The Power of Prayer One of the spiritual works of mercy is the privilege of praying for others. One special group of people that needs our prayers is our diocesan seminarians. These young men have stepped forward to begin the process of discerning whether or not God is calling them to the priesthood. Our prayers for them help them keep their heart open to ...READ MORE

Baptism of the Lord – Gifts of the Spirit! I always feel like I can never say THANK YOU enough to all of you who do your part in making St. Clare Parish such a spiritual home of faith and community. As today’s feast officially brings a close to the Christmas Season, I especially want to thank the following...

Merry Christmas! This holy season always lifts my heart with a joyful Spirit as I see the children filled with expectation… and the adults counting their blessings and recentering themselves in God and ... READ MORE

The Twelve Days of Christmas We Catholics always ‘stand out’ from the culture around us. So too, on December 25, we only begin the “Christmas Season” of celebrating Jesus being born in human flesh… while the world around us is taking Christmas decorations...READ MORE

Sacrament of Freedom When I teach sessions on the why and how of going to confession, I often talk about the real ‘freedom’ that the sacrament offers. We underestimate the burden that guilt and shame ...READ MORE

An Advent of Gratitude... I always like the way the celebration of Thanksgiving flows right into the liturgical season of Advent. Since the Advent scriptures call us to “get ready” to meet Christ at any moment which may be our last breath on this Earth, it is so important to “be ready” by having an inner disposition of gratitude ... READ MORE

Happy Thanksgiving! In such a challenging year for everyone, especially with the limits of Covid, how we think of ‘giving thanks’ this year calls us to dig deep to remain aware of the blessings from God in our life. Like many of you, one of the biggest challenges is how and if we can actually ...READ MORE

Praying Together with Respectful Safety...Here at St. Clare, we are doing everything we can to keep our church and offices open while also keeping everyone safe during these trying times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. With the rise in cases and serious health problems it is causing in our area, I want to remind everyone of how they can stay safe and be a blessing to ...READ MORE

Welcome to Your New Home Addition! This weekend we ‘open the doors’ to our two new wings of parish ministry space…and we couldn’t be more excited! After many years of talking, hoping, and praying about it, with YOUR generous support…READ MORE

Holy Days and Holy People...This weekend we celebrate one of my favorite feast days, “All Saints.” This is a celebration of one of our core Catholic doctrines called “The Communion of Saints.” This biblical teaching is based on our belief that there is ...READ MORE

Praying for Peace in our Country I am so happy to invite you to a special day of prayer on Tuesday, November 3rd, for God to bless our country with peace and reunite us as a People of God. We all know that there is much division and angst in our country over various issues. As Christians and Catholics, there is one thing we all want – peace and unity....READ MORE

Building Update – Final Weeks "Ready…Set…" As you can see, our building project is very near completion, which is so exciting for all of us! Our “Open House-Walk-Thru” will be after each Mass on the weekend of November 7-8. Right now you can ‘peek into’ the Fellowship Hall. However, because there are still some final wiring details, please wait two weeks for a walkthru view....READ MORE

Welcome Back, Choir! The members of our parish choir gathered for rehearsal several weeks ago for the first time in months. Our last Sunday singing was March 15. It was on this day that we sang Herbert Howells’ chilling anthem that quotes Psalm 42 - “When shall I come to appear before the presence of God.” Little did we know that we would soon be separated from God’s Eucharistic presence for a time. If you’ve heard any of these singers talk about their experience...READ MORE

Thanks for an outstanding Oktoberfest: “2020 Modified” A hearty thanks to our wonderful volunteers, sponsors, donors and to-go diners for making Oktoberfest 2020 Modified better than most people could have imagined. With this year’s challenges, our parishioners did their best to keep the Oktoberfest momentum going in our 20th Anniversary year! While realizing ...READ MORE

Building Update September 2020 One Month to Finish Line…!! It is hard to believe that we are just one month out from the finished product of our two new building additions. On the exterior you can see the sidewalks laid and asphalt circle drive finished. We also installed a new stone Cross in the plaza outside the front doors to match the ones in the floor of the church. What else is finished thus far:....READ MORE

Welcome Bishop Michael McGovern! Our new bishop was ordained and installed on July 22. In just two short months, Bishop McGovern has already made a significant, positive impact on many lives throughout our diocese. His pastoral presence, love of people, and genuine humble attitude has truly inspired me and given me great hope for our Church and diocese. He is so caring for both us priests and all the lay persons he comes in contact with....READ MORE

Oktoberfest “modified” Countdown   Our faithful, amazing “German Cooks” are preparing a great take-out dinner for you to keep our Oktoberfest tradition going in some new version this year.  Be sure to reserve your meal count and time for pick up either online or after Mass this weekend.  Sunday is the last day to reserve a dinner ...READ MORE

Building Update with Gratitude Two weeks ago, we sent you an invitation to help us furnish the new building additions. I want to thank all of you who have sent in a donation for this great cause. When we designed the brochure, it was too complicated to go into the detailed costs of each item. However, because some people have asked about the actual costs of these needed items, our project manager has provided these estimates, which are pretty accurate at this stage...READ MORE

St. Clare Parish Proud!   If you have not seen them yet, be sure to check out our new YouTube video series called “Art and Architecture” that I have been working on.  These 10-15 minute video clips (creatively designed by our Music Director Stephen Eros) give a brief overview of the highlights of ... READ MORE

Season of Creation Each year, the Christian Community unites in the Season of Creation from Sept. 1 (the Day of Prayer for Creation) to Oct. 4 (the Feast of St. Francis). This ecumenical endeavor is a worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. As Christ's disciples, we are caretakers and stewards of...READ MORE