The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Dear Parish Family & Friends,

Thank you to all who came to our Parish Visioning Night.  Your presence, prayer, and love for our parish were a great encouragement to me.  For those who were unable to join us, I wanted to share three clear pillars that emerged as the heart of our parish vision through our listening, prayer, and discernment.

• A School of Prayer — that we might become men, women, and families rooted in daily personal prayer and nourished by the liturgy, learning to hear the voice of the Lord and abide in His love.

• Authentic Catholic Culture — that our homes and parish life reflect the beauty, joy, clarity, and richness of our Catholic faith, forming disciples who live their faith intentionally in the world.

• Community — that St. John’s would always be a family of families; a place where every person is known, loved, and accompanied, living as one family in Christ.

As a first step in living this vision, I want to personally invite you and your family to join us for a new offering this Advent: our Advent Formation Series, held on the first three Fridays of Advent. We will share dinner from 5:00–6:00pm, and then offer formation and fellowship for all ages from 6:00–7:30pm, including childcare for our youngest parishioners.

These evenings will help us enter a daily rhythm of prayer so that, as we approach Christmas, we are truly ready to receive Christ, God-with-us, not as an idea or memory, but as a living presence in the reality of our homes, our hearts, and our daily lives.

My hope is that our whole parish will walk this path together. Whether you are long-time parishioners or newly arrived, whether your prayer life is strong or just beginning, there is a place for you here. Let us take the first steps of this renewed vision side by side, learning to abide in Christ so that our lives may bear abundant fruit.

Peace.

- Fr. Kennell