Dear Parish Family,

  This weekend is Father’s Day Weekend and so I certainly want to take the opportunity to wish all of our fathers, grandfathers, and father figures a Happy and Blessed Father’s Day. We pray too, for all those fathers who have gone to their eternal reward, all those fathers who have lost children, and all those who long to be fathers but can’t.

  As we celebrate our fathers, I also wanted to provide you with an update on how my father is doing. As many of you know, my dad has been struggling and battling with cancer since July of 2019, just before I was installed as Pastor. So many have been praying for him and my family and he and I are greatly appreciative of all those prayers. There have been ups and downs along the journey and for a time it seemed that the tumors were shrinking.

  Just about a week ago, though my dad called me to let me know that the latest scans have not shown as good of news and, after consulting with the doctors, he has stopped his chemo treatments. Obviously there is no way to predict exactly what will happen, but the doctors have told him that is a matter of months, likely 2-6 months. He and I both broke up on the phone when he called to tell me the news and said to me, “John, I need you to come over so that we can talk about my Funeral.” I knew that that conversation would happen eventually, but I don’t think that I was quite ready for it to happen just yet.

  Please, please continue to pray for my dad. He has taught me so much and has been a great role model for me throughout my life. Over the course of the next few months, I am hoping and planning to spend as much time with my dad as possible. I have a personal vacation planned for late July/early August, but I likely will also be taking some time during the normal weeks to go and be with him. Right now he is doing ok and not in any pain, but I don’t want to wait until the end is near to take the time to be with him. I will still be present at both parishes and plan on keeping as regular a schedule as possible, but there may be days or times where I take a day, or an afternoon, or an evening off to be with him. I will keep you updated as time goes on and let you know how my dad is doing. For now, please pray for him, for me, and for peace and comfort, especially for my dad and my mom.