A PRAYER FOR OUR PARISH
“Let your work be seen by your servants and your glory by their children; and may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; Prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands!”
-Psalm 90
God has shown His love, care and provision for our parish for many, many years. This is seen in so many ways, but especially in the commitment of our wonderful parishioners to serve and strengthen our parish community. We are blessed to have a dedicated Pastoral Council that serves the upbuilding of our parish especially in unity across our campuses. I am grateful for the hard work and leadership of Juanita Jensen, our Pastoral Council Chair, as we anticipate a grace-filled upcoming year of activity and service. I share her message below.
Grace and peace,
Fr. Howe
FROM THE PASTORAL COUNCIL CHAIR: THE 5 W’S
Welcome fall and another Pastoral Council year for the Holy Cross Parish. The Pastoral Council is excited to start this year with new members and offering continued support to our Pastor, Fr. Howe. It is a great opportunity and privilege to serve on the Council. Please take a moment to learn more about our Holy Cross Pastoral Council:
WHO: The Holy Cross Catholic Church Pastoral Council is a body of parishioners chosen by the Pastor who open their hearts and minds while offering guidance and service to his pastoral planning and engagement. The current Pastoral Council members include: Ewa Banasikowski, Matt Carson, Mary Conway, Jay Hoffman, Juanita Jensen, Carolyn Kraskey, Christina Olownia, Adam Ramczyk, Joe Rosemeyer, Steve Sarvie and Jacie Sikora. These parishioners come from each of our campuses and represent a microcosm of our overall parish in terms of age, involvement and background.
WHAT: Formally (required by the Code of Canon Law), Pastoral Council members take on an advisory and consultative role with the Pastor. The Council is accountable to the parish community and ultimately to the Archbishop of St. Paul & Minneapolis. On a less formal side, supporting the Pastor and the parish community by surfacing new ideas and ways to strengthen out parish, we strive to encourage unity across our parish by hosting events such as service outings to Feed My Starving Children, Seasonal (Advent or Lenten) Recollections and supporting our surrounding community with gift-drives in conjunction with Gifts for Seniors (GFS). We look forward to hosting GFS barrels again – watch for the barrels arriving soon to each campus! We are also excited to host an all campus Movie Night in December– let’s warm up a wintry evening together - watch future bulletins for details.
WHERE: Before each meeting, we have the beautiful opportunity to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament, in prayer and devotion before making our way conveniently to the casual atmosphere of Kolbe Hall on the Holy Cross campus where our Council meetings typically occur.
WHEN: Pastoral Council meetings are about an hour long and we meet about 4-6 times a year with occasional emails in between. Outside of meetings, you can find Pastoral Council members involved and serving within other parish community offerings such as Fish Frys and more.
WHY: We all have a role in strengthening our parish. Pastoral Council members have a specific call to support to our Pastor and counsel on topics related to vision and ministry. We also try to lead by example in fostering our parish’s community life. As a member of the Council, there is a unique opportunity to grow in your faith by intentionally serving the church and by using your gifts to serve others. What a wonderful experience to be a part of!