Dear Church of All Saints Parishioners,
As the bulletin editor, Director of Sacred Music, Organist, and Youth Group Leader here at All Saints, I just wanted to take a moment and a little space in this week’s bulletin to thank everyone for the wonderful opportunity to work for you, with you, and amongst you these past seven years, hopefully for the glory of God and the edification of the faithful. I wanted to write you all in
this way, cognizant that I just will not be able to catch everyone in-person or even via letter or email. Coming to you seven years ago, I had limited experience working with the Traditional Latin Mass, and now it is a critical part of who I am; how we grow! While my work takes me elsewhere, please know that the heart and mind painfully leaves our fine liturgical expression and the many, many wonderful people here (of whom I am blessed to call so many ‘friends’).
To the young people I was blessed to work with: THANK YOU for giving me the opportunity; I am SO excited to see where the Lord takes you and how you will respond to His call! Thank you for inspiring me, for our adventures (hikes, retreats, pilgrimages, etc…) together, and for your kindnesses, of which there are too many to count and to many people to name.
To the choir members through the years, perhaps the BEST choir in the Twin Cities: THANK YOU! It has been a joy singing Palestrina, Victoria, Haydn, Gounod, and too many other composers to count, with you. I shall sincerely miss you and the fruits of all of our efforts and sacrificial time together.
To my fellow Co-op Board members past and present:
THANK YOU for your care for our young people. To help lay foundational steps through which our young people can encounter instruction that will guide them in the path to/of holiness – what a tremendous honor and gift! St. John Bosco: pray for us!
To Mother Maria Regina and all the dear Filiae Laboris Mariae Sisters who work so hard at blending an authentic contemplative life with an outward-caring encounter with us parishioners – THANK YOU for taking such care of all the folks here! You will never know exactly what your prayerful and loving presence means.
To such beautiful and hard-working and caring souls like Karen and John Hastreiter, Mara and Andrew Poole, Kurt Greene, Sarah Berglof, Jim Hentges, Deanna Loomis, Allen Young, Tony and Carley Sonnen, Kirstin Matlock, Sibyl Niemann, Ben Blackhawk, Randy and Mary Orbeck, the Gilles, Nathan Aamot, Jeremy Baer, Jack Schuth, and the many, many others over the years who have given so much time, talent, and treasure over the past seven years to help do so many beautiful things – THANK YOU! It has been an honor to know you, work with you, and “see” the sometimes-hidden work you have produced, even when it is behind-the-scenes. Please stay in touch with me and pray for my family and I in this next venture. Those prayers and your friendship have meant a great deal to me thus far and will continue to in the days, weeks, months, and, God-willing, years ahead!
Thank you, Fr. Bauknecht, for giving me the opportunity to work here and subsequently call this parish “home”. Thank you for your pastoral care of my soul and the souls of all those I’ve come to know and love – it has truly been an honor! May this bold vision of working hard and caring deeply to “be all things to all men so that some might be saved” (1 Cor. 9:22) ever-seize the day and be the All Saints legacy for generations to come! To the Triune God be all honor and glory forever!
Cheerfully, your friend in Christ,
Mr. Jacob Flaherty