One of the blessings of  living one’s life according to the  liturgical calendar and its  seasons is how easy it is to focus on the mysteries of the Faith in the days and weeks following major feasts. For parish staff, Advent and Lent are major periods
of planning, organization, and logistics that come to  fruition in the great feasts of Christmas and Easter. The reward in the following weeks is being able to spend our time and energy reflecting on the glory of the Lord and the great gifts we receive in our lives. But even as we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the time is upon us to snap back to both  ordinary life and ordinary time and think about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.


 
In the coming months, the public announcement of clergy assignments in the families of parishes will take place, at which time we will see a rapid acceleration of planning and preparation for our  new situation. As I have speculated previously, I am likely to be the pastor of this family of parishes because of my Spanish abilities, but that is by no means guaranteed. Fr. Robben of Our Lady of the Valley is a far better priest than I am, and there are many great leaders who are moving hither and yon in this pastoral plan. Regardless of who ultimately lands here as pastor, we are planning on two major events in the coming months that are geared towards preparing for the future.
 
First, we are having two talk series on canon law and the parish this month, taking place at OLR at 7:00 pm on January 18 and 25. Fathers Andrew Moss and Chris Geiger will be here to walk us through what canon law says in general, and what insights might be helpful as we reimagine the future of our parishes. Because canon law is the most boring discipline in the Church (don’t tell either of our presenters I said that, please) I’d like you to know that we are not  doing this at random, nor are we doing it solely because some might find it interesting. My hope is that we can delve into what the law of the Church says about the reality of the parish as we go through a lengthy process of discerning how to be the parish that God is calling us to be. I ask that you make every effort to be there and participate so that our conversations moving forward can be as fruitful  and informed as possible.

Second, during Lent, we are hosting the Holy Family School of Faith for a series of talks about Mission. Lost in the shuffle of all the talk of families of parishes and such is one important fact: we are  talking about bringing parish communities together because many parish communities are shrinking. They are shrinking because people are leaving and not being replaced. I’m not placing individual blame, but the numbers paint an undeniable picture of the local church in decline, and that is, in part, because we are not evangelizing as we are called to. Two years ago, before the pandemic, we hosted a series with School of Faith on the Interior Life. That life    of prayer which we are all called to maintain and develop is the necessary foundation of discipleship. To build upon that foundation, however, we need   to be equipped to spread the Faith and share the Gospel with the people we meet in the world. Just like the Canon Law Series, I ask that you join us on Tuesday evenings during Lent in the Church at OLR at 7:00pm, and pray that God may bring to fruition the good work that He has begun in us.
 
Prayers always,
Fr. McC