Dear Parishioners, Now that all the Spring breaks are over and we are now approaching the middle part of April, the schedule gets very busy from now until the end of the school year. For example, I will have been at Mass with the Bishop at the Cathedral twice this weekend. On Saturday, April 13th, Bishop Lohse ordained the class of permanent deacons for the Diocese of Kalamazoo. Our parishioner, Doran Lefaive, was in this class. Our congratulations to Deacon and his family. Of course, everyone is going to want to know where he is assigned. As of the bulletin deadline, his assignment hasn’t been announced. Stay tuned for this news! This ordination class was Bishop Lohse’s first ordinations as Bishop, and he will have two seminarians coming up for their ordinations in May and early June. The second major event that I will attend this weekend at the Cathedral is for our Confirmation class. Congratulations to our Youth Formation Students who will receive their Confirmation this Sunday. Since this is the time of year that many people receive the Sacraments, please also keep our 1st Communion students who will be receiving this Sacrament in May in your prayers. Our 2024 Bishop’s Annual has begun! Please prayerfully consider making a pledge to support the work of the Diocese throughout the year. Not only does it support such things as the ordinations that I have mentioned in my column, but many other ministries as well. If you haven’t received an information packet from the Diocese regarding this year’s appeal, please watch your mailbox for your personal pledge card or go to the Diocesan website to donate online. Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark