May 15, 2022

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our Robotics Teams from our School qualified to compete in the World Robotics Championship in Dallas.  I was fortunate to be able to join them for a day in Dallas this week.  This is a proud moment for our Parish and School and we are excited in our Robotics Teams’ achievements.  Congratulations are in order.

Congratulations to John Hillebrandt and Anne McGill who are elected to the School Board. They will each serve a three-year term in our  School Board.  After consulting with our School Board and Parish Leadership, I have appointed Bob Soukop for a three-year term to the  School Board. I have also appointed Aidan Chapman and Susan Huse for a three-year term to our Parish Council.  On behalf of Mary Our Queen faith community, we express gratitude for the parishioners who answered the call to serve in our Pastoral Council and School Board.

This weekend at the 5pm Mass, we will be celebrating with the Seniors who will be graduating from High School.  We would like to wish all of them the very best for their future endeavors.

We concluded our Religious Education Program for the year on May 4th. Thanks to all our Catechesis  who took time to share their faith with our Religious Education students.  Please be reminded that registration for next year’s Religious Education is now open.  This weekend we will also be hosting an open house for our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program

A special thank you to all who made time on Saturday to help clean up and mulch the various planting beds and areas in our Campus.  I am grateful for all the helping hands that continue to make our Campus grounds beautiful.

We have received two Memorial gifts that will be used to shape our campus grounds.  The first Memorial gift will be used to build a grotto to offer a sheltered space for the statue of Mary at the south side of the gym as well as to offer a place for prayerful contemplation.  The other Memorial gift we have received will be used to build an outdoor classroom at the east side of the gym.  This will be done this summer.

There will be several other projects that will be undertaken this coming summer.  The first is the replacement of the lower-level west wing hot water piping with a variable volume terminal unit with a heating water coil in each classroom which connects to the existing ductwork.  This is made possible thanks to the generosity of all who donated to the MARQUEE.  Thanks to the generosity of our Home  and School, Men’s Club and Knights of Columbus, we will be renovating the Teachers Lounge in our School as well as renovate the restrooms by the Cafeteria.  There are several other projects that we are currently in the planning stage.  Hopefully we will be able to furnish more details in the near future.

We continue to be working with St John Vianney regarding our Archdiocese Pastoral Planning.  This  weekend I will be celebrating all the Masses at St John Vianney so that the parishioners at St John Vianney will get an opportunity to get to know me.  In addition, in the next few months, Fr Richard Reiser – the Pastor of St John Vianney, Fr Mario Rapose and myself will be preaching at both Parishes so that all might have an opportunity to get to know us.  We will also be organizing open houses for each of our  Parishes so that all may see each other’s Parish’s facilities.  Just a reminder, our Archdiocese is currently undergoing a Pastoral Planning process for the future of our Archdiocese.  With the declining numbers in  Mass attendance, the decline in population in the rural counties and the growth in a few concentrated counties as well as taking into account the declining priests’ numbers, the Pastoral Plan will create a new  vision for how we as a Church will flourish in the future.  One of the proposals in this planning process is for Mary Our Queen Parish and St John Vianney Parish to share a Pastor and an Associate with both sites  being utilized for the ministerial needs of the two faith communities. Another proposal is for our Parish to begin ministry for those who are Spanish speaking given the growth in Spanish-speaking parishioners  in our area.  This will include having a Mass in Spanish on Sundays. Details of operations and the various needs for the new arrangement will be determined through meetings with leadership personnel of both parishes.

Please check out our Weekly Updates via email.  If you have not received an email, kindly call our Parish Office and we will add you in our email mailing list.

Blessed Easter Season,

Fr Marc