Sep 19, 2019

Greetings,

Thank you for your prayers and consideration as we mark our commitment weekend! I am very excited about what this means for our parish. A parish doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It rises and falls on the commitment, sacrifice and ministry of her people. If you think you have a pretty awesome parish, it is because of her awesome and committed people - because of you. And this weekend we get to show our gratitude for what was handed on to us, and make it strong so that we might hand it on to future Saint Sebastianites.

I can’t get over the change in our neighborhood. When I first got here, I could go for walks and rarely run into anybody. More recently it has been difficult to walk the dogs because there are people walking everywhere. Many people make it their habit to walk around our beautiful property. And with the planned housing coming to West Akron, one can only speculate that this will mean even more people.

Clearly one of the reasons people move to West Akron is because of our parish and her schools. Let’s keep St. Sebastian healthy and strong and the Cornerstone in Action of our community and a source and presence of Jesus for others. Thank you for all that you do as an intentional disciple of Christ. You are truly awesome.

IN OTHER NEWS:

ST. SEBASTIAN YOUNG ADULT HOUSING: This is a new ministry at St. Sebastian designed to assist young adults find Catholic community, enhance the life of the parish and help launch them into their role as leaders in the faith and in the community. We are starting with a men’s house and, if it is a success, then a house for women. It is called St. Irene House.

St. Irene and her husband Castulus were a married couple who opened their home to Christians in need of assistance. It was St. Irene who found St. Sebastian after he had been shot with arrows and nursed him to health so that he could go out into the world and carry on his vocation in Christ. St. Irene House wants to do the same for young adults.

We are looking for young men, finishing or post college, or in a trade, who are looking to live with fellow Catholic men in which they might foster faith, community, service, and where there will be an opportunity for spiritual, practical and professional growth. Candidates must be self-sustaining in resources and health and open to growth.

The house is in walking distance of the parish and the program is designed for 5 people. While the parish will strive to provide community and opportunities for the house, the men of the house will be tasked with worshipping with the community, hosting events to foster faith life and taking on leadership in the maintaining of the house, growing in their faith practice and developing more deeply into their life’s vocation.

We are also looking for parishioners who feel a desire to participate in the mentoring of life skills. This is a work in progress and so we are not sure what exactly is needed yet but would like to know that the parish supports this ministry.

If you have questions about the St. Irene House, or think you might be interested in applying, contact Aaron at Irene.house@stsebastian.org.

EUCHARISTIC DEVOTIONS: You were phenomenal in your response to our Eucharistic Devotions! It seemed most of the time we were well beyond the minimum number of people needed to have exposition. There were some 60 hours we needed to cover with a minimum of three people at a pop and you came through! This prayer and your presence was critical for the life of our parish as it helped us recognize Jesus as the source and center of our lives. Thank you so much for your great response to this awesome event in our parish.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck