Last weekend, we had over 250 people join us for our first annual St. Simon Parish Retreat, “Rekindle Your Spirit.” It was a wonderful weekend of energizing music, enriching sessions, and nourishing spaces for prayer throughout the campus. We were joined by Catholic composers and musicians, Francesca LaRosa, and Meredith Augustin. While we have not received all the surveys from every participant, the early feedback has been that it was just what people needed to re-engage in their faith journey and to recommit to connecting in the community again. In particular, the witness talks from the participants at the Saturday night prayer service were heart-warming and eye-opening. There are a lot of lonely people right in our own community, we realized we are better together in our relationship with God. If you are interested, the link to handouts for the five sessions is here – Rekindle Your Spirit Sessions Handouts.

 

At the retreat we focused on keeping the joy in our lives and rekindling the fire that often dulls over time, and sometimes may even extinguish. It was a highly interactive retreat where we talked about how to build tiny habits and rekindle the power of love, the glow of joy, the heart of service, and the bond of community. We gave people practical tips on how to start with tiny habits that will enhance their life and talked about the importance of rest and sleep, exercise and movement and quiet prayer each day. We hope everyone enjoyed it, we look forward to next year’s retreat and going into this deeper. For those who were not able to attend, we would love to find out why? What can we do to serve you better? We are here to serve all the needs of the community. Please take this very short survey to let us know your needs and desires. St. Simon Retreat Survey.

 

The retreat was a huge undertaking and the pastoral staff with many volunteers pulled together to make it an unforgettable experience for all attendees. I want to thank all of them for their hard work and dedication.

  • Erika Ibarra and Denise Lassauzet for preparing, decorating, and coordinating materials for the peaceful and inspiring Prayer Rooms.
  • Teresa Giovanzana for preparing the art room and guiding people in expressing their prayer through art and painting.
  • Christine Moore and Jim Arena for facilitating the small group discussions and giving me input into preparing the sessions
  • Michelle Higgins, Melissa Moody, Mary Jane Molina and the Art & Environment Ministry Volunteers for the gorgeous flower arrangements that decorate all the statues on our St. Simon Parish campus.
  • Jurgen Krehnke, Tim Petersen, Attracta Lee, Fausto Ibarra, Bruce Zimmer and ALL the Tech Ministry Volunteers  for ensuring that all the sound, recording and AV needs were met throughout the entire retreat.
  • John Kellet, Will Kellet and Tim Orsly for sharing their musical gifts.
  • Ann Koslovsky, Vani Aboud and Angela Schaufler for helping coordinate the use of the school facilities and materials.
  • Mike Abbott and Stephen Lee for capturing memories of the whole retreat in photo and video.
  • Joan Mibach for coordinating our delicious meals and keeping us nourished with the help of the members from our St. Simon Community giving us space to build community.
  • Friday Dinner Team: Scott Kusich, Lee Panec, Janet Woods, Donna Mohammadi, Elle La Russa
  • Breakfast Team: Katie Boennighausen, Theresa Clark, Stephanie Downey, Andrea Hong
  • Lunch Team:  Moira Delumpa, Marie Crowder, Nisha Victor
  • Saturday Dinner Team: Christine and Mike Pliess, Rob and Kelly Mibach
  • Desserts: Kelly Mibach and all the Helping Hands Ministry volunteers.
  • Kalena Moreira for planning, coordinating, and preparing the collaborative Community Mural, reflective Meditation Walk, and peaceful Labyrinth.
  • Marilou Verceles, Sr. Mary-Han, Ana Bonilla and Extended Care Staff for coordinating the Childcare Program with retreat activities for the children.
  • Clare D’Agostino for planning, coordinating, and preparing materials and for decorating the Church, Library and Gym spaces into beautiful and peaceful environments.
  • Donna Mohammadi and Madelyn Hanel for coordinating registration, facilities, and preparation of retreat materials.
  • Rachel Haydon for being lead on planning, coordination, and promotion.
  • Victor Ramirez and Baldy Rosales for facility organization, setting-up and taking care of our endless maintenance requests. We appreciate you so much!

And finally, to Francesca LaRosa and Meredith Augustin who brought such depth to the weekend with their music, singing and personal prayer insights. Wow! It was an amazing weekend. Thank you to everyone! What a team effort and glory to God for the success.

 

Now looking to the year ahead. A few weeks ago, we sent the Annual Report from the Finance Council to everyone via email and hard copies at the doors of the Church. (Link to the Financial Report June 30, 2023) With your commitment and generosity, St. Simon Parish has done amazing things this past year serving within and beyond our community boundaries. I am very grateful to all the Finance Council members especially Don McGovern, outgoing Chair, and Josh Bligh, new Chair who kept us on track and to Joan Mibach, Pastoral Associate for Administration who works tirelessly to get all the data necessary for this report and ensure we keep fiscal discipline.

 

It is important that we all read the financial update carefully and be aware of the great work we have accomplished in the last several years in turning around the finances of the parish. I am grateful to God for your support of St. Simon Parish with your time, talent, and treasure over this last year. In our busy lives, we can take so much for granted and with Thanksgiving approaching, it is particularly appropriate time to be grateful to each other. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity. Your continuing Sunday gift has allowed us to make that difference together.

 

We need to continue to build on this base and build back our ministries to meet the needs of the growing parish and community we serve. We are seeing the crowds return to Masses and the different ministries. We hired a full-time youth minister and increased our hours in communication and community engagement while also serving the needs of many who are in need.

 

Last year at all Masses I asked every parishioner to give an equal sacrifice not equal gift by giving one hour of your salary per week. Again, this year I ask every person to give a minimum of one hour of their salary to the parish each week. That means if you earn $25/hour, I ask you to give $25 to the Church each week. If you earn $250/hour, then I ask you to give $250 a week to the Church. That works out to be 2.5% of you earned salary. Equal sacrifice, not equal gift.

 

Next week, I will send you an email directly asking you to consider giving an increased gift to support our growing ministries. I ask you to spend some time with the request immediately and not to put it aside as is the temptation when we are so busy. We need your financial support to be successful in sharing the good news and joy of the gospel. Thank you again for your prayerful consideration.

 

God Bless,

 

Fr. Brendan