Dear friends,

As many of you know, Fr. George Rink who has been helping out at St. Andrew and Ss. Cosmas and Damian for many, many years is not able to do so any longer at this point. It became clear as we began this new year that it was getting harder and harder for him to endure the pain of walking up the aisle of the church and then to get up the step(s) into the sanctuary on the altar. Fr. George has severe arthritis in his hip making it hard for him to get around. He has appointments to decide what they are going to do and will be going in for surgery soon so I encourage you to pray for him and his recovery in these days.

God willing, he will be better than before with the help of God and the skills of doctors and nurses and he might be able to return from time to time after his recovery. We plan to have a pot luck or some kind of celebration with him at both St. Andrew and Ss. Cosmas and Damian this summer when he is back on his feet. I was privileged to have lunch with him last week and let him know I would be writing this to you. He assured me of his steadfast spirit and his desire to come this summer. As always, he is quite positive and looking forward to a new hip and hopefully an easier time getting around.

Fr. George has served the archdiocese faithfully as a priest for well over 50 years now (maybe 55-56). He served as pastor of Sacred Heart in Enumclaw (where he built the church), at St. Charles Borromeo in Tacoma, and St. Madeline Sophie in Bellevue. With all those parishes he has helped out at our churches longer than he was at any one parish during his priesthood. It has been such a blessing to have him and we will surely miss him.

With this sudden change, we had to scramble a bit to get the Masses covered between the two churches, but Rosemary set out and has everything sorted out for the time being until after Easter. There are other faithful retired priests that are coming, but they are getting to be less and less. Even in the short time I have been here I have seen a change and it is getting more difficult to find coverage for our Masses. With this reality, it is not a cause for alarm or fear, but a call to prayer. We have been praying for vocations consistently, and we have some 5 men actively pursuing priesthood from St. Andrew. I have a trip planned to take some of our young men down to Mount Angel and visit the Seminary and Monastery over President’s Day. If you know someone between the ages of 14 to 18 that might be interested, encourage them to come with us and contact Monica to get the details.

Currently the archdiocese has begun the Pastoral Planning Project in which they are discerning with the priests and laity what to do with the current situation and how to best serve the faithful of the archdiocese with fewer priests. We have begun discussions at our Deanery here in Pierce Co. about the state of each parish and the plan to best serve them. I have consulted with the pastoral councils of both churches and will continue to work with them as we seek to find the way forward here in Sumner and Orting. Pray for us in this process and know that we are looking for the way to best serve you with the resources that we are given. Once again, there is no need for alarm or fear. Rather it is a call to prayer through which God will show us the best way to realize His will for us as we struggle and sacrifice to do the best we can to serve Him.

In His Most Sacred Heart,

Fr. Jack D. Shrum