Holy Spirit Parish

Dear Holy Spirit Parish:                                                            3/19/2023


    “Surely we are not blind….. are we?                                                                                                                                       (John 9:40)

How unsettling to be introduced to your own shadow.  How upsetting to discover that you have been blind.  Rather than open their eyes, the Pharisees chose to close them tighter and began plotting a way to destroy Jesus.  The Gospel ends with Jesus saying to them: “If you acknowledged you were blind, you would have no sin.  But you say, “We see” so your sin remains.”

Michael Carter’s Photo Gallery of the homeless here in Stevens Point has been eye opening for many.  The Listening Session on homelessness February 23 shed great light.  From the front-page article in the Stevens Point Gazette to parish members asking me directly “what are we doing about the homeless?” Homelessness in Stevens Point has definitely come out of the shadows. What are we doing?

There are two fronts we can be working on.  Those deeply involved in helping the homeless feel that an incomplete, but readily achievable help, would be to change the zoning laws which allow only two unrelated adults to live in a house zoned as residential (R-2).  March 6^th the City Planning Commission held a meeting to consider options developed by city staff.  The staff proposed changing the code to increase from allowing one unrelated person to live with a family to allowing two.  They had options for allowing this for only owner-occupied homes or for owned and rented homes.  And they had an option for allowing the unrelated adult’s dependents to also reside in the home.  The city staff noted that applying this only to owner occupied homes addressed the concern about absentee landlords creating slums in the city.  But it also then stops short of helping the people most housing insecure… those who rent.  The Planning Commission encouraged citizens to contact their alderman or the Mayor’s Office and let them know what you think is best. 

A second front we can engage in is supporting Fr. Placid’s ministry at Franciscan’s Downtown.  He made a plea for help at our priest’s deanery meeting March 8^th regarding the increasing pressure he is getting from City staff and area businesspeople to move Franciscan’s Downtown … out of the downtown.  The response he received at the priest meeting was to stand his ground and call the city to a better way of addressing homelessness than to push it out of sight.  At our March 9^th joint meeting of parish committees, the direction under consideration was to initiate another meeting about homelessness at which the Mayor, Fr. Placid and a few other people involved in addressing homelessness could have an open conversation and seek a better resolution.

Another unsettling issue coming out of the shadows is our relationship to the LGBTQ community.  I had a small (four people total) meeting with parish members who have family members who are gay.  It convinced me that we have parish members for whom this is a very painful issue that feel they must suffer it alone and in secrecy…. In the shadows.  I asked them to talk with other parish members they know who are in the same situation to see if there would be interest in gathering to share their stories and to help form a plan for ministry in the parish.  I will keep you informed as to how this develops.

I understand that we need to become clear as a faith community on what the Church’s teachings are on sexual orientation before we can form a plan for ministry.  Still, working on a plan for ministry would only be productive and faithful if we did so in dialogue with people living the struggle.  I just don’t want the last words here to be those of Jesus to the Pharisees:  “If you acknowledged you were blind, there would be no sin.”  Surely, we are not blind…. Are we?

Fr. Steve

 

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