Dear Friends, Apr 18, 2021
(I took the photo down at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, in the Lady Chapel up there, on Apr 12 while praying about all of this.)
I need to announce that I am being transferred to a new assignment and will be leaving Holy Family Parish as of July 1st, 2021. I had met with the staff, the pastoral council, finance council and the corporators this week to tell them first. Then I spoke at all of the Masses Apr 17-18 in-person.
Now, on Sunday afternoon after all the Masses are done, we are sending out this note to everyone in the parish.
I want to say first that the new priest who will be coming here, Fr. Michael Jendrek, is a great guy and someone who is kind and good and humble. He is strongly committed to his work as a priest, but is also funny and easy to talk to. He has been very successful in his work at previous parishes, the most recent assignment being St. Ignatius in Ijamsville where he has been since 2008.
Fr. Mike is always very much someone who builds up the community where he serves and is someone who works alongside the staff in a collaborative way. He is a good person and I am very happy that he is coming to Holy Family.
As far as myself, let me say first that I have loved being here at Holy Family these last eleven years. It has been a blessing to see that many of the ministries we have tried to start up have bourn fruit and have contributed to people’s sense of faith here. And that our efforts have caused so many bonds of friendship to be developed here.
It has been mentioned to me by more than one priest, for example, who has served at Holy Family, that parishioners here are just very kind and loving….and that they sense this when dealing with people here in the confessional or at mass.
That is a testimony which I am blessed to confirm as pastor: That there is a lot of love in this community of Holy Family, and that people who visit here often remark that this is a welcoming and loving parish.
In the end though, the life of a priest does involve moving to new assignments at times. I signed up for this job knowing of this possibility. And I have been at Holy Family for 11 years.
The new parishes where I will go are St. Philip Neri in Linthicum, MD and then St. Clement in Landsdowne. I’ll be the pastor of both parishes. There is a parish school at St. Philip Neri and there is a Catholic Academy run by some religious orders of sisters at St. Clement. The school at St. Clement and is an all-girls middle school that provides education for free for kids of poorer backgrounds, but also expects a huge commitment of time and excellence from the kids. Most all of the kids who graduate from that school end up doing great in life. St. Clement also has a large Spanish-speaking community.
So there are a lot of things in my heart that I’d like to say and there are a lot of feelings I have in my heart as I look back on 11 years at Holy Family and 25 years as a priest, but, in the end, the biggest emotion I have is gratitude: That I have been able to be part of this parish and that I have had the privilege to have attempted to try to help it grow as a community and in its faith and spirituality. And also that I have simply grown into this job of being a priest over the years, despite all my fears and feelings of inadequacy years ago.
I continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood from Holy Family Parish: We have never had a priest vocation from this parish, ever. I will say that I cannot think of anything more meaningful than building up a good local parish. And I’ll also say that if you feel a mysterious call or joy about the idea of being a priest but are holding back because of fear well, just so you know, years ago I was scared to death of making the commitment to being a priest. But I always felt the call. So I think that if you feel a mysterious joy at the idea of being a priest, not to let fear hold you back: Because God will make a way for a person who is truly called to this lifestyle.
Finally, I also give thanks for the fact that the last year for the parish went pretty well. Considering the onset of Covid and the Quarantine in Mar of 2020: It has been amazing how the parish pulled together to still be a community of faith during these events. All the Zoom meetings and the outside masses in the rain and the livestreams and the amazing outpouring of contributions to those in need were and are really inspiring to me. And the strength this community showed in the last year during Covid and Quarantine are a testimony to the kindness of the staff and people in the parish. It is also a testimony to the Holy Spirit, I believe.
So I think that we need to look to the next stage of life at Holy Family with a strong faith – confident that the Holy Spirit will guide us in the next year as well. Confident partially because we know you are getting a good priest, Fr. Mike Jendrek, to help you in the parish….confident also because of all the good people here at Holy Family…..and confident finally because the Holy Spirit will be with you and all of us here in the days to come.
Let us keep praying, let us keep being faithful, and let us keep being good to one another in our lives of faith.
I love you all and God bless, Fr. Andy
(I took the photo down at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, in the Lady Chapel up there, on Apr 12 while praying about all of this.)
I need to announce that I am being transferred to a new assignment and will be leaving Holy Family Parish as of July 1st, 2021. I had met with the staff, the pastoral council, finance council and the corporators this week to tell them first. Then I spoke at all of the Masses Apr 17-18 in-person.
Now, on Sunday afternoon after all the Masses are done, we are sending out this note to everyone in the parish.
I want to say first that the new priest who will be coming here, Fr. Michael Jendrek, is a great guy and someone who is kind and good and humble. He is strongly committed to his work as a priest, but is also funny and easy to talk to. He has been very successful in his work at previous parishes, the most recent assignment being St. Ignatius in Ijamsville where he has been since 2008.
Fr. Mike is always very much someone who builds up the community where he serves and is someone who works alongside the staff in a collaborative way. He is a good person and I am very happy that he is coming to Holy Family.
As far as myself, let me say first that I have loved being here at Holy Family these last eleven years. It has been a blessing to see that many of the ministries we have tried to start up have bourn fruit and have contributed to people’s sense of faith here. And that our efforts have caused so many bonds of friendship to be developed here.
It has been mentioned to me by more than one priest, for example, who has served at Holy Family, that parishioners here are just very kind and loving….and that they sense this when dealing with people here in the confessional or at mass.
That is a testimony which I am blessed to confirm as pastor: That there is a lot of love in this community of Holy Family, and that people who visit here often remark that this is a welcoming and loving parish.
In the end though, the life of a priest does involve moving to new assignments at times. I signed up for this job knowing of this possibility. And I have been at Holy Family for 11 years.
The new parishes where I will go are St. Philip Neri in Linthicum, MD and then St. Clement in Landsdowne. I’ll be the pastor of both parishes. There is a parish school at St. Philip Neri and there is a Catholic Academy run by some religious orders of sisters at St. Clement. The school at St. Clement and is an all-girls middle school that provides education for free for kids of poorer backgrounds, but also expects a huge commitment of time and excellence from the kids. Most all of the kids who graduate from that school end up doing great in life. St. Clement also has a large Spanish-speaking community.
So there are a lot of things in my heart that I’d like to say and there are a lot of feelings I have in my heart as I look back on 11 years at Holy Family and 25 years as a priest, but, in the end, the biggest emotion I have is gratitude: That I have been able to be part of this parish and that I have had the privilege to have attempted to try to help it grow as a community and in its faith and spirituality. And also that I have simply grown into this job of being a priest over the years, despite all my fears and feelings of inadequacy years ago.
I continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood from Holy Family Parish: We have never had a priest vocation from this parish, ever. I will say that I cannot think of anything more meaningful than building up a good local parish. And I’ll also say that if you feel a mysterious call or joy about the idea of being a priest but are holding back because of fear well, just so you know, years ago I was scared to death of making the commitment to being a priest. But I always felt the call. So I think that if you feel a mysterious joy at the idea of being a priest, not to let fear hold you back: Because God will make a way for a person who is truly called to this lifestyle.
Finally, I also give thanks for the fact that the last year for the parish went pretty well. Considering the onset of Covid and the Quarantine in Mar of 2020: It has been amazing how the parish pulled together to still be a community of faith during these events. All the Zoom meetings and the outside masses in the rain and the livestreams and the amazing outpouring of contributions to those in need were and are really inspiring to me. And the strength this community showed in the last year during Covid and Quarantine are a testimony to the kindness of the staff and people in the parish. It is also a testimony to the Holy Spirit, I believe.
So I think that we need to look to the next stage of life at Holy Family with a strong faith – confident that the Holy Spirit will guide us in the next year as well. Confident partially because we know you are getting a good priest, Fr. Mike Jendrek, to help you in the parish….confident also because of all the good people here at Holy Family…..and confident finally because the Holy Spirit will be with you and all of us here in the days to come.
Let us keep praying, let us keep being faithful, and let us keep being good to one another in our lives of faith.
I love you all and God bless, Fr. Andy
HOLY FAMILY CHURCH
MASS SCHEDULE
Daily Masses: 9am in the church Tuesday through Friday (these are live-streamed)
MASS SCHEDULE
Daily Masses: 9am in the church Tuesday through Friday (these are live-streamed)
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Confessions every Wednesday, 5pm-6pm, Curbside at the Chapel
APRIL 24-25, 2021 Saturday, 3:30pm Confessions - Curbside at the Chapel Saturday, 5pm Mass - Church & Unity Hall Sunday, 8:45am Mass - Church & Unity Hall Sunday, 11:15am Mass - Church & Outside (weather permitting) |
Faith Formation and Sacrament Prep Wellness Check Survey
All students and volunteers are required to have a health screening questionnaire completed before Faith Formation class. The questionnaire submission is only valid for the date of attendance. All information will be kept confidential. Please do not complete any earlier than 24 hours prior to class time!! Make sure to hit the "submit" button at the end of the Health.
All students and volunteers are required to have a health screening questionnaire completed before Faith Formation class. The questionnaire submission is only valid for the date of attendance. All information will be kept confidential. Please do not complete any earlier than 24 hours prior to class time!! Make sure to hit the "submit" button at the end of the Health.
Fiscal 2020 Financial Report
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“This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” Are you being chosen by Christ to pour out your life’s work for souls with Him as a priest? Contact your parish priest or deacon, or call Fr. Steven Roth at 410-547-5426 or email at sroth@archbalt.org.
GET CONNECTED: New Holy Family App and Flocknote are now available to download for iPhone, Android smart phones, tablets and iPads. Text to the number 84576 using our parish’s unique Text-to-Join keyword, HFCCD.
Flocknote is the day-to-day direct communication hub. The parish app is a great way to get news from the diocese, get daily readings, important parish messages, set reminders for Mass and Confession, etc.
We hope that our new App & Flocknote will be tools for fostering stronger parish life at Holy Family and better engage the New Evangelization.
Flocknote is the day-to-day direct communication hub. The parish app is a great way to get news from the diocese, get daily readings, important parish messages, set reminders for Mass and Confession, etc.
We hope that our new App & Flocknote will be tools for fostering stronger parish life at Holy Family and better engage the New Evangelization.