Thanks to everyone who donated jewelry to help victims of human trafficking in cooperation with Crisis Aid International. We collected over 48 pounds of donations!  Wow! Way to go, SSP parish! If you are looking for a fun, quick service opportunity, our Serve Together program will sort the jewelry at the Father Keaney Center on the IHM campus this weekend right after our 10 a.m. Mass. All are welcome, for whatever time you can give.

Lent is less than a month away, and I have exciting news. We are going to experiment with an additional Sunday Mass at SSP Church at 4:30 p.m. during Lent! I am excited about this experiment because it might help us draw to Mass on Sunday — and to Jesus in the Eucharist! — people for whom our current Mass schedule is not a good fit. When parish staff and the Transition Team looked at the results of our Winter Transition Survey, they advised me the experiment was worth trying. As Lent goes on, we’ll evaluate how many people are attending the new Mass, and whether the Mass time helps our parish grow wider and reach new people with the Gospel. If it does, I would definitely consider making this Mass a regular

Here are some details. Our current Mass times will remain the same: Saturday at 4 p.m. at SSP, Sunday at 7 a.m. at SJB and 10 a.m. at IHM, with an additional Mass at SSP on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Transition Team suggested 4:30 p.m. rather than 6 p.m. because the survey suggested it might work better for younger families, and might allow people to leave Mass with time for Sunday dinner with friends or family, and time to reset for the coming week. To make this Mass a success, we’ll need lots of volunteers, and a committee has begun work on the project. If you’re interested in helping in any way, contact Brooks Goedeker at [email protected]. We have a special need for greeters to help it be a welcoming experience for new people. We also hope to involve our students at SSP School in the Mass, and we are putting together a team for music, but as I write this, those details are not yet clear. Whatever Mass time you prefer, please help us make this experiment a success by spreading the word about our new Lenten Mass time to anyone who might

We also have lots more opportunities coming up in Lent. Our Ash Wednesday schedule for Feb. 14 is 6:30 a.m. Mass at SJB, 8 a.m. Mass at SSP with the school children, noon Mass at IHM, and 7 p.m. Mass at SJB. This year our Lent will have a Eucharistic theme as part of the nationwide Eucharistic Revival. Beyond our usual Bible studies, we’ll offer a new Tuesday evening series with Sr. Ellen and a small faith group called Renew on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. (choose the time that works best for you), learning and sharing about the Eucharist. The Fathers Nord — that’s my brother Father Alexander Nord and I — will tag-team a fun, inspiring talk on the Eucharist on Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. at SSP Church. Beyond all that, every Friday in Lent we’ll have Stations of the Cross at every church — 2 p.m. at SSP with the school children, 4 p.m. at IHM, and 6 p.m. at SJB — and our delicious SSP Parish fish fries each Friday, too.

Next week, I’ll give you an update on the SSP School Strategic Plan as we kick off Catholic Schools Week, and on Feb. 4 I’ll tell you more about what we learned from the Winter Transition Survey and talk about our plans for Holy Week and Easter. God bless you, and please pray for us!