St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

For the most part, I consider myself to be a highly decisive person. Some would call it “impulsive”, and on occasion they’d be right, but in general I prefer “resolute”. Stubbornly self-sufficient and willing to face any resulting consequences, my first instincts are typically my lasting ones. I’m plagued by very little doubt or regret and, by God’s grace, I haven’t yet met any catastrophic repercussions…

It’s for this reason that I’ve always loved Peter. Simon Peter, who drops his whole life to follow a man he’d just met, because he was that resolute…

Dave Pini, a life-long parishioner and dedicated St. Paul employee of more than 50 years (his service to St. Paul began on a part time basis in the 1970s!)  is retiring from his position as property manager effective August 9, 2026. St. Paul Parish has long been known for its beautifully landscaped and well-maintained grounds, which has been a labor of love for Dave for all these many years, along with our church, rectory, and school buildings. We have been extraordinarily blessed by Dave’s 50+ years of dedication to the parish, and we know you join us in wishing him every blessing as he begins this new chapter in his life. He will be deeply missed.    

This Tuesday, August 11, all are invited to join us for a special Mass at St. Paul Church at 10:30am, followed by a reception in the Parish Hall to honor and thank Dave and wish him well in retirement.

“You walked how far??”

This question has become a kind of refrain in the wake of my return from the Camino de Santiago earlier this summer. There, with twenty-four young women going into their senior year of high school and a cohort of dedicated chaperones, we trekked over 200 miles across Spain.

Any length of the Camino, be it the minimum 100km, the over 300km my group traversed, or the nearly 800km from the French border (or more if you, like some we met, came from far beyond), is an accomplishment. No distance, it seems, is requisite to capture the wisdom and grace of such a pilgrimage. As we came to learn, each Camino is as unique as the one who makes the pilgrimage…