Greetings from the Pastoral Council!
As the new council chair, I want to take a moment to give you brief introduction of myself as well as share about our parish Pastoral Council. My name is Juanita Jensen. I grew up in NE Minneapolis, spent my elementary years going to St. Charles Borromeo and my high school years split between DeLaSalle and Edison. I remained strongly rooted in the NE parishes as a parishioner even after my husband and I acquired our Habitat home in 1995 on the Northside. I am a mother to five adult children, four boys and one girl. My children spent many of their years as altar servers and played in the orchestra at St. Clement. Later, when my mom began her stay as a resident at Catholic Eldercare, we faithfully attended Mass with her at St. Anthony of Padua until her passing. Since then, I have been actively attending Holy Cross and, more recently, I’ve enjoyed volunteering at church events and in the church office when an extra hand was appreciated. I have been an active member of the Pastoral Council since 2022 and I look forward the 2023-2024 year.
The Council exists to foster unity across our parish and support Fr. Howe in his role as Pastor. Since being called to the Holy Cross Pastoral Council, I have a stronger sense of supporting Fr. Howe and the mission of our parish at all of its campuses through service and outreach. This call to service caught me by surprise, as I was not looking to dedicate my time to this kind of volunteerism. But God had other plans for me. I contemplated and prayed on it, and I listened to Him. God was speaking to me. How often does God speak to you? Perhaps, like me, you didn’t listen? Perhaps I was too busy raising children, too busy with work or studies. Whatever the reason, we are often fooled by distractions. Coming to Mass, being in Christ’s presence, and prayer are great ways to leave those distractions behind and turn our focus to Him and hear Him.
As members of the Pastoral Council we get an opportunity to call upon the Lord and focus on Him. We start each meeting with Adoration, thus allowing the distractions of daily life to wait while we are in the presence of Christ. The Council then convenes for an hour in Kolbe Hall where focus is once again brought to Christ through faithful and meaningful discussion and consultation with our priests and visiting members of the parish staff about the accomplishment of our parish’s mission. We are also meant to serve as a conduit of information and suggestions to the Council and back to the parishioners. Outside of approximately seven meetings a year, the Pastoral Council is committed to service and partaking in parish events where we look forward to meeting you. We are excited to announce we have two opportunities to volunteer with us at Second Harvest Heartland (Saturday, November 18th, 9-11am) and Feed My Starving Children in the Spring. These are great opportunities to meet council members, share smiles, and serve in a way which keeps the Lord near. Stay tuned for information on how to join us for these service outings!
Being a member of the Pastoral Council allows me the opportunity to continue to listen more intently and not be so surprised the next time I am called to serve. Like today’s responsorial Psalm, “The Lord is near to all who call upon him.” Let us continue to find ways to call upon the Lord to be kind and merciful in service to one another and our church where earthly distractions can be set aside, and we can listen when He speaks to us.
~Juanita Jensen, Pastoral Council Chair