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St. Rita Renovation Announcement
We are pleased to let you know that the installation of a high
efficiency air-conditioning/heat pump system for St. Rita Church will
begin this coming Monday, August 2nd. This system will help
reduce our energy costs and maintain a more consistent temperature and
humidity level in the church all year round. So that this work
can take place in the most efficient manner, St. Rita Church will be
completely closed starting this Monday through Wednesday, August 25th.
During this time, the Thursday 9:00 a.m. and Sunday 10:45 a.m.
Mass will be held at St. Hedwig Church (Humboldt and Brady) Street.
We expect to reopen St. Rita church for all services on Thursday,
August 26th. This information will also be in the bulletin.
This is the text of the announcement that was made at
Old Saint Mary, Our Lady of Divine Providence, SS Peter & Paul and
Three Holy Women Parishes the weekend of May 8-9, 2010.
For the past several years, the parishes of Old St. Mary, Our Lady of
Divine Providence, St. John Cathedral, SS. Peter & Paul and Three
Holy Women have worked together collaboratively as the Riverbank
Catholic Communities. Together we sponsor our parish school,
Catholic East Elementary, as well as a variety of programs, ministries
and outreach efforts.
Up until now, five priests have served these five parishes. For
almost twenty years now, we have been predicting that the day will come
when there will not be enough priests available in the archdiocese for
each parish to have its own priest. The day is now here.
On June 30th, Father Jerry Hessel, pastor of Our Lady of Divine
Providence will retire from active ministry. We are grateful for
the contributions he has made, not only to Our Lady of Divine
Providence, but to Catholic East and to all of the Riverbank Catholic
Communities. With Fr. Jerry's retirement, a significant change
will occur for all of us.
Beginning July 1st, Father Tim Kitzke, Father Brian Mason and Father
Michael Michalski will receive a new assignment among our parishes.
Archbishop Listecki has appointed all three priests to serve as a
pastoral team to serve Old St. Mary, Our Lady of Divine Providence, SS
Peter & Paul and Three Holy Women. This means that all three
priests will be pastors of all four parishes. So, how does this
work?
In forming a pastoral team, the three priests will work together as
three equals; this is not a configuration of a pastor with two
associate pastors. Each priest will assume responsibilty for
overseeing and supervising a particular area of parish life and
administration in all four parishes. For example, one priest will
oversee finance and property, another human concerns, another ministry
to the Hispanic Community. We will make those areas of
responsibility known to you in the weeks ahead. The pastoral team
will work together closely, coming to decisions through consensus.
All three priests will begin rotating between the four parishes for
weekend masses, weekday masses, baptisms, confessions, weddings and
funerals. On the weekends, one priest will cover all of the
masses at one parish. This will mean that every fourth weekend,
each parish will have a guest presider to cover masses. It will
take a while for us to get to know one another, but that will certainly
come with time. Because the entire life of our parishes is
centered on the Eucharist, the pastoral team will make it the
highest priority to provide good preaching and presiding at all four
parishes.
This new configuration will also reach beyond the three priests and the
coverage of sacramental celebrations. With three co-pastors
leading our parishes, we will enter into a new way of being a Catholic
Community in our part of the city. While respecting the unique
identity and history of each parish, we will find new ways to work
together to support Catholic East and East Side Child and Youth
Ministries. All four parishes will share the cost of priest
salaries resulting in a savings for all four parishes. We
envision our parish councils learning new ways to work together for the
good of all the parishes.
It is also important to you to understand what this configuration will not mean. No
parish is closing. No parishes are being merged. There will be no
co-mingling of parish finances. This new configuration is not a
first step to doing any of these things.
This will be new for all of us: parish staffs, parish councils,
parishioners and priests. None of us have ever undertaken
something like this before. We will not be able to predict how
every possible circumstance or issue that will arise in the future.
All of us will learn together. It is inevitable that some
mistakes will occur and some ways of doing things will need to be
rethought. What Father Tim, Father Brian and Father Mike ask is
for your trust and your patience as we move forward. Archbishop
Listecki told us that he wanted a long-term commitment on the part of
the priests to this new configuration. We are thrilled to be able
to serve our four parishes and we do make a commitment to serve each
and every one of our parishioners. We want to have four strong,
vibrant and faith-filled parishes who work together to continue the
mission of Jesus Christ in our Riverwest, East Side and Downtown
neighborhoods. We want the larger community of the City of
Milwaukee to know that the Riverbank Catholic Communities are a force
for goodness and Christian justice and that we live out our faith in
Christ each and every day.
As we move forward, questions will inevitably arise. Please
direct your questions to the pastoral team so that we can answer and
address them for the good of all. We ask that you please keep our
four parishes and our three priests in your prayers. We ask your
support and your help as we move into the future.
Theology-on-Tap for Young Adults
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Join us on
Monday evenings from July 12 - August 2 for Theology-on-Tap: great
speakers,
engaging discussion, and fellowship with other young adults in their
20s and 30s! Click here
for details. |
Interested in possibly becoming Catholic, or just
seeing what it's all about?
We're happy to help you in your journey of discernment! Click here for more
information.
Looking to have your child baptized?
Congratulations on your new baby! To begin the process for
getting your child baptized, please click here for details.
Job Seekers Prayer Group
Job Seekers is a prayer, support and networking group for people who
have lost their jobs, those who are fearful of losing their jobs and
any others who wish to offer prayer and support. We also offer career
counseling, resume reviews, job tips and interview suggestions. If you
feel you would like a chance to update your resume, or even help in
writing one, we are happy to help in the process. We gather each Monday
evening at Holy Rosary Church, 2011 N. Oakland Ave., beginning at
6:30pm. Please consider joining us any Monday evening for prayer and
friendship.
Click here to go to the job seekers NEW website which
has resources and information on job openings.
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Three Holy Women Parish
1716 North Humboldt Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-271-6577
Office hours: Monday - Friday 8:30am-4:00pm
Map & Directions |
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