If you somehow missed it, the new assignments for priests were announced during Holy Week. Our beloved Fr. Patrick Gonyeau is receiving a new assignment and has been getting ready for the big move. He will be serving as the associate pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in our neighboring vicariate and will eventually take over for the present pastor when he retires. Fr. Patrick has served the Archdiocese for the last two years: half time as part of the Evangelization team at the Chancery, and the other half of his time he has served us as the associate in our cluster.
Fr. Patrick has been engaging, lively, inspiring…. Heck, there are a myriad of adjectives that fit him! Because he has been so good to us and has helped us get so much closer to the Lord, we want to make sure that he is aware of our appreciation. We are collecting any donations which you would like to make so as to be able to present him with an appropriate farewell gift. If you are interested in donating, please either drop off your gift in the collection (in an envelope marked “For Fr. Patrick’s farewell gift”) or you can drop it off at the office. He also has two farewell parties: At St. Moses on June 3 and at the Cathedral on June 24.
It is often a little stressful moving to a new assignment (new people, new surroundings, and new responsibilities) so please pray for him. I would also encourage you to compose a personal note expressing how his ministry has positively impacted you. These are very meaningful to us priests and can help ease the stress during transition times.
So now you may be wondering “Who’s gonna be our associate?” Unfortunately, there are not enough priests to go around. (Keep praying for vocations!) But, the Archbishop has graciously assigned us “temporarily” with a weekend associate. A weekend associate is a priest with another assignment who comes in only on weekends to celebrate Mass. He does not live in the rectory, or attend all the other meetings, or fill any other responsibilities. He only is responsible for celebrating Mass.
Who will be our “weekend associate?” In July, we get a great man who is on summer break from his studies. Fr. Joe Kirkconnell was ordained in 2014, is from the Cayman islands (I’ll let him explain that) and is presently getting a graduate degree at Catholic University of America in D.C. In August, when Fr. Joe goes back to school, Fr. Tim Laboe becomes our next temporary weekend associate. Fr. Tim is the academic dean and an instructor at the seminary. He will remain until a full time associate becomes available to us. I think you will love these guys! Please make them feel welcome.
We went from a full time associate, to a half time associate, to now, only a weekend associate. This means that I will be doing more liturgies, more anointings, etc. so thank you ahead of time for your support and for being patient with me and my crazy schedule. But remember, there are no coincidences or luck, this is the Lord nudging us all on to share our part in Unleashing the Gospel!
God Bless, Fr. J.J.