Parishes of Saint Ann and Saint George

Dear Parishioners of St Ann’s, St Martin’s, St Stephen’s, St Mary of Mercy, St Patrick’s, St Mary’s (Salem), and Epiphany Parishes:

First, I want to say that I appreciate the current pastors and staff accommodating this little message, even before the new pastorate takes effect. And on behalf of Fr Bill Hamak, Fr Bob Krantz, and myself we look forward to getting to know all of you and striving to build up the Kingdom of Heaven.

I’m sure there are many questions and thoughts about how things will work but most of these will have to wait until after July 5th.There have been very few specific plans that have been made for the new pastorates at this point. One thing I can say at that this point is that the bishop has insisted that each “pastorate” be a “true linkage,” if you will; a given pastorate will not be multiple, independent linkages under some sort of general umbrella. What exactly that entails is yet to be determined, but it will include meetings with parishioners.

I am very grateful to the current pastors for meeting with Fr Hamak, Fr Bob, and myself this past May 8th and 9th because some basic things do have to be figured out prior to July 5th, such as paying bills and where each priest will live. One of the main things I wanted to let people know at this point is that, at least for the first year, Fr Bob Krantz will continue to live in Alexandria, Fr Bill Hamak will be living in Emery, and I will be living in Salem. We will be working on a (temporary) Mass & Confession schedule for the first year – this will also have to be set before July 5th – and this will certainly be published before that first weekend. I would like to emphasize that this will only be a    temporary schedule; as per the bishop’s instructions, the first year is to be used to figure out a longer term or more permanent plan, including a Mass schedule.

To do the will of God is what unites us with Him and gets us to Heaven. The most important thing for all of us to do during the implementation of this new structure – for priests and laity alike – is pray. The Lord knows what is best and He will come to our aid if we seek Him with a sincere heart.

Thank you and God bless you,

Fr Kuhn.