We are in need of volunteers to work Bingo.  You would only need to work once per month or you can volunteer to be a substitute to fill in as needed.

Bingo is an important fund raiser for our parish.  Please consider helping out.

Please call the parish office at 810.639.7600 for more information or to volunteer.

Thank you!

There will be a Euchre Tournament on Wednesday, October 1 in the Good Shepherd Knights of Columbus Hall. at 6:30pm. Cost is $5.00 per person. All levels of experience. Learner’s Table. Bring your own snacks and beverages. Friends and Family welcome! 

Hope to see you there!!

Happy Twenty-Fourth Sunday!

We’re continuing our deep dive into the details of this capital campaign, and as you have seen there is a lot to share, so thank you for letting me spread out this information over several bulletin articles. For the past few weeks I’ve written about major campaign objectives and the three main areas of Catholic educational need they aim to support for the long-term. Today we will look at the final portion of this diocesan endeavor, the 20% which parishes will retain for their own needs.

Each parish in the diocese has been set a base campaign goal of about 1.25x its annual offertory. For Good Shepherd, that number comes out to $220,000. 80% of that goal, $176,000, will flow to the various campaign endowments. The remainder, $44,000, will stay at Good Shepherd for our capital needs. 100% of anything raised above our base goal would also stay with the parish. For example, $50k stays with us for $226k raised, $55k for $231k etc. There is no practical penalty if we do not meet our parish goal, except that it would change with 20% remainder we receive (42K for $210k, $40k for $200, etc.)

Something that I decided in my first year as your pastor was to frontload some time-sensitive major project costs in view of this upcoming diocesan campaign. Thus we spent ~ $10k of parish bingo savings last summer on reinforced concrete for the east parking lot entrance, and we finished the asphalt top coat for our parking lot in July. 46 of our parish households contributed $18k to get us across the finish line, and I am so humbled and grateful to you all for that. I directed it this way so as to avoid the requirement of tying these project to this diocesan campaign, which is designed to receive pledges over the next five years. We could not afford to let these paving projects wait, and we rose to the occasion. So thank you, thank you, it made all the difference.

As for our campus, we’re generally in a good position for now, excepting any emergency. Our next major infrastructure need – about five years out we thing – would appear to be the replacement of our roof shingles. It is the plan for us to use the 20% parish portion of this diocesan campaign to save up for that project so that when it arrives, we will be in the best position to minimize any additional fundraising. Next week I’ll be writing about the timing and mechanics of individual household participation so you know what to expect moving forward.

Our parish families, you all, and your faithfulness to this community, both spiritually and materially, are the only reason we can continue to build the kingdom of God and bless Montrose with the witness and gift of our Catholic faith. I am always praying for our future, our health, our protection, and our growth. I’m grateful to be a part of the journey with you.

Fr. Brian

Entry One: Intro

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to God, our Almighty Father, for everything He has done in my life—for calling me to be His priest, to serve His Church as a visible sign of Jesus Christ, our High Priest, here on earth and particularly here in Flushing, MI. This calling, which I am unworthy to have received, can only be lived out if I continually allow the Lord to work through me. Only when my heart remains open to God’s love and the workings of the Holy Spirit will God’s work be accomplished. Essentially, I need to get out of the way and allow God to love His people through me. This is something I never thought was possible, and yet here I am—praise God.

I also want to thank all of you at St. Robert and Good Shepherd. Thank you for graciously welcoming me to your parish community. It is not easy moving to a new place and meeting new people, especially when you do not know anyone. It is also not easy welcoming someone you do not know into your parish, but I have certainly felt welcomed, and that is such a great gift for which I am grateful to all of you. I can certainly tell that the Holy Spirit is working and guiding us here at St. Robert and Good Shepherd. He has incredible plans for all of us, and I am excited to see what He does next.

For my bulletin entries, which will occur once a month, I want to provide you all with a glimpse into my own life. During prayer, I had a thought that it might be interesting to reveal what goes through the heart of a newly ordained priest as he transitions from seminary to living his life as a priest—to help you understand all the joys and sorrows, the successes and failures, the moments that lead to elation, and the moments that lead to heartache that a new priest experiences during his first year of priesthood.

My life is very different from what it used to be. I used to attend daily classes, hang out with my closest friends, study with them, and pray with them every single day. Now, I am with the Lord in Flushing, assisting Fr. Brian, and serving all of you. My community and surroundings have certainly changed, and yet there is consistency in the Lord, in whom I place my trust. No matter where I go, I place my trust in Him who loves me and has saved me.

My goal with these entries is to ultimately show you that a priest, even though he may have a different vocation, is not all that different from you. I am still a man, I am still a disciple of Jesus, and I am still a person in need of community, friendships, hobbies, and support. I too must always surround myself with other disciples who seek to give their lives to God.

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” I pray my time here will contribute to our Lord’s wishes—that all our hearts may burn with the fire of divine love. Happy 20th Sunday in OT and have a blessed week.