15 September 2007

Dear Pastors, Lay Pastoral Animators, Parish Council Members and Parish Finance Personnel,

I wish to bring to your attention some matters that I did not have at hand when I sent out my pastoral letter last week.

Archdiocesan Convocation:  There are several issues that call for a meeting of all pastors, lay pastoral animators and those who handle parish finances.  On top of this, I and my consultors have been giving a great deal of thought to pastoral planning for the Archdiocese – a challenging but necessary task, for which I need the cooperation of all of the above persons as well as some parish council representatives.  While the agenda is significant, we hope to present the issues at a one-day convocation at the cathedral in McLennan on Saturday 17 November 2007.  The agenda will begin at 10:00 sharp; come anytime after 9:30 a.m. for coffee and socializing.  We will have you out the door by 4:00 p.m. at the latest.  The agenda items for the day are:

I call on all leaders in the local parishes to try and ensure that one person at least but all the appropriate people be present for this day.
            We ask you to register for this convocation by calling or emailing Mr. Grant Mann at the Chancery Office, 780 324-3002 or finadm@serbernet.com before Friday 9 November.

Archdiocesan Justice & Solidarity Committee:  Rita Thérriault is the archdiocesan coordinator for Development & Peace and the Pontifical Mission Societies.  In speaking to her recently about what can be done to strengthen and coordinate our archdiocesan efforts, we spoke of having a Justice and Solidarity Committee under her leadership.  I therefore ask each parish to submit to Rita the name, address, email address and phone number for your parish’s “contact person” or leader of your social justice committee.  Rita’s phone number is 780 837-0209; her email address is therr@telusplanet.net.  I ask pastors and pastoral animators to get this information to her by October 28th at the latest.
            If you would like to know more about the organizations she represents, you may check out their web sites: Development & Peace is www.devp.org, Pontifical Mission Societies is www.missionsocieties.ca, and l’Oeuvre Pontificale de la Propagation de la Foi is www.oppf.ca.

Natural Family Planning Workshop:  I would like to bring to your attention and endorse for your participation a workshop in Grande Prairie dealing with Natural Family Planning.  This workshop comes very highly recommended from past participants elsewhere; it explains natural family planning and presents its benefits for couples.  This workshop is being held on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday, November 31-December 2, 2007.  Costs have not been finalized but the committee planning this workshop have received some funding for it.  To register or for more information, please contact LeeAnn Kinderwater at (403)742-8142 and kinderh2o@hotmail.com, or Kevin and Helen Walker at (780)539-6870 and koolmomhsw7@hotmail.com. 

+ Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan

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