+JMJ
Dear Parishioners,
First, thanks to those who made the junior high and high school girls’ retreat at Antwerp a couple weeks ago a great success! There were 27 in attendance. I was able to experience a couple short segments of the retreat; it seemed to be a great atmosphere, with fine teaching from the heart of the Church. Special thanks to our own Sr. Mary Knuckles, and then to Carol and Kristen Kurivial who gave the main talks for the day.
Thanks also to the crew that is working on the new white boards for classrooms in our Divine Mercy School. Steve Crowley led the crew, which was comprised of Joe Linder, Jake Eklund and Peter Grodi.
Thanks also to Roseann Glass and all those who have been helping with the scraping, patching and painting of the sacristy at our Payne campus. They are saving us thousands of dollars by their work.
Thanks also to so many who have put such time and talent into planning and preparing for Marcus Grodi’s talk at our Antwerp campus: menu planners, shoppers, cooks, setup people, cleanup people, our pianist for the evening, the meditation song quartet, etc., etc. How awesome when so many people have a hand in making a great event happen! Thanks especially to Marcus Grodi for offering to give the talk, inspiring us and helping us raise the last bit of money for completing the Antwerp belltower repair.
The Antwerp bell tower project a week ago ran into a snag with the electrical wires being too close to the tower for a manlift. The problem has been solved by rerouting the power lines. We divided this unexpected cost ($2800) with the contractor, and progress continued this week. Along with the belltower repair, we will be replacing the stairwell and choir loft carpet that has been destroyed from years of debris being ground into it. We will finish it all off with some new chairs in the loft.
I have recently heard from several people that it would be nice if I stood at the side entrances to greet people from time to time after Masses. So I will try to do just that, switching places with the deacons after Masses each weekend. [Anybody wanting to avoid me after Mass will have to look in advance to see which entrance I am using 🙂 ]
For those youth entering their high school years, and for those youth who have been in high school but have not been part of our first year of YDisciple, please consider the upcoming kickoff event July 31st. It will be a family event out at the old Klinger’s Beach near Paulding. The afternoon will start with a presentation of Ydisciple, including an explanation of program components, short video clips, and then some testimonials from participants. Then we will have food and fellowship time. Bring lawn chairs, too. You can bring yard games, and you can come prepared to swim in the quarry there. Please call the office to RSVP, so that we can plan the right amount of food. A card has been mailed to homes about the event. All the while I am watching the numbers to see if we have to train any more group leaders for the fall. For everybody, please pray for the endeavor, so that our YDisciple program be even more enriching for ours high school youth next year.
Finally, please – junior high, high school, and college men – consider joining seminarian Peter Grodi, transitional Deacon Tony Cosi from Delphos St. John’s (just ordained this spring) and myself for an evening to talk about discerning God’s will for your vocation. It is a “Vocations Exploration Night”. You will have the chance to ask many questions about seminary and priestly life. We’ll have a short video, then a couple seminarian stories, a cookout and some fellowship (perhaps around some pick-up yard sports)…. all at Ruth and Bill Graham’s place near Paulding. This will happen on Wednesday, July 20th at 5pm or so. Please watch the bulletin for further information. But already you can call the parish office to reserve a spot. We would love to have every junior high, high school and college young man in the parish present!
Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Poggemeyer
