Merry Christmas, Happy Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Happy New Year and Thank You! Thank you for all the cards, gifts, goodies, and prayers you have given to me!
So I have some good news and bad news. The sad news, as some have heard, is our beloved Melissa Jakmouj, Director of Music and Liturgy, will be withdrawing from ministry at Prince of Peace due to health reasons. We have been very blessed to have her serve here for the past 5 1/2 years. I cannot express enough my gratitude for her dedication to Prince of Peace, her skill in music, her ability to draw others in and organize the chaos of Sundays and many other events at POP. She will be sorely missed and impossible to replace. The plan is for Melissa to continue in a limited role with some help for a little while. Hopefully, we will figure out a replacement soon. Please pray for Melissa and shower her with appreciation as she finishes time here, and prayers that we find a new person to fill some big shoes! Here is our short advertisement, and if you know of anyone who should apply, please encourage them!
Director of Music and Liturgy - Prince of Peace is seeking candidates to work with the Pastor in the planning and implementation of all parish Liturgies. This position is responsible for overseeing all music and music groups, as well as coordinating liturgical ministries in the parish. Must be a practicing Catholic in full communion with the Church, and ideally able to play the organ and piano. To apply, please send a resume to John Meyers, business manager, at jmeyers@popolathe.org.
On other news, there is a possibility, that POP could recruit some teaching sisters of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia from Nashville, Tennessee. They wouldn’t replace anyone here, unless it happens naturally, but they would fit into various possible roles here, and be such a blessing! We love our Sisters of St. Anne and the Medical Sisters of St. Joseph who serve at Villa St. Francis, and we just are greedy and want more Sisters!!! So, just a heads-up on the possibility, and I encourage you to pray for this!
And here is the good news, Jesus Christ is born and is our Savior!!! What are you going to do for Jesus for the year of 2023? Here are just a few ideas if you need them.
Pray more. Lots of ways to do this. But few better than committing to a weekly Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Contact us at adoration@popolathe.org.
Read the Bible or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Try using the extremely popular podcast series from Fr. Mike Schmitz, “The Bible in a Year” and the new “Catechism in a Year”. See the advertisements in the bulletin, or look them up on your podcast app.
Invest in relationships! Are you married, engaged, single? Research shows that married couples who invest 5 hours a year in their marriage (with some sort of marriage-focused content) significantly decrease the rate of divorce. But engaged couples and single folks too need good relationships and friendships. POP is trying to have a monthly event to build relationships, so try to make one or more this year. In January, we have a “Dinner & Dancing” event—see the advertisement elsewhere in this bulletin.
Serve. Whatsoever we do for the least of our brothers, we do for Jesus. There are always lots of opportunities POP is involved in to serve or give to the needy. Just check out this and future bulletins or our Service table in the vestibule.
I hope and pray we all have a blessed, grace-filled 2023. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!
Peace,
Fr. Greg