From the Pastor

Dear friends in the Lord,
 
     Summer is often a time of transition in parish life. That has certainly been the case at IHM this year. Even as we bade farewell to Father Javier last weekend and look forward to the arrival of Father Carlos next week, there are other parish personnel changes that should be noted.
 
     Earlier this year, the Admin Assistant for our Faith Formation ministries, Olga Torres, moved out of state. And two very talented staff members departed IHM for positions with the Archdiocese of Atlanta: Jayna Hoffacker, our Communications Coordinator, became Program Assistant for Justice and Peace Ministries in the archdiocesan Office of Life, Dignity and Justice; and Yolanda Muñoz, the Assistant for our Liturgy program, became Assistant Director for Hispanic and Latino Cultures in the archdiocesan Office of Intercultural and Ethnic Diversity.
 
     Over the last several months, we have been fortunate to welcome new staff members for these positions. Veronica Thimann, our new Admin Assistant for Faith Formation, came to us from the Cathedral of Christ the King. Marcela Soren of IHM has taken on the parish website, bulletin, eWeekly, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as our new part-time Communications Coordinator. And the new Assistant for our Liturgy and Music program is IHM’s Shelly White.
 
     This weekend, the director of our Divine Playtime program, Natascha Beck, leaves the wonderful program she pioneered over the last four years to spend more time at home with her growing family. We are excited to welcome our new director, Alexis (Ali) Barton, who brings her wealth of experience in early childhood education to Divine Playtime.
 
     This weekend also marks the retirement of our Director of Operations, David Claussen. As many of you know, David brought a steady hand and a wise heart to his stewardship of the parish and school plant over the last nine years. We are consoled that David and Janet will still be parishioners, so our friendships with them may continue uninterrupted. IHM was very fortunate to have an eminently qualified candidate for the position right here on our staff: this weekend Dennis O’Leary, a member of the operations team since 2015, takes over as Director of Operations.
 
     To all who have departed or retired, I extend my gratitude; to all who have taken on new responsibilities in our community, I promise my support; and to every household experiencing its own move or transition this summer, I promise my prayers.