Pastoral Message: Together in Christ

Jesus offers us such a comforting and hopeful message in our Gospel this weekend. Jesus invites us to come to Him over and again. He wants to shoulder our burdens and comfort us in our every need. Come to the Lord. Take some time to stop in the Chapel to reflect upon the image of the Christ of Mercy. His arms are outstretched. He invites and calls out to each of us. "Come to me."

On this Fourth of July weekend, as we celebrate the Freedom of our nation, true freedom is found in Jesus Christ. He is the one who set us free and He is the one who can free us from our burdens, worries and fears. "Come to me" is His constant invitation. We as a nation are blessed to have the freedom to practice our religion and profess our faith. Let us always be mindful of the privilege and blessing that is ours to have religious liberty. Happy Fourth of July.

Our Summer Festival was a great blessing in every way. God bless all of our members who worked so hard to create four wonderful days for our community. We were blessed to have great weather – thank you God – which brought so many people from our region together for family fun, great food, and friendship. Special thanks to Bob Cebula and Jake Bihari, and the planning team, for all their efforts. On Sunday evening, as the sun was starting to set, our campus was full of people. Even more, it was filled with a sense of goodness and joy. The summer festival is a great way to strengthen the bonds of our community. In every way, the Summer Festival was a great success! Thanks to one and all.

Our Summer Festival Raffle was also a great blessing. Many, many thanks to all who supported and participated in the raffle. This will help us make a dent in creating the new parking lot this Fall. Special thanks to the wonderful friends and partners who provided the BEST raffle prizes. Thanks to the Panteck Family and Brunswick AutoMart for the grandprize of a new car. Thanks to Engelke Construction for the very helpful $10,000 in home improvements. Thanks to Bill Coyle and Encompass the World Travel for the trip for four to Disney. And thanks to Steve and Christina Walbolt for the $5000 in flooring from Monarch Carpet One and $5000 in cabinet refacing from Affordable Cabinet Refacing. We are so blessed by their support and friendship. They believe in the good things we are doing together as a community. Thank you again and again. If you see any of these good people, pleasé make suré to offer your own words of thanks. The raffle will clear about $100,000....praise be to God. Thank you... again and again!!!

This is a big week as well....it's Vacation Bible School. We are so blessed to have almost 350 campers and about 180 teens and adults who are helping work with our young people. Please keep the team and VBS in your prayers. May all of our young people learn more about the ways of the Lord. VBS is a fun week. It's a special week in summer. It's a great way for our community to engage our young people in the life of faith and in the life of our community.

This coming Saturday, July 11, is Outdoor Mass and Movie Night. Mass at the Grotto is at 6 pm, followed by a family-friendly cookout and a movie night in Hilkert Hall starting at 7:00 pm. It's also a great way for our young families to come together in prayer and friendship. All are welcome. Invite you kids and grandkids!!!!

We are so blessed! Here's a little bit of the thank you note WE received this week: "On behalf of all the women who attend our Monday evening AA meeting, we want to extend our deepest gratitude....approximately 30 women gather seeking hope, healing and strength....(at SA) we have a safe and welcoming place where lives are being changed. Friendships are formed, burdens are shared, tears are shed, laughter is heard, and most importantly, recovery happens." What a blessing for our parish community to offer hospitality for this group and our Saturday morning group as well. It's a powerful reflection of today's Gospel where Jesus invites all of us to come to Him in every moment of our need. It's also a beautiful reflection of one of our favorite songs, "we are one body, one body in Christ, and we do not stand alone."

As we prepare for the Fall Season, we are looking for a few people to join our parish team. We are in need of a part-time payroll person and a part-time database person. If you or someone you know has experience and interest, please let us know and we can share all the details ([email protected]).

Kim Nemet has been working hard to reach out to those who have expressed an interest in the OCIA program starting in September. Last Easter, we were blessed to welcome 50 adults and 16 children into the Church. Each of them will share their own story of how they heard the call of the Lord inviting them to find the grace, strength and peace that God alone can give. If you, or someone you know, would like to learn more, please reach out to Kim at: KNemet@ StAmbrose.us. Jesus invites us in today's Gospel, "Come to me...." and He will give us everything we need. Invite your family members to come and see!

One of the blessings of the festival is that so many come and experience the goodness of our parish community and want to become members to create a home for themselves and their families at Saint Ambrose. If you are new to our parish community, welcome. We are blessed to have you. Please complete a new member registration so we can share with you the best information about our community. Go to: StAmbrose.us/About-Us. Welcome!!!

We are so blessed with the best Knights of Columbus. It's an active and vibrant group that does great work for the Lord and our parish. They also enjoy a great bond of faith and friendship. This week they are installing their new officers for the year. Please join me in praying for and thanking their new leaders.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 15 – The FEST. This year we are at ForeFront Field in Avon for an inspiring and amazing day of faith, family and fun. We have great bands: Cain, Matt Maher and Riley Clemmons. We also have all the FEST favorites... from great displays, to a Women's Area which will offer resources and inspiration to help women grow in faith. Learn more about The FEST by qoing to: www.theFEST.us

Thanks, again, for an amazing Summer Festival. It was such a blessing to witness so many of our members working together for the glory of God and the good of our community. It was such a blessing to see so many people from our community coming together to share beautiful summer nights. There was truly a sense of goodness, joy and peace on the campus. For me, it's a powerful reminder that we can (and are) build a better world in the heart of Jesus. God bless you, your family and our parish community. Special thanks to the safety forces from the City of Brunswick who were so helpful in making sure traffic flowed, people were safe, and together we were able to enjoy wonderful summer days.

As we celebrate the 250th Birthday of our Nation, let's renew our commitment to pray and work for peace across the land. God bless America. Have a blessed week.