Dear Parishioners:
By now, you may have heard the news
that I will be on Sabbatical beginning next week. This has been something I have worked toward
for nearly a decade, but the timing and possibilities have only now come
together. I have served as Pastor for
more than 20 years of my priesthood, starting January 1, 1996 , and continuing up to the present day.
In that time of ministry, I have learned much. The greatest wisdom that has come to me,
however, is that I need to keep learning.
Every assignment I have experienced
has served to teach me more about the richness of our Catholic Faith. I look forward to continuing to learn as I
strive to deepen my understanding of the charism of the Focolare Movement and
their work on behalf of unity.
I have also discovered new aspects
of myself in each situation where I have been sent to serve, as Associate
Pastor, high school teacher, Vocations minister, Seminary professor, spiritual
director, and Pastor. The People of God
in each place have brought out in me gifts that the Lord planted in my
priesthood for our mutual growth in holiness.
This time of Sabbatical will allow me the opportunity to continue to
learn and grow as well as to reflect more profoundly on the journey we have had
together and what we can accomplish in the future.
The Summer months have been very
busy. As you can imagine, I have been
working very diligently behind the scenes to ensure that everything that needed
to be set for my time away is arranged – calendars, schedules, etc. This has been quite a task! I thank all those who have helped. If I have missed anything, I know you will
get along fine under the leadership of Msgr. Schlegel, who was my
second-to-last Pastor in my time as Associate.
Last week, I took the opportunity to
spend time learning about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd by taking the first
year of training that is offered in the Diocese of Columbus
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