Pastoral Council Update

New Year’s Greetings St. Al’s Sisters and Brothers!

“We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe!”

St. Alphonsus Parish has been through a lot these past few months. St. A’ls has been a Redemptorist Parish for 135 years! Many generations from the same families have been parishioners being blessed from the Redemptorists’ ministry. Now that chapter is ending as we become a diocesan parish.

The Pastoral Advisory Council met recently and started to develop a plan on how to move forward, while still honoring and thanking our beloved Redemptorists priests in the process. The themes that we believe are important to our parishioners are to:

Remain positive in the process of change / remember our heritage and history as a Redemptorist Parish (Celebrations) / Create an action plan for the future and transition of St. Alphonsus Parish (Creating a vision for us!)

We will be planning celebrations honoring the Redemptorists at St. Alphonsus. The people of St. Als, along with the priests’ leadership, is what makes our parish so vibrant and important in our Northeast Grand Rapids Community.

The following was the prayer that led off our January meeting:

Dear Lord Jesus – Leader of us all! As we enter this New Year we humbly ask that you help us properly celebrate and honor St. Al’s Redemptorist past...the beloved priests that served us so faithfully. Help us to live joyfully in the present during this transitional time of leadership that we are in. Guide us lovingly into the future...a new “St. Alphonsus Church” with new leadership without fear or trepidation, but faith in your loving guidance, Christ. Amen!

Please pray for your Pastoral Advisory Council as we continue humbly serving St. Alphonsus Parish.

God Bless us all!
Bob Siegel, St. Alphonsus Pastoral Council Chair