Dear Parish Family,
What a great turnout for the “Rallying a Corps of Disciples for the Lord!” We had over 80 brothers and sisters in Christ come for an evening of unveiling the various new initiatives St. John Parish will be offering to its parishioners and the people of Jackson at large. The diverse opportunities are meant 1) to deepen our own spiritual life and relationship with the Lord and 2) to reveal the face of Christ to the Jackson community, all of which are part of our response to Bishop Boyea’s charge to all the parishes in the diocese to share the Good News and fulfill the New Evangelization in our local communities.
There is something for everyone this coming Lent and beyond! Coming very soon will be the Called & Gifted Workshop, which is a workshop that kicks off your discovery of the ways that God has gifted you to build up his kingdom in this world. Also during Lent on Friday, March 20, we will have a sequel to the packed “O Come, Let Us Adore Him!” hour of adoration, which will be called “O Come, Let Us Worship!”
We also will offer four “Faith Formation Fridays” right after the “Soup & Salad Suppers,” which we will once again offer each Friday of Lent from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. At 6:30pm, we will begin the “Faith Formation Fridays” with an introductory talk by one of us priests, then show two segments (running about 10 to 20 min.) of the engaging Symbolon video series (http://www.symboloncatholic.org), that will stimulate the group discussion after each segment with Fr. Kurian or me as a resource regarding the teachings of our faith.
Did you miss this first “Rallying Disciples” gathering of parishioners, but are still interested in finding out the ways you can be a part of the planning and/or execution of these different opportunities for spiritual growth and ministry? Because there were a several folks who said they were, we will have a skeletal version of “Rallying a Corps of Disciples” meeting on Saturday, February 14 at 9:00am at the Fr. Francis J. Murray Parish Center.
There is no more bulletin space to mention the two biggest new initiatives. You will have to come and find out more at this “makeup” Rallying Disciples meeting on Saturday, Feb. 14. Whether your talents lie in event planning or manual labor, hospitality or behind-the-scenes, facilitating table discussion or food preparation, child care or technical assistance, WE NEED YOU to make these initiatives happen and for them to be done well!
We won’t have the taco bar and desserts as we did this past Tuesday, but we will have coffee and some pastries or bagels served at 9:00am with the actual presentation beginning at 9:30am. So, while RSVPs are not necessary, please let Suzzanne at the parish office know if you can in order to give us an estimate of how many to expect: suzzanne@stjohnjackson.org or 517-784-0553.
This past Thursday’s “Fireside Chat” was at the home of Cindy Smith (with a group pic forthcoming), and the one on Feb. 12 will be at the home of Tony & Stephanie Kiszka.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas