Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People
 
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
Liturgy Days
Please look in the bulletin for the upcoming annual Liturgy Days. Every year I offer some continuing education in what is most important for us as a parish - giving worship to God through the Church’s Liturgy. Without the Liturgy and sacraments (especially the Mass) we are lost and all our efforts are diminished. Because the Mass is God’s continuing presence among us, there is always more to learn and deeper to go. That is why we are offering multiple days to choose from. This is open for the whole parish and even others you may want to invite. No RSVP is required.
While these days are open to all, we do require all our liturgical ministers to attend. This includes sacristans, ushers, cantors/choir/musicians, servers, lectors, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. If you are in one or more of these ministries please call the rectory to let us know you are attending.
Since we are talking about liturgical ministries, allow me to put out a call for volunteers. Perhaps God is calling you to share your gifts in a particular liturgical ministry. Have you considered and prayed about it? I hope so. In this bulletin is a listing and explanation of the different ministries. Check it out and if you are interested in any of them call the rectory and plan on attending one of the Liturgy days so you can get started. In a particular way we are looking for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, ushers, and altar servers (adult or youth). There is so much that goes into our worship of God at Mass; many people and resources to help our parish Encounter Christ in the Eucharist. Every one of us is called to participate at Mass no matter what, but I invite you to explore if God is calling you to minister in one of these particular ways.
 
Celebrating 100 Years
I want to update everyone on some of the plans for our Centenary celebration. Our year-long celebration will include a number of events. A more comprehensive schedule will be coming out soon, but the main things to note for now are of course the September 22nd opening Mass, Social, and Dinner. Tickets are on sale in the rectory. There will be a special Mass, October 4th marking the anniversary of the first Mass of the parish. In November we are hosting the Akron Area Interfaith Community event to showcase different groups of our local community. January 25th will be the celebration of our Feast Day as we host Bishop Perez at the 4:30 Mass. In February will be a “Taste of St. Paul’s”, time for us to share our culinary creations with the community. April 4th is the Anniversary of the first Mass celebrated in the old church. We will honor that by having Mass in the Extraordinary Form (the Latin Mass) on that Sunday since it is the form that would have been used 100 years ago. Next summer we plan to expand our Corpus Christi Procession and have an ice cream social. Heidi is working on a concert series which will of course includes the Christmas Community Concert in December as well as other great showcases of talent throughout the year. And that is not all! There are other little projects and surprises along the way! In fact be ready for continued updates and yes probably calls for volunteers to help with a few things. I am really looking forward to this coming year and celebrating God’s blessings in our parish.
 
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr