Deacon John’s Stewardship Blog

     It’s hard to believe, but our 61^st annual festival is in the books…and the record books!  This year we had perfect weather for every night of our festival, which allowed us to feed and entertain all of our generous attendees who came out to support us in large numbers.

We want to personally thank all of our volunteer workers who helped make this year’s Saint Patrick Festival a huge success.  Without all of our volunteers, we could not minister to all of our attendees each and every year.  Everyone continues to show the love of Jesus to each and every person who comes to our festival.  All of your hard work is much appreciated!

We would also like to thank our Hubbard Police Officers for keeping us safe during the entire event.  This year we increased the number of officers patrolling the grounds for an added safety measure.  With the almost daily news of tragic events across the country, we wanted to ensure a safe event.  God bless our men and women first responders.

There were many people who spoke to me about how amazed they were concerning the amount of volunteers we have and also that they were having a great time working in unison to support our Parish.  Your enthusiasm for faith, fellowship, and community is much appreciated and does not go un-noticed!

I would like to personally thank Father Mike for his leadership and support.  His “roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty” work ethic is contagious for all of us.  Special thanks to Deacon John in leading our food tent where we completely emptied our food supply and had to scramble to order more for the last day of the event.  “Big Dog” can finally get some much-deserved rest.

Thanks again and God bless each and every one of you!!!

Bill Bancroft

The term “domestic church” refers to the family, the smallest body of gathered believers in Christ. Though recovered only recently, the term dates all the way back to the first century AD. The Greek word, ecclesiola, referred to “little church.” Our early church Fathers understood that the home was the fertile ground for discipleship, sanctification and holiness.

The first exposure our children will have to Jesus Christ is in our homes. The greatest gift we could ever give to our children is our example of discipleship-praying before meals, teaching them to make the Sign of the Cross, and attending Mass.

The leaves will begin to change colors and soon Fall will be upon us. Our department of religious education is already in the process of making this year’s School of Religious Education exciting and meaningful to our children. A very important part of nurturing your domestic church at home is to enroll your child in our School of Religious Education, Kindergarten-grade 8. Contact Karen Bartos or Deacon John to register your child. Your child’s relationship with Jesus Christ will last for all eternity.

God bless you,

Deacon John                                                                                              

      Our 61st annual parish festival will begin in just a few days. The tents are up and the preparation of the fabulous food is well under way. With God’s help, this year’s festival will be a great success once again. All of us look forward to the great food and entertainment each year. I hope to see all our parishioners at this year’s festival.

Each year the festival committee supplies shirts for the volunteers to wear during the festival. Over the years we have had some beautiful shirts to wear; like bright orange and florescent green. But I think this year’s shirt captures the true meaning of what our festival is all about, “Faith, Fellowship and Community.”

We celebrate our beautiful Catholic faith. This year marked the 150th anniversary of our parish. What a gift from God this church has been to so many families over the years!

We share a unique fellowship with each other. It’s so much more than the fellowships that we make in the secular world. Our Christian friendships are not built upon a common interest of a sport or a club, but built upon our shared love of Jesus Christ.

Our St. Patrick Parish has been a visible part of our Hubbard community for 150 years. Through our prayers, service and generosity we have been a visible sign of the love of Jesus Christ within our community.

All of us have a busy schedule with many commitments but I encourage everyone to plan to attend this year’s festival. The food, entertainment and rides will be a secondary benefit compared to the sharing of our faith, enjoying fellowship and the interaction we will experience with the people of our community. I will look forward to seeing you at this year’s festival!

Blessings,

Deacon John

In just a week we will begin our 61st annual parish festival. It is always inspiring to me to witness all the good people of our parish working together. I believe we have an absolutely, remarkable festival. The food is homemade and delicious. The entertainment this year will feature The Fabulous Flashbacks on Saturday night and there will be rides and games for all the kids. This year we will be raffling a beautiful Chevy 4 x 4 truck. There will only be 2,000 tickets sold. The chance to win is excellent.

Our parish festival hosts thousands of people in our community and surrounding communities. Each year the festival is so much more than food, entertainment and rides. The festival affords the opportunity for us to meet the people on a one-to-one basis and to share the love we have for Jesus Christ with them. In our words and our actions, we become the visible sign of Christ’s love to people we meet.

We are a vibrant parish on the move. What is the driving force in this positive movement? It is our love for Jesus Christ and our love for one another. May all our work that we do at this year’s festival become a living sign of Christ’s love.
God bless,
Deacon John