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Grace and Peace to you, my brothers and sisters:
As many of you have probably heard, my favorite liturgical time of the year is Easter. Easter, to me, is an opportunity to renew our mission as baptized and confirmed Catholics. This time challenges us in our discipleship of the Lord to imitate our first brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to imitate the boldness of Peter, who stood in the temple preaching about the Resurrected Christ. We are to imitate the passion of Paul, who took to challenging roads to bring Christ to those who didn’t know him. And we are to imitate the openness of Philip, who the Spirit took from one place to another to baptize and preach Christ, as well as the persistence of the women who were the first to testify to Christ’s resurrection when others did not want to believe. Easter season challenges us to be bold, passionate, open to the Spirit, and persistent in our commitment to the Gospel.
I find it fitting for this season to make this official announcement to all of you, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As of June 18, 2024, I will be the pastor of the Faith Communities of Saint Sebastian, Saint Lucy, Saint Richard, Saint Edward, Saint Patrick, Sacred Heart, Saint Joseph, and Saint John Nepomuk. This is a monumental task to take on. With the help of your prayers and the Holy Spirit, I believe God will provide the wisdom, knowledge, and passion needed to fulfill this task. There is not an ounce of doubt on that.
But this task is not for me alone. I will share this task with three great brother priests. Fr. Michael Petersen will be part of the team; he brings a breadth of experience as a priest. He has experience serving in many communities throughout the archdiocese. Fr. José Mario Nieto has been part of the Family of Four Parishes until now. He is an excellent biblical scholar and priest, as you know already. And finally, Fr. Craig Richter. He will be newly ordained and bringing a fresh passion for ministry. Our job as his first assignment is to help him become a great pastor of souls. Soon you can meet all of them and get to know them better.
I invite all of you to pray for the upcoming planning process for the Catholic Church in Racine. It is a bold move, but necessary to secure and strengthen our Catholic presence in the city. I believe the team of priests set for this task have a passion for Christ and his Church, which will help us to undertake this task. I would like us to become a church more missionary and evangelizing rather than one simply maintaining itself. I know that this requires a tremendous amount of flexibility, but I assure you that if we all pray and work hard on this, we will be stronger. Let us pray unceasingly for this process all the time and trust in the Lord that the result will be a renewed church and vibrant communities of believers.
Our parishes’ websites have information about the planning process under the tab Renewing Faith: Creating Vibrant Communities. I will post information there and keep you updated on the process. Any official communication regarding this planning process comes directly from me and will be posted there.
Blessings and praying for you,
Fr. Juan Manuel Camacho
Catholic Community in Central Racine -Family of Four Parishes-
Weekend Preview
After their encounter with Jesus, the disciples of Emmaus did not waste time returning to announce the Lord to the rest of the disciples in Jerusalem. The encounter with Jesus instilled in them the passion to run back and share that gift with others. When they are back together, Jesus appears to them and brings peace to them. The resurrected Lord senses the troubled hearts and anxieties of his disciples. He wants to bring consolation and peace to their lives. He challenges them to receive his peace as a soothing presence and remedy for their hearts. We, too, are invited to allow the Grace of Christ to flow in us so that our hearts and minds are at peace. Spend some time allowing the soothing presence of Christ in your life. —Fr. Juan
Catholic Community in Central Racine - Family of Four Parishes
Click here to view the bulletin for the other parishes in our community. Weekend Mass times are here.
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Renewing Faith: Creating Vibrant Communities
Curious about the updates regarding the parishes in Racine? We have created a section on the website to keep you in the loop. Click here to learn more.
SAVE THE DATE! Fr. Richard Molter Celebration
All members of the Catholic Community of Racine are invited to join in the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Ordination of the Rev. Richard Molter. Concelebrated Mass is on Sunday, June 2, 2024, 11:00 a.m. at St. Edward Catholic Church, 1425 Grove Avenue Racine, Wisconsin 53405. A luncheon will follow in Schaefer Hall / lower level of the church.
Further information and sign-up sheets will be forthcoming in May.
Belle City Catholic
Belle City Catholic focuses on helping Catholics in the city of Racine build a stronger relationship with Christ and their community.
In person events:
- Food for the Journey - Mass and Adoration worship events
- Belle City Catholic Talks - A casual speaker series
- And More! - Stay tuned for more events throughout the year.
Online video series:
- Spiritual Homework - Every Monday BCC releases a short clip from Fr. Juan’s homily as your “Spiritual Homework for the Week.”
- Belle City Practicing Catholic - A space to ENGAGE our community, to LEARN about the Lord, and to GROW deeper in our Spiritual Journey together. Every Wednesday, Fr. Juan spends 90 seconds explaining our Catholic Faith. Currently B.C.P.C. is breaking down the Mass. If there is anything you want to learn about Catholicism, let us know!
If you have any questions you can email us here.
Follow us on Social Media!
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Food for the Journey
FFTJ is a program to celebrate the glory of God and the joy of the Gospel through vibrant and uplifting worship, adoration, and community building moments. We want to offer Catholics in the City of Racine an opportunity to draw closer to God through prayer and community-building events. Save the dates for our upcoming events:
*Please note the change in location
Food for the Journey: Journeying into new life
Family Faith Formation
Join us for our Faith Formation Adult Sessions on April 21. Our speaker will be Dr. Mike Brummond, S.T.D. Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. Dr. Brummond conclude the Mass with the Liturgy of the Eucharist & Closing Rites on April 21. Each talk will begin at 9:10 AM and will conclude before the 10AM Mass. All are welcome!
Vacation Bible School
Sacred Heart will be hosting Vacation Bible School in coordination with St. Patrick's this year.
Our Session will run from July 29th - August 2nd from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM. If that timing doesn't work for your family, other sessions are open to parishioners at St. Rita's, St. Lucy's and St. Mary by the Lake. For more information or to register click here.
JPIIA's Annual Carnival
Scammers and Impersonators
There are many emails, texts, and posts going around from people claiming to be our clergy. These scammers are asking for money, either by “selling” items or as a personal request. If you see someone pretending to be our priests or deacon, please, do not send any money and report the message or post if possible.
Distributing Communion Outside of the Parish
Have you been asked to bring Communion to the sick and homebound and are not sure where to start?
Click here for the Guidelines for Distributing Communion Outside of a Parish.
Saint Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
The SVdP Food Pantry collection is the second weekend of the month. The needs for the food pantry are now located on the bulletin board or you can click here.
Updates in a Sentence (or Two!)
- There will be no Chat with Father this week or next. You can watch the last one here.
- Beginning on Friday, April 26, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be extended from the end of Mass until 5PM.
- Confessions are on Saturday from 3:30 to 4 PM in the crying room on the right side of church.
- The next Sacred Heart book club meeting is on Thursday, April 18, at 10:00 AM In Haban Hall. For that meeting we are reading the book “The Seven Story Mountain" by Thomas Merton.
- Live-streamed Masses are now on the CCCR Facebook and YouTube. This Sunday's livestream will be at 9AM.
