Message from Fr. Christopher

Dear Parishioners,

As I begin my assignment this weekend at St. Alphonsus, the number one feeling is excitement. Excitement for a new chapter for me and for the parish. Excitement for what the Lord has in store for us. Excitement for the many ways God is ready to bless us and send the Holy Spirit to reveal and lead the vision and mission of our parish.

With this, too, comes a lot of unknowns and much change. This part can bring fear with it, but we must recall the words of Jesus in the Gospel last Sunday: “Fear no one.” Countless times Jesus addresses fear because he knows it is common human emotion. He can relate to it and wants us to know the Holy Spirit offers the gift of courage to counter every fear.

So, let us be courageous in this time of change. And realize not all change is bad change, even if the process is difficult. In a certain regard, St. Alphonsus has been conditioned to change in the past eight months, which means adjusting has gotten easier. On the other hand, it might mean some exhaustion is setting in.

On my end, I will be doing my best to make only the changes necessary in the coming months. I realize you already have to adjust to a new leader and the different gifts I will bring than those of my predecessors. On your end, I ask you to please not spend time comparing my gifts to those of past priests — for good or for bad — and instead focus on the gifts God has given me. Please ask yourself how those gifts can be valuable to our parish.

In the coming weeks, I look forward to getting to know you and helping you get to know me in a variety of ways, such as through Masses, events, and these bulletin articles. Lastly, I would like to join our Parish Staff in extending my gratitude to Fr. George during his time as Administrator at St. Alphonsus. He has done so much to set us up for success in this transition

.Our Parish Staff shared the following sentiments:

We want to thank to both Fr. George and Deacon Jim for their willingness to serve our parish community. Thank you, Fr. George, for your weekly bulletin articles, signing checks, and updating our charters for the Pastoral and Finance councils. You helped make us ready to become a Diocesan parish, making difficult decisions, including eliminating Masses per diocesan policies.

Many weddings take place at St. Alphonsus because, like the Cathedral and Basilica, it is such a beautiful sanctuary. While at Cathedral and the Basilica most of those weddings are done by outside priests, weddings at St. Alphonsus are primarily done by our own priests, requiring much preparation work with the couples. Thank you to Dcn. Jim for taking on the responsibility of marriage prep for so many of our engaged couples. For the past eight months both Fr. George and Dcn. Jim have been working in the background taking on parish responsibilities that most people may not have even known about — we are so grateful!

Pax, Fr. Christopher Epplett