Deacon John’s Stewardship Blog

The Holy Spirit works through each of us as we share our gifts with one another.

Posted on by Kathy Lucci

          St. Patrick Parish has served the people of God for 150 years. It is truly a gift given to us by God and those who have gone before us. In his inaugural address, President John Kennedy proclaimed, “the torch has been passed to the new generation.”,  so has our parish and our Catholic faith. Now is the time for a new generation to receive what has been entrusted to it and become stewards for the next generation.

St. Patrick Parish family needs you and all of our members! We need your active participation at Mass. We need this witness of your love and devotion to Jesus Christ. Our world needs the witness of a loving and devout community praying together on the Lord’s Day. If something has kept us apart, let the things of the past be healed by the grace of God. If you know of others who do not attend Mass, invite them or offer them a ride. Take time to visit a shut-in or offer a prayer for someone in need.

As St. Paul tells us, each individual has a gift given to them for the good of the community and this is the basis of the spirituality of stewardship. The Holy Spirit works through each of us as we share our gifts with one another. If you have been called to serve our parish in any ministry or organization, please do!

“ALL ARE WELCOME!”

God bless our parish,
Deacon John

 

As each of us has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Posted on by Kathy Lucci

The Catholic Church has been present at most of the important milestones in your life; Baptism, First Communion, at times of great celebration and at times of great sadness.
The work of the many ministries of the Catholic Church are far – reaching, life giving, and life saving…everyday.
By leaving a gift to St. Patrick Parish in your will, you will be leaving a legacy of faith – a legacy to help insure that the mission and pastoral outreach that has been important to you will continue both for today’s needs and for those of our children, our grandchildren and beyond.
Planned gifts are commonly determined in conjunction with estate planning and are gifted upon the death of a donor and are often given in the name of the donor or donor’s family. Thus, the term “legacy giving”.
At our parish our planned giving program is a strategy of extraordinary and legacy stewardship, and an initiative which has an objective of generating funds for the financial security of the church and the ministries within the church. A planned gift will supplement regular stewardship in the future.
How can I leave a planned gift to St. Patrick Church? Leaving a planned gift can be quite simple. Who do I contact about leaving a planned gift? Contact Fr. Mike or Deacon John at (330)534-1928.
“As each of us has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (I Peter 4:10)
May God continue to bless our parish for the next 150 years.

A pillar of faith and discipleship

Posted on by Kathy Lucci

The Altar and Rosary Society… a legacy of friendships.

This week I would like to spotlight St. Patrick’s Altar and Rosary Society. This organization has existed at our parish for decades and has been a pillar of faith and discipleship in our parish community during that time. Being part of the Altar and Rosary Society gives the women of our parish a chance to be part of a community within the church, build Christ-centered friendships and at the same time, be generous with their time and talents.

St. Patrick’s Altar and Rosary Society welcomes all women of our parish. Their mission is to provide adornment of the sanctuary and to promote a greater devotion to the praise and honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary through prayer, good works and devotion to the rosary. In addition, the Altar and Rosary Society strives to be a means by which Catholic women can experience a supportive community of intentional disciples who help each other to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Through these friendships, St. Patrick Altar and Rosary Society has served the parish in a variety of ways through the years. In addition to supporting the parish through fundraising, they are an ever-present source of prayer in our parish. I would like to encourage all the women of our parish to consider becoming a part of this beautiful ministry and I promise you that you will make friendships that will last for all eternity.

God bless you,
Deacon John

 

We are all called to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth.

Posted on by Kathy Lucci

         My name is Bob Friedman. Most of you know me as “Deacon Bob”. I have been a member of St. Patrick Church for the past 46 years, ever since I married my wife, the former Sandy Wright, here at St. Pat’s on May 12, 1973.

My concept of “Church” and stewardship has always been to try and see Christ in everyone I meet, and hopefully allow them to see Christ in me.

The early years of our marriage revolved around the raising of our two daughters, their religious upbringing and their involvement with attending St. Patrick School. In the mid-1980’s I attended a “Christ Renews His Parish” here at St. Pat’s, which helped me expand my horizons of Stewardship beyond my immediate family.

Shortly after that weekend I looked into the process of becoming a permanent deacon. After much prayer, and discernment and 4 years of formation and study, I was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Youngstown, on December 9, 1989.

A song the choir sang at my ordination was “The Prayer of St. Teresa,” whose words say: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet but yours…”. Over the past almost 30 years as your deacon here at St. Pat’s, I have strived to offer myself in service to others, in the name of Christ—whether that be in carrying groceries to the car for someone at our food pantry, helping someone with their tray of food at our Lenten Soup Suppers, Baptizing a baby, praying with a family at the cemetery, or anywhere I encounter a member of the Body of Christ.

My friends, this is something we are all called to do—to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth; to reach out in His name to everyone we meet.

May our loving God give each of us the strength and the grace to carry on His mission here on earth.

Love and prayers,

Deacon Bob