The Ministry of Deacons

A wonderful video on the ministry of Deacons.

Deacon David's ministry help encourage us all in our baptismal call to serve. Deacon David currently works at the hospital. My prayer is that we all hear the call to serve in love.

JoAn Farewell

Last week we had a wonderful send off to a wonderful lady of our parish. JoAn embraced life in our midst and in the world to come. Music had always been part of the her journey. She had planned many things for funeral including the songs and hymns. I thank Leanne and the choir for working with the family to ensure a beautiful celebration.
I have an apology to make. Not knowing what JoAn's plans were and never having experienced the ministry of the funeral choir; I made an off handed remark regarding "Time to say goodbye" which was refered to in her obiturary. It is a beautiful and challenging piece. I was wrong to assume that she had requested this for her funeral and wrong to infer in a blog posting that our choir could not "pull it off". I experienced a funeral music ministry at JoAn's funeral that was not only well planned and well executed; but centrally a gift of prayer and praise.
I hope my apology is accepted and my thanks for their ministry is known.

Funeral Monday

JoAn Groombridge

GROOMBRIDGE, JoAn - October 5, 1926 - August 18, 2010, peacefully at
home. "It's time to say good bye" are lyrics from a song. I've said good
bye to many friends over the years. Now it's my turn to leave. It has
been a busy life and although I have left many jobs undone I'm feeling
sort of tired. I was born JoAn Inslee back in 1926 in Port Huron,
Michigan. I'm the last of the Inslee family. Predeceased by my mother
Lenore Watman, father Horace Inslee, infant brother George Edward and
our sister Joyce Inslee (2008) and husband Warren (2005). I attended St.
Josephs' School and St. Patricks' High School, graduating in 1943. I
then went to industrial chemistry school in Toronto and went on to work
for Polysar for 6 years before marrying Warren Groombridge in 1950. We
raised five sons in Sarnia, Greg & Sabina (White) of Point Edward, Brian
& Kate (Brown) of Toronto, Matthew & Mary (Donohue) of Sarnia, Chris &
Sheila (Hampshire) of Sarnia, and Andrew of Georgetown. We enjoyed our
seven grand children; Brendan, Lindsay, Devon, Zach, Morgan, Rachael,
and Jack. Visitation with the family will be at the McKENZIE & BLUNDY
FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTRE, 431 Christina St. N., Sarnia on Sunday,
August 22nd from 2- 4 & 7-9 p.m. with parish prayers at 8:30 p.m. Mass
of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday at 10 a.m. at Sacred
Heart Church. Interment Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery. As an expression of
sympathy, friends who wish may send memorial donations to the Heart &
Stroke Foundation, 774 London Rd., Sarnia N7T 4Y1 or the Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada, Sarnia Lambton Chapter, 155 Front St. N.,
Unit 110, Sarnia N7T 7V5. Messages of condolence and memories may be
left at www.mckenzieblundy.com <http://www.mckenzieblundy.com/> A tree
will be planted in memory of JoAn Groombridge in the McKenzie & Blundy
Memorial Forest. Dedication service Sunday, September 19th, 2010 at 2:00
p.m. at the Wawanosh Wetlands Conservation Area. 9380790

Installation at St. Michael's & Sacred Heart

Yup... It is offical. Thanks to Very Reverend Jim Higgins for installing me at St. Michael's... I will be installed at Sacred Heart on Thursday.

Caring & Sharing Mass and Potluck

The Caring and Sharing Ministry who support the elderly in our nursing home by bring the presence of Christ to them in Word, Song and Sacrament enjoyed a wonderful potluck on the lake front. Thanks to all.

Transition Update August 19th

Transitional Pastoral Council

A Transitional Pastoral Council has been working since July. Its
primary task is to form a permanent Pastoral Council for our Faith
Community by January 2011. The discernment process will begin in
September. Their secondary task is to assist in discerning some
immediate issue regarding the transitions. This has been most helpful.
The council was formed by the two previous parish councils who discerned
who should be approached. The council currently has three members from
each parish. They have helped formulate the following principles of
transitions.

Principles of Transition

1. We trust that the Holy Spirit will work through all of us to
build a vibrant faith community that transcends even the greatest vision
we could hold at this time.

2. We commit ourselves to the development of a transition process
keeping in mind the requirements and needs of all the faithful in each
parish, the Pastoral Plan of the Diocese and the decision of Bishop
Fabbro in Parish Reorganization.

3. We approach dialogue reverencing each parish as equal partners
in the building of our faith community.

4. We trust God will enable us to realize the common good.

5. We will approach the changes/challenges as opportunities as we
co-create a new reality.

6. We commit ourselves to meaningful dialogue with all the faith
community shareholders.

Transitional Finance Council

The two previous finance councils have been combined into one finance
committee representing both parishes. Eventually they will settle into
periodic meetings to review our finances. For now they are charged with
defining how each parish will contribute to the shared expenses based on
parish size. Each parishes portion will be reviewed annually in
January.

Administrative Team

Our secretaries have finished the initial process of review all the
administrative task they do and reviewing how some of these tasks could
be shared. While we are still growing into this; the two main
portfolios have been defined. Pam Robinson will be our faith
community's financial secretary while Mary Ann Bancroft will focus on
sacramental records. Laurie McCormick will produce the bulletin for our
faith community while Sheila Ramus will remain with us until next year
to help with the transition.

Two Offices - One Home

One of the most personal struggles that a priest has when he moves is
that he leaves his home to make his home with another community. I know
this can be a political football regarding where the priests lives and
works. It is important that the priests live together and that the
priests work closely together with the pastoral Team. To that end Fr.
Antony and I will be living in St. Bright's Grove and having our offices
in Sacred Heart beginning in September. I hope that this can help us to
be present to both communities.

Pamela Robinson will be our faith community's financial secretary. She
will continue to be present at St. Michael's. Mary Ann Bancroft will
become the sacramental secretary for the faith community working out of
Sacred Heart. The pastoral team will have their offices at Sacred
Heart. The main floor of the rectory at Sacred Heart will be renovated
to accommodate offices for the two priests, pastoral minister and our
two youth coordinators. The second floor will become a separate
residence for visiting priests. It will be important to be present in
Bright's Grove so Fr. Antony and I will strive to make our home there
while working out the office at Sacred Heart.

Mission Appeal

Our Associate, Fr Antony, who is from south India, is part of a religious order that does ministry in the north part of India.  His superior, Fr. John Olickal, is visiting from India and  will be speaking to us on the weekend of August 28/29.  He is the Provincial Superior of the Little Flower Province of Little Flower Congregation from India.

He writes, “Little Flower Congregation (C.S.T.) was founded in Kerala, India in the year 1931 by Rev. Fr. Basilius CST (Fr. Thomas Panat). St. Therese, known as “The Little Flower”, is the patroness of the Congregation. Our Charism is: ‘Be little; Serve the little.’ This means imbibing the attitude of a child like simplicity, love, trust and absolute surrender to God in the context of Gospel teaching and Theresian spirituality. The Little Flower Congregation, out of its missionary zeal to proclaim the Good News sent its members to Gorakhpur Region in North India in 1970. Pleased with its missionary works, the Holy See created the new Diocese of Gorakhpur in 1984 and entrusted it to the care of Little Flower Congregation.

In the Little Flower Province we have at present 50 priests, 25 professed Major Seminarians and 35 Minor Seminarians. The newly recruited candidates after their High School are trained in Kerala for one year and are sent to the Novitiate in the Punjab before they make the Profession.

The priests of the Little Flower Province are involved in missionary activities especially in the fields of faith formation and evangelization, education of the poor, community organization, job oriented training and community health education. Adult illiteracy, children not able to attend schools, unemployment, children straying in the streets as orphans, truants from schools and homes, child labor, child trafficking etc. are some of the crucial problems of the place. So we run formal and informal Schools, Vocational Training Centers, Rehabilitation Centers, Orphanages, Dispensaries, Social Development Centers, etc. We also run a Residential School for the children of the Chepang, a hill-tribe of Nepal, who are greatly in need of development. 

From Your Pastor:

I spent this past week with my family at Severn Lodge for our annual summer get away.  Great food, lots of swimming and best of all I can still beat my nieces at cribbage for the time being.   For me where the water hits the land is a good place to contemplate our life.  Here the eternal meets the ever changing.

This summer is the beginning of a time of change for the faith community of St. Michael’s & Sacred Heart.  We are two parishes, one faith community and me; one pastor to bring us together.  Many have asked since we have two priests why not just let each parish have their own pastor?  Good question, yet with the declining number of priests there is a great need for places for priests to minister together, learn and even convalesce.  This is a great place for Fr. Antony to learn about our culture and get his feet on the ground in Canada.  The cluster also prepares us for the possibility that one day we might have only one priest in our faith community.  I am still trying to figure out my role here in these two wonderful parishes.

Fr. Higgins our Episcopal Vicar will be installing me at St. Michael’s at the Saturday mass August 21st and at Sacred Heart at the Saturday mass September 11th.  Please continue to pray for me and our faith community.

Liturgy Committee

Liturgical Enivorment sub-committee: I hope to refound a liturgy
committee in our cluster. Much creativity has found expression over the
years. I hope to have a committee to focus and form our efforts. One
element a liturgy committee deals with is the liturgical ministries and
while another important part is physical elements of liturgy. These are
two different focuses yet closly tied together. In the fall I hope to
work with all those involved in Liturgical Ministries.
For now, I would like to meet with anyone who is interested in or
who has worked in our cluster creating the liturgical environment
(decorating) or help setting up for mass at 6:30 pm, Wednesday August 25
at Sacred Heart. My goal is two fold. First, that we form and support
sacristians who will be responsible for setting up for mass. Secondly,
that we create a liturgical enivorment sub-committee which will be
responsible for dressing the entire worship space for the liturgical
season. Please come out and give our input as form these vital
ministries.

Retirement

What a blessing of gifts we have in our cluster. St. Michael's &
Sacred Heart have been a place of great spiritual growth over many years
and it has taken many people to nourish and tend this growth. Harry and
Ruth Daamen have been an important part of the Staff at Sacred Heart for
many years. Last year, Ruth retired and this year Harry will be
reitring. They will continue to rent their house just north of the
church. They are a blessing to us. We will be having a coffee social
after Sacred Heart's mass Saturday September 25 to celebrate their
contribution to our community. Please come out and join us.