Lent starts this week, and our journey to Easter! Ash Wednesday Masses are 6:30 am at SJB, 8:00 am at SSP (with school), and 7:00 pm at IHM. Remember to nominate someone for parish council with this link or the paper forms in our vestibules. 

      Here are some of my takeaways from the survey comments. First, parishioners disagree on whether our parish is uniting, and there are differences in how people coming to our parish from SSP, SJB, and IHM evaluate the transition. Eight people say we lack unity, while two people saw it growing. Second, music strategy is hard to figure out. Praise and worship music got 6 negative comments, and 1 positive. But 13 of the 15 people who rated our music at Mass “best in class” come to 10 am Mass. Also, 7 people called for more coordination in our music ministry. Comments on preaching leaned negative, with four people against preaching in series and three people saying homilies were too long. Many people offered specific suggestions for what might make our parish better; requests for improved sound systems, fun adult education, and a wider pool of volunteers were common. 
      
      For more details, come to a parish meeting this Sunday, March 2 at 11:15 in the Father Keaney Center. We’ll talk about the survey, parish council, and a draft 5 year plan for our parish. God bless you!