Bulletin Article: United in Faith, Love, and Community – October 15, 2026

October 18, 2026

Dear fellow sojourners of St. John,

Another year has come and gone, marking it three whole years since I moved to Jackson and became a member of the community here. As such, I wanted to take the opportunity this weekend to sing your praises.

This is an amazing place. And you… you are all amazing. You aren’t amazing because of any inherent characteristic that you’re born with. There’s no magic tonic in Jackson County water. You are amazing because you are a family that embraces a spirit of unity.

Most of my adult life, I lived in places that were highly transitory. Whether an Army town or a big city, I lived in places where large portions of the population – to include myself – were there as a stop along career life. People were friendly enough and I met a lot of people with good hearts, but for the most part, the relationships were not durable. They often did not extend beyond their immediate context.

But here in Jackson, and especially in the Catholic community, you live community every day. You are knit together in how you live and connect with each other in church, at your children’s and grandchildren’s schools, and in countless volunteer groups in a way I haven’t experienced in decades.

The world is huffing and puffing these days. The spirit of fear and doubt about the future is knocking on the doors of our hearts. But the strength that you have when staying bonded together will stand up to the test. most especially when that bond is as the Mystical Body of Christ.

Yet at the end of the day, our community bonds are only as strong as our human selves. But when we are united together by the fidelity of the Father, the love of Jesus Christ, and the hope of the Holy Spirt, we can endure as we keep our eyes on the eternal prize. It is as the Mystical Body of Christ that we form a holistic union within the local church, with believers the world over, and with the Church Triumphant in heaven.

This is what is most amazing to me. That there are so many here that take these bonds of holiness and love in God seriously every day is an example that humbles me every day.

Today’s second reading is from Paul to the church in Thessalonia, but he might as well have been writing to the church in Jackson:

“We give thanks to God always for all of you… unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ… for our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.”