Dear Parishioners,

  I am excited to begin my ministry with you! I will be on vacation this week to help me prepare for the transition to come to Chardon and Thompson, so my first day with you will be Wednesday, August 4. It’s a great day to start this new assignment with you since it's the feast day of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests!

 Please know that this weekend, I will be celebrating my last weekend with my St. Mary Hudson parish family. Interestingly, this is their "Gratitude Weekend" with receptions following each Mass to celebrate coming back together after a tough pandemic year. I want to share with you what I wrote in the bulletin for the parishioners of St. Mary Hudson this weekend:

"I find it appropriate that on my last weekend [at St. Mary Parish in Hudson] we celebrate our “Gratitude Weekend" receptions after Masses. A Farewell Mass and Reception will take place for me [at St. Mary Hudson] at a later date, but this weekend is a celebration of what makes us a parish family, and that’s something so much bigger than me! I entered into this family when I came here three years ago, and I will always belong to the St. Mary [Hudson] family because the Lord chose to entrust us to each other for the time we had together. Those bonds look different when our priests or fellow parishioners come and go, but those bonds don’t dissolve. We are forever engraved in one another’s hearts by the Lord’s own handwriting."

  I want you to know that I really feel the impact that a parish family has on me as a priest. I've been blessed to minister at Ss. Robert & William Parish in Euclid with Fr. John Betters, and at St. Mary Parish in Hudson with Fr. Ed Kordas and Fr. Larry Jurcak. These priests hold a special place in my heart as well as the people we served together. We are one Catholic family in Christ, and we should recognize that in our relationships with one another. As I prepare to come to Chardon and Thompson, please know that I am ready to share in your joys and sorrows. Parish families go through a lot together, and we pull through because the Lord is good, He has us in His hands, and He entrusts us to one another.

  On that note, I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot about the language of entrustment, reciprocal giving, and invitation from me! This language comes from St. John Paul II's (JPII) Theology of the Body (TOB). That's where I've been most influenced in my own priestly and pastoral formation. JPII's TOB offers the best key I know of to unlock the mysteries of God hidden in the heart of man and woman.

  I look forward to sharing in so many graces of our Lord with you!

Let us pray for one another,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow