Parish Newsletter July 2019
Dear Parishioners:
 
In 2017, Guardian Angels Parish celebrated its 125th anniversary. As part of that celebration, the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) appointed a committee, called the “Q Group,” to help develop a vision for Guardian Angels’ future so that the parish can continue to grow in faith and enrich the spiritual lives of its members for many years to come. The members of the Q Group have now completed their work and reviewed it with the PPC. Today, I share it with you along with thoughts on how the PPC will use it to strengthen our parish.

Before doing this, I want to thank the Q Group and members of the parish for sharing their experiences and insights. The Church cannot thrive unless we all take personal ownership of our faith and we come together in community. We all know that we can’t do this on the shoulders of a few. 

As the PPC reviewed the insights from the Q Group, we saw this as a call to action. While there is a lot to feel good about, there is an opportunity to do more. We cannot afford to stand still. We must provide an atmosphere that allows us to grow closer to God and rejuvenate parishioner enthusiasm and involvement. 

It will take us time to evaluate and address every idea in this report; however, we are establishing several short-term goals because we think there are some changes we can implement soon. This includes continuing to meet and work these topics through the summer.

  • We will revitalize the Worship Board. We will seek diverse representation on this committee that includes those who attend Mass less frequently, and youth who have recently completed Confirmation. We want to keep many great parts of the Guardian Angels experience, while improving the experience so our parish thrives, and our parishioners can grow closer to God. This could include options for child-care, the repair or renewal items in the church like kneelers, and leveraging our greeters, Deacons, and ushers to improve our Mass experience.
  • We will enhance our efforts to welcome new parishioners by renewing our outreach processes. Our first engagement with potential parishioners is a critical part of drawing people to our community of faith, and we believe there is opportunity to have more fellowship events. We will be looking for volunteers to help here, and I will ask for your personal help to reach out and introduce yourselves to new faces. 
  • In parallel with the first two points, we will renew our PPC committee design. We are considering changing the composition of our PPC, which currently included five Boards. For example, our Ed/Faith committee bears a large scope of responsibilities. It might be necessary to separate some of those responsibilities so we can devote sufficient time to each. Underneath these Boards, we have a large number of Parish Service Organizations (PSOs), many of which are undermanned with no succession planning. We will review this inventory, consolidate responsibilities where appropriate, prioritize those most critical to the mission of the Parish, and the PPC will help resource their efforts.
  • We will provide the parish more visibility and access to the PPC. We will more visibly share opportunities to get involved which includes holding a Stewardship Fair in September of 2019. We will also ask committee leaders to regularly review their committee’s priorities with the congregation. We think this will foster more awareness and input into their efforts.

On top of these short-term goals, we will also be developing long-term action plans. This will take longer and will require new ways of thinking. If parishioners are interested in doing more, we would love to hear more from you.

I have included the current members of PPC and their current role. Please feel free to contact them at any time. They would be happy to assist in any way possible and continue to work with all parishioners in making Guardian Angels the best it can be.
 
Sincerely yours in Christ,

Reverend Thomas King
Pastor, Guardian Angels Parish
Parish Pastoral Council
Father Thomas King – Pastor and Chair of the Worship Board (513-231-7440)
Bill Luttmer – PPC President (513-739-8113)
Julie Bruns – Chair of the Ed/Faith Board (513-379-2194)
Rick Oberschmidt – Chair of the Fin/Ops Board (513-561-3155)
Diana Feldman-Smith – Chair of Ministry Board (513-232-5637)
Jim Froehlich – Chair of the Stewardship Board (513-378-6245)
Susan Boettner – Business Manager (513-624-8961)
Kathy Hosking – At Large Member (513-232-0958)
Mike Dunn – Q Group Liaison to the PPC (513-231-3583)
Vacation Bible Camp Was A Success!
ROAR! Our Vacation Bible Camp wrapped up with 43 enthusiastic campers and 17 counselors. All enjoyed a week of song, games, crafts and Bible stories as they learned, “When life is wild, God is good!” Thank you to our volunteers who made the week so wonderful. Special shout out to Mrs. Schoenhoeft for planning a great experience!
Camp GAudeo Wraps Up Another Great Camp Week!
New Processional Cross
The parish has a new processional cross! Special thanks to several very generous donors for providing a lighter weight cross that all of our servers can carry.  It is a one of a kind piece of artwork, hand carved, hand painted by Pema Woodcarvers in Val Gardena, Italy.
Religious Education Department News
CCD
Looking for ways to become more involved in our parish programs? We have openings in our CCD program for Catholic adults who are interested in sharing their faith with the children of our parish. Teaching experience is helpful, but not required. Stipends are available for CCD catechists. CCD will take place in 24 sessions Sunday mornings from 8:30-9:45am between September 8 through March 29. If you are interested in learning more about teaching in our CCD program, contact Kay Froehlich .

Those wishing to enroll their children in CCD grades K-8 can find registration information on the parish website . Registration is due August 1st to ensure your child is enrolled.

Rite of Christian Initiation
The parish is also looking for help with those seeking to become Catholic through our RCIA program. Vatican II teaches that each one of us “has the obligation of spreading the faith to the best of our ability” (Lumen Gentium 17) and that “Christian initiation should be the concern of the whole Christian community, so that from the beginning the catechumens will feel that they belong to the people of God” (Ad Gentes 14).

We invite members of the parish to share in the faith formation of those entering the Church. No previous RCIA experience required! RCIA will begin in the fall on Thursday evenings.

Do you know anyone interested in becoming Catholic or completing the Sacraments of Initiation? Encourage them to find out more!

To learn more about working with or participating in our RCIA program, please contact Kay Froehlich at kfroehlich@gaparish.org or 513-624-3146.
Feast of the Guardian Angel
Please save the date for our celebration of the Feast of the Guardian Angel on Sunday, September 29th! Our celebration will begin with the noon Mass and continues with a parish picnic. All are welcome to attend! More information will be available as the date approaches.
Volunteers Needed for 2019 Monster Mash
The Monster Mash Committee is looking for volunteers to help plan the event for October 26, 2019. Also we are looking for someone who would take over as chair of the event starting in 2020-2021 school year. This event is easy to organize and requires a small time commitment (perfect for any parent who wants to be involved). If interested please contact Amy Armstrong Smith .
Have News to Share?
If you are part of a parish organization and have news you would like to share with our community, please email Tiffany Strah. To be included in next month's newsletter, your information must be received by the last Monday of this month.