Monday Message, January 19, 2026

KNOW

So much to do, so little time. Please RSVP to the dinner on Saturday night if you are able to join us for a Safe Environment conversation. All the details are here. LEAD log-in required.

The Catechist Retreat is coming up soon. Please spread the word. All catechists were sent an email over the weekend. All details are here (Saturday) and here (Sunday). Registration is in LEAD.

All Youth Ministry leaders will be invited to join us for dinner and a conversation in February or March (dates pending) to help craft the job description for the new diocesan director of youth ministry, to be hired in the coming months as part of our diocesan renewal.

OCIA leaders and pastors will receive this memo about the Rite of Election on February 22, 2026.

The dates and locations for the next round of formation for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd have been announced. Please help spread the word with this flyer. More details here.

PRAY

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Geraldine Scanzillo, mother-in-law of Todd Kellogg, who died last week. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

REFLECT

School and work are closed today as we commemorate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. The free time offers us an opportunity to catch up on sleep, watch a movie, or complete projects at home that have been waiting. But we would miss the real purpose of the day off if we did not also take a moment to remember Dr. King’s message.

As a white American, I have never been racially profiled. My ancestors were never sold into slavery. No one has ever used a racial epithet to describe my children or me. The lenses through which African Americans see the world are not the lenses through which I can see. In many ways, our stories are different, and today is a chance to remember that.

Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is by far his most quoted work. Until last year, it was the work with which I was most familiar. When I started teaching as an adjunct at a local university, I assigned Dr. King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” to the students. It was in the book and appeared on the syllabus I inherited.

You should read it. Everyone should read it.

Keep reading here.

LAUGH