State of the Parish – “God’s Co-Workers in Unifying the Human Family”
Dear Parish Family,
The bitter division and demonization of one another this past year have caused so much stress and broken the hearts of countless people in our country. Such entrenched conflict begins with the insecurity and bitter conflict within our own hearts. We’ve forgotten who we are as sons and daughters of God and the glorious destiny he has for us, which is the result of having cast God out of our society and our lives. Having succumbed to the temptations of the world and its diabolical ruler, we endanger our souls, and our youth grow up not knowing their noble identity and their eternal destiny and thus can feel lost in this broken world.
As the Body of Christ here in Jackson County and beyond, that’s where you and I come in! As the Church, we are God’s co-workers in Jesus’ mission to rescue and unify humanity in the one family of God. That is the deepest desire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us” (Jn 17:21). Despite our brokenness, God desires union with his lost people. Jesus charges us who were once lost with the duty and honor to invite them towards this glorious destiny, the goodness of which surpasses what the heart of man can even imagine!
Fulfilling this destiny to return to humanity’s roots and to be eternally part of God’s family is the means by which we ultimately overcome the division in the world today. We as a parish help accomplish that mission by, first and foremost, living the unity we desire for the world and inviting others into that integral unity as the Body of Christ. This is the work of evangelization for which the Church exists.
In these following pages, you will see how we practically utilize the resources with which God has blessed us through your faithful stewardship. We as a parish staff have striven to align all our resources to accomplish the mission of forming a community of missionary disciples who desire to reach all of Jackson County and beyond. As the spiritual father of our community, I am so proud of our parishioners’ contributions of time, talent, and treasure!
There is much more work to be done, however, as the Lord reminds us that the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. You may have noticed that our Sunday offertory for the fiscal year of 2023-24 did not meet our operational expenses during that time period. This is despite having to cut our budget for a second year in a row and being very lean in our expenditures. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful staff, led by our top-notch parish leadership team (PLT): Tara Brady (School Principal), Michael Philpott (Director of Parish Operations), and Shayne Slough (Director of Parish Life). Without our staff, our parish simply does not function as it should. So please help us retain them!
For this reason and so that we do not have to cut our budget for a third year straight, we encourage every parishioner, if you are not already, to be faithful to each part of the 5-4-1 model of stewardship that we have embraced here at St. John (5% of household income to the Sunday offertory for operational expenses, 4% to the Capital Projects Fund, and 1% to the Diocesan Services Appeal). Once we are faithful to that foundational tithe, then we can better imitate the spirit of that poor widow from last week’s Gospel whom Jesus singled out and praised. She showed us that we do not have to be rich to greatly honor and delight our Lord; we simply need to be faithful and generous with what we do have. For those of you who are, I am so very grateful to God for you!
Accompanying others to Jesus, who brings about the healing and unity of the human family, is the purpose of our parish, whether at the church or at the school. Thank you for being God’s faithful co-worker for the salvation of humanity!
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas Canoy