often don't think to write or e-mail the bishop with positive comments. I can speak for myself and most priests in saying we want you to send your thoughts and feelings to the bishop with constructive criticism and/or positive feedback.
As you can probably surmise, the task of tring to fit priests into parishes in which they will flourish and their parishes will be well served is a very challenging task! It is one of the reasons I can honestly say, I would rather not be a bishop. As we pray for him and our pope at every Mass, so I would encourage all of you to pray for them daily in your own personal prayers. Please pray at this time of the year for the priests and parishes that are experiencing a change in who will pastor their parish and in some cases who will serve as associate pastors. With so much lay involvement in parish ministries and activities, these changes will affect some people on a daily or regular basis. Pray for them as well. The Holy Spriit is working in individuals, in parishes and in the Church in general inspiring unity, love and peace. Let's pray for everyone's cooperation with the graces of the Spirit and give praise to God for the fruit that comes from it!
There are people who have asked me how it is decided how long a priest, especially a pastor, will stay at a parish before moving on to a new assignment. The short answer is that it is decided by the local bishop. Unlike some dioceses that have a determined limit in the number of years a pastor can stay in any one parish, our bishop has not established such limits. Once a year every priest receives a survey which solicits his input on a possible change of assignment. He can indicate that he is pleased with where he is, or he is eager for a change of assignment, or he is open to a change of assignment. The bishop looks at what the priest puts on the survey, and in conjunction with a priest board of advisors comes up with possible changes. I am honestly not sure how the bishop considers how the parishioners as a whole are satisfied or dissatisfied with their present pastor and how much this influences him in moving priests or keeping them where they are. I'm sure he would be honest in saying he does receive correspondence from people who express dissatisfaction with their pastor and why this is so. Sadly, people who are satisfied with the leadership of their pastor often don't think to write or e-mail the bishop with positive comments. I can speak for myself and most priests in saying we want you to send your thoughts and feelings to the bishop with constructive criticism and/or positive feedback.
As you can probably surmise, the task of tring to fit priests into parishes in which they will flourish and their parishes will be well served is a very challenging task! It is one of the reasons I can honestly say, I would rather not be a bishop. As we pray for him and our pope at every Mass, so I would encourage all of you to pray for them daily in your own personal prayers. Please pray at this time of the year for the priests and parishes that are experiencing a change in who will pastor their parish and in some cases who will serve as associate pastors. With so much lay involvement in parish ministries and activities, these changes will affect some people on a daily or regular basis. Pray for them as well. The Holy Spriit is working in individuals, in parishes and in the Church in general inspiring unity, love and peace. Let's pray for everyone's cooperation with the graces of the Spirit and give praise to God for the fruit that comes from it!
One of the "behind the scenes" ministries here at Sacred Heart Church is our "Welcoming Committee" that has been headed up most recently by Debbie and Dwayne Garrett. Couples and individuals on this committee offer to meet with "newcomers" and share with them the wonderful and varied ministries and activities that our parish has to offer to our parishioners. It has been the case over the years that many of these newcomers, who are mostly retirees "take it slow" when it comes to getting involved beyond coming to Mass each weekend.
Our V.I.P. for the month of April, Karen Feckler, was a welcome exception to that pattern when she and her husband Bob moved from Arizona to the Village and to our parish in December of 2013. Both she and Bob hit the ground running, and since the sudden death of her husband Bob in a tragic car accident in July of 2020, in which Karen was injured, Karen has continued her wonderful example of service to the Lord, her parish, and those in need in a number of ways. She is currently on the Parish Council as a representative of the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach Commission. She has served previously on the Sacred Heart Parish Council as a member of the liturgy commission. She is a lector, Eucharistic Minister, cantor, and choir member. She is a past president of L.O.S.H. and in addition to her leadership in our ladies' group she has chaired a number of fundraisers for L.O.S.H. including fashion shows, a Christmas brunch, and a High Tea.
A recent health challenge has slowed down her involvement in our Helping Hands ministry to shut-ins (as she has only been able to drive one person so far to a doctor's appointment) and due to a relapse in her recovery, she has had to back out of a role in our Knight's most recent murder mystery/dinner production (though participants in previous parish dinner productions have been entertained by her acting abilities). During the COVID outbreak, she headed up a small group of ladies (SonBeam Singers) to visit shut-in parishioners and entertain them (from a safe distance) with beautiful and uplifting songs. Karen testifies that she loves to donate her time and talent in any way she can as it gives her great joy to do so, and in recent years it is done in thanksgiving to God for the wonderful support she received from her fellow parishioners when the "love of her life," Bob died.
I am always blessed to be around Karen in so many of these ministries because of her upbeat and joyful disposition and I can truly say she has been and continues to be one of our strong role models of the blessings given and received when one chooses to get involved in our exceptional parish. On behalf of myself and our parishioners, I say "THANK YOU" Karen!! You are a precious and valuable jewel to us in so many ways!!!
Our V.I.P. for the month of April, Karen Feckler, was a welcome exception to that pattern when she and her husband Bob moved from Arizona to the Village and to our parish in December of 2013. Both she and Bob hit the ground running, and since the sudden death of her husband Bob in a tragic car accident in July of 2020, in which Karen was injured, Karen has continued her wonderful example of service to the Lord, her parish, and those in need in a number of ways. She is currently on the Parish Council as a representative of the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach Commission. She has served previously on the Sacred Heart Parish Council as a member of the liturgy commission. She is a lector, Eucharistic Minister, cantor, and choir member. She is a past president of L.O.S.H. and in addition to her leadership in our ladies' group she has chaired a number of fundraisers for L.O.S.H. including fashion shows, a Christmas brunch, and a High Tea.
A recent health challenge has slowed down her involvement in our Helping Hands ministry to shut-ins (as she has only been able to drive one person so far to a doctor's appointment) and due to a relapse in her recovery, she has had to back out of a role in our Knight's most recent murder mystery/dinner production (though participants in previous parish dinner productions have been entertained by her acting abilities). During the COVID outbreak, she headed up a small group of ladies (SonBeam Singers) to visit shut-in parishioners and entertain them (from a safe distance) with beautiful and uplifting songs. Karen testifies that she loves to donate her time and talent in any way she can as it gives her great joy to do so, and in recent years it is done in thanksgiving to God for the wonderful support she received from her fellow parishioners when the "love of her life," Bob died.
I am always blessed to be around Karen in so many of these ministries because of her upbeat and joyful disposition and I can truly say she has been and continues to be one of our strong role models of the blessings given and received when one chooses to get involved in our exceptional parish. On behalf of myself and our parishioners, I say "THANK YOU" Karen!! You are a precious and valuable jewel to us in so many ways!!!