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2 weeks agoSacred Heart ReBuilding Committee Thank you to everyone who volunteered and nominated people to serve on this committee. I had 20 names to go through and asked members of the finance council...
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Pastorate Mass Schedule
Lord's Day
Saturday Evening: 5:00pm CT Mass @ Sts. Peter and Paul, Goodland
Sunday Morning: 8:30am ET/7:30am CT Sacred Heart Mass @ Sts. Peter and Paul, Goodland
Sundy Morning: 10:00am CT @ St. Augustine, RensselaerDaily Mass Schedule
(**NOTE TIME ZONE CHANGES**)
Monday: No Mass
Tuesday: 5:30pm CT Mass @ St. Augustine
Wednesday: 8:30am CT Sacred Heart Mass @ St. Augustine**
Thursday: 5:30pm CT Sacred Heart Mass @ St. Augustine**
Friday: 8:30am CT Mass @ St. Augustine (10:15am if school has a 2 hr delay)
Saturday: 9:00am CT Sacred Heart Mass @ St. Augustine**
Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church
421 S Newton Street
Goodland, IN 47948
St. Augustine Catholic Church
318 N. McKinley Ave
Rensselaer, IN 47878 -
Important Update - January 3, 20213 – Jan – 2021 Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord
My dearest parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish,
This week has been a week that none of us could have anticipated last Sunday when we gathered together to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family in our Church. As we know the fire that started early Monday morning has changed many near term plans for our Church and our Parish, and will be written into our long-term history. Before the fire we were beginning the process of developing our Pastorate Council and Vision Planning Team, which will help develop goals and timelines for our future as a parish; this work is going to continue as we strive to position ourselves for the current and future challenges that face our parish, especially in the area of evangelization and growth.
One of our greatest assets at Sacred Heart Parish is our Religious Education program. The work done by all of our volunteer teachers and our Director of Religious Education, is a great foundation that this parish has and from which to continue to grow from. This has been very important to me, as pastor, throughout these months of COVID as I have been persistent in keeping our scheduled classes in session, as much as possible. I am grateful to all our parents and teachers who have rallied during these difficult times and have kept this program moving forward, even in these unique and challenging times.
This pandemic also presents some very difficult and unique considerations that other pastors and other eras did not have to contend with. I have been in consultation with the Jasper County Board of Health and seeking guidance on Religious Education, Mass, etc throughout my tenure as pastor. We have tried to be prudent with masks, seating and music to keep everyone as safe as possible and to date I would say we have been very successful. I can appreciate that most all of us are suffering COVID fatigue and ready to be done, but the County and State Board of Health warn that we should not let our guard down just yet, as this disease may get worse before it gets better, even despite a new vaccine which just became available.
I have heard from many people these past few days, in regards the Masses during these months that the church is being rebuilt. I have been consulting the health department, the diocese, and continuing to assess the situation that we have on the ground. There have been many good arguments for having Mass at Fulcher Center and many good arguments for having Mass at a Church, specifically Sts. Peter and Paul in Goodland. There is indeed a history for having Mass in the Fulcher Center in the past. However, we do find ourselves in a combination of unique circumstances in the present that don’t make the solution to this problem so obvious, especially when factoring only one Mass time on Sunday. A major consideration is COVID and the dimensions of the space, in particular the low ceiling. The low ceiling presents a higher risk than the higher ceiling of the church, as pertains fresh air. Fresh air is also a concern for the classrooms, which use the same circulated air for their spaces, especially as they take place right after Mass.
It is also a legitimate concern that Goodland presents a longer drive for a significant portion of our parishioners, especially the large numbers of people who live in Wolcott. There has been a fear expressed that families will not go to Mass or parents will not bring their children to Remington after Mass for religious education from Goodland; I understand the inconvenience and I truly want to help families out as much as possible, while keeping them safe at the same time.
The reality is I had hoped to have a definitive answer by today, but I feel I still need some information that I do not have, and since the fire happened during a holiday week, contacting people and getting information has been more complicated. In addition, in years past when Mass was said in Fulcher Center, items from the Church were brought over. We currently have no items available from the Church due to the extent of the fire and smoke damage and I do not have a time-line on when any of these items would be repaired/replaced and available.
In my first letter on Monday evening I asked for patience and I again am asking for you to be patient. I spoke with the bishop last night for an hour and I shared with him all of this same information and he encouraged me to stay the course and wait until I have all the information to make the best decision. Thus, as regards Sunday Mass, we will continue to have Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul in Goodland at 8:30am ET/7:30am CT through the month of January.
We have been thrust into this journey of faith together, let us keep each other in prayer and remember that God has a plan, even if it doesn’t make sense to us right now: God’s got this!
Fr. Bennett
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important update - DEC 28, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters in the St. Michael the Archangel Pastorate and especially to our beloved parishioners of Sacred Heart – the peace of Christ our Savior be with you today.
As many of you have undoubtedly heard, today we suffered a fire at Sacred Heart in the Church building. Preliminary reports from the State Fire Marshal seem to point to an electrical fire above the ceiling and behind the wall in the basement of the Church building. There does not seem to be any evidence of foul play at this time but rather a pure accident.
We have met with and spoke with representatives from our insurance company today and we are beginning the process of putting the pieces back together and repairing the damage caused.
We were very blessed to have a fire alarm system, which undoubtedly saved the church building. For even when the first fire fighters arrived they had trouble, from the outside, even recognizing there was a fire, and I am told, if we had waited until someone noticed flames or smoke from the outside, the fire would have already been too large for the fire depart to contain without likely suffering a total loss to our Church structure. For this we are very thankful!
We are also thankful for our very skilled and competent Remington Fire Department and the support they received from Wolcott and Rensselaer fire departments. Their quick action saved Sacred Heart Church.
I am thankful for Bishop Doherty for rushing out here this morning, and the support he has shown already. I had just drove to Michigan last night and was with my family celebrating Christmas and rushed back after I got the phone call from the alarm company, but I was not able to get back to Remington until the flames had been extinguished.
We will beginning the rebuild soon, but right now I do not have all the answers on that. I know many people are asking me about Masses at Sacred Heart. While the fire was able to be contained, the extent of the smoke damage and the true scope is still being determined. I would like to have Masses back at Sacred Heart as soon as possible, but at least for the time being, we must be patient, while we inventory the damage and repair/replace the items necessary to say Mass, this is true even for Mass in the Fulcher Center. Please be patient.
God Bless you and your family!
Fr. Bennett
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The Catholic Moment: January 11, 2021
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Today's Readings
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Reading I Heb 8:6-13Responsorial Psalm 85:8 and 10, 11-12, 13-14Gospel Mk 3:13-19
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23 hours agoBible Study Starts This Sunday We will meet Sunday Afternoon’s beginning on Sunday, January 24 th the newly designated “Sunday of the Word of God” by Pope Francis. Our meetings will be at 4pm...
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4 days agoPlease join us in prayer for the repose of the soul of Kennth "Kenny" Howard , and pray for God's comfort and peace for his family and friends. Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. (EST) Monday...
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5 days ago16 – Jan – 2021 Most dear parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide an update on the status of the church thus...
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6 days agoSign-Up for the Upcoming Bible Study! We will meet Sunday Afternoon’s beginning on Sunday, January 24 th , the newly designated “Sunday of the Word of God” by Pope Francis. Our meetings will be at...
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2 weeks agoUpcoming Mass Schedule Baptism of the Lord 1/9 – Mass 5:00PM CT – Sts. Peter and Paul 1/10 – Mass 8:30AM ET/7:30 CT – Sacred Heart @ Sts. Peter and Paul in Goodland 1/10 – Mass 10:00AM CT – St...
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