I’m looking forward to Halloween this week! I’ll be giving out candy at the SSP parish office (rectory) from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening. There will be delicious candy for all and big candy for those whose trick-or-treat trick is a prayer! Below are some more questions and answers, leading off with a great question about the Apostles’ Creed, which was posed at our “Ask Father Aaron” gathering on Oct. 17.

In the Apostles’ Creed, why do we say, “the third day He rose again from the dead.” Why “again”?

Didn’t Jesus rise from the dead only once? Yes, Jesus rose from the dead only once (see Hebrews 9:27-28). The phrase “rose again” translates the Latin word “resurrexit,” which is a compound word made up of the roots “re-” (again) and “surgo” (rise). This very old prayer is using a simple mental image: Jesus was standing up alive. He was killed and laid down in death. He came back to life, and stood up, and was standing there again alive in his body.

Will there be one Parish Council for our combined parish?

Yes, there will. I regret that I haven’t made progress on organizing our Parish Council. One thing I’m thinking over is whether our Parish Council should be an action-oriented group working on specific projects, or a big-picture group looking at the arc of our parish over the next five years, or something else. I hope to make progress on organizing the Parish Council in the months to come.

What’s going on with the former Sts. Mary & Joseph church property?

I am very happy to announce that St. Stephen Protomartyr parish has sold the former Sts. Mary & Joseph (SSMJ) church property to Zarren Properties for $440,000. After the commission to our broker and fees connected to the sale, our parish will receive $412,870.72. I am very grateful to Msgr. Bommarito, who helped me go through the sale process with the Archdiocese. My gratitude also to the good support of the Finance Council, our business manager Jim Boeger, our maintenance team, and Mr. Tom DuBois in the Archdiocesan Office of Building and Real Estate. Thanks to their good work, we will no longer pay the expenses associated with the SSMJ property. Our combined parish mission will benefit by the generosity of the past parishioners of the former SSMJ parish, adding to the resources available for us to use for our mission: Love God; love others; make disciples.

What has our Mass attendance been like since August 1, 2023?

Our largest weekend Mass attendance was 611 across our three masses on August 12-13, when we had our Backpack Blessing. Our average attendance for the middle three weekends in October was 503; that’s down 23% from the same weekends in October of 2022, when SSP, SJB, and IHM parishes had a combined 650 people at Mass. Looking at each Mass time, the Saturday evening Mass had an average attendance of 158 this year, a 34% decline from 2023’s 239 people. The Sunday early Mass had an average attendance of 110 this year, a 27% decline from 2023’s 150 people. The Sunday midmorning Mass had an average attendance of 234 this year, a 10% decline from 2023’s 261 people. It’s likely that in November the Archdiocese will report on October Mass attendance across the Archdiocese. I’m looking forward to analyzing that information and seeing how we compare to other parishes that went through All Things New transitions.

I want to end by praising all of you for your friendly welcome to your fellow parishioners. I’ve heard from several people that when they come to church, wherever they come to church, they feel a warm welcome. So a big thank you — for smiling, for kindness, for coming to fellowship, for taking an interest in other people’s lives and what they have planned for the weekend, and for participating in the sign of peace by a wave or a handshake.

God bless you!