From Father Steven - September 27, 2026

Father Steven Clemence • September 25, 2026

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are settling into your Fall schedule! We have a lot of exciting things going on here in the Parish! Please see the letter below from Gabriella Lindhurst our Music Director about our new upcoming Adult & Children’s Choirs starting up October 1st. 

 

God Bless,

Fr. Steven

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Growing in Faith, Fellowship, and Song


It is hard to believe that I have now been serving as the Music Director at Immaculate Conception Parish for nearly ten months! When I first arrived in January, I was excited to begin this new chapter, but I could not have anticipated how warmly I would be welcomed into this parish community. Over these past several months, I have had the joy of getting to know many parishioners, families, cantors, volunteers, and staff members, and I am deeply grateful for the kindness and support you have shown me.


One of the greatest joys of my ministry has been getting to know our parish through music. Each weekend, I have the privilege of helping lead our communities in song at our English Masses, and I have also greatly enjoyed working with our Spanish and Brazilian communities. Through these experiences, I have seen again and again how music can bring people together and help us enter more deeply into prayer and the celebration of the liturgy.


Earlier this summer, I shared my hope of reestablishing our Adult Choir and beginning a new English Children’s Choir. I am very excited to share that the time has finally arrived! Both choirs will begin rehearsals this coming Thursday, October 1st.


The Adult Choir will rehearse on Thursdays from 6:00pm - 7:15pm, beginning October 1st. The choir will primarily sing at the Saturday 4:00pm Mass, as well as at some special liturgies throughout the year. Our first rehearsal is an open invitation to anyone who is interested in possibly joining the choir. There will be no auditions beforehand. I would love to meet everyone who is interested, get to know you, your voices, and your musical backgrounds, and begin building this new choir together. Whether you have years of experience singing in a choir or have simply thought, “I’d love to try that someday,” you are warmly invited to come to our first rehearsal! The Adult Choir will be an opportunity not only to share our musical gifts, but also to form friendships and serve our parish community. My hope is that our rehearsals will be a place where we can grow together in music, prayer, and fellowship while preparing to help lead our parish in worship.


I am also excited to begin our English Children’s Choir, which is open to children ages 7 and up and will be separate from CCD. Rehearsals will be held on Thursdays from 4:30pm - 5:30pm, beginning October 1st. The Children’s Choir will sing approximately once each month at the 11:00am Sunday Mass. Through this choir, children will have the opportunity to develop their musical skills, grow in confidence, make new friends, and learn more about the important role that music plays in our Catholic faith. Most importantly, I hope it will give our young people another way to become active participants in the life of our parish and to discover the joy of using their gifts in service to God and others.


As we begin these new ministries, I invite you to consider whether God may be calling you—or your children—to become more involved in the musical life of our parish. Music ministry takes many forms: singing in a choir, serving as a cantor or instrumentalist, or simply joining wholeheartedly in the singing at Mass. Every voice and every gift has a place, and together our music can become an offering of prayer.

If you are interested in the Adult Choir or Children’s Choir, or if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at gabriella5110@gmail.com. I would be very happy to speak with you!


Please keep both of our new choirs in your prayers as we begin this new chapter of music ministry at Immaculate Conception Parish. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve this community, and I look forward to growing together in faith, fellowship, and song.



God Bless, Gabriella

 

From Father Steven - September 20, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • September 18, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The first reading today begins with the words: “Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near.” St. Paul exhorts the community of Corinth saying, “Today is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2). Now is the time to be one with the Lord. Our lives change every day. So does the world around us, and so do our problems. However, God is always constant and always at our side. It does not matter when a person comes to faith, as we will hear in the Gospel this weekend. What matters is that he does come to faith. The later a person comes to faith, the more he may have to suffer along the way. God wants to help us in so many ways, but we are not always ready to accept a different plan for our lives—God’s plan instead of ours. I would like to share with you something from my own family. When I was growing up, a banner very similar to the one announcing the catechesis for adults was hanging on the side of the church near my house. My mom would drive in front of it every day and feel a call to be part of it. It was a time in her life when she was soul-searching. She tried different religions and different practices, and, funny enough, there was the answer to her prayers right in front of her. Although she was intrigued and wanted to participate in the talks, she never attended. I apologize if you have heard this story before. A year later, my brother and I had to leave the state with my mother because of the sudden death of her father. That separation of our family was very difficult for my dad. So he went to Mass in that same church. He had not even received his First Communion at the time. There, he heard a similar invitation to the one you will hear at Mass this weekend. Without realizing that our lives were about to change completely, he listened to the call of God and went looking for Him. He attended the talks, received his sacraments, and began going to Church every weekend. When we were reunited, I was shocked to see my dad at church. I myself also attended the talks and later joined the group. That was the beginning of my own journey of faith. You can figure out how it ended! I wanted to share this story because we do not know what God has in store for us. I am sure that you have heard many beautiful things in life and have experienced great moments as well. But what if God is calling you now? Do not be like my mother, who heard the call but left it for another day. Each day I thank God for having brought my father into that church, because there I was also found. This is not magic, and it is not about feeling butterflies in your stomach. It is about having an encounter with the Lord and beginning a journey of faith with Him, just like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and so many others throughout salvation history. God is calling us into His vineyard. He is not checking who is worthy to come. He is not looking for perfect people. He is calling you! Maybe you have been away from the Church for many years. Maybe you have questions about your faith. Maybe you received your sacraments but never had the opportunity to go deeper in your relationship with God. Maybe you are doing well in your faith, but you know that you could go deeper. Or maybe you simply do not know why you feel that you should come. What if God is calling you now? Maybe, like my father, other people will also follow you. And perhaps your decision to come will become important not only for you, but for someone else. My father was that person for me and for many other people even to this day. We say that in the Church there are no coincidences, but providence. Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Victor, and I have all experienced this way of Christian initiation that is now being offered to our parish. Everything begins with a series of talks that will take place on Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. in Meehan Hall, the building by the parking lot. The talks are about one hour long. We will have babysitters available, free of charge. There is no registration. There is nothing you have to prepare. The sessions are independent from one another, so if you miss one, there is no problem. You simply have to come and listen. The team giving the talks is made up of parishioners who have been on this journey for some time and who now want to share what they have received with our parish. And this year, the invitation has the image of the Annunciation. Today, the angel Gabriel comes also to you. He comes into your life, into your struggles, into your questions, and perhaps even into your desire to follow God. And the first words of the angel are: “Do not be afraid.” Why? Because THE LORD IS WITH YOU. Maybe you have been waiting for the right moment. Maybe you have told yourself, “I will go another day.” Maybe you have been thinking about coming but have never taken the step. Today is the day of salvation. “Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near.” Do not wait for another day. Come and listen. Maybe you do not know what God has in store for you. Neither did my father. Neither did I. But maybe this invitation will be the beginning of something that will change your life—and perhaps the lives of others through you. All are welcome. God Bless, Fr. Steven

From Father Steven - September 13, 2026

By Father Steven Clemence • September 11, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The other day, I was talking with a priest about the need to evangelize within the parish. Usually, when we speak about evangelization, we imagine going out to reach people who are not coming to Church. Besides that, there is also a need, at times, to catechize the folks who are already in the Church. The primitive Church, especially during the first centuries, lived among small communities. For a person to be baptized, there was a long and serious period of preparation and training in the faith. However, with Constantine coming into power and Christianity becoming recognized by the Roman Empire, the Church became full of people who received the sacraments but were not necessarily deeply initiated into the faith. They were “sacramentalized,” but not necessarily catechized. In other words, people were initiated into the Church, but did not necessarily have deep roots in their faith. This reminds us of the parable of the Sower (Mt 13:18-23). When people receive the Kingdom of God, there are different reactions. One does not understand it; another receives it with great joy, but when trouble or persecution comes, quickly falls away. Still others hear the word, but worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word, and it bears no fruit. Finally, there are those who hear the word and understand it, bearing much fruit—thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. Maybe those first reactions are familiar to you. Then one can ask himself: If you are not part of the last group, then, How can you be in it? Please understand that this is not simply a matter of the moral character of each person. Rather, it has to do with the type of soil and the surroundings that can either help or kill the Word of God in one’s heart. Therefore, we might need help cultivating the seed that we have all received in Baptism and protecting it from the dangers that can prevent it from growing. Sometimes I get asked: Where should a person who is rediscovering the faith, or someone who is new to the Church, start? There is so much material out there. Even for those who stopped their faith formation at the age of 15, with Confirmation, where can one continue their Christian formation? The Catholic Church has approved an itinerary of Christian formation that is focused on this. Pope Saint John Paul II called it “valid for society and for today’s times.” The world has changed dramatically in these past decades. Many of the values that we grew up with have been put aside and ignored by many. Besides relativism, one of the greatest dangers that we are facing is individualism, especially with the development of cellphones, screens, and social media. The Virgin Mary has inspired this Christian initiation to be lived as a group, as a community of people coming together—not online, but in person—as we have always done since the very beginning of the Church. Technically, even before that, the people of Israel came together under the tent in the desert. On Monday the 21st, we will begin this Christian initiation with catechesis for adults and youth (13+) on Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at the building by the parking lot, Meehan Hall. Everyone is invited to come. We will have babysitters available to help for free. One does not need to register or to come to all the sessions. Since the catechesis are independent from one another, if someone can only make one of the days, that is also okay. Even if you are not interested, or you are already engaged in another activity in the parish, maybe you know someone who could benefit from it. The presenters will be parishioners, together with myself. So please, pray for us!!! You know I need lots of help. The final consideration I invite you to reflect on is whether this comes from God or not. If it does, then the invitation is not just from me, but from God. How many times do we not want to do something? Here, it is not about what we want or do not want. Rather, it is about asking what the will of God is for us. You may have seen the cards or the banner with the picture of the Annunciation. Today, God also comes to you, inviting you not to be afraid and to allow Christ to be born in you. Maybe this is the time to take another step in your faith. Maybe this is the time to allow the seed that was planted in you at Baptism to grow deeper roots. Do not be afraid. Come and listen. Come and see what God may be preparing for you.  Please pray about it, and I hope to see you there. God Bless, Fr. Steven