Thank you!

Dear Parishioners,

This past weekend we celebrated our annual parish picnic after being on a hiatus due to the pandemic. It was a joyous occasion to symbolically end the new church building project by burning a copy of our $1.5 mil. loan agreement from the Archdiocese. It was also a wonderful opportunity to begin, in earnest, the process of saying goodbye to myself, Fr. Stephen, and Sandra. The thoughts and hearts that were shared were truly wonderful. These are those times when God wants to tell us how much he loves us, and he does it through his people. Thank you all for your outpouring of love for me, Fr. Stephen, and Sandra. I will forever keep that celebration in my heart.

As you may know, next weekend will be my last as your pastor. Thank you to all who have lovingly walked with me in my stumbling, helped me get back up, challenged me to change, encouraged me when I felt down, forgiven me when I sinned, and prayed for me and my vocation. I am better for it all. Thank you, God, for such a blessing you have given me in the people of St. Anne, Our Lady of the River, and St. Patrick of the Forest.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

A Year To Remember Ends and a New One Begins

Dear Parishioners,

Last week, we concluded the academic school year, one that will go down in the history of amazing years for our humble school. God was blessing this important ministry all through the hard times of constant change and in the months when some regulations were rescinded. We added two new teachers, Katie Alderman and Samantha Austria-Gerig amidst the throws of the pandemic. New drop-off and pick-up procedures were created and executed. Grants and other funds were miraculously made available to help us excel in creating a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff. The PTO stepped up to do new and heroic things for the school. And the list goes on. With Summer Vacation beginning, please keep our children and their families in your prayers. Ask God to protect them and help them grow in faith and wisdom. Please pray also for the new teachers who have and will be hired between now and the end of the Summer. God is doing some amazing things in and through our school.

Next weekend, we say goodbye to Fr. Arjie who has been serving here for the past three years. Last weekend he offered Mass at our Missions of Our Lady of the River and then St. Patrick of the Forest. Next weekend, he will be offering all the Masses here at St. Anne. Maybe you might let him know of your support this one last time as time allows after the Masses. He will be heading to St. James in McMinnville and its missions as the Parochial Vicar with Fr. Mike Walker. Please keep in your prayers, as he begins a new journey in his priestly ministry. We wish him well and pray that his gifts will shine forth for the glory of God!

Following Fr. Arjie, we expect to received our new Parochial Vicar, Fr. Stephen Kenyon, in the days that follow. Work will be done, as per usual, to the parish house on Churchill in preparation for his arrival. He will immediately be scheduled in our common weekday and weekend Masses schedules  starting July 1st. Please extend him your prayerful support and warm welcome St. Anne style!

Anthony Hoangphan will be concluding his Pastoral Year on Sunday, July 4th. He will be returning home in Tigard for the rest of the Summer and will continue on his Theological studies at Mount Angel Seminary in the Fall. God willing, he will be ordained a deacon next Summer. Please let him know of your prayerful support. 

It has been a year to remember. Through the good and bad, we kept the faith and did our best to offer what we could in the ways of ministry, Sacraments, and most importantly, the Mass.  May God who has been with us through it all continue to keep our hearts and minds open to the things he wants to do in us in the coming year.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Congratulations, Fr. Stephen Kenyon

Dear Parishioners,

This Sunday, we welcome Fr. Stephen Kenyon who is substituting for Fr. Arjie. You might remember that last Summer, we welcomed the same person, but he was called “Deacon Stephen” at that time. I look back at last summer with gratitude for Deacon Stephen’s presence in our parish. We were in the midst of the final throws of building our new church and I was overwhelmed with the responsibilities therein. Consequently, I found myself struggling to put together any homilies. Honestly, my capacity was so diminished in this regard that I questioned my capacity to offer anything in the way of a reflection at Mass. As providence would have it, Deacon Stephen, the only transitional deacon I have received for a Summer assignment, was able to preach homilies. So, not only did I encourage it, I asked him to take over almost all of my preaching duties for the month of July, and we were all the beneficiaries of his presence and spiritual insights. I was fed and renewed by his preaching, and many of you shared the same with me. So, let us thank Fr. Kenyon for coming, once again, to help us this weekend, though not just in preaching, but in offering us the sacrifice of the Holy Mass. It is a time to be grateful for his openness to God’s calling as well as his pastoral care for us all last summer. 

Thank you Fr. Stephen for saying yes to God’s call, and welcome back to St. Anne, even if for just a weekend.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor