Parish Activities
WISHING A FOND FAREWELL TO OUR SEMINARIAN
From the desk of Fr. John Mink....
Dear Parishioners,
After a 14 month pastoral internship at St. Ann Parish, our seminarian, James Gebhart will be leaving us on August 7th and returning to St. Mary's Seminary for his final two years of priestly formation entering into Third Year Theology. At the end of the academic year 2023, James will be recommended for ordination to the transitional diaconate. And God willingly at the end of the 2024 school year he will be recommended for ordination to the Priesthood. During the past year James has been very busy learning the dynamics of parish life, the workings of an elementary school by teaching our students, and providing faith formation classes for our faculty. Most importantly, he has become part of the community by getting to know our parishioners and offering assistance at Mass, planning devotions for students, and monthly Holy Hours for our adults. James is friendly, flexible, and hard working.
He has learned a great deal from his St. Ann experience and has contributed much of himself in a generous spirit of giving. It is my hope that his time with us has been beneficial for his formation and has given him encouragement knowing that he has the support of a parish family behind him as he prepares for ordination in the future. I also hope that this up close experience having a seminarian in our parish will remind our community that we share in helping to form our future priests. It takes courage to say yes to Christ and His Church during these challenging times. Let us show our support to James and his brother seminarians by keeping them in our prayers and offering our encouragement as they prepare for the priesthood. The parish will have an opportunity to say “farewell” after each mass, the weekend of August 6th and 7th with a reception under the tents in the Celebration Garden. To help us prepare for how many will be attending, please print your name using the “Sign-Up” sheets in the back of church. There will be one sign-up sheet for each mass. If you cannot be there for his last weekend with us, feel free to send James a note of encouragement at this address:
Mr. James Gebhart, St. Mary's Seminary & University, 5400 Roland Avenue, Baltimore MD 21210
