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A Special Message from Fr. Dan
Dear Fellow Michaelonians,
There is an old Yiddish saying that goes, “Man plans and God laughs. Woody Allen would reword this sentiment saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." Well, God is almost certainly chuckling, at least right now, as I share with you, MY plans.
I have loved serving here at St. Michael Parish, but in another 15 months or so MY plan is to retire (that is June 30, 2026). I will be 80 by then, and I will have served in only two parishes as pastor over slightly more than 40 years. I was 20 years in Appalachia and 20 years (and a month!) here at St Mikes. Most priests have been pastor in three or four different parishes over that same period of time.
As I look to retiring, my wish is to leave St. Mikes in good shape, especially financially. This will make it much easier for the parish and the next pastor as he comes in. One of the best ways to do this would be to reduce the mortgage and renegotiate the payment to bring it way down. This would be a fundraising effort, and I will be back with more details, but I just wanted to share these thoughts with you.
I love St. Michael Parish and hope this mortgage reduction initiative can be a parting gift to the parish.