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.
-
Dullock’s Vision – A Letter from Our Pastoral Council President
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I’m writing to you to explain a vision I had last month…my “Witness to Hope” vision. This vision truly happened, and hopefully it was the Holy Spirit working in me. It is definitely not as complicated as St. John’s visions in the Book of Revelation, so I trust you can follow along.
-
Congratulations to Our 2017 High School Graduates!
We prayed for our High School Graduates at our 5:00 p.m. Mass this SUNDAY, MAY 28, as they enter into the next stage of life’s journey. We then had a reception in their honor at the parish center. Fr. Brian toasted the graduates, and our Coordinator of Youth Ministry, Clare Kolenda, led a Q & A
-
Witness to Hope Campaign Summary
Dear Parish Family, With the behind-the-scenes preparations for the upcoming parish-wide events, “Witness to Hope” is underway at St. John! The campaign is unprecedented in our parish and our entire diocese. In one campaign, our aim as a parish is to raise at least $2 million in order to continue the Great Commission that
-
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
-
Holy Week is Upon Us
Holy Week is Upon Us! Dear Parish Family, If you haven’t had a chance to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Lent, the final Penance Service in the area is on Tuesday at Queen of the Miraculous Medal Parish at 7:00 p.m. Here is a short rundown of the Easter Triduum: Holy
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Are There 40 Days of Lent or 46 Days?
Dear Parish Family, We talk about the 40 Days of the Great Fast of Lent, but from Ash Wednesday to the Easter Vigil, there are 46 Days. What gives? Well, in the colorful history of this penitential season, there are three points that help us resolve the question: 1) The season of Lent used to
-
True Greatness
In this past Tuesday’s Gospel (Mark 9:30-37), Jesus gave his original disciples and, by way of the Sacred Scriptures, gave us present-day disciples a beautiful lesson on what comprises true greatness. As they were journeying to Capernaum, the Twelve were talking amongst themselves about who was the greatest among them. When they get to Capernaum,
-
The Richness of Simplicity
Over ten years ago, I was on retreat at a flourishing Benedictine monastery about an hour east of Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the senior monks there was giving me spiritual direction and said something that has stuck with me: “There should be a little bit of monk in each of us.” Why? A monk knows
-
Do You Enjoy Welcoming People?
Dear Parish Family, A couple of years ago, we made an initial attempt to have greeters (or hospitality ministers) to warmly greet people as they come into church. This has given us a few regular greeters, and maybe you’ve enjoyed the salutations of fellow parishioners like Dan Deverell, Nick Januszewski, Bob & Colleen Irvin, Dan
-
Check out our Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit!
Dear Parish Family, You may have noticed something different about our parish center’s Community Room! For one month, we are privileged to have on display a Vatican International Exhibition called The Eucharistic Miracles of the World. The exhibit chronicles some of the extraordinary ways that God has confirmed our faith in the real presence of
-
Discover Your Giftedness!
Dear Parish Family, Discover your giftedness, and you will discover your calling! A huge part of our happiness and sense of fulfillment is the conviction that “I am doing what I was created and called to do!” Do you fully know what that calling is? Many of you have been called to the sacrament of
-
Thank you from the Do’chas
I am delighted to be able to pass along a word of thanks that was received by our Christian Service Committee. Each year the committee (among many other things!) organizes our Christmas Giving Tree. This annual project, in which so many of our parishioners participate, is a tangible way for our local area to feel
-
How To Read The Bible
Dear Parish Family, You may have heard me encourage you to dive into the Good Book and pray the Scriptures, but then I may not have followed it up with how. It can be intimidating because we don’t even know where to begin. Last Sunday’s homily answered the question, “How do you prayerfully read the
-
Happy New Year!
Dear Parish Family, Ah, a new year brings the hopes of new beginnings! Many make new year’s resolutions, including some of us in the parish office. We decided to have a little competitive fun with a weight-loss challenge! The majority of new year’s resolutions seem to revolve around our physical health, but how about our
-
Merry Christmas!
Dear Parishioners & Visitors, With JOY we gather together! “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light!” (Mt 4:16). As we close the year, one that was marked with unpredictability and considerable conflict and division both at home and abroad, we as Christians nevertheless rejoice! We rejoice because, even amidst our difficult times,
-
Follow-up Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday!
Dear Parish Family, We received the “Witness to Hope” Feasibility Study Report back (Executive Summary inserted in this bulletin), which summed up all of the interviews, in-pew surveys, and the first town hall meeting. Your input and feedback have been heard! It appears at this point that there is NOT sufficient support for Heritage Hall,
-
O Come, Let Us Adore Him
Coming soon this Advent season, as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord this Christmas Season, our parish will hold a special hour of adoration on December 16, 2016. The evening will begin at 6:30pm with prelude music, and at 7:00pm the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for our adoration. Fr. Chas will lead
-
Follow-up Town Hall Meeting #2 on Dec. 20!
Dear Parish Family, With the “Witness to Hope” Campaign beginning in January, we will be having a follow-up Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, December 20. Once again, it will be a 6:30 p.m. social gathering with the meeting itself beginning at 7:00 p.m. There has been a lot of parishioner input through this feasibility study
-
Meet our new Finance Manager, Marvic Welch!
Dear Parish Family, We are excited to introduce Marvic Welch, who will be fulfilling the lion’s share of the duties Rose Noble had as Finance Manager. Marvic comes to us with a recent background in bookkeeping and project management and teaches online business classes at a local college, having done so for other colleges for
-
Meet our New Director of Parish Operations, Mr. Andy Bihl!
Dear Parish Family, Last week, I wrote a little bit about our new Director of Parish Operations, Andy Bihl. With his passion, personality, experience, and eagerness to make Jackson his new home, he was the clear choice among the parish and cemetery staff. I wanted to give him the opportunity to introduce himself, as well
-
Our New Director of Parish Operations!
Dear Parish Family, We are pleased to announce that we now have a Director of Parish Operations, Mr. Andy Bihl! He has a wealth of applicable experience, including being the Director of Facility Services for seven years for Sodexo, serving three college campuses. Prior to that, he worked for Aramark/ServiceMaster for over twenty years, including