My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This weekend we celebrate the Feast Day of St John Vianney.  What a blessing for us as a Family of Parishes as we continue 50th Anniversary celebrations with the honoring of our Patron Saint.  Fr Reiser is currently in Ars, France celebrating the Feast Day with a group from our Parish at the Shrine of St John Vianney.  We will be uploading pictures on our social media Page. Happy Feast Day.  We will have a Parish wide celebration after the 10:30am Mass at St John Vianney.

Thank you to Mary Parizek and all our wonderful volunteers who made our Mary Our Queen Annual Human Needs Garage Sale a success.  We will be publishing a set of accounts in the near future but from what I gather from the initial results, almost $60,000 has been raised.  The proceeds from this event goes to supporting the less fortunate in our Parish.

At my last Pastor’s column, I covered the results of the survey that was done to have a better understanding of the needs and interests of our Family of Parishes. When asked what topics they are interested in learning more about, more people selected prayer than any other topic listed. The topics of greatest interest by families with school age children were 1) marriage enrichment, 2) parenting programs, and 3) prayer. The biggest obstacle to participation in faith formation programs is lack of time.  This answer was listed 3 times more often than the second and third most common obstacles:  childcare needs and age-related health issues.  With this input in mind, we have been evaluating resources and planning programs and events to respond to these needs.  Given parishioners’ busy schedules and limited time available, we will also be offering a variety of times and formats (online, in-person, or on your own), so that everyone can find a simple next step to take in growing in their relationship with God and with others in our parish community.

With the survey in mind, one of the things we will be introducing will be “Encounter Days” beginning this Sunday August 4th at Mary Our Queen which will add an additional time of Eucharistic Exposition and Adoration on the first Sunday of each month, from the end of the last Mass until 6pm.  Spending time in the presence of the Lord is a tremendous form of prayer.  By making this available on Sundays (in addition to Mondays at MOQ and First Fridays at SJV), we hope that more people will be able to experience “the peace which passes understanding,” which only the Lord can give us.  If Adoration is new to you, a simple next step in your prayer life could be to come and spend 15 minutes just sitting in the church on Sunday afternoon.  The Lord is waiting to meet you there!

More details will be coming soon about other new opportunities, including a men’s group, a women’s prayer group, and a weekly Bible study for  everyone.  And we do have an app for that (multiple apps, actually) to provide options for every schedule.

Some updates: At Mary Our Queen:

• The rubber surface to be installed for the playground by the soccer field is currently being scheduled.  After its installation, we will install the sprinkler system around the area and reinstall the fencing by the playground.
• The green house by the preschool has been demolished and should be cleared out by the time you read this column.  There will be a playground installed in its place.
• There are four classrooms being remodeled in the lower level of the school this summer.  Last summer, we remodeled two classrooms.  We hope to complete the renovation of the final four classrooms in the lower-level next summer.

At St. John Vianney:

• We are working to find a solution for the lighting controls for the narthex, the church and the adoration chapel.  The current control buttons have gone through their normal wear and tear after 20 years of usage.  Unfortunately, they no longer make any of the existing controls.
• We are also working on a solution to address the upgrades of the controls for our HVAC system as well as a solution on our HVAC system for our Church and basement.  The HVAC system for the Church and basement dates back to the time the original Church was built (40+ years old).  While they do not make things like they used to, I think it would be a good idea to start planning for its replacement. Based on my experience replacing the HVAC system at MOQ it took over a year before the equipment was delivered after the contract was signed.  I am asking our Finance Council to help address this need.

God’s Blessings,

Fr Marc