15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Fr. David Halm, C.S.C.  |  07/14/2024  |  Pastor's Letter

Our parish, like many, considers July 1 as the beginning of the new “fiscal year.” There’s no theology behind this, rather it’s an administrative way to wrap up the previous year’s accounting and operations and get ready for the new year. Hard as it is to believe, the school students begin classes in three weeks and around the corner are the new OCIA classes, charity drives, and fall activities.

As we begin this new administrative year we are also welcoming a few new members to our parish team and thanking two who are beginning new adventures:

After 8 years of dedicated service as the Director of Operations, Sarabeth Schmiskie is finishing her time in SJV Administration to focus full-time on her work in the private sector. We are so grateful to Sarabeth for her tireless and professional commitment to her role here. She was crucial in helping the parish navigate the pandemic restrictions and its related financial impact. She has been a wonderful example of Christian discipleship and inspires us in her vocation as wife and mom.

Paul Lorenz, fervent disciple of Jesus Christ, President of the Parish Council and retired owner of a very successful insurance agency, is graciously serving as the Interim Director of Parish Administration. He’ll be helping to recruit and hire a full-time Director as well as a Parish Accountant.

In a similar vein of deep gratitude, our heartfelt thanks to Rea Herrera who has led us in music at SJV for over 15 years. With the new school-year Rea will be full-time in the classroom as a Music Teacher at SJV School and continue to form our students with great love and devotion.

As the new Music Minister for the parish, we’re very excited that Amanda (Vernon) Shaheen will help us give glory to God through beautiful music and worship. Amanda is a well-known music minister, recording artist, and author. She and her family have been parishioners at SJV and Amanda is really excited to build on Rea’s work in forming our choirs and parishioners musically.

Nick Balderrama, longtime (and very involved!) parishioner at SJV, is our new Maintenance Superintendent. I am inspired by his dedication and zeal. He also has a terrific general knowledge of maintenance, repair, and how we can best make our church building, school and campus beautiful, safe, and sustainable. Gabriel Jimenez, our head of Human Resources and Information Technology, has been leading our maintenance program in the interim over the past few weeks and we are very grateful to him for the extra time and sweat this has involved!