Triennial Clergy Convocation

     The triennial clergy convocation for the Diocese of Pittsburgh ‒ an opportunity for our diocesan priests to gather for prayer, liturgy, speaker sessions, and fraternity ‒ is scheduled for the afternoon of October 3 through the afternoon of October 6 at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia.

     Since Father John, Father Rick, and I are all planning to attend, our Capuchin Franciscan priest friends from Herman will celebrate the 8am morning Masses while we are gone. We will not have 12:05pm Masses on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (Oct. 4-6). Here is the All Saints’ Mass schedule for that timeframe:

Tuesday, October 4:  8am at St. Paul

Wednesday, October 5:  8am at St. Paul

Thursday, October 6:  8am at St. Paul

     The Capuchins also will have our emergency phone in case anointings are requested.  However, please consider that there will only be two of them to handle our parish, along with St. Francis of Assisi Parish, and St. Clare Parish, which are located to the north and east of Butler.

     If any funerals are scheduled for the aforementioned days, they would be services only ‒ not a Mass ‒  led by one of our deacons (pending their availability).

     We will resume our normal Mass schedule beginning Friday, October 7.

     Thank you for your understanding during these days.  We will certainly take you with us in prayer.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

New School Year

    Now that the new school year is beginning, we certainly wish everyone in the education system a healthy and fruitful year in the classrooms and beyond for continued growth and human development.
    As we have noted in the past few bulletins, our faith formation program for 2022-23 commences on Sunday, September 11, at the St. Conrad Church campus. Please be cognizant and careful if you are driving on that campus on Sundays while faith formation classes are in session, as there will be a greater number of vehicles and people coming in and out of the church and the religious education building.

Huge Thank You

     A huge “thank you” to everyone who helped with the All Saints Parish and Butler Catholic School booths at last week’s Butler Italian Festival downtown, another opportunity for us to serve each other and our community, and get to meet new people along the way.

Difficulty Walking?

     If you have a difficult time walking, and need the assistance of a walker or a cane, please consider avoiding steps and entering or exiting our churches by using the ramps. At St. Paul Church, you also are encouraged to use the elevator. If you need help, please do not hesitate to ask a fellow parishioner or an usher.

We Need Ushers, Readers, Altar Servers, EMHCs

     We are need of ushers, readers, altar servers, and extraordinary ministers of holy communion (EMHCs), especially at the 6pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday Masses at St. Paul Church.
    While we held training classes for all of our ministries earlier this summer, the dearth of interested volunteers continues. Please consider listening to the voice of the Lord if indeed you discern that he is calling you to such service, and contact the St. Paul office. We will keep your name on a list and contact you when we hold the next training session, which will probably be in the fall.

    Have a happy and blessed Labor Day Weekend!
    I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

 Improvements

    As you may have noticed, we did a lot of landscaping renewal at the St. Conrad campus this summer, along with repurposing, cleaning, painting, and moving furniture into the Religious Education Center that will host all of our faith formation students beginning September 11.

     We also have installed more lighting and security cameras on the buildings throughout the campus.

     Many thanks to everyone who organized, coordinated, and physically participated in this move, which we believe will add to the value of parish life and the education and safety of everyone, especially our children.

     This move also frees up St. Michael Hall for Sunday morning pancake breakfasts, blood drives, and the opportunity for people and groups to rent out the building, now inclusive of the classrooms.

     Per diocesan safety guidelines, the St. Conrad Social Center and Religious Education Center will be used exclusively for faith formation personnel and students during classes on Sundays from 9:45 to 11:15am and Mondays from 5:45 to 7:15pm. No other activities or people will be allowed in the building while faith formation classes are held. 

     Considering the safety and smoothest possible traffic flow through the St. Conrad campus, we are designating the parking lot access located off of Buttercup Road nearest the church as ENTRANCE ONLY, and the other access to the parking lot (furthest from the church and closest to the Butler Farm Show runway) as EXIT ONLY.  This is what we do for Fish Fry Fridays during Lent.

     Additionally, we will be blocking off the parking spaces in front of the Religious Education Center and Social Center on Sunday mornings when parents are dropping off and/or picking up their children from faith formation classes.

     Despite reducing the number of spaces in front of the building for safety reasons, we still have plenty of room for parking. We are fortunate to have such a large and flat parking lot to accommodate a large number of vehicles.      

     Please be considerate and patient with these minor changes, and certainly be careful when entering and exiting the parking lot, especially after the Sunday 8:30am Mass and before the 11:30am Mass, as that is when parents will drop off / pick up their children from faith formation classes. Signage and personnel will be available to assist with faith formation traffic flow and, if necessary, traffic that is exiting or entering the parking lot for Mass.

     I pray for you daily.
 

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

Celebration and Community

     Last weekend at All Saints Parish proved to be one of celebration and community, as we gathered in the name of Jesus Christ for our first annual Twilight 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run on Friday, July 29, and for our first annual parish picnic on Sunday, July 31.

     Thank you to everyone – staff and volunteers – who planned for and organized both events, which drew hundreds of people to each respectively; and to everyone who attended and participated from near and afar alike.

     I am proud to call Butler my home, and to be a part of such an incredibly generous community, fondly holding memories of last weekend in my heart, and offering thanks to God for his generosity to all of us.

     While nothing is concretized yet, we are looking at July 28, 2023, as the date for our 2nd Annual Twilight 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, and July 30, 2023 as the date for the parish picnic!

     Enjoy the remainder of your summer.

     I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

June 28, 2022

Dear Friends,

   I write this note with a sad and heavy heart as we learned on June 23 of the arrest of a young man from our parish who is facing serious criminal charges involving underage girls, some of whom he reportedly met through our youth group.

   Parish personnel cooperated fully with the police investigation after the police made us aware of these allegations a few months ago. The case is now in the hands of the criminal justice system.

   The brokenness of humanity can be crushing at times, and God is somehow in the midst of it all.

   As God’s children, and given the sensitivity of this situation, we certainly want to respect the privacy of the families involved, and hold everyone in prayer ‒ especially prayer for healing.

  Psalm 34 tells us "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves."

   Let us pray for those who feel their spirits are crushed and remember always that Christ is the light that brings us out of darkness.

In Christ,

Father Kevin C. Fazio

Happy Father’s Day

  Happy Father’s Day to all of our dads! For those who still have our dads with us, I pray that we are able to spend time with them today. For those whose dads have passed on to eternal life in heaven, I encourage you to spend a few moments in prayer and reflection to thank God for their lives.

Deacon David Schmidt to be Ordained a Priest

  As we approach the tail end of June, we celebrate and congratulate Butler’s own Deacon David Schmidt on his priesthood ordination and first Mass at St. Conrad the weekend of June 25-26. We wish him the very best as he begins this new chapter in his life of service to the people of God. (Click here to RSVP for his reception on Sunday, June 26 after his first Mass.)

  After ordination, Father Dave will likely receive a summer parish assignment in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, then return to school in the fall to earn this licentiate of sacred theology (STL) in marriage and family at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C.

Farewell to Father Dan; Hello to Father Rick

  We also thank Father Dan for his (almost) four years of service in Butler. He will write a letter to you in next weekend’s bulletin, and we will have a farewell party for him at St. Conrad on Wednesday, June 29, at 7pm. (Click here for details and to RSVP.) His final day in Butler will be June 30. His new assignment at St. Aidan Parish in Wexford commences July 1, which is when we welcome Father Rick Thompson as our new parochial vicar. Father Rick will celebrate weekend Masses July 2-3.

Pastoral Care Director Sue Cadwallader Returns!

  Sue Cadwallader, our pastoral care director, has been medically cleared to return to ministry, and is easing her way back to work this month, thanks be to God!

Looking for Feedback from Those with Wheelchairs, Walkers, Canes

  We are considering altering our pew seating in St. Conrad and St. Michael churches to better accommodate those of us in wheelchairs, and/or in need of walking assistance (canes/walkers), so that there is more space to sit with loved ones when attending Mass or any other event in the church.

  We need your feedback. Ideally, what would you like to see us do to make it easier for you to navigate in and out of church seating? Do you prefer sitting in the front or back of the church? Should we shorten certain pews so that a wheelchair can be located at the end of the pew and out of the aisle? For those with walkers and canes, what do you suggest? Please reply to Gail Clendaniel at 724-482-2690 ext. 221 or GClendaniel@AllSaintsButler.org by July 15 with your feedback. 

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

For bulletin messages from our clergy and staff, click here.

Major Changes

  As we announced last week at Masses, Father Dan has been reassigned by Bishop Zubik to serve as parochial vicar at St. Aidan Parish in Wexford, commencing July 1.

  A farewell reception will be held on Wednesday, June 29, at 7pm in the St. Conrad Social Center.

  We certainly appreciate his efforts at our parish through the merger process, particularly in the areas of technology (livestreaming), and reviving our youth and young adult JAL (Jesus Alive & Living) ministry, and offering adult faith formation opportunities via the ChristLife and Life in the Spirit programs as well as Theology on Tap events.

  We thank him and wish him the very best!

  Our new priest, Father Rick Thompson, is coming out of retirement to join us at All Saints Parish beginning July 1. He and his dog, a 10-year-old Golden Retriever named Honey, will live in the St. Conrad rectory. You will learn more about Father Rick in the coming weeks and months.

St. Stanislaus Property

  The sale of the St. Stanislaus property (church and rectory) in Lyndora is finally complete. The property was sold to Walk in Faith Ministries for $59,000. It took 30 months from start to finish to sell this property, as the process for closing and selling parish property, particularly a church building, is quite extensive and complex.

  The non-denominational Walk in Faith Ministries plans to create a community center focusing on youth outreach. Future plans include starting Embrace Grace, a program for pregnant women.

  Many religious items in the church building have already found new homes. We are very pleased that they will assist people in various ways of worship and community.

New Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministries

  Please welcome Bryanna Urso to our parish as the new director of youth and young adult ministries.  She also will be assisting Sister Teresa with our faith formation program. This is Bryanna’s first job in ministry; she brings to our community great enthusiasm and a deep desire to spread her love of Christ to the Butler area. You will learn more about and hear from Bryanna in the coming weeks and months.

Continuing Recovery

  Our director of pastoral care, Sue Cadwallader, continues to recover from her stroke and now is at home! We – including Sue – hope that she will be able to return to ministry in the near future.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio
 

Volunteers Needed for 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run

     As details of our first annual All Saints Twilight 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run come into focus, we are asking for volunteers to help on race day with the following responsibilities:

• Registration ‒ 6 people to register participants and hand out race packets to pre-registered runners/walkers,
• Course monitors ‒ 20 people to make sure that runners and walkers follow the correct course,
• Cleanup ‒ 20 people to help collect the signs on the race course that includes the Butler Farm Show grounds and the St. Conrad campus. We also will need help with general cleanup on the St. Conrad campus.

     We are very excited for this evening, the community, health and wellness aspects of such an experience, and the fundraising purpose, which includes the establishment of a Butler Catholic School scholarship in the names of Sarah Kasunic and Emily Leyland.

     To sign up to volunteer, please go to tinyurl.com/5KVolunteers2022 or contact Kelly Livermore at 724-287-1759 ext. 124 or KLivermore@AllSaintsButler.org.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio
Pastor of All Saints Parish

Prayers for Our Director of Pastoral Care

     As some of you are already aware, Sue Cadwallader, our director of pastoral care, suffered a stroke a few weeks ago. She is currently at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville for rehabilitation, which includes both physical and occupational therapy.

     Please keep her in your prayers, and consider sending a card filled with well wishes to:

Sue Cadwallader, Room 7062
Forbes Hospital
2570 Haymaker Road
Monroeville, PA 15146

    Regarding pastoral care ministry in Butler (and the other responsibilities that Sue handled), we will do our best to fill the gaps with current staff members and volunteers until we have a better idea about Sue’s timeline for returning to serve our community.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio
Pastor of All Saints Parish