When I announced to the parish in November that Bishop Murphy had made the decision that I would be leaving St. Mary’s at the end of June, it seemed that I had plenty of time to prepare myself for the move. The months since I made the announcement have passed by very quickly.  What at one time seemed like a very long time has dwindled down to a few weeks.  On June 25^th I will begin a new assignment in some parish within our diocese and St. Mary’s new pastor, Fr. Don Babinski, will arrive to begin serving as pastor of this wonderful parish.  I am sure that he will bring many gifts to St. Mary’s and lead St. Mary’s to new horizons as we try to respond to the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I am so grateful that I have been able to serve here for 18 years. The years have passed by very quickly indeed. When I came to St. Mary’s in 1990, I was 43 years old; when I leave this June, I will be nearly 61 years old. More than half of my priesthood has been spent at St. Mary’s.  I have been blest with a very gifted Pastoral Team, a very dedicated Support Team, wonderful priests, and a very generous community of lay people who are very dedicated to the life of this parish and have helped develop our Parish Leadership Community as well as our Pastoral Council and Pastoral Care programs throughout the years.  

St. Mary’s Parish celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 1998! For more than 100 years, families have gathered in our sacred space to sing the praises of God and listen to the Word of God. We have celebrated the gift of Eucharist and have been sent forth to proclaim and live the Good News! We have been greatly blest!  

St. Mary’s will continue to be in my prayer each day as I prepare to start a new assignment in our diocese. May the grace and peace of the Lord continue to fill us each day!