St. Mary's keeps Busy during the Holidays and Into 2022
-
January 24, 2022St. Mary’s in Bluffton, OH has had a busy Advent season – more so than usual. Though the last few years have been unique due to the pandemic, this one was especially unique since we also just had a change in leadership.
Our previous pastor, Fr. John McLoughlin, C.Ss.R, was reassigned to Dominica, and we were assigned a new pastor –Fr. Luyen Dau, C.Ss.R. We have been so grateful to have a pastor here since for the last two decades we have been served by a variety of retired priests, and we are excited to continue to be a Redemptorist parish.
Throughout the Advent and Christmas season, our youth have been involved in a variety of things. Members from our faith-formation classes put on a Christmas program after Mass for the parish, celebrated St. Nicholas day with a special craft, and made an Advent project with their class. Our preschool, which is in its third year of existence, once again put on a successful Christmas program for their parents and the public and spent many days in the classroom learning about the true meaning of Christmas before enjoying a break for the holiday.
Though it is still a new program, it has been incredibly successful and has gained a lot of support from the parish and the public alike Registration has just opened up for the fall and is already over 90 percent full.
Our parish has also been busy, as most are, during this season. With the change of pastors came a few new ideas and one that was received so well that parishioners are hoping to make it a yearly tradition. After an evening of faith-formation classes, parents, students, and parishioners all gathered outside for a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The Christmas lights were turned on outside while everyone sang Christmas carols. It was a beautiful and spirit-filled experience. Afterwards, everyone was invited to enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies and join in fellowship with one another.
This year, we were able to experience some sort of normalcy with our Christmas Masses, which was a nice change from the past. Our children’s choir was able to sing at one of our Christmas Eve Masses which is always a nice addition, and our adult choir sang at our Christmas Day Mass. It was truly beautiful and we are lucky to have a parish who is made up of so many willing volunteers.
As we look at the beginning of 2022, we are filled with hope and a refreshed spirit. We have a lot to look forward to this year. Our college students are back on their campus which is located across the street from the church. We look forward to having them back and creating events to allow them to make connections and get more involved in their faith.
We also are looking forward to continuing our Young Adult group Members of our parish, as well as a neighboring parish in Lima, meet monthly to have discussion, make connections, listen to speakers, and grow in their faith. Because our parish is made up of many young families and youth, we are looking at adding a Mass geared towards the younger crowd; adding more contemporary music and hopefully a choir made up of our youth. It is something many of the parishioners desire and we look forward to making it a reality.
Though it has been a busy season, it has been very fruitful. A weekly Holy Hour has renewed the parish and is something that many of our parishioners look forward to. During Advent, this was also a time for reflections, led by our pastor, Fr. Dau, our deacon, Michael Marcum, and our seminarian, Travis Kahle. Having a full time priest here has allowed us more opportunities of Holy Hour and daily Mass and it has been very well received.
We look forward to continuing these as well as adding new events to help parishioners embrace and grow in their faith.
(Courtesy of Baltimore Beacon.)
