Dear Parishioners:

It’s amazing! As much as change comes at such an incredibly fast rate, there are some things that still maintain permanence. Last Sunday, I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with my father celebrating Father’s Day. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves during a wonderful culinary experience at a Mexican restaurant, I asked my father if there was anything special he would like to do. He offered the suggestion of attending a summer concert performed by the Corpus Christi Municipal Band at the amphitheater in Cole Park. I said, "Let's go!" It had been many years since I had last attended one of those concerts. In fact, I think it was when I still had a mop of hair and was combating the dreaded horrors of pimples.

The concert was just as I remembered it; everyone lounging on lawn chairs, a cool summer evening breeze blowing, and symphonic melodies drifting over the grassy lawn. The only difference was that I was not one of the little kids running around barefoot or rolling down the hill.

The municipal band has been in existence since 1952. I am impressed how, in a world where change occurs in a nanosecond, this group has withstood the test of time.

As one of the newest parishes in Corpus Christi, St. John’s is already becoming well established. While we continue to grow and change, we are also "settling in". Our growing maturity does not mean that we are becoming stagnant, though. As a matter of fact, we are becoming more vibrant as we meet the needs of a budding parish community.

In light of this, I am pleased to announce that we are hiring a youth minister for our parish. Her name is Angela Bower and she comes to us from Wisconsin. She will be charged with the task of reaching out to our middle school and high school youth who hunger for a life of faith. Angela will be joining our staff in just a few weeks. In the meantime, we look forward with great anticipation for her arrival.

Related to this, I am also excited to announce that we will be adding a Sunday evening Mass oriented toward our parish youth when we embark upon a new school year! I know this will be good news to all of you who prefer to sleep in on Sunday and have longed for another option. More news about Angela and the new Mass time will be forthcoming. Until then, please continue to pray for the growth of our parish as we work together to build our community of faith! God bless!

Fr. Paul