Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
While most council and committee groups take a hiatus during July at Saint Patrick and St. Malachi parishes, life on both campuses is active! I am pleased to report that the Saint Vincent de Paul hot meals continue to be served on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as does the Food Pantry on the first and third Wednesdays. St. Malachi’s Monday Night Meal and Saturday Morning Breakfast programs, in addition to the Back Door Ministry operat-ing Monday through Friday, continue to provide for our neighbors. When adding them all up, approximately 1300 meals are served every week. That’s nearly 68, 000 meals each year between both parishes. We thank the many parishes and organizations who contribute to our efforts! Both campuses are seeing physical transfor-mation as St. Pat continues the extensive tuck-pointing project on the church’s west side and the new office space in the former St. Malachi school building is nearing com-pletion as we prepare to vacate the rectory when the sale to Stella Maris closes. Staff members and other parish leaders have been using this month to plan calendars and review events for the 2024-2025 season. This in-cludes preparation for OCIA (formally known as RCIA) and our Children’s Faith Formation program, as well as mapping out our liturgical celebrations for the upcoming year. Young Adult Ministry and other adult faith for-mation opportunities are being planned, as well. We also welcomed our new Administrative Manager, Bob Knopf, who is serving both parishes and St. Malachi’s new Campus Operations Coordinator, Frank Budziak. They will be working with Scott Menningen until his re-tirement in October. Parish leaders also continue to re-flect on the many recommendations made by our Collab-oration Initiative’s Working Groups who collectively in-vested over 1200 hours of their time since March. These conversations are assisting the Collaboration Steering Committee in shaping final decisions next month. Most importantly, an average of 350 parishioners and guests gather for the celebration of Mass each weekend, receiv-ing our Eucharistic Lord who is truly the source of all grace and joy. And we look forward to hearing about the experiences of our parishioners who recently returned from the National Eucharistic Congress! As we turn to August, please be sure to continue reviewing our parish bulletins for important updates and information. And please be sure to mark your calendar for Sunday, August 25, for St. Pat’s annual picnic with 11am Mass followed by delicious food and fun. Great time to mingle! pray that all of you are enjoying these beautiful summer days with loved ones and friends. Gratefully yours in Christ, Fr. Gurnick
Administrator’s Column
A few special intentions have been on my heart and I would ask you to join me in lifting them up in prayer.
First of all, may we continue to pray for peace, especially in light of the tragic loss of life at the Trump rally last weekend. May the death of an innocent bystander and those others who were injured along with former President Trump not be in vain but bring our discourse and rhetoric back to reason. Like President Biden stated in response to the tragedy, “there is no place in America for this kind of violence – for any violence…we can’t allow this violence to be normalized.” The president is correct and we Catholics, as faithful citizens, have an opportunity to lead by example over the next few months as we participate in the political discourse and as we discern the best candidate to reflect our values as a people called to follow Jesus in all things. May we do so by using our well-formed intellectual and spiritual faculties with peaceful hearts.
Second, I ask you to remember the nearly 250 Catholics from our diocese (four from our parishes) who are attending the National Eucharistic Congress in Indiana. As our ambassadors, they represent all of us and we look forward to their safe return to share their experiences with us. May this truly be an opportunity for all to grow closer together through the grace of our Eucharistic Lord!
Finally, as you know, our Collaboration Initiative continues. These past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the many recommendations each of the Working Groups offered for consideration. Over the next few weeks, I will turn to our parishes’ leadership for their input and consultation. My hope is to make some decisions by the end of August as to what ways we can work together and what next steps are required. I thank everyone who has participated in our Working Groups and those who have offered valuable input.
Please continue to pray for the success of this work as we strengthen our mission on Cleveland’s near west side.
Prayerfully yours,
Fr. Gurnick
Administrator Column
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For the last two weeks, our parish bulletin printed two messages regarding the special August Election on Issue 1. The source of these messages may be found on the diocesan website’s Office for Human Life.
While the Ohio Catholic Conference has no position on Issue I since the issue (in and of itself) has no moral content, it is important for citizens to be aware of Issue 1 and why it has important implications regarding November’s Amendment to the State Constitution.
A few parishioners contacted us with a concern that there are conflicting messages, namely, between what the Ohio Conference of Bishops have stated and the bulletin content. In response to these requests for further clarity, I invite parishioners to go to the diocesan website (dioceseofcleveland.org) and access the Office for Human Life page:
https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/offices/parish-life/office-for-human-life
There is helpful information – as well as additional links – to assist voters in understanding the positions of the Ohio Catholic Conference and the Diocese of Cleveland.
Together may we continue to defend the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death.
In Christ Our Life,
Fr. Gurnick