Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor | St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church | Jackson, Michigan
Discover pastoral reflections and homilies from Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Jackson, MI. Stay rooted in faith and parish life.
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor, 10/30/22
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From the Desk of John Richards, Director of Parish Operations, 10/9/22
My Fellow Parishioners, You are probably aware with the official announcement last week, that I will be stepping down as Director of Parish Operations. It certainly was a tough decision which took a lot of prayer and discernment. I’ve been blessed to be part of the parish staff and to serve the Lord. It has
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From the Desk of Renee Hornby, St. John School Principal – 8/28/22
The Sunday Gospel this week teaches us about the virtue of humility. From the first moments I started at St. John, I have found a community of humble servants willing to help one another. Acknowledgment or appreciation is not needed as these acts are moments of service. Being a part of a true community of
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor
Knights of Columbus’ August Family of the Month The Barrett Family! Dear Parish Family, I have the honor of announcing that the family of Jeanne and the late Frank Barrett is the Knights of Columbus’ “Family of the Month” for August 2022! The award normally goes to a family that has at least one
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From the Desk of Shayne Slough, Director of Parish Life
The Four Levels of Happiness: Coming to St. John on 9/17/22! Register here: www.fourlevels.org “We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.” —St. Augustine I’m sure many of us remember the Made for Happiness
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor
God the Holy Spirit “Supernaturalizes” Us! Dear Parish Family, Even with Covid anxieties subsiding, there are a number of unsettling things happening in the world right now. There are the recent shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, the war in Ukraine, public institutions pushing anti-Christian ideologies, the effect inflation will have on the poor, the threats
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From the Desk of Todd Gale, Director of Faith Formation
Rosary Come To Life I did not become Catholic until I was 30 years old, and I did not pray the Rosary with much enthusiasm until “Praying with the Padres” during the Covid pandemic shut-downs. Praying with Fr. Brian, Fr. Chas, and their frequent guests helped me understand how to finally get the hang of
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From the Desk of Shayne Slough, Director of Parish Life
“Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” (Psalm 24) Hello St. John Parish Family, As the number of us St. John pilgrims have returned from the Holy Land, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the enthusiasm and excitement with which we share about our experiences there, from Fr. Chas’ moving homily last weekend to
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor
Resurrection from the Pandemic! Dear Parish Family, Though we were able to celebrate Holy Week liturgies last year, many were still leery about whether or not they should come back to Mass. As we exit from two years of Covid restrictions, this will be for many of us the first Easter Mass in two years!
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas, Pastor
Let’s Keep a Great Thing Going! Dear Parish Family, As we enter into the second Sunday of Lent, when we focus on the stewardship of our parish and our diocese, I want to express one message loud and clear: THANK YOU! Thank you for responding so generously to the 5-4-1 Generosity Challenge! As your pastor,
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From the Desk of Sarra Smith, Parishioner
Greetings, parish family, and to all of those who may find themselves reading this bulletin article. Happy New Year! I am just so amazed by the Lord’s timing, especially as Fr. Chas has been deepening our understanding of the gift of prophecy and what the Lord has put on my heart to share with you
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas, Pastor
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Dear Parishioners & Visitors, 2021 has been another topsy-turvy year, and so how important it is for you, me, and all of humanity to remember at the end of this year the perduring truth of what the birth of Jesus Christ injects amidst our frail humanity and HOW God does it. He first
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From the desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor
Dear Parish Family, This weekend begins the hallowed season of Advent! Amidst the distress and division in our world and perhaps even in our own extended family, the great Advent cry, “Come, Lord Jesus!” expresses the yearning of our souls for God to make all things right and new! Advent is a season of preparation
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas, Pastor – State of the Parish Letter – 10/9/21
Dear Parish Family, A Heart of Gratitude to God for You! First and foremost, we have much for which to be thankful! As your pastor, I am so grateful and proud of the way our parishioners have responded during these unprecedented times. You who have supported and sacrificed for our parish family have ensured that
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From the Desk of Todd Gale, Director of Faith Formation
Our Faith Formation Team here at St. John Parish is a robust and dedicated bunch, with Todd Gale, Angel Koerkel, Valentina Piotrzkowski, Catechists who teach Children’s Liturgy and Sacramental Preparation, Joseph Gruber with FOCUS, and many wonderful volunteers. We’ve been guided by the vision of our Good Pastor, Fr. Chas, and we have soaked this
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor
Mary the Rocket Ship? Does the Assumption of Mary mean that Our Lady took off like a rocket ship into heaven like some of these paintings of the Assumption depict? Well, not exactly. Remember that no human being ever went to outer space until the 1960s! So for the ancients, the sky symbolized the unknown,
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From the Desk of Todd Gale, Director of Faith Formation
Faith Formation 2020-21 Annual Report Summary • FIRST RECONCILIATION and FIRST EUCHARIST: We met with every family for a “check-in” interview; Fr. Chas scheduled separate, private Confession times with the families; First Holy Eucharist was celebrated with families choosing between the various Sunday Masses in May; we had 52 students combined celebrate from the School
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From the Desk of John Richards, Director of Parish Operations
As Fr. Chas mentioned last week, we continue with our Witness to Hope projects. New windows are currently being installed at St. John Elementary School in the north wing. We are about halfway through the project and look to have all of the windows completed by the end of July. The windows improve the school’s
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From the Desk of Shayne Slough, Director of Parish Life
Happy Father’s Day! On this Father’s Day, we invite you to pray for all fathers! We also take this opportunity to thank two of our spiritual fathers, Fr. Chas and Fr. Brian! Thank you, both, for teaching us, praying for us, guiding us, and bringing us Christ in his Word and in the sacraments. Next
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From the Desk of Todd Gale, Director of Faith Formation
THE MASS IS THE CLASS Our Faith Formation Team here at St. John Parish is a robust and dedicated bunch, with Clare DeWitt, Angela Koerkel, St. John School, Religious Education Catechists (“catechist” is a churchy word that means religion teacher!), Joseph Gruber with FOCUS, those who teach Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW), and many
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From the Desk of Deacon Dave Etters
“You’re Talking to People!” The Blessed Trinity…it has been called the preacher’s nightmare, or the ultimate Rubik’s cube of theology. After all, what could a homilist say other than, “It’s a mystery?” Well, in fact, my first preaching assignment was – drum roll – you guessed it, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. My
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor
Dear Parishioners, Welcome Back! With the end of Bishop Boyea’s dispensation from Sunday Mass, we are so happy to be reunited as the St. John Parish family on Sundays! While the Church recognizes that individual instances of health concerns still exist and certainly are legitimate reasons for continuing to participate in the Sunday liturgy from
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas Canoy
When Surrender Leads to Freedom! HAPPY EASTER! Today, we celebrate the victory of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ! He was victorious over all the evil that principalities and powers of this world threw at him. He was victorious even over death itself. If we surrender ourselves to Jesus, his victory will extend to our own
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From the Desk of Shayne Slough, Director of Parish Life
Dear Fellow Parishioners, As Fr. Chas and Fr. Brian kicked off our Lenten Season here at St. John Parish with a powerful homily series focused on Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, I feel like I’ve understood how to enter into Lent even more fully than I have in the past. In all of it, the Lord