Dear Parishioners, 

As we come to the end of the summer it is certainly a season of transition. I really enjoy seeing all the summer guests. I love seeing the college students over the summer and the other young adults and newly weds who come for visits. It is such a beautiful thing to see the different stages of life lived out in our parish cluster. I feel a little sad when it all comes to an end and the students, guests and summer visitors are gone. However, it is part of the seasonal shifts that occur here, and I have come to expect it, as I am sure you have as well. I do just want to say, it has been great to be together for the summer.

In a similar vain we continue to see a trickle of younger families moving to this area. It is remarkable to me to observe it. There seems to be a pull to this area for families who desire to raise their children in a rural and Catholic community. For many of these families finding a home, and work are the major challenges they face, but they are making the choice to come here. Let us pray that God will continue to provide ways for them to meet their needs. We can also make a point of welcoming them and trying to help them feel a part of the community.

I will be gone this week (Aug. 24th -28th ) on a little vacation. Fr. Paul will be covering the Masses. It has been great to have Fr. Paul with us. As far as we know, he will continue to be with us for a while yet. We don’t have a clear timeline. It is nice to have another priest around to share the duties and the life of priesthood. I am grateful to Fr. Paul for choosing to be with us and continue to work through his personal challenges. I understand school begins on September 1st this year, but just a reminder of some important start dates for us: Faith Formation starts Oct. 7th this year and Order of Christian Initiation for Adults begins Oct. 20th.

I mentioned a few weeks back that there will be an initiative probably starting the week after Labor Day to do a stewardship campaign. The Diocese of Duluth has partnered with a company called Guidance and Giving. You will be hearing more about this, but I hope it will be a good opportunity for us to learn more about being good stewards and give us opportunities to grow in this area. I know many of you are already very active in the parish or give financially very generously, but we can all learn and grow together in this area.

I mentioned we are moving our playground equipment, you probably noticed it is taken down. There are some parishioners who are working on putting in something at the current site to give kids a way to play. Our insurance company asked us to make some modifications to our playground area, and that triggered a conversation and decision to take it down and invest in the new site. But it is possible to create some things which are lower to the ground which do not have the same restrictions. If this is something you would like to help with, I would invite you to get in touch with Clair Plankers who has been working on this effort.

Enjoy these last days of summer!

In Christ,

Fr. Eli