Dear Friends in Christ:
Next Sunday, August 4th is the feast day of our patron saint, St. John Marie Vianney. Our parish was founded in August 1966 with 300 families with Fr. Bill Tinney as our first pastor. In those early days, the parishioners first met at Bendwood Elementary and later at Meadow Wood Elementary. There are still some parishioners who fondly remember “St. Meadow Wood”. I first experienced St. John Vianney Parish as a seminarian in 1977. I taught 5th grade CCE. One of the hallmarks of the parish that I immediately experienced was the wonderful sense of community. From the founding of the parish with Fr. Tinney, through the years of wonderful leadership by Fr. Joe Crosthwait and Fr. John Morfin to today, the sense of community makes our parish so special!
Every parish is blessed by God with the sacraments, the Gospel, and many holy and wonderful people, but our parish does have something a little bit different, and it is intangible. I wish I could take credit for it, but it is not me or any other priest who has been blessed to serve in this parish. That special gift is YOU! The special gift that we experience is the warmth, connectedness, sense of belonging, and purpose that resides in so many of our parishioners and is continually cultivated and transmitted to new generations of parishioners. While I wish every single person experienced and felt it, I know that is not always the case. Yet, our beautiful sense of community is felt and experienced by many. How do I know this? I see it with my own eyes, and I hear it from visitors and new parishioners.
So, what exactly is the sense of community of St. John Vianney Parish? Again, it is hard to define. Here is what I see. It is a joy to be Catholic in the fullest sense. It is the joy of knowing God and wanting to love Him above all else. It is an awareness that we are stronger and happier together than going it alone. It is a firm hope in God’s goodness and optimism for our world. It is gratitude and appreciation for our blessings as individuals, families and as a parish family. It is a desire to be generous. It is a sincere humility in our efforts and a pride in God’s accomplishments. It is a genuine affection and love for our parish and fellow parishioners. It is a desire to be better and to always give our best. It is a confidence that God is always with us especially when we are with each other. Are we perfect? Far from it. Does everyone feel this way all the time? Of course, not. Do we sometimes work at cross purposes and undermine this gift of community? Sadly, we do at times.
This then begs the question; how do we continue to work to strengthen our parish community? How do we pass it on? How do we invite others to join us in this wonderful adventure? First, we acknowledge that there is no secret sauce or magic formula. Secondly, community on this earth is not our ultimate goal, heaven is. Being in the community of St. John Vianney Parish is a means for us to live our vocation as disciples of Jesus Christ. Our community is a tool given to us by the Lord to help us love Him more and better. It is a gift to help us become holier women, men and children, families and friends. Our community is a gift from God to help us to be better and more faithful Catholics. Our community is also a gift from those parishioners who have come before us and worked so tirelessly to help make our parish the wonderful community it is today. Our parish community is a gift to help us to help others get to heaven! How do we strengthen our parish community? We work at it in the little things and the big things. We work at it every day. All of us. We use the graces and talents with which God has blessed us. We join our efforts with one another and in service to others. Our parish community is certainly a wonderful example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.
In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy