From the Pastor&
      All of us, by our baptism, are called to ministry.  Here at St. John's we have hundreds of parishioners involved in the work of gospel living.  They are just not VOLUNTEERS, by MINISTERS.  Some are involved in the ministry of education - helping young people to know Christ Jesus and our faith.  Others are ministers at worship.  We have ministers to our sick, aged, grieving.  And there are ministers to the needy and the unborn.  There are those who step forward to minister to the parish through finance, administration, planning, visioning, fund-raising, community building.  We even have a small but growing group of ministers of social justice.
     There is no way two priests, three deacons, one pastoral minister, three religious education ministers, two liturgical ministers, the administration ministers and youth ministers could do it all!  We need you to do what God calls you to do!  Ministry is a gift of all the baptized to the church and our world.  More and more women and men are responding to the call of the Spirit to serve the people of God in many ways.  All of this is as it should be.  You are wonderful people at St. John's.  I'm happy to share in the work of the Lord with all of you.  I feel I'm in the right parish at this time in my life.  I am blessed everyday as I work, pray, laugh and cry with you.
     We priests learn from other priests.  One priest I learned from was Msgr. Jack Eagan, who died in May after 57 years of priestly life.  Msgr. Eagan was a Chicago priest (he loved Chicago) but he belonged to the entire church of North American because of the causes he promoted:  Young Christian Workers, Cana Movement, National Housing Conference and Civil Rights to name a few.  His early years of priesthood were spent in parish ministry where he loved to visit parishioners and learn about their problems.  As a result of being a parish priest he would say, "I love being a priest.  It's been a great life.  I love working the curb outside the Church after Mass."  Later he was a faculty member at Notre Dame University, and ended his "active" ministry at DePaul University in Chicago as assistant to the president for community affairs.
     Msgr. Eagan died at the age of 84 - dedicated to the Word and Eucharist.  His view of the post-Vatican II Church can be summed up in his own words, "What it means to be Catholic is to be sacramental, scriptural and social.  The social is the way we respond to the gifts and empowerment given to us through the word of God and the power of the sacraments."  Eagan's lifelong love affair with the priesthood was, as he often repeated, solidly anchored in his love of people.  He was fond of saying, "It is the laity (people) that sustain me."
     And you sustain me as a priest!  You keep me going, happy, fulfilled.  Thanks for the gracious ways you support   Michael and myself, and all the priests you know.  May we be the best priests that we can be - for you and Almighty God.

   
   
     Fr. Bill