Greetings from your interim parish council! This group has convened including equal representation from all three churches to assist in the coming together of our community. Parish council members are:

• Lynn Barnes  
• Innocent Lau  
• Rich Lewis  
• Sharon Byrne  
• Eric Vehige   
• Lou Stamm  
• Sharon Serra   
• Matt McGee 
• Chelsea Herbst 

The purpose of this council is to consult and advise Fr. Sebastian during this time of transition to one parish. Thank you to each church’s parish council that kept each church in good shape throughout the last few years. And thank you to each church’s All Things New committee that faithfully brought each church to this point.

Father Sebastian’s immediate focus points for the parish are:

1. Worship and the Eucharist  
2. Spiritual and Social Community  
3. Welcoming Disposition and Facilities  

Around these priorities, we are declaring this as our time to Rebuild Our Church. Most immediately, this is to be taken literally as we work to address many facilities items at St. Monica. It is also metaphorical as we work on welcoming and unifying our community.

We know you have concerns and questions, so we have set up a webpage for you to find latest information and an email address to submit feedback and questions: [email protected] or https://stmonicastl.org/IPC. Information will also be in bulletins. We also have a survey to help gather your thoughts which can be found on the webpage. We intend to use the information you give us to set up parish hall meetings as another avenue for communications. The link to the survey is https://forms.office.com/r/J4L0feFdqu. ;

Some answers to things we know people have questions about: 

• St. Monica is working with the Archdiocese to provide input into the All Things New process as regards to schools. The decisions on schools are expected in January 2024. 
• Now that the interim parish council has formed, only St. Monica’s pre-Pentecost parish council remains and that is purely to do the work necessary for the All Things New process for schools.  
• St. Monica’s pastoral strategic plan will be part of our future. Right now, we are focusing on immediate needs for the churches and the unification, but all parish council members have read the plan.  
• Thank you for your understanding regarding the changes to the Mass schedule. The current weekend Mass schedule is planned to remain the same until Easter.  
• Fall schedules continue as previously planned at each church. We highly encourage you to attend events at all three locations.  
• The parish men’s clubs will host Lenten fish fries at both St. John Bosco and St. Richard. 
• PSR has begun and is being held at St. Monica following the 9:30 am Sunday Mass.  
• The finances of the three churches are not being combined at this time. Each church has their siloed accounts and money from each offertory goes to that church’s account.  
• Each church facility remains open for worship, prayer, and events.  
• Regarding the All Things New process, the next thing that we are currently aware of is an Archdiocesan evaluation of where each parish stands in 2028.

This is an opportunity to form a more vibrant and engaging parish community utilizing best practices from each parish to build an even stronger St Monica parish that we can all be proud of – and we will need everyone’s help to be successful.

Please pray for the unification of our parish. Pray for us all to forgive the trespasses that have been made against us. Pray for a spirit of positive action to sweep our community. Pray for our priests and deacons as they lead us forward. Pray for our staff and committees as they come together. Request the intercession of St. Monica, St. Richard, and St. John Bosco. 

Thank you