Gratitude to God for Fr. Jesus' Five Years of Faithful Ministry to Resurrection of Our Lord

TRANSITION AT RESURRECTION:
(Spanish translation below)

A few weeks ago I received a call from the Office of Clergy Personnel to inform me that our parish would
be going through a transition. After years of service to our Hispanic brothers and sisters Fr. Jesus Aguirre-
Guzman will be leaving our parish at the end of January.  As so many know, Fr. Jesus has worked and ministered
tirelessly for the needs of our Hispanic parishioners not only here at Resurrection, but throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore including Saint Clements and Holy Trinity. Vibrant communities have been
established, attendance has grown, faith has been celebrated and the Hispanic culture has thrived under
his care. Here at Resurrection Fr. Jesus organized the Hispanic leadership, created an environment for worship
that nourished people’s souls and helped many to discern the Holy Spirit through the Charismatic Renewal.
In witnessing marriages, celebrating baptisms and Quinceañeras Fr. Jesus has helped many Christian
souls along the path of discipleship and we will be forever grateful for his leadership and ministry which
have helped shape Resurrection into the parish it is today.

I invite you to join with me in celebrating Fr. Jesus’ ministry here at Resurrection with a Mass of Thanksgiving
on Sunday, January 25th at the 1:00pm Mass with a reception to follow in the parish hall. Everyone will have an opportunity to say thank you and to ask for God’s blessing upon his future ministry wherever the Lord might call him to serve His church.
 

The Office of Clergy Personnel also informed me that beginning February 1, 2015 we will be assigned an associate pastor for the first time in our parish’s history. He will minister to both our Spanish and English speaking parishioners. I am very grateful to Archbishop William Lori for this assignment to our parish and we will be able to give you more information about our new associate pastor in the coming days.

I ask for your prayers during this time of transition and that Lord might abundantly bless our parish as we begin this New Year.

Happy New Year,

Fr. Mark S. Bialek
Pastor

En Espanol:

Hace unas semanas recibí una llamada de la Oficina de Personal del Clero para informarme que nuestra parroquia estaría pasando por una transición. Después de años de servicio a nuestros hermanos y hermanas
hispanos el Padre Jesús Aguirre-Guzmán dejará nuestra parroquia a finales de enero. Como muchos
saben, el Padre Jesús ha trabajado y ministrado incansablemente por las necesidades de nuestros feligreses
hispanos no sólo aquí en Resurrección, sino en toda la Arquidiócesis de Baltimore como San Clemente y La Santísima Trinidad. Vibrantes comunidades se han establecido, la asistencia ha crecido, la fe se ha celebrado y la cultura hispana ha prosperado bajo su cuidado. Aquí en Resurrección el Padre Jesús organizó el liderazgo hispano, creó un ambiente de adoración que alimenta las almas de la gente y ayudó a muchos a discernir el Espíritu Santo a través de la Renovación Carismática. En presenciar matrimonios, celebrar bautizos y Quinceañeras el Padre Jesús ha ayudado a muchas almas cristianas a lo largo del camino del discipulado y estaremos eternamente agradecidos por su liderazgo y el ministerio que han ayudado a darle la forma que la parroquia de Resurrección tiene hoy.

Los invito a unirse conmigo en la celebración del ministerio del Padre Jesús aquí en Resurrección con una
Misa de gracias el domingo, 25 de enero en la Misa de la 1:00pm con una recepción a seguir en el salón
parroquial. Todo el mundo tendrá la oportunidad de darle las gracias y pedir la bendición de Dios sobre su
futuro ministerio dondequiera que el Señor le pueda llamar para servir a su iglesia.

La Oficina de Personal del Clero también me informó que a partir del 01 de febrero 2015 se nos asignará un
pastor asociado por primera vez en la historia de nuestra parroquia. Él ministrará tanto a nuestros feligreses
que hablan español e inglés. Estoy muy agradecido con el Arzobispo William Lori por esta asignación
a nuestra parroquia y vamos a ser capaces de darle más información acerca de nuestro nuevo pastor
asociado en los próximos días.
 

Les pido sus oraciones durante este tiempo de transición y que el Señor pueda bendecir abundantemente
a nuestra parroquia al comenzar este nuevo año.

Feliz Año Nuevo

Fr. Mark S. Bialek
Pastor

Advent and Christmas Season 2014 Schedule Released

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - Monday, December 8, 2014

• 9:00am Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant
• 7:00pm Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant/Deacon Jose Gabin, homilist

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Thursday, December 11, 2014

• 8:00pm Spanish Mass - Fr. Jesus Aquirre Guzman, celebrant
• 10:00pm Dinner in Parish Hall
• 11:30pm Holy Rosary
• 12:00am Songs to Our Lady

Parish Bilingual Advent Reconciliation Service

• Thursday, December 18, 2014 - 7:00pm (English and Spanish)

The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Eve) - Wednesday, December 24, 2014

• 4:00pm Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant

• 6:00pm Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant

The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Day) - Thursday, December 25, 2014

• 12:00am Solemn Midnight Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant

• 10:00am Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant

• 12:00pm Spanish Mass - Fr. Jesus Aquirre Guzman, celebrant

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

• Wednesday, December 31, 2014 - 7:00pm Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant
• Thursday, January 1, 2015 - 10:00am Mass - Fr. Mark Bialek, celebrant

The "Amazing Parish Prayer" Arrives at Resurrection

Since September the parish leadership has been actively discerning our mission and vision. We have been using material from the AmazingParish.org website which was developed to help “Catholic leaders build amazing parishes,” through the experience of Catholic leaders from around the United States. Out of the seven pillars that they put forward as foundational elements of any amazing parish we have decided to focus on the first three: prayer, a real leadership team and a clear vision. These first three pillars are absolutely essential as we strive to build our community for the future. Our parish staff and pastoral council are making sure that we have the right leadership in place with both paid and volunteer staff along with helping to craft a parish vision that calls upon every member of our community to proclaim the gospel with joy. However; all too often the first pillar gets overlooked and compromised, PRAYER. To this end, I am asking every member of our parish family to pray the AMAZING PARISH PRAYER every day.  In other words…pray for your parish and pray for one another. This prayer will be introduced at our weekend liturgies beginning the 1st Sunday of Advent and will continue through the Solemnity of Christ the King on November 22, 2015. This prayer will end our general intercessions and will be prayed by everyone at each Mass. It will be located in the front cover of your hymnal or missal and personal prayer cards will be handed out after Mass for the next two Sundays. 

 I would also ask that you invite others to pray for our parish. This might mean approaching family, friends, coworkers and even classmates. It could also mean contacting local religious orders and prayer groups to see if they might add our parish to their daily intentions. I would also ask that this prayer be a part of every parish gathering, meeting and formation opportunity. By offering the same prayer and asking others to join us in solidarity we will be united as a parish family. It is only through constant prayer that we will remain faithful to our mission and be able to craft a vision of ministry that is life sustaining and faithful to the church we are called to serve through our baptism.

 As we begin our Advent journey with a spirit of hopeful expectation I humbly ask everyone to open their hearts a little wider and make a little more room in their daily schedule to be in solidarity and communion with one another.  Our “Amazing Parish Prayer” is available below and I invite you to take a pocket version with you over the next two weeks. Let us pray unceasingly for our parish and in doing so build up the Body of Christ in our midst.

I Love you all,

Fr. Mark Bialek

Fr. Mark Bialek Announces Parish "Multicultural Commission"

Speaking in regards to the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pope Francis said, “Wherever there is a wall, there is a closed heart. We need bridges, not walls!” Since the founding of our community of faith 50 years ago our parish has only become more diverse. While some may see this diversity as a major challenge I have come to discern it as a major opportunity. We cannot exist as two parishes living under the same roof, but as Catholic Christians we must find ways of building bridges that opens our hearts to the other. This “other” might be someone of a different age and generation, they might be someone from a different culture than my own or it might even be someone who looks different from me or speaks a language that I do not understand. These differences can lead to frustration, anxiety and even fear. However, called to be the Body of Christ, the divisions that we find in the world cannot and should not be allowed to exist in the church and certainly not here at Resurrection. Building bridges of understanding through the fostering of relationships and getting to know the “other” for who they are is the only way to bring the walls down. As Sister Rosa reminded the parish leadership nearly a year ago during a weekend retreat we might not be able to understand or even appreciate an entire culture, but we can understand and begin to appreciate the person that is sitting next to me or attending the same meeting or sharing a meal at a Parish Family Dinner.  

To this end, I asked that a new commission be formed from the Pastoral Council that would help build a blueprint of the road that we might walk together in the coming years. This “Multicultural Commission,” recognizing that our parish already has many diverse cultures and a number of different languages counted among us, will be tasked with determining what bridges get constructed. In the coming weeks this commission, led by Mrs. Michelle Rios, will have the task of meeting with parish leadership and also cross-sections of our parish family to where there might be common ground from which to begin building. This period of consultation and listening will take place through April while everyone in the parish gets updates on a regular basis through the bulletin and other means. It will then be the task of the pastoral council, parish staff and I to draft a new mission statement for the parish that reflects the ministry and pastoral needs of our current and future members. Beginning next summer the Multicultural Commission will than use the feedback received and the new mission statement as a means to adopt policies and pastoral guidance to make sure that every culture, background and language is incorporated as a valued and integral part of our parish family.  

I encourage you to attend the listening and consultation sessions that will be scheduled and that you pray for our parish during this period of discernment. All of us are called to open our hearts a little wider to Christ and in doing so will open them up to all those who are seeking to be recognized as an integral and incorporated member of the Body of Christ.

I love you all,

Fr. Mark Bialek