I am very excited to celebrate Christmas with you this year. For those of you I have not had the privilege of meeting, my name is Fr. Scott Goodfellow, and I was assigned as administrator of St. Mary, Chardon and St. Patrick, Thompson parishes in August of this past year. What a joy it's been to be with these communities the past few months! I look forward to many more times of joy and growth to come. If you are visiting or new to our parish, please know of our parish community's prayers for you during your visit and for your travels this holiday season. We are so happy you are with us!
Christmas is all about centering our hearts on Jesus, just like Mother Mary. I invite you to enter into this season with her and ask her to show you how to stay centered on Christ throughout all the twists and turns of life.
This Christmas, our parish community is delighted to offer you some gifts at the end of our Christmas Eve and Day Masses. The first gift is a book by Matthew Kelly entitled, "Life is Messy." This book focuses on how God can work with and heal our brokenness. The second gift is a candy cane with a special candy cane prayer attached. Thinking of how to tie these two gifts together, I propose two themes for you: (1) "Life is messy, but still pretty sweet!", and (2) "Broken candy canes can be eaten, and broken lives can be healed." I hope at least one of those rings true for you this holiday season!
After this Sunday, I will be away for a week of vacation. I am grateful for the time I will get to spend with some friends and some much-needed rest after a blessed but busy Advent. As always, I will keep you and your intentions in my prayers and celebrations of the Mass while I am away. As Fr. Spisak prepares for an upcoming hip replacement surgery in January, he will write to you in next week's bulletin. Please keep him in your prayers over the next few weeks. Here are a few things to keep on your radar:
Daily Mass Schedule Changes Please note the changes to the daily Mass schedule which I outlined in the past two weekends' bulletins (my December 12 article clarifying the need for these changes is available for viewing on our website and Mass Times pages). These changes only affect the daily Mass schedule and begin the week of January 3:
Monday, 7:30 a.m. (same)
Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. (same)
Wednesday, 12:00 p.m. (moved from 7:30 a.m., Mass with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration to follow until 7:00 p.m.)
Thursday, 7:30 a.m. (same)
Friday, 1:30 p.m. (no 7:30 a.m. Mass; same time whether school is in or out of session)
Mass Schedule This Week and New Year's Please see the Mass schedule in today's bulletin for Mass times. Here are a few highlights:
No Confessions or Vigil Mass on Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25.
Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family will be at the normal Sunday a.m. Mass times on Sunday, December 26.
No Mass the morning weekday of Monday, December 27 this week.
Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God will take place on Friday, December 31 for the Vigil, and on the morning of Saturday, January 1.
Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany will take place at our usual weekend Mass times on Saturday, January 1 for the Vigil, and the morning of Sunday, January 2.
Synod on Synodality A Synod is a "journeying together" that engages us in a process of listening to the Holy Spirit and dialoguing with our needs and the needs of those around us. Christ models the synodal way in His Personhood in how He accompanies and engages with people in truth and charity. He invites us to imitate His approach of synodality. The Synod on Synodality offers each of us an opportunity to be involved in this synodal process of listening and dialogue around the themes of communion, participation, and mission.
It is therefore my pleasure to invite you to a Synod Listening Session on Wednesday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the Banquet Room. This will be an evening of prayer, discernment, and dialogue as we (1) reflect on our experience of the Church, (2) come to a deeper understanding of what communion, participation, and mission look like for our Church and in our parish and school community, and (3) process the themes that arose from our November Listening Sessions.
Please RSVP for the Synod Listening Session by visiting
clicking here or scan the QR code here in the article. You may also visit or call the parish office to RSVP.
The fruits of our reflections will be shared in aggregate with our diocese, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and find their way to the October 2023 Synod meeting of the bishops of the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, our local discussion about our November Listening Sessions will push forward the main themes and assist me in our pastoral planning efforts as I engage in conversations with Parish Staff, Parish Council, and Finance Council. I appreciate your support of furthering the works of Christ at our parish and diocese, and in our community and universal Church!
Make it a great last week of 2021, remember the blessings of the Lord this year, and stay hopeful in the year ahead. We are truly journeying together, and I am blessed by your companionship.