Thanksgiving & Advent

Thanksgiving
Give thanks! Being thankful is a key essence of what it means to be a Catholic Christian. This coming Thursday, our country will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. As such, we will have a special Mass of thanksgiving where I will be asking you to share what you are thankful for. Also at that Mass, I will invite everyone to come forward at the Preparation of the Gifts to donate nonperishable food items and money for our local St. Vincent de Paul. Such a gesture is a wonderful way to show God our thanks and express our desire to help those in need.


Advent
Now is also a time to discern what you will be doing for Advent. How will you prepare yourself for Christmas? Many of us put up lights on our homes. Some decorate the interior of our rooms. We put up manger scenes and even the Christmas tree. But, why do we do these things? We do them to show on the outside what we hope for on the inside. We hope that Christ will be born-again in our hearts. We hope that the darkness that can sometimes pervade our hearts and minds will be removed by the light of Christ. The Church has given us Advent in order to simply look at these things and prepare to celebrate the most amazing event in history, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.


Reconciliation
Finally, a way to give thanks and prepare our hearts is via the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We will be hosting the communal reconciliation services at St. Patrick of the Forest on Monday, Dec. 16th at 7 PM and then again at St. Anne’s on Tuesday, Dec. 17th at 7 PM. I expect many priests to come to our Advent service, so there will be many options for all. Please mark your calendars now. Prepare for Christmas by preparing for Advent, the advent of Jesus Christ in your heart.


Blessings,


Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Thank You & Welcome!

Dear Parishioners,

Alan Crews

Since the announcement of Alan's retirement, I have been working with a small search committee to
find his successor. On Nov. 7th, we concluded that search and have decided to hire Stephen Voehl whom many of you may already know. He currently lives with his wife in Florida, and will need to begin the process of moving. He will begin in January. We are very very delighted to have found someone of his qualifications.

Alan has served St. Anne's with the highest standard of care, and he will be missed for sure. When Stephen comes on board, Alan won't be disappearing off the earth. Rather, Alan will be helping him get his feet on the ground. Again, this is testimony to the dedication and character Alan has always demonstrated through his entire tenure. I will miss his daily laughter which always made me smile.

We will be hosting a retirement party in the near future to let Alan know how much we appreciate all he has done.

Personally, I want thank you, Alan, for all you have done for me as the pastor, the staff, and the community of St. Anne's! May God be with you on this next part of your journey!



Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor