New Mass Schedule

frlorig Bulletin Article January 4, 2022 | 0

Starting the weekend of February 5/6, the Mass schedule will be as follows:

Saturdays, 5pm at St. Thomas More
Saturdays, 5:30pm at St. Joan of Arc
Sundays, 8am at St. Joan of Arc
Sundays, 10:30am at St. Thomas More

Somebody told me after Mass the other day that I was destroying their parish. If you need someone to be angry at, then be my guest. It’s misplaced, but I understand your need to be angry at someone. Let me remind everyone that by 2030, a short eight years away, we are projected to have 88 active priests on hand in our archdiocese, approximately 30 fewer priests than today, a -30% drop from our 2018 numbers.

While archdiocese has been fairly mum about this publicly for some reason, it is beginning another round of pastoral planning. The previous planning, which I was a part of, wasn’t drastic enough and we still will not have enough priests to fill all of our assignments. Here’s the outline of what they are planning.

Phase 1: Initial Consultation and Drafting. Now until Feb 2022 Clergy Conference
Phase 2: Consultation and Revision. Mid-February – December 2022.
Phase 3: Transition to New Reality. January – June 2023
Phase 4: Implementation of New Reality. Wave 1 begins 1 July 2023. Wave 2 follows on 1 July 2024.

I do not know what the “new reality” will look like, but I doubt it means keeping parishes open that have no good reason to stay open. A parish worth keeping open in this “new reality” will probably need to be committed to drawing people to Christ and walking with them on a clear path to growing as a disciple. Locking in a partnership with other parishes now and reestablishing a culture around these two things is a parish’s best bet not just to “stay open” but to actually fulfil the mission of Jesus Christ.

To this end, starting February 2, 2022, Midtown Catholic will be hosting a program called Return which consists of 7 weekly workshops.

Written in 2016, this series works to help equip participants in navigating the journey of drawing their loved one to the faith at the same time empowers them in their own spiritual life. There is a fear, and a guilt and a hurt that happens when a loved one stops practicing their Catholic Faith. We not only try to equip people to have these conversations with their loved ones, but to give them some peace in the situation. Each night has a specific focus that utilizes a multitude of resources. These nights work together to walk participants toward the path of true evangelization.
https://returnfaith.org/what-is-return

More details to come, but if you would like to learn more about Return, you can contact TJ Simpson at 402-556-1456 or tjsimpson@midtowncatholic.church.

– Fr. Jeff Lorig, Pastor