Pastor’s Corner — May 25th, 2025
Heart of Mission Catholic Social Teaching Talk on Thursday, May 29th in O’Kelly Hall
Last week we began to raise awareness in the bulletin for a special event of inspiration and encounter happening at St. Patrick’s parish this coming week, Thursday, May 29th, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in O’Kelly Hall (PLC). Sponsored by the Diocesan of Lansing Commission on Catholic Social Teaching and hosted by SENT Global Mission, this Heart of Mission event promises to deepen our understanding of the Church’s missionary call and how we are each invited to participate in God’s love for the world. As a reminder, SENT Global was founded by parishioner and St Pat’s School teacher Alicia Cergnal. We are blessed to welcome as our speaker a friend of mine Mary Bielski, a dynamic Catholic speaker, life coach, and the Guatemala Country Coordinator for SENT Global.
In addition to fellowship and food, the evening will feature a food tasting table and interactive giving—a hands-on way for attendees to participate in the mission by assembling care packages for SENT Global’s medical clinics.
The event is free and open to all, but please RSVP to help provide a better estimate of food needs. Free childcare will be available for those who RSVP. Let us come together as a parish family, invite friends, and support SENT Global in engaging in the mission of Christ, which begins with love and reaches outward in service. I hope to see you there!
Welcome to our New Associate Coordinator of Youth Discipleship!
At St Pat’s we are intentionally investing in the next generation. Today, we are excited to introduce our new Associate Coordinator of Youth Discipleship, Samuel Ekblad. He will be officially joining our staff on June 16, 2025, but you may see him around the parish before then. Please take a moment to introduce yourself when you do!
Here’s a note from Sam:
Hello, my name is Samuel Ekblad. I am twenty years old and I grew up in Canton, Michigan. Throughout my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, I have been a parishioner at Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor. I am the sixth of fourteen children and I was homeschooled throughout the entirety of my education.
After graduating high school in 2023 I served for a year with NET Ministries. As a member of Team Four we served in the Chicago region. Serving with NET was truly a blessing and was an illuminating and inspiring experience. I loved every moment of my time as a missionary and hope to carry my vigor for Christ into this new position and parish. I look forward to meeting you all and am so excited for the opportunity to serve you and your children as Associate Coordinator of Youth Discipleship at St. Pats!
God bless,
Samuel Ekblad
New Rest Stop Offering At St Pat’s: A 3-part Charism Workshop
The Church teaches that each baptized Christian is given spiritual gifts, or charisms, to build up the Church in the world. Yet many Christians don’t know what their charisms are. In my experience, discovering and using our charisms in the Christian life is a tremendous source of joy and fruitfulness. Since each of us has a right and a duty to use them (Vatican II), it’s critical that we know what they are.
At St Pat’s we strongly value parishioners knowing their spiritual gifts because using them is a key part of becoming a Spirit-filled missionary disciple of Jesus. Therefore, we are offering a 3-Part Charism Workshop for anyone interested in discovering the charisms God has given to them.
This workshop is a significant ongoing “Rest Stop” on our pathway of discipleship (pastoral strategy here at St Pat’s). As we travel along the path of discipleship, we know that parishioners need to rest and refuel. These rest stops offer key formation opportunities that foster spiritual and intellectual maturity in the Christian life. If you haven’t yet discerned your charisms, please join us in this 3-part event:
1) Saturday, June 7th from 9 AM - 12 PM in the Formation House, for an introduction to confirmation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
2) Sunday, June 8 at 7pm in the Church, you will have the opportunity to receive prayer for the Holy Spirit to reveal and impart these gifts at our special Pentecost
Outpouring event and finally,
3) Saturday, June 14th from 9 AM - 12 PM in the Formation House, you will spend time completing a gift assessment and learn about your call to mission using the gifts God has bestowed on you.
Please RSVP to Anne Guminik at aguminik@stpatchurch.org to sign up.
Deacon Josh Luttig’s Ordination
As many of you know, Deacon Josh will be ordained next month. In case you missed this information in previous bulletin articles, here are the details once again:
-Priestly Ordination Mass | Saturday, June 14th at 10:30am at St Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing
-First Mass | Saturday June 14th at 4:30pm at Most Holy Trinity in Fowler
-Mass of Thanksgiving | June 29th 11:30am St Patrick’s in Brighton
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias