Dear Parish Family,
Welcome back to Fr. Zachary Mabee, who will be celebrating a Mass of Thanksgiving at today’s 5:00 p.m. Mass! We are so proud of you, Fr. Zach. Best wishes to your assignment to the cluster of parishes in Flint!
St. John Cemetery
After this past Father’s Day weekend, I received some complaints about the state of the cemetery and its lack of improvement since Memorial Day. I not only want to apologize again, but also take concrete steps that will more effectively address the challenges there. Thus, to help bring the cemetery grounds back to its beautiful condition, two specific actions were taken to this end:
1) Two more part-time employees were hired in addition to the first.
2) Dave Forner will serve as a consultant for this summer.
Many of you know Dave because he was the head of the cemetery for over thirty years. He knows St. John Cemetery like the back of his hand, and many of you have commented just how beautifully he kept the grounds. Because of these changes, Ben Dandrow will be relieved of his duties at the cemetery. In an effort to save both the cemetery and the parish some funds, I was asking too much in having that Operations Manager position and a leaner maintenance crew handle all four campuses: 1) St. John Church, 2) St. Joseph Oratory, 3) St. John School, and 4) St. John Cemetery. Ben and the maintenance crew is very hard-working and devoted, but was simply spread too thin. I take responsibility for that. We are trying to find ways to be good stewards and stretch the dollar without sacrificing the level of service, but this did not turn out to be one of those ways. The above action steps will allow them to focus and bear their strengths upon the maintenance of the churches, the oratory, and the school.
Shift in Staff Responsibilities
As many of you know, our dear Barb Dwyer is retiring from her position of Coordinator of Senior Ministry. We are sad to see her go, but her husband, Moe, will be a much happier man as a result! Colleen McCormick-Snyder, our current DRE, will now, at least on an interim basis, take on Barb’s former duties. Taking over Colleen’s DRE duties, will be our current part-time Director of Faith Formation, Todd Gale, who I am happy to announce will be with us full-time in that capacity as of August 1!! This shift of duties allowed us to take care of the vacancy of Barb’s position among current employees.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas