E-News from Father Frerichs
May 13, 2010
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we move through this 6th week of Easter there are many interesting happenings within our parishes and the life of the Church
Parish Happenings:
In case you have not heard, Carol Tentis, the wife of Max Tentis, passed away Monday evening. Carol was a dedicated member of our parish and the wider community. She was well known and loved. Carol’s funeral will be held on Friday at 11 a.m. at Saint Felix. We will have 8 a.m. Mass. Please keep Carol and the entire family in prayer during these times.
Yesterday afternoon I met with Beth Roth who has been participating in the RCIA program at St. Felix for some time. Although Beth would like to have been received into the Church during the Easter Vigil, circumstances prevented her from doing so. Deacon John and I are pleased to announce her plan to enter into the Church on Saturday, May 29th during the 4:30 p.m. Mass. The brief ceremony which will be after the homily will include her profession of faith and the Sacrament of Confirmation. Beth will also receive the Eucharist for the first time. During my visit with Beth it was beautiful to see her excitement and anticipation for the day. We continue to pray with and for Beth as she makes preparation for this important step in her life.
During the last several weeks st. Agnes has been preparing a volunteer appreciation dinner to be held on May 22nd. This is an opportunity for parishioners to express their appreciation for those who volunteer their time for the life and spiritual welfare of the parish. It will also provide opportunity for people to converse about new ideas that may be implemented in the future. Over 50 people have already called in with their RSVP – it is great to see such a good turnout.
Deacon Andy Vogel is getting settled into his temporary home. This week he has attended several meetings, met many people, and will be visiting some of the classrooms in our school on Friday morning for the first time.
The St. Felix Parish Council met last week. Some highlights of the discussion included:
- Introduction of Julie Miller as the new parish life coordinator.
- Discussion about Marsha Stenzel, as principal, offering a periodic update to the Council about school happenings.
- Having a “Year of the Family” was discussed as a follow-up to the Year of the Priest. Three different prayers (prayed 4 months each) would be said after Communion throughout the year.
- Thursday, June 3rd is the date for the next parish council meeting. It will be an informal gathering at the new rectory.
Church News:
It seems that the bishops of the United States are renewing their efforts to promote and strengthen marriage and family life. They recently published a document called: Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan. The text of this document can be found at http://www.usccb.org/meetings/2009Fall/docs/Marriage_Love_Life_pastoral_letter.pdf
This document is a summary of Church teachings about the gift of marriage and marital spirituality. I would encourage you to read it. It will be used as a primary document for pamphlets and other materials to be published in the future.
Further, the ZENIT news agency recently reported:
The Catholic Church in the United States has defined "marriage building" as one of its priorities. In order to make the priority a reality, a group of Catholic leaders will gather to study what makes a parish a marriage-builder.
Hundreds of Catholic leaders are expected for a June 23-26 conference in Cincinnati, on “Marriage-Building Parishes: Blueprints and Building Plans.”Participants will “learn ways to form our youth for responsible sexuality, better prepare couples for sacramental marriage, enrich and strengthen those who are married, provide marriage care for those in need, and heal the pain of divorce for both the spouses and the kids," said Lorrie Gramer, conference chair of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers.
On a Personal Note:
You may wonder how this Pastor spends his time away from the office. Two things I enjoy doing are spending time on the water and building things from scratch. Last November I took on the project of building a kayak which is now nearing completion. Paul Irlbeck has been also been a big part of this project with his knowledge of working with fiberglass and other aspects of the project I was not familiar with. Below are a few pictures of the work in progress - the total length of the boat will be almost 17 feet with a weight of slightly more than 45 pounds. The exterior is a mahogany finish. My hope is that the project be completed within the next few weeks.
Stitching the plywood panels together with copper wire
Applying fiberglass to the interior of the boat
Fiberglassing the exterior of the boat
……MORE PICTURES WILL FOLLOW……………
……TO BE CONTINUED…………….
In Christ,
Fr Glenn Frerichs
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