This year, Bishop Malesic is asking that every parish participate in the Diocesan Week of Service from March 22-28.  He wrote this…“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, some time ago, I wrote you a pastoral letter entitled ‘A Flourishing Apostolic Church.’ It was there that I asked you to follow a pastoral blueprint to examine the ways we worship, evangelize, and serve. Today, I am inviting you to consider putting the third leg of this blueprint into action by taking part in the Diocesan Week of Service from March 22-28, 2026.  Parishes, schools, and Catholic organizations are invited to host a service opportunity during the Week of Service. You know the needs of your community better than we do, so we are asking you to design a project that suits the needs of your local community.”

Our parish staff brainstormed that the Week of Service would not be a single project, but rather we would invite all families to go out into the community and perform random acts of service and kindness.  This could be as simple as writing a card or letter to someone, helping someone paint a room or clean a house, or even doing spring yardwork for someone else.  I will leave this up to each family.

Since it is the year of St. Francis, we thought we would put a Franciscan spin on this opportunity.  St. Francis of Assisi interpreted God's command to "Rebuild My Church" not just as repairing physical buildings, but as a call to restore the "living stones"—the human members of the Body of Christ. Inspired by 1 Peter 2:5, he knew believers are spiritual stones that must be renewed, repaired, and brought back to the center of the Church’s mission through love and service.  In the spirit of St. Francis, you and your family are invited to pick up a small stone provided by the parish at Sunday Mass on March 22 and take it home with you.  Then, find a way to be of service during the week.  Afterward, you can paint your family name on the stone and return it the following Sunday, March 29.  Then we will use them to make something beautiful in the butterfly garden.  Every stone will represent an act of service by a family, and every act of service builds up the Body of Christ.  Thank you for joining in our mission to “Rebuild the Church!”

Fr. Jeremy