Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The other day in my prayer, I was filled with gratitude for the opportunity to serve here at this parish. The warmth and friendliness that you have shown me has been heartwarming. In prayer I remembered that shortly after I arrived, we had the beautiful Hispanic Heritage Month Mass and dinner with the mariachis from St. Anne Catholic School as well as the cultural dances in the hall. The Memorial Mass at the beginning of November was a time of great healing for many; I was honored to learn about your loved ones who died this past year. The joyfulness and participation of everyone at Thanksgiving Mass was a great blessing. Celebrating Mass with the school is a great joy and am impressed with their singing participation. Added to that have been a number of meetings with a variety of groups doing wonderful things. Thank you to all who have made these events and gatherings so successful.
Many of you have shared with me your prayerful discernment these past weeks about what you are giving to God in the Sunday collection—you are very prayerful people! I am deeply grateful to all of you who spent time in prayer over these weeks as well as for your ongoing generosity.
Please invite family members and friends to join you at Mass this Christmas. This may be an opportunity for God’s grace to touch them and bring them into closer relationship to Him. Again, know how grateful I am to be able to be with you these months!
In Christ,
Bishop Tim Freyer
