OLODP Highlights & Updates

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes,

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers, encouragement, and gifts on my fifth “ordinationversary.” It is a humbling privilege to be a priest and your pastor. God has been very good to me, and I am grateful to you all for being an expression of that goodness.

I would like to take this opportunity to provide a few highlights and updates:

I am happy to report that I have gotten lots of positive feedback about the new Mass schedule. Many people have expressed their appreciation and enjoyment that the churches are fuller and the congregations seem more vibrant. Many people have been taking advantage of the Sunday evening Mass at St. Vivian, and I expect that will continue to grow. Overall, attendance numbers look very good, although it is too soon to tell for sure, and we are still gathering data.

You will find in the bulletin this weekend a decree from Archbishop Casey in response to an appeal from the people of St. Bernard parish. As background, since all employees are Family employees, and the central office serves all of our parishes, each parish contributes to the common expenses (such as office supplies for the central office and salaries) in proportion to the number of people that the parish serves at weekend Mass. The people of St. Bernard appealed to the Archbishop regarding their portion of the assessment arrangement. The Archbishop decreed they would continue to pay the assessed portion, but the Archdiocese will do an audit just to make sure things are fair.

Additionally, we are working hard on updating security systems, such as alarms, cameras, and locks, as well as assessing deferred maintenance needs at all the parishes, working with finance and facility councils to plan and prioritize projects. We are also getting closer to improving our website, space reservation, and maintenance work order platforms.

This week, please keep the staff of the Family of Parishes in your prayers. The staff will enjoy a day of formation at a retreat day, put on by the Archdiocese evangelization staff. It is very important to have well-formed and spiritually nourished staff. And since our parishes pay the assessment to the Archdiocese, it is good to put the resources we pay for each month to good use!

I would also like to highlight the Sanctuary Sunday talks that I have been giving on Sunday evenings, and invite everyone to come and participate. We learn about virtues, prayer, theology and more! The folks who have been attending regularly have really appreciated them, and I would like the talks to benefit even more people. Please come for one or two, as you are able! See later in the bulletin for more details.

I know that all of this hard work will eventually bear fruit! We get to Heaven through the Cross. It’s not easy, but Jesus never promised it would be… instead, He promises to empower us to do hard things. In conclusion, I offer this quotation from the Vatican Instruction on the Pastoral Conversion of the Parish for your consideration:

In order for the journey of the Word to continue, the Christian community must make a determined missionary decision ‘capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.’

Yours in Christ, with Mary,
Fr. Henry Hoffmann