Greetings! I am Fran Rossi Szpylczyn, the editor and primary author of this blog and it is a privilege to welcome you to our pages!
I am currently the Office Manager at The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Glenville, NY . Our pastor is Father Jerry Gingras and this blog is published under the auspices of the parish. I currently edit/author two other blogs; my own personal pages called There Will Be Bread. My other blog is for my home parish, St Edward the Confessor in Clifton Park, The Parish Blog of St. Edward the Confessor. I have been blogging since 2007 and actively involved in ministry via social media, Facebook in particular.
So why another blog?
This blog is part of a pastoral formation study that I am engaged in via my studies at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, where I am in pursuit of a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies. While these pages will begin as a study project, I hope that they endure long beyond my formation year.
A blog is not just a place to read, but hopefully a place where community is built through reflection and conversation. We might not all agree on every single thing, but like any Catholic family or community that is based in Christ, we are transformed through Christ present in the Eucharist. We are truly many members, we become One Body through prayer and engagement, things that I pray will happen here.
Welcome to the blog!
Fr. Jerry, I wonder if you have any comments about the ongoing
responses to Carl Strock’s Gazette column about the canonization of Blessed Kateri. He has aroused some heated feelings regarding the miracle attributed to her.
Hi Jackie, Fran here, replying for the moment. I am not sure what Father Jerry would say, but I will pass your comment along to him.
Personally, I found Carl Strock’s comments a bit infantile and certainly regrettable. He basically said that either you believe in religion or science, but not both. Very sad and short sighted on Carl’s part! Not to mention, disrespectful.
Clearly we won’t all agree, but his words went too far, in my opinion.Then again, that is one reason why I don’t pay Carl too much mind!
Thanks for stopping by!