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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Will You Be a “Witness to Hope”?
Dear Parish Family, As the Mother Church of Jackson established in 1856, St. John Parish has been here in Jackson for generations. Those generations have kept our parish church and school strong, and now it is our turn. As you may have heard, our parish is undergoing a feasibility study right now to help determine
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Fall Happenings
Dear Parish Family, After twenty years of dedicated service, Rose Noble, our “treasured” Finance Manager, will be moving on to do similar work at St. Joseph Shrine in Brooklyn. I of course tried to talk her into staying, but I can understand why this is such a good move for her. It is closer to
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“Called By Name” The Diocesan Assembly
Dear Parish Family, As I write this bulletin article, we are preparing for the big Diocesan Assembly, “Called By Name,” in which about 50 of our parishioners will have participated this weekend! If it was anything like the first Diocesan Assembly two years ago, it was a real shot in the arm for the parishes
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Feasibility Study at St. John
Dear Parish Family, Our Diocese of Lansing is in the beginning stages of the 2017 “Witness to Hope” Capital Campaign. Many of you know this because two nearby parishes, Queen of the Miraculous Medal and St. Rita in Clarklake, are among the handful of “pilot parishes” in our diocese who are in the midst of
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What Goes On at a Presbyteral Convocation?
Dear Parish Family, As I write this Sunday’s bulletin article, Fr. Brian and I are with our brother priests of the Diocese of Lansing at the annual Presbyteral Convocation. This year, we are at the Bay Valley Conference Center in Bay City. We are meeting from Monday through Thursday. We meet for priestly formation, personal
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The Children of the World & the Children of Light
Dear Parish Family, Last Sunday, the Gospel was about how Jesus held up as an example a dishonest steward. My homily was about why Jesus did so and what we can learn from it and apply today. If you missed it, I encourage you to access it on our website, as I mention some matters
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40 Days for Life!
Dear Parish Family, The recently canonized saint, Mother Teresa, was not only a champion of the poorest of the poor, the abandoned, and the dying, but she was also one of the most courageous voices in the world for preborn children. She emphasized the point that, if we have a society that says it’s okay
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How do I get my loved one back to Church?
Dear Parish Family, So many have wished and prayed that their loved ones or friends would find their way back to their Catholic faith or encounter Jesus in a transformative way. Well, these heartfelt desires of many are precisely why we offer Alpha courses! They are part of the answer to your prayers because Alpha
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Jesus Calls You by Name
Dear Parish Family, Jesus Christ has a good thing going. God saw the mess humanity had gotten itself into and that the human family had rejected him, the very source of its existence and happiness. The Good News is that he refuses to forsake us. In fact, God the Son became one of us in
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Welcome Clare!
Dear Parish Family, With Hannah’s recent departure we didn’t want to lose the momentum of having our youth program. Thus we have hired an Interim Coordinator of Youth Formation. I’ve asked her to introduce herself below. Fr. Chas Hello Parishioners of Saint John! It is such an honor to be able to join
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Highlights from World Youth Day!
Dear Parish Family, In today’s first reading, the Lord says, “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.” What a fitting verse to begin sharing with you about last month’s experience of serving 13 young people as a spiritual guide at World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. World
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Fathers Brian and Chas on JTV
Did you see Fathers Brian and Chas on JTV this week? Watch below and hear Fr. Chas telling us a little about World Youth Day and Fr. Brian telling us more about himself!
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Parish Staff Developments
Dear Parish Family, As you may have noticed in last week’s bulletin, World Youth Day was a particularly memorable time for our Coordinator of Youth Ministry, Hannah Stevens. Her now fiancé, Tom, got down on one knee and proposed to her! With her engagement, her continual training in the Theology of the Body and assisting
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Back from World Youth Day
Dear Parish Family, It is good to be back after our World Youth Day journey in beautiful Kraków, Poland with our young people to reaffirm and celebrate our Catholic faith with Pope Francis! We got back to Michigan on Monday, the day after an nearly 2 million people at World Youth Day celebrated Mass with
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Ten Year Plan Update
Dear Parish Family, The Building & Grounds Committee have been busy! With the expertise of Phil Shaugnessy, whose occupation entails related work for the University of Michigan, an inspection of our church and school campuses was completed, which resulted in pages of maintenance issues that need to be addressed. They were prioritized from 1 to
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Do Not Lose Hope!
Dear Parish Family, The troubling incidents of violence we have heard about in recent times both here in Jackson and in other parts of the country, as well as the state of political discourse and disregard for the law, have gotten many of us worried about the future of our society. The hostility and chaos
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A year of seminary has flown so quickly!
“So many of you have asked about how our former seminarian intern is doing at seminary. So, in place of my column this Sunday, I’ve asked him to share how his first year of seminary has gone.” – Fr. Chas Canoy It truly doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was saying my goodbyes
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5 New Priests & 2 Deacons for our Diocese!
Dear Parish Family, Last weekend, our Diocese of Lansing witnessed the ordination of five new priests and two new deacons. It was a day of great rejoicing! I still remember the day of my ordination on June 11, 2005 as the best of my life because it has led to all the joy of being
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The Annual Stewardship Appreciation Dinner
Dear Parish Family, Last Thursday, we had our annual Stewardship Appreciation Dinner to recognize those in our parish who have given so much of their time, talent, and treasure. The staff did a great job with putting the evening together. We began with Holy Mass and then had our “stars” go down a red carpet
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Congratulations to our Graduates!
Dear Parish Family, CONGRATULATIONS to our graduates from all the high schools in the Jackson area! We are recognizing this significant moment in their lives at the 10:00 a.m. Mass this weekend, followed by a special catered brunch for them and their families. Our very own John Slough gave a wonderful farewell address at the
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Corpus Christi – Not Just a City in Texas!
Dear Parish Family, Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, better known as Corpus Christi. That’s not just a city in Texas; it is Latin for the Body of Christ. Show honor and praise to Jesus for this supreme gift of himself by coming to the regional Corpus Christi
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The Healing Power of the Holy Spirit!
Dear Parish Family, Our parishioners are raving about the Pentecost Healing Service that happened last Sunday evening, which lasted FIVE hours long, from 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.! There was not enough space in the pews for everyone to have a seat, as Fr. Mathias Thelen led the congregation in prayer for an outpouring of
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Pentecost Adortion & Healing Service
Our parish will be blessed this weekend, May 15, with Father Mathias Thelen coming to visit and lead us in a very special Pentecost Healing Service. The service will begin shortly after the 5pm Sunday Mass concludes, 6:30pm. The healing service will include Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, opportunities for Reconciliation, Worship and Praise music,
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Congratulations to our First Communicants!
Dear Parish Family, What a special weekend for our St. John family as 55 children received their First Holy Communion! Because there were so many, we had two different Masses, one on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at St. Joseph Oratory and the other on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at St. John Church. Seeing these children