Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of the Lake

 As I began to actively prepare for my
senior status and my departure from the
Northwoods, I continued to realize that it
has been a blessed opportunity for me to
serve our 2 parishes with so many good,
solid, faith-filled people –God-fearing and
generous in building up our church
communities as well as mindful of the
needy far and near. For my part, I have been
blessed to have journeyed with you in all
the ups and downs of the parish lives in the
past 7 years. In particular, the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, has been a highlight for my ministry. Even though before I came here I went through 1 year of chemotherapy for hepatitis some 17 years ago, and even though I’ve had diabetes for some 15 years, God has blessed me with ’decent’ health. Indeed, with God’s blessings I’ve never missed a weekend Mass due to poor health or bad weather. However, being 73 years of age now, I’ve begun to feel tired more easily. My eyesight as well as my reaction in driving in the dark, in the rain, and on the ice has not been as good as when I was 37.

 From the time of my Ordination in 1983 I’ve felt attached to Green Bay Diocese as a mother; and each parish assignment has actually become a family. During my 39+ years of priesthood I’ve moved numerous times: Up to now, each time I moved I had a definite parish assignment and a rectory to live in. Entering the senior status now, I’ve experienced a drastic change: No parish to be a ‘family,’ no rectory to call ‘home’, no monthly pay-check from a parish, and no insurance from the diocese.,, Interestingly enough: As I was looking for a place to live, it was as if in God’s Providence: A senior priest who lived in an apartment in De Pere for numerous years decided to move to an assisted living to live and to be a chaplain for the place. I managed to arrange with him and with the renter. I will be able to move in the priest’s apartment soon after he moves out in July.

 Knowing that I need to move out of the rectory in Lakewood before July 1 while I will not be able to move in the apartment until July 8, a parishioner, whose husband died several years ago, invited me to live in an extra room in her house until July 8. I truly appreciated her generosity, But I had to decline her invite for fear of a possible rumor that ‘beginning the retirement, Fr. Philip has moved in with a widow!’ Fortunately, I will be able to stay with a priest in a rectory in Green Bay until my apartment is ready. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. May the blessing of each day be the blessings I need most in my transition to the golden years in the Loving Providence of God.

Fr. Philip