Happy Easter Octave to You–Witness to Hope Update

Dear Parish Family, What’s the “Easter Octave?” The Easter Octave is the first eight days of the Easter season, from Easter Sunday to today, the second Sunday of Easter, called Divine Mercy Sunday. All eight days are considered a Solemnity. So what’s a Solemnity? Solemnities are feast days of the highest rank. Thus, they normally … Continued

Moving forward in 2017

Greetings Brothers and Sisters, I wanted to let you know personally that I’ll be transitioning away from full-time employment with the parish office. I will still be available to the parish on a contractual basis as needed. Although I will no longer be a member of the staff, my family and I will remain an … Continued

Lae-what Sunday?

Dear Parish Family, Today is Laetare Sunday!  “Lae-what?” you may ask.  Laetare [lay-tah-ray] is the Latin word for “Rejoice!” and it comes from the first word of today’s entrance antiphon.   Well, what is the “entrance antiphon?”  The entrance antiphon, or introit, is the opening sentence usually chanted at the beginning of a liturgy.  Here … Continued

The Amazing Parish Conference

Dear Parish Family, Thanks to the New Evangelization grant we received from the Trinity Foundation, four parish staff and I were at The Amazing Parish Conference in Atlanta from Monday to Thursday morning of this past week.  Joining 1100 people from about 200 parishes from across the country, we learned from the best experts in … Continued

Music Notes

The season of Lent is upon us! You have probably noticed a big change in the music at Mass. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about why the Lenten season is so different when it comes to music. Why is there no “filler music” during Lent…it seems so quiet and awkward! According … Continued