Fr. Bob's letter to Holy Spirit parishioners will appear on Page 3 of this weekend's (June 3-4) bulletin.
Please take a few moments to read it.
For your convenience, we have printed it below....
Dear Friends,
Grace and peace to you all!
Parish Feast of the Pentecost
Happy Feast of the Pentecost and happy Parish Feast Day! Today we celebrate that first outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the first disciples over two thousand years ago. And, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our parish today as we celebrate our parish feast day. Truly a grace-filled day! I have now served in our parish for almost a full year and I can tell you that I see the Spirit at work every day. I have come know you as the Church; a people whose hearts have been filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. If you look around our parish, you will see a parish filled with unique individuals fulfilling our mission to go out and proclaim the Gospel in our own unique way. As there are many different people in our parish, there are also many different ways that the Holy Spirit helps us to live our call. Thank you for being such a special people living the gifts of the Sprit!
Listening Sessions
You may recall that late last year and at the beginning of this year, I conducted Listening Sessions to hear your thoughts about our parish. They began in late October and concluded in late January. I can tell you that I enjoyed meeting so many of you in the twenty-six sessions. I am grateful for your candor, your insights, and especially, your love for our parish. Each session consisted of three questions to start the conversation. First, what do you like about our parish? Second, what are your hopes for our parish? And, third, what are looking for in your pastor? The top four Likes were: People; Community; our Parish School; and, that our parish is friendly. The top four Hopes were: growing our Parish School; building our Youth Group; displaying liturgical music selections on a Hymn Board; and, the establishment of a Parish Council. The top four expectations for your pastor were: that he be welcoming; friendly; willing to challenge the parish to grow spiritually; and, be a good listener. These conversations really helped me to come to know you quickly and I am grateful for the hospitality of all the host families. I would like to continue to hear what you have to say and realize that having yearly listening sessions would be impractical.
Parish Council
Considering these hopes, I would like to act on one and establish a Parish Council. I see the Parish Council having four primary areas of purpose: 1. Provide vital consultation and advice to the Pastor. 2. Represent the various views of parishioners. 3. Serve as a communication network for the parish. 4. Promote collaborative leadership, lay ministry, and stewardship.
The council will consist of the pastor, the chairperson of each major parish organization, 9 at-large parishioners (The Steering Committee), the Finance Council Chairperson, and the School Principal. The Parish Council will meet twice a year in October and February. The Steering Committee will include 9 members who will be parishioners from the greater parish community and will meet 5 times a year. The terms for the Steering Committee will be for 3 years with 3 members leaving each year. The Parish Council will deal with major topics that affect the vision, direction, priorities, and policies of the entire parish. And the Steering Committee will deal with tasks and issues of a practical nature and implement directives from the Parish Council and Pastor.
If you would like to serve on or recommend someone for the Steering Committee please contact me at 314-739-0230 ext. 103 or email revans@holyspiritstl.org. Additionally, if you would like more information or would like to discuss this please contact me. Thank you!
Seafood Dinner
We have the final results of our Annual Seafood Dinner. I am pleased to report that the dinner raised $22,094.72 for our parish! This is an increase from last year when we raised $20,109.34. Thank you once again for your support of our parish and thanks especially to all the many volunteers who worked tirelessly to bring the Seafood Dinner to our parish! God bless you all!
Parking Lot Repairs
You may have noticed that the parking lot of the Parish Annex was recently paved. This is one of the projects that is to be addressed through our Beyond Sunday Capital Campaign. The paving of the Annex is the first part of the parking lot repairs. The second part is the sealing of the main parking lot. The sealing will take place during the last week of June and will proceed in three phases. During each phase, a section of the lot will be closed for two days. We will continue to have daily Mass during the work. Please watch future bulletins and listen for the special announcements that will be made at Mass or through email. Thank you for supporting our parish needs through the Beyond Sunday Campaign.
Let’s pray for each other this week.
Peace,
Father Bob