In Store For '24

02-04-2024Pastor's LetterFr. John Bonavitacola

Dear Friends,

What’s in store for ’24?

Well, first on the list is some updated signage on the campus to help visitors find their way around. Included in that is a new digital sign on the 128th Ave. side of the campus. The sign, as many of you have asked, will be able to display Mass times and other events at the Parish. We are one of the only Churches without a digital sign, not that I am “keeping up with the Jones” but you would be amazed at how many phone calls we get for information on Mass times, events, and other happenings at the Parish.

Currently, we are waiting for the County to process the request and whatever other agency needs to sign off. The timeline is to have it operational by June. For the Mission project at Vistancia/Peoria, currently wells are being dug and set up to give the property access to water as well as the trenching needed to bring power to the property. This work is being done by the City of Peoria and APS. We agreed to cede the land needed for the wells to the City in exchange for water rights. The projected timeline for the wells to be operation is about a year from now. In the meantime, as I have already told you, the City of Peoria is considering building an airport in the vicinity of our property and has asked if we would consider relocating to another property. Nothing new to report on that, other than the feasibility study needed for the Airport is ongoing and the City has not yet identified another parcel of land for potential use for a new Parish.

Also, our Parish Mental Health Ministry is beginning to bloom! Jan Brett (wife of Deacon Jim) is spearheading this new ministry in coordination with the new Office of Catholic Mental Health Ministry in our Diocese. It’s important to know what Mental Health Ministry is and is not. This new ministry is not a clinical service, it is not meant to diagnosis or treat any mental health issue. The ministry is intended to first: help better understand the signs and symptoms of a mental health crisis. Secondly, the ministry is designed to offer support for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, give them resources within the community, provide ongoing support as they work to resolve their mental health issues. This also includes supporting family members and caregivers who often are very much alone in dealing with a loved one suffering a mental health crisis. And thirdly: advocacy. That is, based on our experiences working with mental health issues, we can offer policy makers advice on how to improve the Mental Health system in general so that it can offer better assistance to those struggling and remove some of the roadblocks that prevent someone from obtaining mental health assistance or treatment.

So often, Parishes are the first point of contact for someone struggling with a mental health crisis or for a family member who is trying to find help for their loved one. Catholic Mental Health Ministry equips a parish and parishioners to offer effective support and connect those suffering to the proper resources and to walk with them through their journey. This ministry also enables a Parish to better respond to those who suffer, to be supportive of them, to offer them a place to come for prayer or just to talk. Finally, it allows those who have lived in the shadows and quietly suffered or suffered through a loved one’s struggle, to step into the light and know that we, their fellow parishioners, are in solidarity with them. Mental health struggles can be isolating and too often cut people off from the community that provides the support, connection, and healing that is needed to recover. This is a wonderful initiative of our Bishop and as Parishes start to implement it, I am sure God will do wonderful things as we continue another aspect of the healing ministry of Jesus.

So that’s what’s in store for ’24 and probably much, much more!

Love,

Fr. John B.