Dear Friends of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake,
On behalf of Fr. Jim and all of us at the Pastorate of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake, I would like to wish you all a very Blessed and Merry Christmas! The Christmas Season is such a wonderful time of the year, as it reminds us that our God dwelt among us through the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. His birth was foretold by the prophets, acknowledged by the host of angels, and was witnessed to by the rising of the star in the east. Together, we continue to remember his birth as we wait in joyful hope for his coming again. May this Christmas season fill your hearts and your homes with the love, joy, peace and hope that Jesus Christ offers to each and every one of us.
We have reached the six month mark since the launching of our Pastorate relationship between our two beloved parishes. This has been a new experience for all of us, but especially for St. Jane Frances, with the retirement of Msgr. Carl in July and the arrival of Fr. Jim and myself at the parish. But there also have been transitions at OLC as well. We are still in the early days of getting to know one another. As we all know, transitions can be stressful, but hopefully this transition has not been too stressful for you. Fr. Jim and I have been deliberate in trying to make it as smooth as possible, and we desire to continue doing so.
As we prepare to enter into the New Year, I wanted to give you a sense of where our Pastorate will be going. As you know, the Archbishop’s pastoral plan called A Light Brightly Visible 2.0 is a pastoral letter outlining our need to renew the mission of the Church and re-energize our Pastorate for the mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to our parish communities. In order for us to prepare for this task, our Pastorate will be using next year to begin a process of listening, gathering, discerning, and planning for our future: asking ourselves to reflect on our strengths, opportunities, and challenges so that we may have the necessary organizational structures in place to support our Pastorate’s mission.
I know each and every one of us loves our Church and loves our parish. I hope we will also grow to
love our Pastorate and unite ourselves in our common mission. What we sometimes say at Christmastime is also true when it comes to our Pastorate mission: Jesus is the reason for the Season! Jesus is the reason for our existence, and his mission is our mission as well. There is much work to be done, but for now, please enjoy this time with family and friends as we celebrate our Savior’s birth! Merry Christmas!
Thank you for keeping St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake in your daily prayers!
God Bless,
Father Steve
