Dear Friends,

Thanksgiving comes upon us quickly and hopefully we are filled with reasons to be thankful. In 2023 our Parish will be 45 years old and our Church, 35yrs young! Amazingly there are still a few of the “founders” who gave their time, talent and treasure so that we could have a place to give thanks in.

Dear Friends,

Since we’ve come to November, the month we traditionally remember our beloved deceased I think it time we spent some time and effort on “end of life issues’, specifically assisted suicide.

Dear Friends,

Welcome to People Raiser II: All Aboard the Steward Ship! The Ship is about to set sail, have you reserved your stateroom yet?

Dear Friends,

During November we call to mind both the Saints and the holy Souls. It is also a time to focus ourselves on how well we are prepared for our own deaths. And while end of life issues and health care decisions need to be carefully considered before our demise, I want to focus on what happens after death, in other words the funeral and burial practices that are appropriate for Christians.

Dear Friends,

In 2010, I started the FullCircle Youth at Risk Ministry. Since that time, we have been able to assist hundreds of families and their children who are affected by substance misuse, eating or cutting and other self-destructive behaviors. Our goal is to help heal the family by bringing them FullCircle: back to wholeness and holiness.

Dear Friends,
We are coming up on an Election, time to vote. As usual the campaigners and their sycophants are giving you reasons to vote.

Dear Friends,

It’s happening! I admit, I had serious doubts that it would. In case you’re wondering, I am speaking about the return of our part-time, some-times, halftime parishioners, aka snowbirds! I confess I had never seen such a mass exodus from a Parish before.

Dear Friends, Once again, October is Respect Life Month. Since the overturning of Roe and returning the issue to the states, new strategies are need but our same witness to the dignity of all human life remains unchanged. Still, things have taken a pernicious turn. I am amazed at how viciously some will fight to abort an unborn child.

Dear Friends,

One of the reasons the bishop sent me to this area was to, among other things, begin the formation of a new Parish in fast developing Vistancia/N. Peoria/Lake Pleasant area. So how is that coming along and what I have learned?

Dear Friends,

Since around the 1980’s we have been fighting a “War on Drugs”. And as a friend of mine reminds me, “Drugs are winning the War on Drugs”. Despite our best efforts and intentions, drug use, drug related crime, enrichment of the drug cartel’s wealth and power and drug related deaths are off the charts. And all this got a big assist from Arizona voters.

Dear Friends,

During the 90’s I was mostly in a time warp. That’s because I was in jail. Actually, I was a Prison Chaplain, served that sentence for about 12 years. But when I went back into Parish ministry, I started hearing something that confounded me. Namely, the amount of pornography use that men were engaged in.

Dear Friends,

If you are not an Opera fan but would like to venture into this wonderful musical genre, a good place to start is with the Opera Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. It is a simple, easy to follow work in two acts. It starts out with a Prologue that reminds the audience that actors have feelings too and that this story is about real people.

Dear Friends,

September is National Recovery Month; bringing awareness that there is a solution to the problem of addiction/alcoholism. Alcoholics Anonymous, the granddaddy of recovery, puts it this way, when describing how to deal with the problem: “without help it is too much for us. But there is one who has all power-that one is God. May you find him now!”