Feb 26, 2020

Greetings,

We are now in the thick of lent which provides us with the great opportunity to grow in our relationship with God, His Church and His people and to do so with the support of a whole community with the same aims and goals.  Here are some opportunities available at your parish:

Stations of the Cross & Benediction:  Fridays at 1:30 and 7PM

Adoration: Tuesdays following the morning Mass until 8PM

Compline & Benediction: Tuesday nights beginning at 7:40PM

Confessions:   Tuesday from 7 to 7:30PM

                        Fridays from 4 to 5PM

                        Saturdays from 9:30 to 10AM.

Diocese Wide Night of Confessions:  March 11th, all parishes, 5 to 8PM

Parish Mission: March 22nd through the 24th at 7PM

Lenten Simple Soup Dinner: April 3rd at 6:00 (before Stations of the Cross.)

Operation Rice Bowl: If you do not have a student who received one, there are bowls available

                        in the lobbies of the church.

Also, consider attending an extra Mass during the week.  Stop in the oratory (former baptistry) and take a look at our seasonal display of all of our relics.  Keep you eye out for Theology on the Rocks, Theology on Tap, Men’s Breakfast and other opportunities during this great season.

IN OTHER NEWS:

CONCERT TODAY!  The University of Akron African Drumming Ensemble.  A great treat for the whole family.  In Zwisler Hall, Sunday March 1st at 4PM.  Free and open to the public.  Did you know that this is the 10 year anniversary of our concert series?  Thank you to everybody for all of your hard work.

DR. SCOTT HAHN:  Scott Hahn will be speaking at St. Sebastian thanks to the West Side Catholic Couples on Saturday, April 25th from 8AM to 1PM.  The cost is $25.  For more information or to register go to office@stpaulcenter.com or call (740) 264-9535.

NEW FACES:  There will be a couple of new faces on parish staff showing up in the next two weeks.  Mr. Michael Zimmerman will be our new facilities manager.  He has a wonderful vision for his role in the parish and I am excited to have him and at having this position filled which has been empty for about a month.  Thank you to our wonderful crew for pitching in and making things work while we awaited the new hands on deck.  The list of jobs is getting ever longer so thank you for your patience in allowing him to come to know the parish and to catch up on pressing matters! 

Also, there will be an additional friendly face in the parish front office.  Mrs. Cathy Sivec returns to St. Sebastian as the office manager for the parish!  I am so pleased to have her back on board.  She won’t need quite the same amount of time to get to know the parish as Mr Zimmerman will, but here too there is a great backlog of projects that need attention that she will be taming over the next few months.  WELCOME Cathy and Mike!  May your time here be blessed!  Please say a prayer for them as they prepare to join the St. Sebastian Staff Team.

UNPLANNED:  This movie will be shown in Zwisler Hall on March 15th at 7PM.  See elsewhere in the bulletin for more details.

MISSION DRESS UPDATE:  This parish was instrumental in helping this ministry is supplying 1,717 dresses for girls and 452 pairs of shorts for boys sent with persons going on medical or Church missions to 14 different countries in 2019.  They accept donations of clean, light-weight, cotton-type fabric, trims, bias tape and elastic, boys shorts, and offers to help sew.  Thank you for all that you do!

DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATOR: The College of Consulters in the Diocese of Cleveland has elected The Reverend Donald P. Oleksiak as the diocesan administrator until the Holy Father, Pope Francis, names a new bishop.  The College of Consulters is a group of eight priests whose normal role is to advise the diocesan bishop, especially regarding major transactions.  A diocesan administrator is a priest who administers a diocese temporarily until the installation of the next diocesan bishop and generally has the same powers as a diocesan bishop, except for matters which would have long-term consequences. It often takes six to eight months until a new bishop is appointed.  Please say a prayer for Fr. Oleksiak who has a mighty job ahead of him.

THANK YOU:  My most sincere gratitude and prayer goes out to all of you who were so incredibly kind at the passing of Sebastian.  You were overwhelming in your thoughtful response.  And a special thanks to Hummel Funeral Home Pet Services who took over the very difficult part of everything following the end of a great 14 year run.  Father

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck