It is a blessing to be writing to you as

J U LY 2 013 contents 2 A Look Back at Recent Youth Activities in Our Parish 4 St. Joseph Community Welcomes Fr. Ronald Wearsch 6 A Life of Stewardship Msgr. Thomas McGread 7 Parishioner Enjoys Active Involvement, Is Grateful for Hospitality A Letter From Our Pastor Service to Others Leads to Abundant Life Dear Parishioners, It is a blessing to be writing to you as pastor of St. Joseph Parish, following the good works that Fr. Tim and the priests and pastors before him have begun. I look forward to getting to know you, and discovering together what God might be asking us to be and do together for our parish. So that you might get to know me a little better, I thought I would share with you the story of my faith journey and call to the priesthood. Growing up in Avon Lake, my sister, my two brothers and I were part of an extended family that always went to church. My parents taught us right from wrong, and our family culture was definitely Catholic, although back then we would not have talked about it in those words it simply was the way life was. There was not a specific moment in time that I decided to be a priest, but rather my discernment to priestly ministry came a little at a time. My early callings included being a chef and an accountant, and I worked in several capacities at Lakewood Country Club in Westlake. I always enjoyed helping people, and discovered that I throw myself fully into whatever I do. I worked long hours on weekends and holidays, and loved it most of the time! In the Gallup book Living Your Strengths, I would be described as an achiever some may call that a workaholic! Although I liked my work in the service industry, I had continued on page 3

A Look Back at Recent Youth Activities in Our Parish The end of spring is always a busy time for the youth in our parish, with the end of the year activities at the school, the eighth-grade class graduation and various parish events. One school event was the Pass the Torch candlelighting ceremony, during the last school Mass of the year. Another event was the annual Walk-A-Thon, which raised over $30,000 this past May. 2

Service to Others Leads to Abundant Life continued from front cover a sense of being called to more. In my early vocation talks at parishes, I began to frame it like this: If I was going to give my life to something, I wanted it to be worthy of my life. While I was studying at Cleveland State University, I often attended daily Mass at St. John Cathedral, and was positively influenced by Fr. Tim O Connor and Fr. Ted Marzel, who were the two priests assigned at the Cathedral. They lived their faith, offered good homilies and struck me as truly holy people. In fact, Fr. Tim later was my first spiritual director in the seminary. I spent some time during Lent 1995 in discernment. While attending a Wednesday night Mass at my home parish, Holy Spirit in Avon Lake, I decided to attend an immersion weekend at Borromeo Seminary that I saw advertised in the bulletin. I simply told my parents I was going on a retreat. I applied and was accepted to Borromeo without anyone in my family or colleagues at the country club knowing. Because I had changed my mind twice already chef, accountant, and now maybe a priest I was afraid people would think I was crazy! Even once I started in the seminary, I felt like I was trying it out, as one would try on a new wardrobe. I discovered through my own prayer and the support of my family, the seminary community, and the people of the Diocese of Cleveland that God was indeed calling me to use my gifts, talents and strengths in service of others as an ordained priest in the Diocese of Cleveland. I have also discovered that those early days of different professions provided a foundation of experience that enables me to better serve the needs of others. I am blessed to have a background that includes training and experience in music, the culinary and hospitality industries, accounting, technology, philosophy and theology. All of this, I bring to minister here at St. Joe s. Even in the midst of real struggles and hardships in life, I have experienced that when serving others, I find abundant life filled with joy! Jesus said: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (Jn 10:10). I am blessed to have a glimmer of the life and joy about which Jesus speaks. May we all come to know that abundant life as we minister to, and with, each other as I begin my ministry of pastor and shepherd with all of you. Yours in Christ, Fr. Ronald Wearsch 3

It s both a welcome and a welcome home for Fr. Ronald Wearsch, as he takes the helm here at St. Joseph Parish. The assignment, which he accepted in May, became formal on June 15, when he jumped right in to celebrate a wedding and then had his first Mass here at 4:30 p.m. Indeed, you may have already read about Fr. Ron the very weekend his appointment was announced because he was featured as a cook in the Universe Bulletin that Friday. St. Joseph s is Fr. Ron s third assignment since his ordination. He first served as parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier in Medina for five years, and he s been a member of the Pastoral Team at St. Mary Magdalene in Willowick since 1997. Now, he joins us as the sixth pastor in our parish s history, and it s almost a welcome home because Fr. Ron was baptized here at St. Joseph s, although he grew up in Holy Spirit Parish. Fr. Ron recalls watching the St. Joseph Community Welcomes Fr. Ronald Wearsch construction of Holy Spirit when he was a kindergartner, living on Lear Road. He has, in recent years, concelebrated here for the sacramental celebrations of his niece and nephews, Samantha, Dane and Bryce Stuart and Roman Wearsch. Fr. Ron has two brothers Ralph, who lives in North Carolina, and Russell, who lives here in Avon Lake. His sister, Renee Stuart, also lives in Avon Lake. And Father s parents live here in Avon Lake for part of the year, spending the winter months in Florida. To date, during the 21 years since his ordination, Fr. Ron has been very busy in the Diocese of Cleveland. He served with the Office on Pastoral Liturgy and worked with youth, young adults and the Vocation Office. He has assisted with the annual Priest Convocation since 2004 and collaborated on a formal document, entitled Future Full of Hope, which was a summary of the 2006 Convocation. As a colleague to the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Office, Fr. Ron was very instrumental in the Vibrant Parish Life initiative, which grew into the present Cluster program and has led us to a fruitful relationship with our Cluster partners, Holy Spirit and St. Raphael parishes. Our parishioners should be delighted to know that Fr. Ron has been active with the Diocesan Stewardship Office. He has also served as the chairperson of the Lake-Geauga District of the Diocese, is a team member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, and completed a 2012 sabbatical in Rome entitled Christ Renews His Priests. Fr. Ron also claimed blessings by following the footsteps of St. Paul in Greece and Turkey in 2003 and by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this past October. Parish Administrative Assistant Barbara Krulik was delighted to hear that this priest, whom she has known for years through the Knights of Columbus, would be our new pastor. And our maintenance director, Dave Aslaksen, beams as he recalls what a great guy Fr. Ron was when Dave knew continued on page 5 4

St. Joseph Community Welcomes continued from page 4 him at Avon Lake High School. People from St. Mary Magdalene agree that we are going to be very blessed with this new pastor that Bishop Lennon and the Personnel Board have chosen for us. For himself, Fr. Ron is excited to be back in Avon Lake. He plans to spend his first year here doing what he calls structured listening, getting to know how our parish has functioned and appreciating the big picture. He says he is definitely not a micro-manager, but he is a hands-on kind of leader. He talks about past experiences with many things that are familiar to us at St. Joseph s which was actually founded the same year as was St. Mary Magdalene like Vacation Bible School, Generations of Faith, and especially, stewardship as a way of life. Should he find any spare time to himself, Fr. Ron hopes to enjoy his favored pastimes of gardening, cooking and bicycling. Our parish is happy to welcome our new pastor our hometown boy returned to Avon Lake and the parish where he began his life in Christ. May God bless Fr. Ron and all of us here at St. Joseph s as we begin this new chapter of our parish history. Our Family in the Armed Forces When you gather your family for prayer, please remember these members of our parish family who are placing their lives on the line to protect and serve us! Michael Baker Jeff Capretto Dan Collister Christian Connors Carin Cozza Benjamin DeBottis Timothy Gaydosh Craig Goodwin Kyle Goodwin Scott Hardman Patrick Harris William Hayes Brian Hertvik Joseph Hisey Scott Hutcherson Greg Jones Brendan Mackin Kyle McDevitt Christopher McMenamy Charlie Meyer Matt Monschein Jessica Moran Sean Murello Brian M. Novotny Daniel Novotny Michael Paradis Robert Pate Michael Schumacher Ricky Scrivens Dr. Roy Seitz John Stanley Christopher Stover Daniel Urbin Larry van der Oord Tony Zelasko If you have any loved ones in the service, please let us know so we can add them to our honored list and keep them in our prayers. 5

This spring, we said goodbye to perhaps the most influential advocate for stewardship as a way of life. On Monday, April 1, 2013, Msgr. Thomas McGread died at the age of 84. Msgr. McGread has been called the Father of Stewardship, and that title carries more than a little merit. Most of the efforts and developments in stewardship as a way of life throughout the country can be traced directly back to Msgr. McGread and the work he started at his parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Wichita, Kan., in the 1960s. Msgr. McGread was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland on Dec. 5, 1928, and he was ordained a priest at All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland on June 21, 1953. Later that year, he was assigned the position of associate pastor at St. Patrick Parish in Parsons, Kan. Over the next few years, he served as associate pastor for two other parishes, and as pastor of two more in the Diocese of Wichita before being named pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in 1968. He continued to serve as pastor at St. Francis of Assisi until retiring in 1999. It was at this parish that Msgr. A Life of Stewardship Msgr. Thomas McGread McGread s vision of stewardship as a way of life began to thrive from there, it spread through Catholic parishes and communities all over the country and throughout the world, as it continues to do today. This vision views stewardship as a spiritual, biblically based principle that begins with conversion of heart and translates into a lifestyle of service. Msgr. McGread broke stewardship down into three equally important components time, talent and treasure. Monsignor taught his parishioners the importance of using our personal gifts in each of these areas, as well as the importance of giving these gifts back to God. St. Francis of Assisi became one of the most dynamic and vibrant parishes in the country, and Catholic parishes all over the U.S. have followed the example of Msgr. McGread and the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi. Msgr. McGread was also involved in the drafting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop s pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple s Response, in 1992. He spoke about his message of stewardship at parishes and dioceses around the country. Msgr. McGread s concepts and teachings serve as the model for our stewardship efforts here at our parish, and it is the same model that is successfully followed by Catholic parishes across the country and the world. Though we will truly miss this great visionary, Monsignor s influence and legacy will live on as we continue to live the stewardship way of life. 6

Parishioner Enjoys Active Involvement, Is Grateful for Hospitality Dominick and Cathy Bullotta came to Avon Lake about one and a half years ago to be closer to their three daughters and four grandchildren. When they moved here, finding the right parish was very important to them. We came from a parish where we knew everyone to a place where we knew no one, Dominick says. We were very active and involved in practically every aspect of the parish we left. We knew we had to find a church where we could have the opportunity to get involved. In their first two months in Avon Lake, they visited five different parishes in the area. All of them were great, but one church made us feel at home, Dominick says. From the moment we walked into St. Joseph, we knew that it was the right fit. We were impressed with the gathering area and its warm, friendly atmosphere. An usher greeted us with a welcoming smile and a good morning. The beautiful altar was simple yet breathtaking. The music was fantastic, to say the least. And Father Tim s homily was motivating and uplifting. We left Mass truly inspired and invigorated, ready to tackle the coming week. Dominick and Cathy returned to St. Joseph for Mass the following week and Fr. Tim talked about stewardship. Dominick and Cathy received a parish ministry catalog and each signed up for several ministries. We were impressed and felt welcomed when we received a personal phone call from each one of the organizations welcoming us and inviting us to join, Dominick says. We felt at home. We were becoming a part of a new parish family. Dominick is currently involved in several parish ministries. He is a Eucharistic Minister and a PSR teacher, and he is also on the Parish Council, the Stewardship Council and the Gardening Committee. He has also been asked to judge the seventh and eighthgraders recent science projects. For Dominick, getting involved was a natural part of being a member of the parish. Ever since high school, I have been involved in service organizations, he says. Later in college, my Catholic faith began to grow stronger due to the fact that I was around other people my age who shared the same ideals. I finally became an altar server. Helping others came naturally for me. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I really get great satisfaction from it. His involvement also enriches his spiritual life. Because I am contributing to the parish, I feel more spiritually fulfilled, Dominick says. I felt called to be involved. Everyone has some type of gift to give back to the parish. No matter how outgoing or reserved a person is, he or she can always find some area in which to contribute and feel at home. We were impressed and felt welcomed when we received a personal phone call from each one of the [St. Joseph parish] organizations welcoming us and inviting us to join. We felt at home. We were becoming a part of a new parish family. Dominick Bullotta 7

32929 Lake Road Avon Lake, Ohio 44012-1402 (440) 933-3152 www.stjosephavonlake.org Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Avon Lake, OH Permit No. 3 Return Service Requested Save the Date! July 2013 7/2 Eucharistic Adoration, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 7/4 Independence Day Mass at 9 a.m. 7/5 No 24-Hour Adoration this month 7/6 St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank Collection 7/7 Bereavement Support, 1 p.m. Youth at Mass, 5 p.m. 7/8 Mass at Main Street, 10:30 a.m. 7/9 Eucharistic Adoration, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Soles for Souls Picnic 7/16 Eucharistic Adoration, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 7/20 Parish Picnic begins with 4:30 Mass Christmas in July weekend 7/21 Christmas in July 7/23 Eucharistic Adoration, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 7/25 Market Day Pick-Up, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. 7/27, 7/28 Visiting Little Sisters of the Poor 7/30 Eucharistic Adoration 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, the Lord s Day, Mass Schedule Sat. 4:30 p.m. Sun. 8:30 & 11 a.m., 5 p.m. Weekday Mass Schedule Mon., Tue., Wed. 7:30 a.m. Thu. 7 p.m. Fri. 8:30 a.m.