October 23, 2020
Grouping Update & New Parish Name Submissions
Dear Parishioners,
Greetings in the Lord, who has done great things for us! Last week Fr. Joachim, Fr. Canice and I went to our school to pray a Living Rosary with our school children. Reflecting on the mysteries of our salvation with children was a great blessing, and filled us with gratitude for all the Lord has done to show us his love.
Our school is doing very well. Our enrollment is up from last year, and our amazing principal, Shirley Martin and our outstanding faculty are working hard to make Catholic education a great choice! If you would like to direct your financial support to assist us in providing Catholic education here in the Beaver Valley, please contact any of our parish offices.
Thank you also to Deanna Stacho, Marilyn Chesko, Tonya McKenna and Diana Wise who have orchestrated the restart of our religious education programs. They are currently planning and preparing our eighth graders for Confirmation, which will be celebrated next month.
Yes, the Lord has done great things for us and we immerse ourselves in his redemptive work in the Sacred Liturgy. The word liturgy means “a work carried out for the people; a public service or work,” and for us as Catholics, the work that unfolds for us on the altar is the sacrifice our redemption. It is encouraging to see so many people returning to the Mass and the sacraments. Fathers Canice, Joachim and I are especially edified by the many young couples who persevered through most unusual circumstances and pressed forward through postponements and countless other obstacles to be joined together in holy matrimony. It has been our privilege to witness your weddings!
The Lord has done great things for us!
In terms of our merger, we recently had a meeting of our finance and advisory councils to talk about On Mission and the things we want to be mindful of as we move forward toward the merger. The conversation was fruitful and prayerful. The council members raised some important points that we need to be mindful of as we move forward together: unity; catechesis; evangelization; keeping our aging parishioners engaged. These were some of the items that emerged from the discussion, but the issue that surfaced more than all others was our young people. How do we keep them engaged? How do we effectively catechize them? What programs do we put in place to reach them and keep them connected? We assure you that these concerns will be on the front of our minds as we move into the merger process. I very much would like to hear from you about the ways you would like to see the parish grow to help you and others in coming to know and love God and our neighbors. Please feel free to share them with me or one of the Parish Council Members.
The other item that we need your input with is the new name of our one parish. Bishop Zubik is asking for input from all of us as he prayerfully selects a new name for our new parish. The name can be a canonized Saint, it can be a title of our Lord or a title of our Lady. It can be an event in the life of our Lord or an event in the life of our Lady. It cannot be one of the names of our 4 parishes, but an important point to remember is that the parish will have one new name, but the 4 church buildings retain their names given them when they were built and dedicated.
Please prayerfully consider what name might be appropriate for our newly merged parish. What name will best express our identity as one parish Community? We ask that you share your suggestion with us and also give us a brief explanation as to why you are suggesting that particular name. In this week's bulletin you will find a form for your use in this endeavor. (You can download and print the same document by clicking the 'Update Letter & Name Submission Form' button below.) Please complete, detach and drop it into the basket along with, or even inside your Sunday offering envelope. If you prefer, an online name submission form is available on our website to make it even easier to submit name suggestions as well. Only one parish name submission per parishioner. The submission deadline is Saturday, November 21, 2020.
We will collate the suggestions and share the list of the top 20 names we will take forward in the process, and then submit our top 20 names to Bishop Zubik. We will include more details on the process in the next week's bulletin as well.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Jean-Luc Zadroga, OSB
MACH1 Parish Grouping Administrator Pro Tem
