How wonderful it was to see so many Slovenians at Mass on Palm Sunday.  Thank you to all who joined in the procession wearing your narodna nošas and carrying your homemade butare. It was my pleasure to thank and honor the Slovenians who built St. John’s. 

                

On behalf of myself and the staff, a hearty thank you to all those who helped prepare and celebrate the Triduum, Easter Vigil, and Sunday Liturgies. It takes many parishioners to help make the liturgies come together. Music is a significant part of the liturgies, and many volunteers are needed, such as the choirs made up of children and adults, both voices and bell ringers, along with the cantors and the folks who help live stream all the liturgical services. In addition to the choirs, there are also the ushers, lectors, acolytes, eucharistic ministers, and decorators, all who put in extra hours of work to make our liturgies prayerful and spiritually inspiring. The attendance at all the Holy Week and Easter services outpaces attendance in the recent past. For this, we are most thankful.

During the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil, five adults, four men and one woman, were baptized, and 10 adults were confirmed. A hardy thank you to parishioner Dennis Baumgardner who for the past 14 years or so has been the Catechist for the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) program. He teaches and prepares the men and women seeking entrance into the Catholic Church.

In addition to the Easter celebrations, other parish activities were also in the works, such as the Good Friday fish fry, which involves many volunteers. While attendance at the Good Friday fish fry was normal, the previous two had record-breaking numbers nearing 800 dinners. Thank you to all who served and volunteered to make our fish fry dinners a delicious and good experience! Also, immediately after the fish fry, parishioners began setting up for the Christian Women’s annual rummage sale. On Holy Saturday, a crew of parishioners came to take all of the collected and previously priced items from the shed to the gym.

A  big thank you to all who say “yes” to make our parish what it is. Recently, a visitor to our parish was impressed by the welcome she experienced from the ushers at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass, and said something to the effect of, “I have been looking for a parish to join, and your warm welcome makes me think St. John’s is the place. Keep up the good work.”

This Saturday, April 25, Parishioners Jonathan Zweifel and Hannah P. Schroeder celebrate their Sacrament of Marriage. Hannah is the daughter of James and Becky Schroeder, and Jonathan is the son of Eric and Julie Zweifel. Let us pray for them that they may have a long-lasting and joyful married life together. 

In light of the Holy Father’s death, Archbishop Grob will have a special Mass for Pope Francis this coming Tuesday, April 29, at 6:00 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee. Everyone is invited. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

Students participated in a prayer pod activity on Holy Thursday. A Prayer Pod is a multi-grade group guided by a teacher that meets throughout the school year for faith-centered activities. Our prayer pod activities offer students of all ages the opportunity to reflect on their faith and explore our five St. John’s Way values: compassion, perseverance, respect, responsibility, and service. Our prayer pod activity started with a prayer service in the gym, followed by an activity where the students listened to a reading from the Gospel of John about the washing of feet and, as a group, picked a sentence that spoke to them. Students then created a quick poster and shared it with the whole group. The next part of the day had students play “Faith Jeopardy” with their prayer pod. We had recess and a snack together as a whole school community. We ended the day with all of our students attending Adoration. It was a great day!