Dear Parishioners and Visitors:
Each year, Bishop Libasci asks that parishes throughout the Diocese of Manchester welcome a missionary to speak on behalf of the USCCB’s “Mission “Cooperative Appeal.” Next weekend, August 10 and 11, please join me in welcoming Father Michael Semana to St. Joseph Parish. Father is a priest of “The Lamb Shall Lead” international missionary community from the Philippines. The goal of the ministry is outreach to grassroots communities, designed to empower the poorest of God’s poor to evangelize their territories. Funds from this mission appeal will be used 1) to replicate sustainable livelihood in urban and rural areas through livestock and organic farming, 2) to establish a training center for the education of lay missionaries, 3) to provide resources and medical care for the elderly and malnourished children, and 4) to rehabilitate economically deprived individuals impacted by relocation and natural calamities. Fr. Semana will share his experience of the liberation of the poor who are caught in the cycle of dependency and survival, as well as his efforts of empowering families and youth to achieve a better future, full of hope.
Father Semana will celebrate weekday Masses on Wednesday (no Adoration), Thursday and Friday, August 7, 8, and 9, while I am out of town pursuing continuing education credits for renewal of my professional licensure and visiting family.
With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney