be moving to St. Robert’s in Flushing the beginning of August. I apologize for the last-minute nature of this: it is something that has been in the works for a while but has been held up from the normal timeline of announcement and priest moves due to difficulties in the Visa process for the new priest coming to replace him.
Fr. Ginu will be replaced by Fr. Paul, another priest from his same religious community. Fr. Paul will hopefully arrive around the 23rd of July. It is poor timing that I am taking off for vacation on the 21st,. But Fr. Ginu will be with him for that week to help Fr. Paul get acclimated and show him the ropes of our parishes. Fr. Paul was ordained in 2013, one year ahead of me, and has most recently been principal of a Catholic school.
Fr. Ginu has all the Masses this weekend to say goodbye. Next weekend, on Sunday the 21st, there will be a light reception following both the 9:30am Mass at St. Mary on the Lake and the 11am Mass at Sacred Heart if you want to give him your regards.
I am going to miss Fr. Ginu very much. He has been a great blessing to our parishes and a good priest friend. I always appreciated his good humor and wisdom from his years of ministry. Not to mention the many card games over the years. He will continue to serve our Diocese well and I know will be a blessing for Fr. Brian Lenz who just became pastor at St. Robert’s at the beginning of July. Thank you Fr. Ginu!
As you know, Ron Stacey from Sacred Heart has been in the formation program to be a permanent Deacon. The next stage for him is to be instituted as an Acolyte, one who serves on the Altar. That Mass will be Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at St. Mary Cathedral at 5:15 PM. Over the coming year I will have Ron serving with me on a regular basis to build his familiarity with the Liturgy and all that happens – both planned and unplanned at times! After receiving the ministry of Acolyte, the next step is ordination to the Diaconate in the coming spring. Congratulations Ron!
STEWARDSHIP FOR SAINTS AND SCHOLARS. Both Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake will be participating in the Diocese of Lansing’s Capital Campaign for Catholic Education, known as the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars Campaign, or S3 for short. I was asked to be on the Clergy Committee and have been meeting with the Steier group on behalf of the Diocese over the last year in preparation of rolling out this historic campaign. (The Faith magazine has done a nice job talking about the campaign, particularly its most recent issue). Unlike Witness to Hope back in 2016, which focused mainly on parish needs, the S3 campaign seeks to keep Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lansing accessible, affordable and on mission. The goal for each parish is set at 1.25 of the three-year average of the parish’s offertory. 20% of each dollar given will come back to the parish for our own needs. Once the goal is reached 100% stays at the parish. I will be saying more about this over the coming month as we prepare to start in earnest in August.
God Bless,
Fr. Todd
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