Letter To Parishioners - Administrator Pro Tem

November 30, 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Archbishop Jose Gomes has once again asked me to fill the role of
Administrator Pro Tem while Fr. Albert is away on medical leave.
I know that I am taking on this role during a particularly difficult time in our
history:

• We are in the middle of a world-wide pandemic which has disrupted our personal and professional lives in ways we could never have imagined 8 months ago.
• We have just completed a very divisive political season which has divided us politically and for some has affected our families and friendships.
• We have gone through a very difficult time at Saint Kateri as well:
  • Many of us have been separated from the Sacraments which we love so much.
  • We have been separated from our fellow-parishioners, and this separation has been painful for all of us.
  • We have lost many staff members over the past year for a variety of reasons.
  • As a result of fewer staff members, numerous ministries that we once provided to our extended community so well, have had to be discontinued or eliminated all-together.

This, my friends, is a very sad situation! So how do we solve these difficulties? There is not much we can do about the pandemic other than following the proper protocols to protect ourselves, our families and others. There is not much we can do about the overall political situation, one way or the other. But there is a lot we can do about our situation at Saint Kateri.

• First and foremost, I think we should increase our prayer life by asking the Holy Spirit to be with us moving forward.
• Second, I think we need to begin a rebuilding process.
  • If we look at the Acts of the Apostles, we see a very small group of people begin something the result of which no one could have imagined. They started with nothing but each other, their belief in their Savior Jesus Christ and one very special additional component: The Holy Spirit which descended upon them at Pentecost and empowered them to take the Gospel of Jesus to all parts of the world!

We cannot do anything on our own. I think we all recognize that. We cannot move forward with any plan of our own human design and expect to be successful, without the power of the Holy Spirit moving in our community and for our community. It worked for the Apostles and the early Church and it will work for us! But we need to ask, no, we need to beg...and the Holy Spirit will answer!

Please join me in praying daily to the Holy Spirit for our beloved parish and for each other.

Yours in Christ,
Deacon Bob Seidler
Administrator Pro Tem