Jan 19, 2023

Greetings,

This weekend we are celebrating our patronal feast day of St. Sebastian. For 95 years our patron saint has watched over us and intercedes for us in our mission. Today we give thanks to God for the gift of our patron saint and we thank him for all the graces we receive through his prayers and intercessions. Please say this prayer for our parish, her mission and all in her care:

"Dear Commander at the Roman Emperor's court,

you chose to be also a soldier of Christ

and dared to spread faith in the King's of King's,

for which you were condemned to die.

Your body, however proved athletically strong

and the executing arrows extremely weak,

so another means to kill you was chosen

and you gave your life to the Lord.

May we be always as strong in our faith as you so clearly have been. Amen."

IN OTHER NEWS:

ST. SEBASTIAN DAY PASTA DINNER: For those who read the bulletin before Sunday, this Saturday, January 21 we will have our Annual Spaghetti Dinner. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Each meal is $5 or $20 for families over four persons.

FR. BOZEK: Fr. Bozek is away on vacation for a couple of weeks. We do have a couple of priests coming in to assist us from time to time but there may only be one priest available for confessions, when we typically have two, so be prepared for lines for the next little while.

NEW YOUNG ADULT MINISTER: I am happy to welcome on to our staff Mr. Jack Franceschi. He is stepping up to become our new Young Adult Minister which we have been without for a couple of months. You should start seeing his name pop up on some upcoming events and hopefully soon we will be restarting our Theology on Tap. Great to have you on staff, Jack!

TOR: On Monday, the twenty-third, I will be speaking at Theology on the Rocks at 7 pm. Please note the address change: 507 Cleveland-Massillon Road! I would like to thank the people at El Rancho who were so accommodating to TOR, but it seemed time to try something new. I hope we enjoy this new location at least as much!

SOUNDING GREAT: Last Saturday I got a text from Lynn, our organist and choir master, to say that she was down with the flu but never fear, our other organist, Matthew Adreski, would cover for her which he had every intention of doing until he too was down for the count - though he made it in for the 11 am mass looking a bit pale and wobbly. Be that as it may, the choir soldiered on and those in attendance sang a cappella rather well! I was pretty proud of our congregation.

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: Mark your calendars now! The 50th Annual International Festival is coming up on February 4th in Zwisler Hall from 5-9pm. See the bulletin for volunteer opportunities.

SPECTACULAR: This year’s theme is a “Spectacular Evening in Paris!” This great night out that supports our school will be held on February 11! Save the date!

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck