Dear Parishioners, +JMJ
First, some seminarian news. Please don’t forget the ordination of Deacon Scott Perry to the priesthood on May 26. And, note the time difference: It’s 10 AM for the ordination Mass, rather than 11 AM, as it has been for many years. I’d love to have as many of us attend as possible, since our parish hosted him for a very helpful and formational summer. The ordination happens at the Holy Rosary Cathedral on Collingwood Avenue in Toledo. We will have Deacon Scott back with us the weekend of June 23-24 for Masses of Thanksgiving. Then we’ll have an outdoor reception for him at my rectory immediately after the 10:30am Mass that wekeend. It should be a great time.
The second seminarian item of news: Brad McNeal, just finishing up his second-pre-theology year in Cincinatti Mount Saint Mary’s seminary, will be with us for the summer. He will arrive May 29th, and then leave July 31st. His first weekend here, he will says some words of introduction for us before each of the Masses. What a grace for us all to be able to help seminarians on their journey to the priesthood!
Next, some information for anybody who helps with our liturgies. It has taken a couple years getting the project finished, but we have finally gotten liturgical ministry information sheets onto our website. The effort started with seminarian Peter Grodi two summers ago. He put the basic sheets together for us: going through each weekend of the liturgical year, for the entire three-year Sunday cycle. Each sheet contains lector notes on the readings for that weekend (Sometimes there are options, and these sheets tell you which to prepare). Then there are notes for altar server schedulers (How many should you schedule?), ushers, musicians (Which sequences are required?), sacristans and decorators. After Peter put the sheets together, I slowly went through them (for the past two years!) to adjust them a bit as needed.
You can find the ministry liturgy information sheets on our website. At our homepage, pull down the “Ministries” tab, and find “Ministry Schedules”. Open that tab, and then scroll down past the ministry schedules to find the “Liturgical Ministry Sheets” for each week. Hopefully this system will allow ministers (especially musicians, cantors and lectors) to prepare well in advance, with full knowledge of details for that given liturgy. It will also be more efficient for all of us, so – especially at major holiday times – there will be less need for phone calls to verify what we are celebrating, which readings to choose, which musical sequences are required, etc.
I think this system will serve us all well. Of course, I am sure I missed some things on these sheets. We will adjust things as we encounter any mistakes in these sheets; or if anybody has ideas for how to improve them. But, at least we have a strong start. One more item in place to enhance our worship of the Holy Trinity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! So worth all the effort we put in! And, as always, so many thanks to everybody who puts work in, week after week, to make our liturgies as beautiful as they can be! The Mass is the highest thing we do all week. It supplies everything else we do throughout the week.
Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Poggemeyer
