How is it possible that it’s almost Christmas? What a year it has been!
Personally, this has been quite a year. When the year began in January, I was living in Jefferson Coun-ty, shepherding two parishes, St. Joseph and St. John the Beloved, both in Imperial. I had been at St. Joseph since February 2015 and at St. John for just a year. That said, try-ing to figure out how to shep-herd both parishes at the same time was quite a chal-lenge. In short, as I was start-ing to find a rhythm, they moved me. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

And last April 16, as I’ve shared before, I lost my Mom, when Jesus called her Home to her Eternal Reward. She was the most perfect human I have ever known, the best Mom in the world. I miss her like crazy but I talk to her eve-ry day. I know she is with me, especially in the Eucharist. And I have pictures of her (with all of my family) all over the rectory. God is good all the time.

And now, here we are togeth-er in Wentzville. You have all been so welcoming to me. I am so very grateful!
As we contemplate a new cal-endar year, I want to tell you how excited I am to be your shepherd. To start, the Land Acquisition Giving Challenge and the Increased Offertory Appeal are off to a great start! If you’ve already given, thank you so much. If you’re still pondering a gift, we pray that you will support both appeals. I know I’m a dreamer, but I’m really hoping for 100% participation. Yes, we need to raise money but more im-portantly, we are ONE BODY IN CHRIST! To follow, I really be-lieve that Jesus has great plans for us here in Wentzville in all of our ministries. I can-not wait to see what His plans are for this incredible faith-filled community!

Let’s make 2025 the best one yet!