Dear Friends,
Last summer, on June 28th, I was called for an anointing for a 96-year-old parishioner
from the Assumption Church in Eden Valley. In the late morning, I drove out to the farm where
she lived with a truckload full of my belongings. After the visit, I drove straight to Pierz for the
very first day of my new assignment. When I arrived in Pierz, I was warmly greeted at the St.
Joseph’s rectory by a group of parishioners that welcomed me to the parishes. After meeting
with them and Father Ken, they graciously helped me unload some of my belongings, including
several heavy garden pots. I was very grateful!
It is hard to believe that one year has passed since becoming the pastor of the Father
Francis Xavier Pierz Area Catholic Community (ACC). In some ways it has seemed like one
month, and in other ways it has seemed like five years. I am feeling settled into the parishes now
and am very blessed and grateful to be here. Your kindness, thoughtfulness and prayers have
been heartfelt and greatly appreciated.
On May 29th we had a first “Town Hall” meeting in Buckman to present updates in
different areas of the ACC, such as; the Holy Trinity School, Fr. Pierz School, an office staff
report, ACC news, a Leadership Team report, Brenda and Diane from the Diocese offices and an
update and vision statement from me, as pastor. The meeting also included discussion time,
feedback and questions. I, along with others who attended, was impressed with the participation,
the positive spirit and the moving rosary together in the church to start the meeting.
At the meeting I was able to give my hopes and vision for the ACC.
The following are the summarized main points of the vision;
1. Support/formation of staff and leadership team.
2. Eucharistic love and reverence
3. Prayer-life and devotion
4. Catechesis for all ages
5.Evangelization and Discipleship
6. Service and outreach
I have been impressed with the level of devotion and the desire to get involved and keep
growing spiritually in the parishes. I am excited to see all the Lord will do in the years to come!
St. Cloud Diocese Parish Planning
At the Town Hall meeting Brenda Kresky, who is the director of parish planning,
presented an update from the St. Cloud Diocese planning committee. The main points of her
presentation were; The planning committee of the diocese has hired a consulting firm to help
with the parish planning. The St. Cloud Diocese actually has the fourth worst ratio in the nation
of priests vs. parishes. The planning committee is taking in information and assessing and there
is no plan at this time. The bishop has made it a priority to keep his priests healthy and has said
that some downsizing will be necessary, just as many other diocese’ have done.
One question that has been on the minds of many people has been, “Will our ACC be
going from four Masses to three Masses?” I personally spoke to Bishop Patrick about this, and
he is concerned about priests saying more than three Masses per weekend. I told the bishop that I would continue to do four Masses for the time being until an overall plan is made by the St.
Cloud Diocese. So, we will not be going down to three Masses at this time and will keep the
current Mass schedule.
Pastoral Administrator
I am excited to announce that we have hired Adam Hermanson as our new pastoral
administrator! Adam and his family currently live in St. Louis Park and are members of Holy
Family parish. Adam and his wife Annie have four children. Adam has a variety of experience
in job training, administration and counseling. He has experience in youth ministry and various
roles as a church volunteer. He has most recently been employed for The Bernard Group in
Chanhassen. The Hermanson family will move this summer and will live the rectory at St.
Michael’s in Buckman. We are very blessed to welcome Adam and his family into our ACC!
Please join me in praying for their move and transition here to our communities.
Parish Trustees
You might ask, “what is the role of a trustee?” Trustees serve important roles in the life
of the parish as they are advisors to the pastor and the parish specifically in civil and financial
matters. Each parish has two trustees. They are present at the finance and parish council
meetings to give needed insight and consultation. Trustees serve for two-year terms for up to ten years as a maximum. Three of the trustees in our ACC will retire after serving for ten or more years. They are; Dave Schubert from Holy Cross in Harding, Bill Andres from St. Michael’s in Buckman, and Harold Meyer from St. Joseph’s in Pierz. I want to thank our trustees who have served the parishes faithfully and well in a variety of ways and have given of their valuable time and talents for the Lord and his people. May our Lord graciously reward you for your service to his Church. The new trustees are; Leroy Woitalla from Holy Cross in Harding, Brian Stangl from St. Michael’s in Buckman, and Scott Wacker from St. Joseph’s in Pierz. Welcome to our new
trustees and thank you for saying “yes” to serving the church in this role.
Dear brothers and sisters, I am thankful to God for all that he has done in the past year. I
am so thankful for your prayers, kindness and faithful witness, especially through the changes
that have taken place. I am confident that our gracious God will continue to work wonders and
grant many graces to the hearts of his faithful. I am excited to see the good things the Lord has
in store for us. Let us keep each other in daily prayer and continue to walk in the light and love
of our Lord. Let us keep our “eyes fixed on the prize,” the goal of our faith, the reward of
happiness forever in heaven.
God bless you,
Father Aaron
