From Our Pastor
Dear Folks,
Survey? Remember that from last year? Ok, I didn’t formally publish the results in here, but didn’t forget that you deserve an insight into the results. There were three focuses of the survey:
1. Extra Spanish Mass! This was the primary driver of the survey, provided results that were mixed at best, and led me to try to think of an “out-of-the-box” solution. The need and desire for another spanish Mass came through, but there was no clear winner on where/when the Mass should be. The least popular option was adding a spanish Mass at Holy Cross Academy. The most popular option was changing the 7pm Mass Saturday to Spanish. However, the number of folks who indicated they would attend that Spanish Mass was less than the English speakers who would ‘lose their Mass!’ Not ideal, to say the lest.
Thus, the “out-of-the-box” solution: a 7 pm Saturday evening Mass in Spanish at St. Jude’s! I started by jokingly calling it ‘St. Mary’s south!’ When I approached Fr. O’Keefe about this idea, he was willing to talk, but there were things to work through. We have gotten there, so the Mass will begin on the first Saturday of Lent! (February 17th) The Mass will be celebrated by a combination of our priests, and guest priests who regularly help St. Judes. I was happy to tell the 7pm folks here, that they won’t be losing their Mass!
2. Capital Campaign. The results here were more about helping staff understand the impact and reception of the Capital Campaign. This was incorporated into our methodology and was helpful in showing that after receiving visits, parishioners were coming away happy with the level of information, and better informed about the proscess and goals of the campaign.
3. Economic Impact. The final area was connected with economic impact. This information was useful in our making the case that St. Mary’s provides an important economic impact in Fredericksburg. This did help in shaping our strategy and answering City staff questions as we worked through the special exception application with the City in order to rezone some of our church property.
So thank you for your feedback! While I usually produce pages of statistics for the number crunchers to review, your feedback did convince me to seek a new, outside-the-box solution to the Mass question! If you really want to see some of the numbers, email me, and I’d be happy to send you the PDF for your perusal!
Lent Coming and Retreat!
Father James Searby will give our parish retreat the first full week of Lent, Feb 20-22 (Tues – Thurs). Father is a dynamic speaker, with a popular podcast (Holiness for the Working Day). I am confident that you will be edified and inspired! Mark your calendar and read the bulletin for more info as we get closer.
VA March and Bishop’s letter
That same week, on Wednesday Feb 21, will be the Virginia March for Life. With the renewed attack on the sanctity of human life, it is more critical than ever to work on the local level to serve and defend life. Please see our bishop’s statement about the recent rally in Manassas attacking this sacred value, as it is included here in English & Spanish.
I’ll see you next week, as I am typing this in the Houston airport, on my way to Utah for the annual sacred ski trip!!
pax,
Father John Mosimann
