Dear Beloved Parishioners,
So, it has been a busy few days and busy few more to come. By the time Friday rolls around, it will have been 4 funerals in 7 days. If you would pray for the repose of the souls of parishioners Lorraine Leicht, Julian Najbar, Delores Christian and Mary Ritzka, and for comfort for their families, I would be grateful.
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I am attaching the SJM Listening Feedback Summary report from the folks at All Things New. It is a combination of the feedback sessions back in November, the surveys that were due on Dec. 31st, and the individual feedback from emails and letters. You can read it by clicking on this link:
(I tried to copy and paste, but lost all the formatting, especially around the graphs and their data, which is kind of key to the report.)
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Our key leaders and I met to review the report to see if it 1) Captured what was spoken at the listening sessions, and 2) Was accurate in terms of what it captured. Here is that ‘addendum’ report –
We did think it did capture the feedback from the listening sessions. The second question: Was the Parish Feedback Summary accurate in what it said about your parishioners’ feedback? We added these comments: (it will be helpful to have read the report before reading these comments below…)
Section 3: Paragraph 3
The key parish leaders and pastor thought that the three ‘outlier comments’ about the size of the combined parishes being on target is only accurate in Option A. In options B, C, and D, it is nearly twice the size of the goal of 1,800 families. It was noted that none of the parish campuses were built for a parish the size of 3,415 families…
Section 3, Paragraph 4, bullet point 2
The Key Parish Leaders and Pastor did not agree with the assessment that Whitecliff Park and Grant’s Farm create a wall between OLP and St. Justin Martyr (and St. Elizabeth, where it does not even come into play.)
Section 7 – Though none of us could recall that comment, we were all in agreement that whatever issues might lay between us historically would be insurmountable to a proposed merger. (And since they are paired with us in all the models, we will find a way to make it work)
There continues to be lively discussion whether the cultural divide between St. Catherine’s and St. Justin’s is as big an issue as was perceived/commented on in the in-Person Listening sessions. It is the opinion of the Key Parish Leaders and Pastors that we can deal/live/work through the cultural differences.
AND, we would like to affirm our continuing worry about the size of the proposed Options B, C and D, knowing that none of the buildings and parish facilities were designed for a mega-parish of 3,415 families. So, parking issues, the need for two campuses to run the combined school as neither school has the capacity to absorb the other, ball fields, ease of access to the church building, the size of Sappington Road (the main access point to the campus is still just two single lanes) etc., remain points of concern for the proposed B, C and D models. While it is possible that the combined resources would be beneficial in terms of a platform for more evangelization, the ATN data about smaller percentage of Mass attendance among bigger parishes is a cautionary tale to perhaps needlessly creating a mega-parish where another Model (A) meets the 1,800 family goal of All Things New, and should be robust enough, and close knit enough to effectively evangelize.
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This coming Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Schools week. There is an open house where all parishioners are invited – from 9- till noon. We would love for you to see the good things that are happening at the school that you support so well with your stewardship.
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And, speaking of your stewardship, you had already heard from me about the need to up our stewardship by the price of a Quarter pounder with cheese/month to support Fr. Chris’ salary expenses. And, the Archdiocese, as a part of one goal of All Things New in regard to schools, has recommended a significant increase in the base pay to every full-time teacher, partly as retention strategy in the midst of the great resignation, but mostly because it is a long overdue matter of justice.
Each parish was given the option of a significant bump in the base pay or a 4.2% increase over last year’s pay. If you gave the significant bump, and IF the Archdiocese was able to procure some funding, you would be eligible to apply for assistance. If you ‘only’ did the 4.2% increase, you would not be eligible for any funding. So, after consultation with the Finance Council, and out of a desire to bring teacher pay closer to what their peers make in the public schools, we are committing to the first option – the significant bump in base pay, which is $5,000 per teacher.
I will be breaking down those costs in a separate missive in the next day or so and will be communicating to all of you about these challenges to our parish stewardship. And, for those who might be in a position to do so, I am asking you to consider “sponsoring a teacher’s pay raise” for this coming year. (I need 22 full amount sponsors ($5K), or 44 half sponsorships the $2,5K amount for our staff for this coming year. I know that not everyone might be in a position to do so, but if you are, that would be a huge blessing to our school parents.
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The Deeper Dive into the Sunday Scripture comes to us once more from the Paulist Evangelization Ministries.
“A people who walked in darkness . . . “
This phrase from Isaiah in the first reading is referring to two tribes of Northern Israel who were conquered by Asyria almost 700 years before the coming of Jesus; as a result, their populations were mixed with pagans and foreigners. They represented people considered unclean. From that area come Samaritans; and from that area, Galilee, comes Jesus.
Of course, today darkness seems to be growing everywhere. We think of countries where people live with oppression and military rule, like Myanmar; but we also think of countries of seeming non-stop strife like El Salvador and Venezuela. We consider people who have no freedom and no opportunity to be as people living in darkness.
If we are honest, we also notice the darkness in our own culture. Is there a night on TV when we do not hear of teens and younger children shot? We sigh in relief if a whole week goes by and there is not some massacre in a shopping mall or church. Economists regularly talk of recession and inflation. We smirk at would-be public leaders who tell outright lies and expect to get away with it.
Jesus comes from a land enmeshed in darkness. There is not only the occupation of Israel by the Romans; there is also a staleness to faith, as if people have run out of energy and hope. “The kingdom of God is at hand,” Jesus shouts, as if trying to get our attention. The light that is God’s divine presence in our midst has begun to shine.
“Repent,” is the poor translation of the word the scriptures have Jesus using. Jesus is not telling us to give up chocolate or beer. He’s telling us to wake up, to let our mind be flooded with a new vision, to let our staleness be startled by the Kingdom that is appearing in front of us.
So shocking is this message that we have to reflect on what it did to people. Andrew and Peter hear the invitation of Jesus and immediately give up their fishing profession. James and John hear the invitation and immediately leave their dad and co-workers in the boat.
We show that we have heard Jesus’ invitation by the changes we are willing to make in our lives. Some of us are called to give up homes and occupations. Our Church has been blessed by people who felt the call to live fully and explicitly as clergy and religious. But Jesus’ call extends to everyone, to make every calling we have, every way of life, into a sign of the Kingdom of God. For all of us can let the light of Jesus shine into the darkness of our lives through compassion mercy, justice and generous love. All of us can carry a part of the Kingdom into the world in which we live.
Paul reminds us that our salvation doesn’t come from fancy philosophers or any range of religious figures. Only one was crucified for us; only one gave the witness of his own life in martyrdom so that the Kingdom could be revealed in his Resurrection. The light of that resurrection has, indeed, shone on the world and changed the meaning of our lives.
And that light gives us a choice: to be people who have gotten used to the darkness around us, or to be people who disrupt our world with the vision of hope.
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The SONG OF THE DAY, as we return to ordinary time, and the call of the first disciples, this was a song from my seminary days that always inspired me to keep on following Jesus, no matter the cost. It appeared on the album Neither Silver nor Gold, by the St. Louis Jesuits. Come with me into the fields…
blessings,
fr bill