Dear Parish Family,
Can you believe we already begin the Lenten Season next week?! Ash Wednesday is February 10. As you ponder “what to give up,” may each of us focus on sacrificing those things in our lives that get in the way of deepening our relationship with Jesus our Lord and taking advantage of the many faith formation opportunities we have this year. Is it too much work that gets in the way? Is it surfing the internet or social media? Is it sports? Is it simply too many events on the calendar that keep me away from investing quality time developing my life of faith? Whatever it is, Lent is the time to make the sacrifice of even very good things in order to make time for the One who is the Source of all goodness. Let us not mistake created things for the Creator.
To that end, I encourage you to take part in the Alpha Course, which will be on our Faith Formation Fridays. Our Lenten Soup ‘n’ Salad goes until 6:15 p.m., and then the Alpha presentation and discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. Should you decide to take part in the Stations of the Cross at 5:00 p.m., there is plenty of time to get a bite at 5:45 p.m.
Fostering Parish Life
It has been a year and a half since I arrived as your pastor. I wanted to spend the first year getting to know our parishioners, which was the purpose of those fireside chats. In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, I would like to share and get your feedback on a vision for bringing about an even more vibrant parish life that encourages lay involvement and involves many lay leaders from our faith community. If you are interested in finding out more, please come to a meeting this very week:
Thursday, February 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the St. John Community Room
I look forward to seeing you there and getting your feedback and hopefully your participation! Please call the parish office and let Leslee know if you will be able to attend or you can send an email message to info@stjohnjackson.org.
Church & School Photo Directory
If you haven’t signed up for a photo session yet, please don’t forget to do so! We are in our final two weeks with the last day being Saturday, Feb. 20! Help me and your fellow parishioners know you by name! Knowing the folks with whom we worship is the first step to living out as a faith community the command of Christ to love one another as he has loved us. Here are the two ways to sign up:
- ONLINE by going to the “Lifetouch” link on our website.
- Stop by the Parish Office during business hours where a staff person will help you.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas