I am writing to follow up on Bishop Spalding's visit to the parish last weekend. First, I want to suggest a concrete way to respond to the bishop's call for prayer in the life of our parish. As I indicated in my comments at the end of the Installation Mass, prayer is the one agenda item I have as your pastor. I am proposing special times of prayer for God's blessing and direction of the parish next weekend, Aug 4 and 5.
The Church will be open for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Sat, Aug 4 from 9:00am (following the 8:15am Mass) until 4:30pm when we will conclude with Benediction before the evening Mass. We will have Adoration again on Sun, Aug 5, following the 11:00am Mass until Benediction at 4:30pm before the evening Mass. Confessions will be available from the beginning of Adoration on Saturday, as well as in the afternoon at the regular time. Confessions will be available throughout the Adoration time on Sunday. Please sign up this weekend for a time of Adoration if you are able. I would love for every family and every ministry to take part at some point over the weekend.
The bishop's visit also brought to conclusion a time of transition in the parish with my installation as your new pastor. The care of St. Rose by the bishop and the diocese during this time shows us that our parish benefits from being part of the larger Catholic community. Just as I call upon you to support the work of the parish, the bishop calls upon the parishioners of St. Rose to support the work of the diocese through the Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministry. Another fruit of the Appeal is the presence of our summer seminarian, Patrick Held, since it is a major source of support for seminarian education. The campus ministry at MTSU is also supported by the Bishop's Appeal. The list goes on! I ask you to consider a pledge to the Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministry, and I thank you if you have already made a gift. Even with so much going on in the parish, St. Rose is well on the way to meeting both our participation and financial goals. There is information in the bulletin this weekend and in the vestibule of the church about the Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministry. You may make your gift online or by picking up one of the envelopes in the vestibule.
Fr. John Sims Baker
Please sign up for an hour of Adoration at http://signup.com/login/entry/77006774496154013 or come to the church August 4-5 as you are able.
Online gifts for the Bishop’s Appeal may be made at https://dioceseofnashville.com/bishops-annual-appeal-for-ministries or pick up a gift envelope at the main church entrances.
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