From the Pastor's Desk

October 6, 2024

Goodbye from Fr. Umberg

It is with some sadness and ambivalence that I will be moving into my new assignment at the end of this week. This assignment to your family of parishes was a very impactful one for my life as a priest. I hope and pray that my liturgical ministry, my administration, and my leadership here have had some positive impact on you. The job of a shepherd is to lead the flock, and I hope I have helped to guide you in some way toward faith’s goal:  your eternal salvation in Heaven.
 
Thanks to everyone who gave me a kind or encouraging word (or abstained from an impatient word) during my time here. Thanks, also, to all who gave farewell cards (to those who gave farewell gifts, I plan to give individual acknowledgements). Please pray for me, at least on occasion. I will pray for you. God bless you all!
 
--Fr. Umberg

---

September 23, 2024

Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes and Beacons of Light: Your Pastor Is Moving To A New Assignment: Where Do We Stand?

BACKGROUND
As members of one of our parishes, you no doubt have seen over the last couple of decades the declining number of people at our weekend Masses, decreasing parish collections, increasing costs of maintaining our parish properties, and decreasing numbers of volunteers supporting our various parish ministries and activities. It seems as if the same people are doing the work of fundraising, ministering, serving in various parish commissions and councils, singing in choirs, etc., and those people are aging-out in many cases. We have more funerals than baptisms, more young people growing up and moving away to live elsewhere, and fewer Catholic students in our Catholic schools. Adding to these concerns, the number of priests retiring outnumbers the number of new priests being ordained. 

Beacons of Light is the planning process of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in response to the above trends. Parishes have been grouped together into “Families of Parishes” of various sizes, with the plan that these Families will unite into one parish, one institution, sharing all resources over a five-year period. This planning process has certain priorities and guidelines to facilitate this unification while remaining faithful to the Catholic Church’s God-given mission. We are now in year three of this process. Our Lady of Divine Providence Family consists of five parishes and one mission (archival research has discovered that Mother of Christ is not a parish in the strict sense of the term; rather, it is a mission of St. Bernard Parish). 

BEACONS OF LIGHT: WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes is on target with the Beacons of Light process to date (Because of the great variation in number and size of the various Families of Parishes, there is a great elasticity in how the process is to be carried out.). I believe we have accomplished a lot already during my time here, with the assistance of Anne Ketzer, who is employed by the Family as the Beacons Pathway Lead. She is the key administrator and recorder of the Beacons process here and has the job of keeping us on track according to the rules set out by the Archdiocese. I also have been assisted by an Archdiocesan consultant (paid for by the Archdiocese) and have been helped tremendously by our vicars Fr. Haft and Fr. George, and Sister Margie, who is administrator of St. Bernard and Mother of Christ. I’d also like to mention the members of the various Parish Pastoral Councils, and especially those members who have served on our Beacons Planning Council these last two years who have given their time and supported us in this process to date. 

The following has been accomplished during my two years and two months as your Pastor:

• Anne Ketzer hired part-time to serve as our Beacons Pathway Lead to keep our family of parishes on track with the Beacons of Light program.
• Continuous tracking of Mass attendance data at all parishes.
• Archdiocesan Beacons of Light liaison contracted to consult at executive level (paid for by the Archdiocese).
• Key leadership personnel within our family educated about the Beacons of Light parameters, principles, and goals.
• Beacons Planning Council formed with two representatives for each of our 6 parishes, along with our pastor, vicars, and pastoral administrator. It has met over 13 times to date, toured each parish campus, heard presentations about each of our parish histories, etc. (There will be a structural overhaul of the Beacons Planning Council soon as it turns into the main Pastoral Council for our Family of Parishes).
• Four Directors named (Administration and Finance, Evangelization, Worship, Love in Action - three from existing staff, one new hire).
• Family Leadership Team formed from pastoral staff members met 14 times, meets regularly.
• Name for our Family, “Our Lady of Divine Providence”, chosen by Planning Council members after eliciting suggestions from our parishioners.
• Vision statement written and confirmed by Leadership Team and Planning Council.
• Website established for our Family: www.OLODP.church (present plan is to make this the only website of our parishes by July 1, 2025).
• Family prayer services, confession events, and liturgical and para-liturgical celebrations held at various churches in our Family.
• Several family social and fundraising events conducted and some planned for future.
• Multiple archdiocesan training and educational workshops and meetings attended by pastor, vicars, staff, and Planning Council members.
• New Evangelization/Youth and Young Adult Ministry Director hired to oversee sacramental preparation programs, faith formation, communications, youth gatherings, retreats, trips, etc. 
• Organizational chart of staff developed in concert with archdiocesan liaison, Beacons Pathway Lead and Directors.
• Finance and giving trends, donor ages data being analyzed.
• Parish Plant Assessment Committee established to discover maintenance issues of the various parish buildings and properties.
• Two annual reports submitted to Archdiocese regarding progress in Beacons process.
• Pastor recorded two annual messages at all parishes, all weekend Masses to update everyone on progress (third message planned for end of September).
• Third annual report to Archdiocese due October 1 now in progress.
• Currently in Beacons of Light Phase III: Parish Culture.
• Continual management of new maintenance, personnel, and pastoral situations by Pastor, Vicars, Directors, and Parish staff members.

SUMMARY
We are 1350+ active parishioners spread out over many miles with a mission to downsize and combine into one Parish Office Center with one main worship campus having at least three weekend Masses (and possibly one or two satellite worship campuses with one weekend Mass). Predicting how many parishioners will move with us into our one new parish is a concern, and now some additional uncertainty is imposed with changing leadership. As you know, I have been re-assigned and will be leaving for my new parish on October 11th. Fr. Haft has been named our interim parochial administrator, with a new pastor to be named July 1, 2025. I hope you will welcome Father Henry Hoffman as the new parochial vicar who has been assigned to this Family.

We do not know who your new pastor will be or what his plans will be moving forward. We also do not know who our new Archbishop will be and whether he will want to take a more active role in the decision-making. We are studying building/campus conditions, deferred maintenance, upkeep costs, donor and attendance trends. Some have said that we should rip the band-aid off, so to speak, just tell us now where to go, and we will make our decisions whether to go there or not. Well, that’s the rub! 
To be practical, where people go, the money goes. There seems to be a benefit to making decisions slowly and carefully. Ideally our 1350+ worshiping Catholics will come together in a new main church when their present church does not have a weekend Mass that suits their schedule or worship style. Realistically, some people will likely choose to leave this parish Family for a different church when all is said and done. There are also employees to consider, outside leases and contracts to honor. It is a bit more complicated than just closing doors and turning off lights. 

One huge consideration in all of this is the worship space and how it supports good liturgies:  flow, clear vision lines, acoustics, music ministries, sung prayer of the assembly, and handicapped accessibility. In the future, if there are only four or five weekend liturgies in this Family, that means there could regularly be upwards of 300 people at any one or more of those Masses. The new parish church will need to have adequate, safe parking and a comfortable worship space for at least this number of people at a Mass. We currently have some churches in this Family that could hold that number, but each has some impediments that will need to be considered, such as adequate and safe parking, handicapped accessible restrooms, entrances, and exits. Please know that no decisions have been made to date, and studies are underway so the best decisions can be made.
 
May God help you as you become one new Parish that will have beautiful liturgies with excellence in pastoral music, prayerful environments, and beautiful sacramental celebrations, a full church at Masses, energetic ministry leaders, fun social events, meeting spaces to accommodate our vibrant ministries, secure buildings, and caring leaders. We already share one faith, one hope, one Lord, one Church. We are blessed.
So now you know that much has been accomplished and there is still more ahead for the Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes. God bless…

--Father Andrew Umberg

---

August 28, 2024

Big News About Fr. Umberg and our Family of Parishes
 
Fr. Andrew Umberg, the pastor of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes, has received a new appointment, beginning this Fall. Fr. Umberg received the appointment during a phone call early afternoon on Wednesday, August 28.
 
Fr. Umberg has been appointed the new pastor of St. Ignatius Parish (on North Bend Road in Monfort Heights). He will be leaving our Family of Parishes around October 10th. His last weekend as pastor here will be October 5th and 6th. The following weekend, he will be celebrating Masses at St. Ignatius. Soon following, there will be a “From the Pastor’s Desk” article by Fr. Umberg explaining more about this change. The heart of the matter is that two very large parishes lost their pastors this summer, and they needed two experienced pastors to move from their recent Beacons of Light assignments to fill them.
 
Fr. Ronald Haft has agreed to serve as temporary administrator of our Family of Parishes until July 1, 2025. He will, therefore, act with the authority of a pastor in all matters of our Family of Parishes.
 
Fr. Henry Hoffman, who is presently serving as vicar at the SW-7 Family of Parishes (Westwood), has been appointed as a new vicar for our Family of Parishes. Presumably he will be here until July 1, 2025 (perhaps longer; this has not yet been determined).

---

August 26, 2024

The Anointing of the Sick

The Anointing of the Sick (also known as the Sacrament of the Sick, and formerly known as Extreme Unction) is a sacrament instituted by our Lord through His Church for the healing of body and soul. Jesus healed many people during his time on Earth. In the ministry of Jesus, there is a connection between His healing of the sick and the Good News of God’s mercy, and the gift of eternal life. The sickness of the body, which can lead to death, is a sign of the sinful condition of the human soul, in need of Christ’s redemption.
 
Jesus’ ministry of healing body and soul is given to His apostles and ultimately to His Church. In the Gospel of Mark we read, “And [the apostles] cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them” (Mark 6:13). In the Letter of St. James we have an explicit instruction on this sacrament: “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15). In this text, note that the “elders” (presbyters=priests) are called to “pray over” (impose hands on) the sick person, and they are to be anointed. There were times in the Early Church when the faithful would have flasks of olive oil blessed on the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass. They would take this oil home and anoint themselves or their children for Christian healing (it was not really the full sacrament, but it was better than the pagan superstitious practices they were tempted to use).
 
As for the forgiveness of sins, this Sacrament of Healing has always been associated with the other sacrament in this category:  the Sacrament of Penance. In the Church’s practice, the one who receives the Sacrament of the Sick is expected to have received the Sacrament of Penance, either immediately before, or at least recently enough that there is no serious sin on their soul. In the case of a dying person who has lost the capacity to speak (or the mental capacity to make a confession), the Anointing of the Sick provides for the forgiveness of sins, even serious ones. This last fact is part of the reason that people would wait to the extreme end of their lives to be anointed (hence the name “Extreme Unction”—the “anointing at the very end”).
 
When is the right time for someone to be anointed? With the sacramental and liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, we are instructed: “Hence, as soon as any one of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for that person to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived” (Pastoral Care of the Sick). We read here that one is not supposed to wait until they are sliding toward death to receive this sacrament. Instead, it is when one is “in danger of death from sickness or old age” that they should be anointed. So, when someone is diagnosed with a disease that could potentially lead toward death, or when someone is getting close to the age of death, like one’s parents, it is a good idea to be anointed. If their condition becomes worse and there is a new diagnosis or prognosis, that is a time to be anointed again. Any time an adult is scheduled to have a surgery with general anesthesia, and/or on some vital organ of the body, it is appropriate to be anointed. Some mental illnesses are also considered to be appropriate for anointing. At the end of life, sometimes this sacrament is given again simply to show the love and concern of Christ and the Church for the sick person.
 
The priests of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes are always happy to anoint people who request it. If there is not time immediately after Mass, we will happily make an appointment to anoint you or your loved one in church or at home. Also, we hope more frequently to offer the Anointing to several people during Mass. Therefore, if you do not think it is best for you to be anointed at next weekend’s Masses (September 7-8), you haven’t missed your chance! We are anointing people all the time!
 
Should you be anointed at Mass? Some considerations:
•    Have you reached “old age” (such that you may be in danger of death)?
•    Are you sick with some serious disease (or injury or some other health condition) that you are struggling with?
•    Do you have a surgery scheduled soon, that is serious in itself or requires general anesthesia?
•    Should you go to confession first?
•    Would it be better to wait for another time when certain members of your family are present?
These and other considerations should inform your decision to request anointing at Masses the weekend of September 7-8. Whether you receive the sacrament or just pray along for those who do, I hope that these anointing Masses are a good and edifying experience for you.

--Fr. Umberg

---

August 19, 2024

The Anointing of the Sick: Is it Time for You to Receive This Sacrament?

On the weekend of September 7-8, at all Masses in our Family of Parishes, we will offer the Anointing of the Sick (also known as the Sacrament of the Sick, and formerly known as Extreme Unction) during Mass. The sacrament will be given to those who appropriately request it after the homily. Those to be anointed should sit in the front pew or at the end of the pew by the middle aisle, insofar as this is possible. Although the sacrament has a few elements to it (prayers, the laying on of hands, and anointing), the celebration of this sacrament should not add much more than 10 minutes to Mass. In next week’s bulletin, there will be another article speaking more about the benefits of the sacrament and who should receive it.

--Fr. Umberg

---

August 12, 2024
Columbus Bus Pilgrimage a Success!
At least it was a success as far as I’m concerned. Counting priests and the few staff members who went along, we were a group of 76 pilgrims. The buses were nice and well air-conditioned, and despite waiting for a few strays, we left in time to accomplish everything I hoped to do.
 
The Byzantine Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (at a church also named after this saint) was beautiful! Fr. Haft and I concelebrated with Fr. Robert Jager, the pastor, and the congregation of pilgrims tried their best to pray along. I was moved to tears by the beauty of that church and that liturgy. I may have enjoyed it more than everyone else, but I think everyone was edified by the beautiful church and celebrating the Eucharist in this very different way.
 
Our visit to the Pontifical College Josephinum was brief, but it gave the participants a crash course on modern seminary formation, and we saw some of the beautiful campus, including the main chapel. The Rector of the Seminary, Fr. Steven Beseau, came by and spoke a little bit about the seminary’s mission.
 
St. Paul’s Church, Westerville, is a beautiful, exciting, breath of fresh air. We saw there what a large (and somewhat wealthy) Catholic community can build to give glory to God and edify the worshipers.
 
Our time in charming German Village was briefer than we planned, but it was so hot outside that most of us didn’t want to walk around anyway. The meal was nice at Schmidt’s Sausage Haus and the bus ride home was peaceful and quick.
 
Hopefully this little description of our pilgrimage will help you to enjoy the pictures in this week’s bulletin. Thanks again to all who went on the pilgrimage.
 
--Fr Umberg

---

June 19, 2024
 Letter from Archbishop Schnurr
Archbishop Schnurr has written a pastoral letter reminding us of the value of uniting resources to fulfill our Christ-given mission as the Church in this time and place. The letter is available for viewing on the websites of our Family of Parishes.

Bus Pilgrimage to Columbus, August 6, 2024
I intend to lead a bus pilgrimage to Columbus, OH on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Tickets will be available for $100 per person (this pays for the chartered bus and for lunch and dinner). We plan to leave the back parking lot of St. Vivian church by 8:30 am, and to return by 8:30 pm. During this pilgrimage, we plan to visit:

• The Byzantine Rite Church of St. John Chrysostom and celebrate the Eucharistic “Divine Liturgy” according to the Byzantine Rite (we are in full communion with them, and we can receive Communion). Experiencing this liturgy in this beautiful church is really the heart of this pilgrimage. I will be speaking about the Byzantine Rite (and other topics) on the bus.
• The Pontifical College Josephinum, where we will see the beautiful campus and a chapel or two, and learn about the education and training of priests.
• St. Paul’s Church, Westerville, to see a beautiful 21^st Century church building. This beautiful, inspiring church is definitely worth a stop.
• German Village, where you will have some time to explore some shops before a buffet dinner at Schmidt’s Sausage Haus.

I think that these sights and the information I will share will inspire those who come along and build up their faith. I also think that we’ll have some fun. I led a pilgrimage with this same itinerary at my former parish, and I received very positive feedback about it. If this sounds like something you would like to do, please call or visit St. Bartholomew Parish Office (513-522-3680) to make your reservation (we are limited to 50 people, unless we are able to book a second bus). There will be an ad in future bulletins.

 ~ Fr. Umberg
 

---

February 5, 2024
 Lent is almost here!
Lent comes early this year; it begins this Wednesday, February 14, Valentine’s Day! We hope to have many special opportunities for faith formation, community life and spiritual growth in our six parishes. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of everything going on, I would like to suggest that you make special note of the following dates/events:

Wednesday, February 14th: Ash Wednesday
A day of fast and abstinence. Not a holy day of obligation, but Mass is a good kick-off for Lent! There are many Mass times scheduled throughout the six parishes.

5 Wednesday Evenings: February 21, 28, March 6, 13, 20
Evening Mass at St. Bart, followed by soup supper and faith formation. The first three of these Wednesdays, I will teach a Bible class on St. Paul and his writings. On March 13, we will do Stations of the Cross. On March 20, we will do a scriptural rosary.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays all through Lent and Easter Season
12 Noon Mass at St. Vivian Church. This is great opportunity for late risers and people with flexible lunch breaks to try attending weekday Mass. It is a great help to your faith relationship with the Lord Jesus and the Church!

Tuesday, March 12
Evening Taize Lenten Prayer Service at St. Clare Church, 7:00pm. The music from this ecumenical monastic community in France has touched many hearts throughout the world over the last forty years. Darin Art and the St. Clare Choir and musicians will be leading us in the beautiful songs that touch on the Suffering and Death of our Lord.

Wednesday, March 20
Confession-a-thon at St. Clare Church, 4:30-7:30pm. For those who have not attended one of these, I must recommend it as a convenient and beautiful way to go to confession and to pray for our own repentance and that of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

- Fr. Umberg

---

December 8, 2023
What? No Midnight Mass at Assumption?

Throughout most of the history of the Church, the first Christmas Mass that could be celebrated was Midnight Mass. This was because that was the beginning of Christmas Day (Christmas Eve was part of the penitential season of Advent!). There have been many beautiful traditions observed, and warm memories made, by the faithful who gathered solemnly to celebrate this long-awaited feast at mid-night. The majority of Catholics attended Mass at one of several Masses on Christmas Day. 

With the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council came the practice of “vigil” Masses on Saturday evenings (eventually, Saturday afternoons!) and on the eve of Holy Days of obligation. This caused a timing revolution for the celebration of Christmas. Now that it was allowed, many people wanted a Christmas Eve Mass in the early evening, then the late afternoon (the earlier, the better, to have the obligation fulfilled and get to Grandma’s house for dinner!). The priests complied with their wishes, and most parishes had two afternoon Masses, plus a “Midnight Mass”, which began sometime between 8:00PM and midnight. Fewer and fewer people came to Christmas Day Masses. True Midnight Masses became only for the staunch traditionalist or the young, who were going to be out late anyway. 

Last year, our 11:00PM “Midnight Mass” at Assumption was attended by fewer than 70 people, including the choir. This was partially because of the cold weather, but the number was quite low.  

This year, when Christmas falls on a Monday, it makes it so Christmas Eve is on the same afternoon and evening as the Fourth Sunday of Advent, when in the morning, priests had to celebrate one or more Masses. Something has to give! Therefore, I have decided that there will be no “Midnight  
Mass” at Assumption this year. (Assumption is not the only parish in the family not to have a “Midnight Mass”).  

We will still have our 3:00PM Christmas Eve Mass and a Mass at 10:00AM Christmas Day (when our choir will sing). I am sorry that I had to make this decision, but I think it is the right one, especially considering the fact that there will further cuts/consolidations of Masses in our family of parishes in the future. I am sure that great devotees of Midnight Mass will be able to find one in our general vicinity, and I hope that you will still be able to enjoy a Merry Christmas in these changing times.  

---

October 20, 2023
Pastoral Leadership Team for our Family of Parishes

---

September 21, 2023
Fr. Umberg's Message for Beacons of Light

Greetings, Parishioners of our Lady of Divine Providence family of parishes!

It has been good to meet you over these past 14 months that I've been here. I've met many wonderful, faith-filled people! I thank you for your kindness, hospitality, greeting and welcoming me, and for your patience during this time of transition. A special word of thanks to Father Ron Haft, Father George Jacquemin, Sister Margie Niemer, and Father Bob Thesing for their cooperation. At this time, I also would like to thank all the staff and volunteers of all six parishes for your hard work, keeping our parishes going strong.

The purpose of this announcement is to bring all church-going parishioners up to date on Beacons of Light. I apologize for this recorded message, but not everybody reads the bulletin or the website or emails, and this is the only way I can see to make sure everybody that regularly attends Mass gets the same information at the same time.

Two years ago, like most priests in the Archdiocese, I had only one parish. There were some priests with two, three, or even four parishes, in groupings known as “pastoral regions”. A little over one year ago, on July 1st, 2022, I, like most priests of the Archdiocese, began a new pastoral assignment. Most priests with new assignments as pastors were given groups of three to eight parishes. These new groupings of parishes were to be called “families of parishes”. This widespread regrouping of parishes was difficult for many Catholics. It was also hard on us priests. The family of parishes to which I was assigned is comprised of: Assumption, St. Bartholomew, St. Bernard, St. Clare, Mother of Christ, and St. Vivian parishes. This big reshuffling of priests and parishes was done as part of a major pastoral planning initiative of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati called “Beacons of Light”. The expression is taken from the writings of Pope Benedict the 16th who said, every Catholic parish should be a beacon of light (of truth and love).

According to this plan, these new groups of parishes, that is, these families of parishes, are to merge into one larger parish within five years of the July, 2022 starting date. This is a big change indeed! Whether you are hearing this for the first time, or whether you have known about this for a couple of years now, there are questions that certainly arise. 1) Is this really necessary? If so, why is it necessary? 2) What will this one Catholic parish look like? And where will we worship? 3) Who decides this and how? What criteria will be used? 4) What has been done so far and what still needs to be done? And  5) How can faithful Catholics help in this process to do what's best for the church?

With regard to the first question, why is this necessary?  I'd say a priest usually considers institutional maintenance his main job. However, with these new pastoral assignments from last year, our present job is institutional change, not institutional maintenance. Institutional change. And why do we need this change? Is it because of a priest shortage? There certainly is some concern with regard to the number of priests that can be pastors at this time. And yet, with the number of priests being ordained recently, it should not be a long-term concern. However, the change in demographics of church-going Catholics has a huge impact on this decision. There has been a dramatic change in the religious practices of Catholics worldwide, nationally, in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and in this part of Hamilton County over the last 50 years or so, even more dramatically over the last 20 years. 
I would now like to share what I think is an interesting anecdote:  The Anglican Church in Canada, looking at its decrease in numbers, did a self-study less than five years ago. They wanted to try to predict where they would be as the Anglican Church in Canada in the year 2040. As they did this, they wanted to find out how many church attendees, members and donors there would be in 2040. They found, according to recent trends, they should have zero attendees, zero members of the church and zero donors in 2040! Again, this was their own self-study! And, while these trends probably won't really all come to an absolute zero, it's still quite dramatic and shocking, maybe to you, I'm sure it was shocking to them.

The reality is that our numbers have decreased significantly over recent years. Some 50 years ago, there were well over 2000 communions at each of our four larger parishes. There were many Masses every weekend, well attended. Even at the smaller parishes, there were significantly more. Even 20 years ago, there were well over 1000 communions at each of our four larger parishes in our family of parishes. This has changed. Now, a typical Sunday usually has about 300 at most of these parishes. At, the largest one we get close to 400. And sometimes at another parish, we'll get that if there's a special occasion and the circumstances are right. But 300 or 400 is different from over a thousand and very different from well over 2000, like in the boom days of the Seventies… 
Why has this change happened? What has happened here? Well, there has been a change in Mass-going habits of many Catholics in the United States and in this area, but that's not the only reason. There have been job opportunities in other places and marriages with people from other states. Many people have moved out of this area. Many of the Catholics who grew up here have moved out of here. This change of demographics is certainly affecting our own parishes. We might be tempted to say, “So what? I like the little parish that I have belonged to for decades that I helped to build and to maintain, and I like our little community of old friends living the Catholic life together in a world that is so big and impersonal.”  While this way of thinking is quite understandable, it misses out on two key realities. For one, small often becomes smaller and smaller and then disappears. This has happened to many Protestant congregations where tiny little Baptist churches or other kinds of churches that we've seen on the corner have disappeared.

With the present trends in the Catholic Church, there will be some great crises that will come in the near future, meaning within probably the next decade or so. If we look around at church, we see many people that are under 90. In fact, almost everybody is under 90, and we see lots of people under 80, and we see pretty many people under 70. If we go under 60, in most of our congregations, we'll find that the numbers drop dramatically. Under 50, even fewer. Under 40, even fewer, and under 30, even fewer. There is a very small number of children that are brought to Mass on Sundays at this time. Well, the crisis that could come in the future, even if we don't change anything, is that with fewer people still able to come to church and to donate the money that keeps the church operations going, there will be major repairs needed at some point, perhaps a major parking lot overhaul or a roof repair, or some kind of H V A C issue or some major structural problem. Then there won't be the money to do it; then what happens? Well, often staffs are cut, and then when the staffing goes down, then the church's ability to perform and function well also goes down. The number of people decreasing also makes a smaller pool of volunteers to help out with the worship of the church, and, of course, just as important, to be involved in the catechetical enterprise of the church. So small does become smaller; that can be bad.

The other reality is mission. The Catholic Church has a mission, and the mission isn't simply to be a small Catholic community center for each place. No, the Catholic Church has a mission given it to it by the Lord himself to go and make disciples of all nations. This was given specifically to the apostles, but it remains the God-given mission of the church: To preach the gospel, to spread and teach the gospel message, and to help make other people intentional disciples of the Lord.  That term, “intentional disciple”, is used often now. It refers to people who have made a clear decision to follow Jesus. In fact, it looks like these will be the only disciples in the future because of cultural trends; if we simply go along with the culture, then we don't necessarily follow Jesus. We want people to make that intentional decision to follow the Lord Jesus. If we do and if we love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves, we'll want that message to spread. A large parish has the resources to have adequate staffing and enough people coming together to make the Christian movement strong, to make our worship beautiful and strong, and to pass on the faith to other people through catechesis and evangelization. This is why this institutional change is necessary. 

With regard to the second question, what will this one parish look like and where will we worship? There will be one main worship campus. By main worship campus, I mean there will be one worship campus where one of the churches that we presently have will have at least three Masses on the weekend for a more varied time structure for people to make choices, the way we used to do it when we had more Masses at each parish. Right now, many of our parish Masses for Sunday are at the same time, and that's fine for now, but it will change in the future. Other than the main worship campus, there will probably be some satellite worship campuses for some years, I believe, barring the unforeseen. There may be one, two, or three other churches within our family of parishes where there is one Sunday Mass. At these churches, of course, someone could still have a funeral for several years. Then the properties will be used for other things, as long as there's money in the pooled resources to maintain these properties. The crisis I mentioned, major repairs, could end up being a change point. This one parish will have shared finances with a main worship campus and one main office area. For some time, there may be satellite offices open a day or two a week. We'll see how that works out and how the resources pan out.

Who will decide this and by what criteria? We have a Beacons of Light Planning Council that I have formed, taking two delegates from each church's parish council or parish pastoral council. We met around seven times this past year. We have the two delegates from each parish, that's 12 people right there. Father Haft, Father George, Sister Margie and I are also on the Council as key leaders. We also have Anne Ketzer, a parishioner of Assumption whom I've asked to be our Beacon's lead, that is the person mainly responsible for the administrative carrying out of Beacons of Light. We discuss things at this Beacon's council. Over the future years, I intend to have outside committees evaluate our properties and our worship spaces and other factors to recommend which church property might be the best place for our common worship in the future, perhaps, our common office center, and other questions like that. That is what has been done so far. We've come up with a name, Our Lady of Divine Providence family of parishes. Our Lady of Divine Providence should be the name of the parish in the future. By the way, the church buildings retain their own names throughout this, even as far into the future as this goes. We will be our Lady of Divine Providence Parish five years from now, and when I say five years from now, that is, it may be a little bit less because having been here 14 months, we're down to three years and 10 months. How quickly it goes. Now again, the deadline is a deadline in quotations, but we do need to do this in about five years. Okay? So much more still needs to be done. Eventually, each of the parishes will be canonically, that is according to Canon Law, closed. That in itself does not change the way things will look. No locking of doors necessarily, but making it so that we become one institution fiscally, that is, the finances will all be shared together.

How can faithful Catholics help in this process? For one thing, try your best to remain informed, cooperative and positive. Also, please pray. Pray for me and the other people that are on the Beacons of Light Planning Council. Pray that we'll be wise and take all factors into account. Of course, there will be strong differences of opinion in the future with regard to the decisions made. This is simply a reality. It will probably be painful in some ways, maybe scary in some ways, but again, our eye should be on the prize, the prize of having a large dynamic parish with the resources to promote the gospel. I ask that you all pray regularly for the Beacons of Light process, that it will be a good process, that it will end up coming up with good decisions to make a strong parish. Maybe you could offer a decade of the rosary. I'd like to acknowledge and thank a group of parishioners that have been meeting regularly for over a year now, praying for the Beacons of Light Initiative. Maybe you will want to join that group. This could be another way for some to pray. So please do pray. Please remain informed. Thank you for your patience in general and with this message today. God bless you all.

 

---

AUGUST 31, 2023
Welcome fr. louis anin!

We have a special guest now living in Our Lady of Divine Providence family of parishes, Fr. Louis Anin. He is an African, a native of Ghana, one of the countries of the south-facing Atlantic coast of West Africa. Ghana, which is about 15% Catholic and many other Christians, is considered one of the most successful democracies in Africa. Fr. Louis (pronounced lwees, like the Spanish name “Luis”), has been sent by his bishop to study and obtain a master’s degree in Applied Spirituality and Pastoral Care at Xavier University. This will enable him to counsel and help heal people who have been spiritually wounded. While there is a Ghanaian Catholic community in Cincinnati (whom Fr. Louis has already met), his VISA allows him only to study, not to be employed in ministerial work. However, you may see him concelebrating Mass or occasionally filling in as a substitute at Mass or helping with Confessions
Fr. Louis is fifty years old, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Kumasi, Ghana, and has been ordained for twenty years. He is now living in St. Vivian Parish’s rectory.
Fr. Louis’ tuition will be paid by his bishop (Xavier University has provided some scholarship). However, during his two years here, our family of parishes will be providing room and board and some other expenses for Fr. Louis. Transportation is an issue. For now, I am driving Fr. Louis to and from Xavier University a few times a week. We are looking for: 1) Some volunteers to be part of a rotation to provide this transportation (this semester, his on-campus classes are Monday and Tuesday evenings, 6:30-9:00pm), and 2) Someone to donate (or at least to give us a very good deal on) a good used car (Is there one in your family?). This is an important part of the mission of the Church, to share our resources and to help the Church grow strong in places where it is still relatively new and resources are scarce.
Please greet and welcome Fr. Louis, and please pray for him that his studies and his time here will be good for him and for the Church.
- Fr. Umberg
 

---

AUGUST 9, 2023
OUR NEW D.R.E.: DONNA BOOKER

This spring and summer have been times of significant changes in the staffs of our parishes and in the newly forming common staff of the Our Lady of Divine Providence family of parishes.

Most recently, there has been a major change in our Religious Education staffing. With the departure of Julie Zinser and Claire Tenhundfeld, who served at St. Bart, St. Vivian and Assumption in the area of religious formation of children and adults, I have asked Donna Booker, who up until now has served only at St. Clare Parish in the areas of faith formation and stewardship formation of adults and directed their Parish School of Religion, to be the DRE (Director of Religious Education/Formation) of our entire family of parishes. She will direct the Parish School of Religion for all six parishes (the class sessions will be held in the Undercroft of St. Clare Church). She will also direct the sacramental preparation programs for First Communion and First Penance for children in all six parishes. She will also continue to provide adult faith formation programs which are open to the entire parish family (Sandy Hornbach, Deacon Gerry Flamm and Sr. Caritas will continue their adult education programs as they see fit). Donna will also run the RCIA for St. Clare and Assumption parishes (for now, Sr. Margie will run the RCIA for St. Bernard and Mother of Christ and Sandy Hornbach will continue to run the RCIA for St. Bart & St. Vivian). Please pray for Donna in this new and exciting role for our family of parishes. I thank you for your continued cooperation and patience as we continue to navigate this unification. May God bless you all.

~Fr. Umberg

---

JUNE 9, 2023
Director of administration appointed for our lady of divine providence family of parishes

I have appointed Ms. Kathy Rothschild to be the Director of Administration for the six parishes of the Our Lady of Divine Providence family of parishes. Kathy is a Certified Public Accountant who has been heavily involved in administration as the Business Manager of St. Vivian parish for 24 years, and of St. Bartholomew for about 8 years. She has also been administering the shared expenses of our family of parishes since my arrival last July. These shared expenses are multiplying as various employees are transferred or hired to serve all six parishes. I am grateful for Kathy’s willingness to take on these new responsibilities. While this appointment is effective July 1, 2023, Kathy will remain Business Manager for St. Vivian and St. Bartholomew, and the business managers of the other parishes will continue their current responsibilities until the legal merger of the six parishes (probably about four years from now). For now, Kathy will be working with the other business managers, gradually familiarizing herself with their current accounts and procedures.

 ~Fr. Umberg

 

---

May 12, 2023
 SOME COMMENTS ON MY MOTHER'S DAY HOMILY 

This past Sunday was Mother’s Day. My Sunday homily was an attempt to give reflections and moral encouragement regarding mothers and motherhood. I also attempted to make certain theological arguments on topics related to mothers, motherhood, parenthood, family, and the socialization of children to grow up to be good mothers, fathers and spouses. 

The homily received mixed reviews, to say the least. Several women and men who are wives and mothers, husbands and fathers, liked the homily very much; they believed that it was a much needed defense and explanation of Catholic teaching, as well as a grateful and encouraging celebration of the vocation of motherhood. They smiled and thanked me on the way out the door. The vast majority of the people simply walked out the church doors without comment, other than to say “Happy Mother’s Day” or “Have a good week”.

However, more than a few were very upset, even outraged, by what I said in this homily. While they were polite and chose not to confront me with their objections or dismay on the way out the door, over the last few days some have expressed their intention to leave the parish over this homily. To them, it seemed ideological, outdated, insensitive, inappropriate, or even hateful. I am sorry that I upset them, especially on Mother’s Day. I also apologize for anything lacking in my eloquence, rhetoric, sensitivity, clarity or tone. In case anyone doesn’t understand this, I do believe that God loves us all and calls us to holiness and eternal life.

Having apologized for the bad feelings provoked and any failures on my part, I must defend myself on the following points: While I did ridicule the expression, “Happy Birthing Person’s Day”, and I condemned the notion that the word “mother” should no longer be used, I expressed no condemnation of any person. To my best memory, I did not even use the word “sin”. My intention was to argue that “mother” is a vocation worthy of the name, that it naturally applies to the woman who gives birth to her child, that there is parental ownership of the child and a child owns his or her parents, and the child has a right to be raised by them, to know them, and to love them and be loved by them. I also asserted that the child has a right to a stable loving environment, and that the teaching of our Lord on marriage is an endorsement of the inviolability of the marriage bond and the nuclear family.  I also said that motherhood, for all of its natural beauty, takes tremendous skill, creativity and moral determination to do well, and that motherhood should be respected and esteemed by all, and that it should be prepared for by the socialization of girls to be good mothers. I also submitted that boys and girls should be socialized to grow up to be committed, loving husbands and wives and good parents. I also argued that gender is a social construct that has traditionally been based on the physical chromosomal and sexual anatomy of the two sexes which God created. Everything I said was closely correspondent to Catholic church teaching. (Of course, I did discuss this with several priests and lay people who have a knowledge of the Church’s teaching to confirm this.) I believe that it is my job to uphold, illustrate and defend Church teaching (which I believe to flow from the teachings of Jesus Christ), including, perhaps most of all, in the Sunday homily, when the Church is gathered. Please pray that I will do this better in the future. May the Lord bring us all to the fullness of truth! Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

~Fr. Umberg

---

May 9, 2023
A Salute to the Assumption Parish Building and Grounds Committee 

There is a variety of ways that Catholics can practice stewardship. Stewardship has been aptly defined as “What I do with what I have because I believe in God”.  Stewardship is therefore what we do with our Time, Talent, and Treasure. (I would add Patience and Energy—but they don’t start with a “t”, so this won’t catch on. However, the people I am saluting have offered plenty of these as well!). 
The Assumption Building and Grounds Committee, headed by Tim Kinne, has done a lot for this Parish and for me since the announcement of my appointment here. The whole parish owes them a debt of gratitude. This salute is to acknowledge and thank this committee of parishioners (and some adjuncts that Tim has called in) for some especially big and helpful projects they have accomplished in the last year: 

Bathroom Remodel Assumption Rectory:
At my request, the bathroom in the rectory apartment where I was planning to live was remodeled, replacing a slippery porcelain bathtub with a walk-in shower. Beautiful modern tile, a new toilet and a new sink and cabinetry were also added, as well as a beautiful matching shower curtain and window curtains. Most of the work was done by Rick Gering and Tim Kinne, with Jim Ketzer assisting when Tim was away. Jeff Hellkamp did the tricky plumbing under the walk-in shower. Cathy Kinne picked out the cloth and sewed the shower and window curtains. Jim and Lynn Schultz painted. Betty Hancock helped to make the shower curtain. Anne Ketzer and other women (including Theresa Lachmann and Sister Cheryl Erb and others!) helped clean (there was a lot of dust).  

Rust Removal, Sealing and Refurbishing of Second Floor School Lintels: This large project, involving much work on a rented lift, was done last summer by Rick Gering, Jim Ketzer, and Tim Kinne. 

Cleaning of Stucco and Limestone on Parish Center Exterior and School: While they had the lift, the same crew (with some help pitched in by Bob Lachmann and Mike Rapien) did some deep cleaning. What a difference! 

Church Sanctuary Makeover: This effort to make our church more beautiful for prayer and worship cost a ridiculously small amount, due to the generous hard work and frugality of the Committee and others. Thanks to Tom Effler for his computer design sketches, Don Blust for the re-upholstering the sanctuary chairs, John Peters and Rick Gering for their knowledge and skill, and to Rick Gering, Jim Ketzer and Tim Kinne for their many, many hours of hard labor, much of it on their knees! Again, Wow! What a difference! 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 
~Fr. Umberg