Sunday Mass Proposal
Since April, I have been working on a Sunday Mass rotation that will allow Fr. Gerardo, our new Claretian, to take both Spanish Masses each Sunday. This has been a very difficult goal to achieve, and my proposal has already gone through quite a few revisions following feedback from staff and the Pastoral Council. I am now, finally, ready to publish a proposal to our parishioners, for their feedback.
You can presently find three posts online:
- The full, original proposal: https://www.whatcomcatholic.org/updates/2025/6/19/decision-8-sunday-mass-revision
- A proposed priest rotation to go with this proposal: https://www.whatcomcatholic.org/updates/2025/6/19/decision-81-sunday-priest-rotation
- An alternative proposal developed via feedback from Sacred Heart parishioners: https://www.whatcomcatholic.org/updates/2025/6/19/decision-82-sunday-mass-alternative-1
[Some of you with paper bulletins may find one or more of these printed and available in the back of the church.]
Now, for something like this it is really important that I hear from parishioners. I am not looking to see who can be the loudest or most upset – that is not helpful to anyone. However, I am looking for (1) aspects of these changes that I have not considered, especially downsides that I might not have taken into account, and (2) better solutions that still achieve the goals I have laid out in my proposal.
To that end, I am trying to spend time after all of my Masses during June and July hearing from people. Expect me to invite you to stay after Mass when you see me next, and please share your thoughts. You can, of course, also e-mail me, though it will take me some time to go through all of the e-mailed thoughts.
My hope is that we can problem solve this together through July and have this new Mass schedule in place by the end of August.
Priest Days
This coming week is “Priest Days” in Ocean Shores, what some dioceses might call their annual “Priest Convocation”. This is a particularly important week in the life of an Archdiocesan priest, as it gives up an opportunity to reconnect with all of our brother priests who assigned to different parts of the Archdiocese. It also gives us an opportunity to spend some time with our bishops.
Priest Days is three days long, and each day is divided into two halves. In the morning, we usually hear from a speaker. My favorite to-date has been Fr. Sean Kilcawley from the Diocese of Lincoln – every week I use the lessons he taught us about pornography to help the multitude of people who bring up that struggle in Confession. This year, we are hearing from Rhonda Gruenewald, Founder and President of Vocation Ministry, a presentation I am also super excited about.
In the afternoon, we have social time, which usually involves bowling, golfing, putt-putt golf, or board games. In the morning and evenings, of course, we also have communal Liturgy of the Hours and Mass together.
It is weird and a little off-putting to know that you will not have any of your parish priests in town for an entire week, but please know that it is absolutely beneficial to us, and we appreciate your understanding.
(I will also not be at Masses the following weekend, as I am visiting a close college friend of mine in Denver.)
Fr. Moore 