New Church Building Update

Dear Parishioners,

Once again, as a manner of transparency and high communications, I would simply like to give you an update to our new church building project.  Here’s a brief history.

 After determining needs and wants over the course of several years, myself along with the Core Building Committee along with the Administrative Council called upon S & B James of White City to draw several plans for a new church which included site plans. The idea of simply remodeling the current building was reflected upon, but continually introduced more problems than it solved.  So, a new building has always been our focus. We did a feasibility study in view of the plan we felt was the best solution to answer almost all concerns brought forward. But, it soon became clear that our dreams when compared to our fundraising potential didn’t match.  So, we concluded that, knowing our potential for fundraising, we would then have S & B James draw up a new plan that would come within our financial reach.  Such a drawing would cut out some of the items we dreamed about, but would focus on the one main goal of this whole project: a better liturgical space worthy of the Sacred Liturgy which had all the pews in one direction. 

Thus, a very rough drawing of a basic rectangular building meeting our basic needs has been draw.  As a rough draft we will soon be reflecting more deeply on this drawing before we bring it before the parish community.  

The Archdiocesan Building Commission will need to weigh in and give approval of our plan and fundraising efforts. Assuming all goes well with the process of finalizing a suitable drawing, we will then seek out a professional company to help with a capital campaign which would likely happen in the Fall.  Assuming that goes well, we would then seek out bids from construction companies, choose the one construction company that fit our criterion, and ground breaking could occur late Winter or early Spring.  During the building phase of this project, we expect to hold Mass in our Parish Center. It will be tight, but we can fit. Personally, I am very curious to see how that experience bonds us together more as a community. 

Again, this is the latest information regarding the building project.  I have no intention of rushing any of this so all suggested drawings and time frames are subject to change.  I have not called together our Core Building Committee for review of the new rough drawing, but will do so when S & B James is ready to discuss the ideas together.  

So, I ask that you all continue to keep this project in your prayers.  We want to do this right and with prudence.  Some people are antsy to get this going while others are very cautious.  I understand both of those points of view, as I have held both, jugging them in my mind many times.  I pray that this project, however it goes, will be a grace-filled time where we grow together as a parish in our journey towards our Lord.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

The School, Memorial Weekend, and Boatnik

Dear Parishioners,

This last weekend, our country celebrated Memorial Day. The weekend was full of all kinds of activities here in Grants Pass due to Boatnik. This was a wonderful time for people from all over to gather together for a common purpose. Memorializing our fallen veterans is near and dear to all of our hearts.

Our float during the 2016 Boatnik Parade

Part of the festivities included the Boatnik Parade. Our school, once again, participated with our children, parents, teachers, and fans of the school. I think it is very safe to say that we had a great time. The float won first place overall! A big thank you needs to go out to Tiffany & Allen Fuller, along with Nikki & Garry Huffman who spent most of Friday afternoon into the night putting the float together. Even Fr. Karl was there to lend a hand. Many other people spent countless hours painting and creating the elements that would be later assembled on the float. During the parade itself, there was clearly a wonderful outpouring of joy and support by the people of Grants Pass.

This is one of our most visible opportunities to share the Good News. Our school continues to educate and form our children to be faithful Christians and great assets to our society. We should all be proud of what we are doing for our church and community through our school. Please share this good news!

This coming year, the school will be adding a 3-year old preschool and offering grades up through 5th grade. We will be dropping 6th grade and focusing on being the best elementary school we can be. St. Anne Catholic School is something we all need to promote by getting the word out to those who are discerning where to take their children for the coming school year. We have so much to offer our young people that they need. I am a fan of all that goes on there. And with the continued leadership of our principal, Colleen Kotrba, and the wonderful teaching staff, we have a bright year ahead of us. May God continue to bless our parish and school. May we be beacons of light to all who come our way. May we be the welcoming people we are called to be, sharing Christ’s loving mission.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Not All Catholic Bloggers Are The Same

Dear Parishioners,

In my last reflection, I wrote about the benefits of technology with the context of our faith.  With the power of our modern advancements in computer systems has come the democratization of speech.  This is, again, good and bad.  It is good in so much as it lends a voice to those that need to be heard but cannot afford previous means of doing so.  It is bad in that people who want to promote evil or sin have equal abilities.  The later issue brings to the fore the issue for parents and their right to teach, guide, and protect their children as they believe is best for them. That is why some parents limit their children’s exposure and use of many social websites and apps, let alone the use of a smart phone.

Father Thomas Rosica

‘Many of my non-Christian and non-believing friends have remarked to me that we ‘Catholics’ have turned the Internet into a cesspool of hatred, venom and vitriol, all in the name of defending the faith!

‘The character assassination on the Internet by those claiming to be Catholic and Christian has turned it into a graveyard of corpses strewn all around,’ said Rosica, who assists the Vatican Press Office with English-speaking media, on May 11 as he delivered the keynote address at the Brooklyn Diocese’s observance of World Communications Day.

‘Often times the obsessed, scrupulous, self-appointed, nostalgia-hankering virtual guardians of faith or of liturgical practices are very disturbed, broken and angry individuals, who never found a platform or pulpit in real life and so resort to the Internet and become trolling pontiffs and holy executioners!’ Rosica said.

‘In reality they are deeply troubled, sad and angry people,” he said. “We must pray for them, for their healing and conversion!’”

I would like to offer another additional point of concern which are those websites which claim to be Catholic. Be very mindful of what it written, but also the tone in which things are posted.  Recently, Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, CEO of Canada’s Salt and Light Media Foundation, made a critique that some Catholics engaged in online conversations speak more like the “culture of death” rather than the “culture of life.”  Here’s an excerpt from an article on cruxnow.com which was written by Ed Wilkinson of Catholic News Service:

You can read his fuller reflection by clicking this link or via our parish webpage.

Ultimately, we need to be people of charity who speak the truth without vitriolic hyperbole.  What people need to hear is compassion and a willingness to walk with them as they struggle in their life. May we all continue to be people who are welcoming and willing to share our faith in a way that is sweetly-compelling rather than sour-piteousness.  The former attracts while the latter repeals.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Technology & Pentecost

Dear Parishioners,

With the advancements in technology, communication has been made possible like never before.  We are now able to communicate with each regardless of how far away we are.   There are applications for our smart phones that can allow two people speaking different languages to understand each other in real-time.  Advancements have also allowed us to be made aware of events as they happen and comment on them for everyone to read, share, or debate. The Church has sometimes lagged in this area, but has made great efforts to catch up. Pope Francis has further encouraged this advancement in our call to accompany each other on our journey of faith.  

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With this new power comes the potential for great good as well as evil. Many people have been reunited due to social websites while others have been stalked.  Long lost relatives and friends have rekindled relationships and healed deep wounds while others have further promoted deception through misunderstanding and misinformation.  The speed and access of social media is possibly the greatest sociological force since the creation of the Internet itself. The Church applauds these advancements in technology while also offering caution.  Pope Francis noted in his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium):

We are living in an information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data-all treated as being of equal importance-and which leads to remarkable superficiality in the area of moral discernment. In response, we need to provide an education which teaches critical thinking and encourages the development of mature moral values. (§64)

This is where St. Anne Catholic School, our Faith Formation ministries, and Youth & Young Adult Ministries play a vital role in our parish.  Anything you can do to participate and/or support these ministries helps develop our faith and moral character. We all need to make use of and access the Internet in order to learn about our world.  But we also need to do so to inform our consciences in the way of the Christian life.  In order to have a mature understanding of the events of the world in light of the Gospel, we must also pair these means of education with a solid prayer life and openness to the Holy Spirit.

This weekend, we celebrate Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples, a gift to the Church to which we all have access.  Spend this week pondering on the gifts that you have been given.  Ponder on how you are being called to share the faith through these gifts, and ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you to go out and share God’s love and his Gospel to those whom you know and meet.  Remember, we are not to shy away from the technologies before us, but to use them for the propagation of the faith.  So, may the Holy Sprit enkindle in each of us a new fire to share the Gospel in our lives using whatever technologies are before us, not to be timid for fear of their misuse, but instead, making them vehicles of Good news, news that the world needs to hear.

Maranatha!  Come Holy Spirit!

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Church Project Update

Dear Parishioners,

Here’s the latest on the new church building project.  Not too long ago we informed the community that the plan to build a church where the offices are located was beyond our capacity to fund.  So, we went back to an earlier (~3 yrs old) and less expensive design which placed the new church in the same spot as our current building, albeit with a more cruciform design and other complexities in order to meet a wish list of ideas for the church.  So, last month, we got estimates on the various versions of this church structure, a layout the Core Building Committee unanimously liked.  However, due to economic changes from three years ago, the cost for the various versions of this build had risen beyond our ability to fund as well.

Image of St. Franics Rebuilding the Church

So where does that leave us?  Honestly, prior to last Sunday, I thought it left us with the only option of a remodel of the current church building without any major augmentation to structure.  This, while the least expensive, meets only two criterion for the new church: moving all the pews to face West and placing the Sanctuary on the West side accordingly.  However, after the Core Building Committee met last Sunday, we discerned that we still needed more research into different ways we could afford the new building.  In general, the solution may lie in a building of much smaller scale.  So, we now will be reflecting and imagining something much more simple, yet beautiful, letting go of many of our bigger ideas.  

This process of discernment has continued to move and change, all the while done in a spirit of hope and desire to do the best we can within our means.  I continue to be impressed with the members of our Core Building Committee as well as that of our Administrative Council who have demonstrated a steward’s response to all the various obstacles and challenges we have faced thus far.  I am constantly being surprised and delighted in this process which has shown the best of our parish community, something which warms my heart and gives me continued confidence that the Holy Spirit is in charge.  I ask all of you to join me in continued prayer for this process, slow as it is, so that we will continue to move in the direction that God wants us to go.  As always, if you have any questions, feel free to talk to me or Stephen Voehl, our Business Manager for details or just to kick around ideas.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Christ Sets Us Free!

Dear Parishioners and Friends in Christ,

All praise be to Christ Jesus who is risen from the dead!  Alleluia! After our lenten journey of preparation, we are finally here.  Today, we celebrate the greatest gift given to humanity: salvation won by Christ through his suffering, death, and resurrection (a.k.a. The Paschal Mystery).  Our heavenly Father sent his only begotten Son to walk with us as God-man thereby taking on all our sins, though not having sinned himself.  By his taking on our sins, crushing them in death, and rising on the third day, he has opened up for us the way to eternal life. This is the Good News! 

Many of us struggle to realize this in our lives due to all the stress we experience and the sheer weight of sins which we carry unnecessarily.  In addition, the popular media and news give us no reason to hope that anything will change.  Each one of us carry burdens which dampen our joy or even blind us to the Divine Mercy which Christ wants us to experience.  So, today is the day we celebrate the fact that God has done something miraculous for us which can set us free.  

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

— John 14:6

Do you want to be set free?  Do you want to truly live without the burden of all that holds you down? You can be set free!  You don’t need to do this alone.  You do not need to be afraid or worried all the time.  Christ is the answer.  It’s all about him. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Today, spend some time in quiet prayer.  Share with Jesus your pains and sorrows, your sins and problems.  Ask him directly and without pretense or precise language to enter your heart, to have permission to take on all these burdens, and create you anew.  Ask him to take away whatever disordered attractions keep getting you into trouble.  Allow yourself to die to yourself in Christ, to let go and let Jesus take over.  He won’t let you down.  He will never leave you.  He knows you and loves you beyond all measure, for his love is perfect and his grace is sufficient for you to be able to handle whatever hardships come your way.  He desires for you to live with him along with all the Saints and Angels in heaven. But, know that in the meantime, he has work for you to do. By letting him be the Lord of your life, he will set you on a path that will bring you joy and fulfillment.  Living by His Holy Spirit is an adventure worth living.

Let the reality of Christ’s resurrection steep in your soul.  And finally, if there is anything I or any of our staff can do to help you on your Christian journey, please let us know.  That’s why we are here.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

Holy Week

Dear Parishioners, 

As I write this post, I am in the Portland area for the Chrism Mass where all the priests of the Archdiocese gather around our Archbishop at Mass, renew our promises of our ordinations, and assist the bishop in the blessing of the Holy Oils (Oil for the Sick, Oil of the Catechumens, and Sacred Chrism).  This is generally the first of a series of important liturgical events which make up "Holy Week."  This year, however, due to a scheduling conflict at the Cathedral, the Chrsim Mass is much earlier. Holy Week proper begins with each Palm Sunday and concludes on the Saturday of the Easter Vigil.

At Palm Sunday, the Church gathers at Mass to reflect on the Scriptures which tell of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem, his passion, and death.  At our 7 PM and 11 AM Masses, we will begin in the Parish Center and eventually process into the church with our palms waving high.

The following Thursday is called, Holy Thursday.  It begins what is also called "the Triduum" or three days. On this evening Mass (7 PM), we recall the events of the Last Supper which includes a symbolic washing of feet.  This ritual is intended to remind us of our call to serve our brothers and sisters as Jesus did. During the Preparation of the Gifts we will formally receive the Holy Oils which were blessed at the Cathedral.  We commemorate the institution of the Eucharist where we conclude Mass with a solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament to an altar of repose (located in our Parsh Center) where adoration will take place until 10 PM.   The main altar in the church is stripped and the Eucharist does not return to the Tabernacle until Easter Vigil.  

On Friday, we will participate in an ecumenical Good Friday service at St. Luke's Episcopal Church here in Grants Pass.  In the evening (7 PM) we will continue our solemn memorial of Christ's Passion on Good Friday with a silent entrance into the Church, solemn proclamation of the Scriptures with a more elaborate reading of the Gospel, followed by the Veneration of the Cross. Communion will be offered in a simple way followed by a silent and solemn procession out of the church.  This is not a Mass, but technically a liturgy of the Word with Communion.  The entrance and recession are both striking, for they indicate that they are not beginning nor ending something.  This is true, as Good Friday is more of an "in-between" service with Holy Satruday being the conclusion.

On Holy Saturday, we will all gather outside on the East side of the church at 8:30 PM for the blessing of the fire and Paschal Candle.  We will all enter the church while lighting our own smaller candles.  The Exaultet will be proclaimed, a large selection of Scriptures will be proclaimed detailing Salvation History, and then we bring the Elect to the large Baptismal Fount in order for them to receive their first Sacrament, that is Baptism.  Immersion baptism is the norm, but we will see a variety of forms being offered that night depending on the person.  Then we will receive the Candidates into full communion and then offer both the newly baptized (Neophytes) and Candidates the Sacrament of Confirmation.  The Liturgy of the Eucharist is then offered where our new Catholics become even more in union with Christ through his most Holy Body and Blood.  That concludes Holy Week.

I hope that you will arrange your week around these important moments of the Church.  If you have not ever been to the Triduum, I cannot encourage you strong enough.  It truly sets up Easter in such a context that, I believe, we can more fully enter into the mysteries of our Lord.  

May God Bless you during this Holy Week, 

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

God And Black Holes

Dear Friends,

This past week, an important confirmation of Einstein's theory of General Relativity was confirmed, namely the existence of gravity waves. It was done by using special instruments on Earth to detect the colliding and merging of two black holes. The moment of their collision was detected as a chirp on a recording.  This event, scientists are saying, caused a ripple in space-time that was 50 times greater than the output of all the stars in the universe combined!  That, my friends, is a big deal. Some are calling this the greatest breakthrough in physics since Galileo pointed his telescope into the sky. 

Previously, all astronomy has been done using instruments that could detect electromagnetic energy, specifically those things that luminesce or light up the sky such that telescopes could see them.  What we have not been able to see are objects that do not luminesce and are dark.  But, with new instruments that can detect a different signature, gravity, potentially new telescopes will be able to see these hidden things as well as "see" deeper and therefore longer ago in the universe.

Once again, the heavens proclaim the glory of God! Who knows what amazing things we will discover with such a confirmation and instruments sensitive enough to detect this distant objects.  I just reminds me of how small we are, how amazing it is that we can create such technology, how massive our universe is, and how amazing it is that God created it all for us to discover. I give praise to God for giving us minds to think and abilities to create such technology. Hopefully soon we will be able to discover things we never knew about our place in the Cosmos. Knowing about our universe helps us know more about God, for all that God has created says something about him.  In addition, knowing more about our universe helps us understand our place in it, how relatively tiny we are and how radical God's love is that he would place us in the universe .  It continues to demonstrate that God doesn't just love the big  and flashing things he made, but also us, his small and tiny persons which he endowed with reason and the freedom discover the place in which we live.  It also reminds me how awesome and great heaven must be if this existence as we are coming to know it is already amazingly beautiful and deep with mystery.  

Here is a video that explains this discovery in simple words...

Youth Ministry & Building Project

Dear Parishioners,

Youth Ministry

After some serious discernment, Natalie Scott has decided to conclude her employment with us as our Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the end of our fiscal year (think end of June).  You can read her letter in our Youth Ministry column in our parish bulletin where she briefly discusses some of her thoughts and plans.  She will certainly be missed.  That being said,  know that she expects to remain in our area afterwards for some time as she continues with her ongoing plans of her own personal ministry which she will elaborate on in time.  I am thankful for her work and communicating with me and the parish so early which helps everyone involved.  As such, we will begin immediately advertising the position for about a month whereby we will accept applications from interested and qualified persons.  Please see our ad in this bulletin as well as that on our website for more details.  I am sure that you will want to express your support for Natalie in this transition period, and I encourage you do so.  She has many dreams and plans for the future, and we all want her to do well! 

With news of her departure, we then need to turn our attention to seeking out a qualified person to follow in her footsteps.  We have posted the position on our parish website, CatholicJobs.com, and our Archdiocese website.  If you or someone you know is interesting in joining our ministry team in this position, please check out the official posting and email us a cover letter and resume.  Please pray for all involved that God's will may be done!

New Church Building Project

As you hopefully have read in last week’s bulletin, we had a town hall meeting and the conclusion was that we simply could not afford the project we had created.  So, what is next, simply more discernment.  If you have any thoughts or questions, do not hesitate to talk with me or Stephen our business manager.  Even more importantly, please seek out members of the Core Building Committee, the Administrative Council, and associated groups who were listed in the letter last week.  We will be meeting this month to reflect on what the parish wants to do or not do, after which I hope to get a consensus of direction.  As always, God’s will be done.  Let us all submit to the prompting of his Holy Spirit!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

New Website & Blue Skies!

Dear Parishioners,

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I have been working on a new website.  At this point, it is ready to go, though not completely polished.  All I need to do is finish things up with my previous host provider and move my domain and email to its new home.  The nice thing about this new site is that I can edit it and change its looks very easily.  It will also be responsive to mobile devices which make up some of the most traffic to websites today.

It has been a long time coming and I am very happy to have found new inspiration in a different look and feel with the tools that my new provider, squarespace.com, has drawn out of me.  It's like a new day with new skies, blue skies in fact.  I feel refreshed, and I hope the lack of clutter on the site will make it a good experience.

So, In a matter of days, what you see here will be replaced with a new version of "Fr. Bill's Personal Pages." So, consider yourself forewarned!  The end of this particular webpage design will sunset into history.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor