- Friends,
- It is with great
joy that we announce that the position of Director of Generations
of Faith has been filled for the
Defiance Catholic Community. Sr. Mary Dean Pfahler, SND has
accepted the full-time position
offered her by Fr. Tim and myself. Sr. Dean, a Sister of Notre
Dame, (the same religious order as Sr.
Maria Sally Willitzer and Sr. Jennifer Marie Zimmerman) has worked
in parish ministry in our Diocese for many
years and brings a wealth of talent and experience. She
has been trained in the Generations of Faith model by the
program's founder, John Roberto of
Communications Ministry Development (CMD). She understands the
principles of life long learning and
is convinced of its value for parish formation programs. She
brings fresh ideas that will help
build on the strengths of the program and help address areas where
growth is needed. Sr. Dean (she
usually does not use the "Mary" part of her name) will
most likely be living with at least
one more Sister of Notre Dame. They will be getting settled in the
Defiance community over the next few
weeks. There will be many opportunities to introduce her to you in
the coming months, but for now, if you
see a new face... introduce yourself! I have had the pleasure of
working with Sr. Dean at Delphos, St. John -
she was a Pastoral Associate, I was an Associate Pastor
on my first assignment as a "baby priest". She is a
capable leader and fun person to be sharing
ministry with no matter where and I look forward to many great
days ahead!
- Along with Sr.
Dean's acceptance of the Generations of Faith position come some
other staff position shifts for our
parish community. My thanks to Mrs. Janice Elliott who has served
our parish as interim youth minister since
mid March. Janice has accepted a part-time Pastoral Associate
position with St. John Parish having her areas of responsibilities
being Director of Sacramental
Preparation and Formation: First Reconciliation/First
Communion/Confirmation and Director of Youth and Young Adult
Ministry. Janice has been a life-long member
of St. John Parish having served as a CCD teacher, Principal and
teacher for St. John Catholic School.
She has the organizational and communication skills needed to
direct these ministry efforts. Janice
also has a firm understanding and appreciation for Catholic
identity that will benefit all our
programs. Janice comes from the "Weber" clan (Fran, her
father - her mother Alice recently
passed away after a long illness and brother, Tom have been and
are very active
- members). Janice is married to Ron and they
have three sons, John, Mark, and Peter. Janice has been
a welcome addition to our Pastoral Staff. I know she will bring
new energy and direction to her
ministries.
- Mrs. Connie
Moffitt no longer has the responsibilities for these sacramental
preparation programs as a primary area of
responsibility for her ministries. She continues, however,
as a full-time Pastoral Associate with her areas of responsibility
being Director of the R.C.I.A as well
as Director of Parish-Family Life/Marriage Enrichment/Bereavement
Ministry/Befriender Ministry/Welcoming. She will also be
responsible for coordinating our parish efforts as
we share the Centennial Celebration of the Diocese of Toledo in
2010. Connie, a life-long member, has
served St. John Parish for over twenty years in different
capacities. She continues to be a
valuable asset for our mission to build the Kingdom of God. She is
married to Rick, a familiar person to
many of us. My thanks to Connie for her willingness to take on
ministries that have needed some
attention and new energy.
- Ms. Sheila
Fredrick has accepted a part-time, one day a week position to
assist me with our parish stewardship
efforts. She works with Wells-Fargo as a leadership development
specialist helping Wells-Fargo to develop
teams among co-workers and management. Her responsibility
is to help me direct and drive the annual stewardship plan that is
to be developed by our Stewardship
Committee along with myself. Deacon Nick Varano continues to
coordinate the efforts of the
Stewardship Committee or Team (as I like to call them). Between
Sheila and Deacon Nick and the
Stewardship Team our parish will continue to be noted as living
our stewardship as the most fundamental way
we respond to Jesus Christ's invitation to follow him.
- In addition,
Sheila and Mrs. Novell Meyer are coordinating our Gallup
Organization-
- Strength Finders parishioner
engagement efforts. St. John Parish has been affiliated with the
nationally known Gallup Organization (the
research and statistic group) since the beginning of the
year (2008). We began this relationship to enhance our efforts to
"engage the people of our parish"
in a deeper way in the life and ministry that we experience. The
goal is to enhance the "self-knowledge"
of the people of our parish. With this enhancement we will become
more engaged in life and ministries of
the parish. Identifying a person's "strengths" or “God
given talents” according to the Gallup
Organization's research will help us feel a greater sense of belonging.
It opens up a willingness to serve the community based on our
identified "strengths". The
outcome is a greater satisfaction and meaning when involved in
parish life. Over 70 parishioners have
taken the Strength Finders assessment online and over 50 have
been personally coached by either Sheila
or Novell who are Certified Level Two Strengths Performance
Coaches by the Gallup Organization. Strength Finders was
introduced to our core-leadership groups:
Pastoral Staff, Pastoral Council, Finance Committee, and Stewardship
Team. As we are at mid-summer we
are ready to invite more and more people to participate. I hope you
will be willing to accept this opportunity to
grow in your discipleship.
- Finally, with all
these changes comes the reality that we are truly blessed by God!
I am reminded of the words of the
prophet Jeremiah (29:11) – “For I know well the plans I have
for you, declares the Lord, plans to
give you hope and a future.”
- Sincerely,
- Fr. Todd
