November 9, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters, This Sunday, we celebrate another special feast day that only falls on a Sunday every seven years: the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral church for the city of Rome. It might seem like an unusual celebration, but the readings make the idea very clear. he church buildings where we pray and worship are a sacramental sign of what we as believers are being made into: the Temple of the Living God, where the Holy Spirit dwells (I Cor 3:16). We have visible churches, because as creatures with bodies we need a physical space to worship, so that our souls can come closer to God. A beautiful church lifts up the heart, to help us be joined more closely to the worship that even now takes place in heaven. With that idea in mind, it’s a sign of God’s providence that this weekend we are unveiling the parish’s updated site master plan, with a beautiful vision for a new church, a columbarium, expanded parking, and a separate school building for when we need it. We’ve been discerning the details of this for over four years, with conversations about the parish’s needs and dreams and future. I truly believe we have a plan we will be excited about, and it also provides us with a goal to focus on as a community for the next few years. The heart of this new plan, of course, is the new church. Every time I look at the concept images, I’m amazed by how it brings together every thread of our community’s conversations over many years and addresses all of the things we need to address. Seats and parking for our growing community. A layout that adds capacity while keeping our community gathered closely around the altar. A worship space that balances modern conveniences with the beauty of Catholic worship. A style that is dignified without being excessive or over-the-top. I’ve spent a lot of time on my knees as we’ve developed this, and I’m convinced that this plan is the best way to meet our parish’s needs for generations to come. Of course, it’s never easy to do something worth doing. Building this new church and parking area will probably be the hardest thing our parish has ever done. We’re going to have to pull together to gather the resources we’ll need to do it, and it’s going to be a marathon. This is our task, the moment when our community is invited to come together and sacrifice and be built both visibly and invisibly into the one People of God in our place and time. You’ll be seeing and hearing a lot about the work we need to do to make this happen. But for now, in this space, I’d like to celebrate the moment. We have inherited the gift of a solid foundation, from the generations before us who worked and sacrificed to get us to where we are today. And through the continued intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Church, and St Thomas the Apostle, I have every confidence that we will continue being built into the Temple of God, both visibly and spiritually. God bless,

Father Jantz