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 John Richards, Director of Parish Operations
It has been roughly a year since I took the Director of Parish Operations position here at St. John. It certainly has been a learning experience for me. I stepped into the role right when Covid hit last year. What timing! The operations of the parish haven’t been “normal” due to the pandemic. So while
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From the Desk of Todd Gale, Director of Faith Formation
Something awesome this way comes! Can you feel it? Can you sense it? We so often see the downward spiral of statistics showing the Catholic Church of the Western world in decline. We’ve seen here in Jackson over the last 40 years a dramatic down-shifting in the numbers of parishes, schools, vocations, and participating members.
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas, Christmas Day
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Dear Parishioners & Visitors, Christmas 2020 is a Christmas like no other in our lifetime. And yet, as with every year, Christ is born for us to redeem this year…if we allow him to do so. God is once again inviting us to allow him to bring good even from the evils and
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From the Desk of Clare Dewitt, Coordinator of Youth Faith Formation
Dear Parish Family, Blessed Advent season to you all! I must admit, this liturgical season is, quite honestly, one of my favorite times of the whole year. It’s reflective and gives me a chance to be still in the midst of the busyness of life around me. It reminds me to shift my focus once
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From the Desk of Shayne Slough, Director of Parish Life
“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope…” 1 Peter 3:15 If I only had 30 seconds to share my faith story, here’s what I’d say: I was born a “cradle Catholic,” and when I hit my mid-40’s or so, Jesus started inviting me in
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Shayne Slough – Director of Parish Life
“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope…” 1 Peter 3:15 If I only had 30 seconds to share my faith story, here’s what I’d say: I was born a “cradle Catholic,” and when I hit my mid-40’s or so, Jesus started inviting me in
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Bill Mitch – Director of Parish Operations
A married couple’s primary objective is to get one another into heaven. There are many other responsibilities that come with being married, but all of them should be pointing toward this primary driver. Abby Mitch is going to get me to heaven and I, her. My wife is a big part of my faith journey
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From the Desk of Fr. Chas, All Saints Day
God Created You to Be a Saint! “There is only one tragedy in the end, not to have been a saint.” – Léon Bloy Happy All Saints Day! You’ve probably heard me say, “There are no non-saints in heaven!” Everyone in heaven is a saint, and God created YOU to be a saint. God created
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Fr. Chas and the State of the Parish, 9/13/20
Dear Parish Family, St. John Parish is Pandemic-Proof! Thanks to YOU, the faithful parishioners of the Mother Church of Jackson! We concluded the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 by not only surviving, but allowing the difficult times to test our mettle, which unfortunately was not the case for many parishes throughout the country. Your
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Parking Lot Project Kickoff!
From our pastor, Fr. Chas Canoy… Parking Lot Project Kickoff! Dear Parish Family, This July, you will see the beginning of work on the Witness to Hope parking lot project across the street from St. John Church. As we have mentioned a number of times, our original plan was to simply repave it. Like the
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Sharing My Story: Reflecting on Motherhood and Mary in the Month of May
My faith journey, as many others do I’m sure, feels like a novel, with a main plot interwoven with several subplots along the way. One of the subplots is actually quite recent and is the guiding work of the Holy Spirit and how I started working here at St. John Parish. But that’s another story!
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Of Horses and Easter
From the desk of Deacon Dave Etters… Happy Easter! Yes, happy Easter in the midst of this unprecedented – at least in my lifetime, suspension of human community…gathering, eating together, worshipping together. No doubt this has been and continues to be an Easter season like none other. My wife Marcia and I continue to pray
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Our Pastor’s Clarion Call During This Time of Pandemic
From our Pastor, Fr. Chas Canoy… Dear Parish Family, “CHRIST IS RISEN!” I so wish that we were celebrating together in person, so that I could hear you exclaim in response, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!” That sadly will not be until May, as you may have heard the diocesan announcement that the suspension of public
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Realigning Resources for Mission 2020
From our pastor, Fr. Chas Canoy…. Dear Parish Family, With the desire to have a proactive response to some of the downward trends in Mass attendance, participation in the sacraments in general, and priestly ordinations over this last generation, the Church realizes that she cannot keep on going with business as usual. The response to
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Answering the “Nudge”
From our Director of Parish Operations, John Richards… Hello! I am the new Director of Parish Operations (DPO). As I mentioned last week, I have been a parishioner here at St. John’s parish for almost 35 years now. Taking a job right out of college with Consumers Energy, I felt ‘at home’ here at St.
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Theology of the Body (TOB) Talks
From our Coordinator of Sacramental Preparation, Angel Koerkel… Did you pick up a copy of the book (Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West) that Fr. Chas gave us at Christmas? Have you started reading it yet? Maybe you looked at the subtitle of: Rediscovering the Meaning of Life, Love, Sex, and Gender
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Your Input is Needed!
From our Pastor, Fr. Chas Canoy… Dear Parish Family, As the pastor of St. John, my primary responsibility is to help you grow as disciples of Jesus and to equip you to go and make disciples of others. Critical to that duty is hearing from you about your needs! To that end, I am excited
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Christmas Greetings
From our Pastor, Fr. Chas Canoy… MERRY CHRISTMAS! Dear Parishioners & Visitors, The Prince of Peace is born! If you are like many in our world today, you often find yourself going 100 mph through life, accompanied by the drama going on in our workplace and in our extended family; moreover, our country and our
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Celebrating the Mass Ad Orientem at St. Joseph Oratory
Our columnists for this bulletin are Pastoral Council member, Ray Gorczyca, and Dcn. Al Krieger of our St. Joseph Oratory. They had approached me with an idea of presiding at Mass in a way that has been done for centuries called ad orientem, but using the current Novus Ordo, not the Extraordinary Form. After discussion
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Pastoral Council
From our Pastoral Council President, John Dullock… Pastoral Council What is it and who is on it? It’s come to my attention that some may not be aware of what our St. John the Evangelist Parish Pastoral Council does. In a few cases, some didn’t even know we had a Pastoral Council or what a
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Faith, Family, & Friendship at St. John Elementary School
A letter from St. John Elementary School parent, Kelli Piepkow… “Teach me knowledge and good judgement, for I trust your commands.” Psalm 119:66 The school year has begun! I know for a lot of parents – myself included – there is a bittersweet mix of sadness at saying goodbye to the lazy days and the
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Hey, Can I Pray for You?
From our Parish FOCUS Missionary, Joseph Gruber… Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to a retreat hosted by the John Paul II Healing Center. Its founder, Bob Schuchts, is the author of the book Be Healed, which is part autobiography and part introduction to some of the ways that God can bring healing
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Day of Equipping
As Fr. Chas mentioned in last week’s bulletin article, we will be making available many opportunities to “empower our parishioners to be agents of Jesus’ healing ministry.” Right here at St. John we are offering Gamma, Ablaze, and a “Day of Equipping.” Here’s more about the upcoming Day of Equipping…Do you desire to be equipped
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Jesus Wants Your Help in Healing His People!
From our Pastor, Fr. Chas Canoy… Dear Parish Family, When Jesus began his public ministry, he entered the synagogue in Nazareth, took the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and proclaimed a passage from it that would be fulfilled by the promised Messiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me