Mar 13, 2026

Greetings,

This weekend, thanks to a gift of the Lilly Foundation and the Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd Institute, St. Sebastian Parish will be hosting the talk Peak Middle Earth: Why Mount Doom Is Not the Climax of ‘Lord of the Rings’ The presenter will be Fr. Michael Ward, member of the faculty of Theology at Oxford University.

This event will take place this Sunday, March 15 at 2pm in Zwisler Hall. It is FREE and open to the public. I might recommend showing up a little early and claiming decent seats.

IN OTHER NEWS:

WORK IN THE CHURCH: There are several projects slated for the church. The current ones include fixing the sound system. I know that the sound is not ideal at the moment. Just as it seemed we were finally on top of it all, a vital piece of equipment failed and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, it was not something that could just be purchased at a local store. The needed equipment has been ordered and we are waiting (maybe for two more weeks) for it to be delivered. I thank you for your patience and understanding as we endeavor to get this problem rectified.

If you drove pass the church this week, you may have seen a couple of trucks about. One belonged to roofers who were making repairs on the lower roof over the sacristy. There was a little bit of water damage during a recent rainstorm and the leak was being hunted down and repaired.

Also occurring this week, our terrazzo floors are being revitalized. Workers are expected to be on site all week bringing our floors back to life.

ROUNDING OUT LENT: There are still a few weeks of Lent left and time to redouble your Lenten resolves. Finish strong! Don’t give up or lose hope to do even better today than you did yesterday.

Here are some events to keep in mind:
15 March Lord of the Rings Talk at 2pm
28 March FINAL PARISH CONFESSIONS BEFORE EASTER!
29 March Palm Sunday
31 March Chrism Mass at St. Sebastian 5pm
1 April Tenebrae, a night of prayer and music in the church at 7pm
18 April Transitional Diaconate Ordination
19 April Master Singers concert
26 April Peace Together Ensemble concert

God bless,
Fr. Valencheck