From the Pastor’s Desk

We are pleased to announce that the parish has a new lay trustee: Mary Ann Miller (maiden name, Reilly), a lifelong member of St. Joseph Church. Mary Ann lives with her husband Ken and son Ben in her family home on Jane Street, off Wooster Street, just down from Highland Golf Course. A graduate of St. Joseph School, class of 1967, as were her younger brothers Peter and James and her own son Ben, Mary Ann is Human Resources Manager for Iroquois Pipeline, whose corporate headquarters are located in Shelton. Currently president of the St. Joseph School Alumni Association and a member of the Parish Finance Council, Mary Ann was the co-director, along with Jeff Borges, of our Centennial Capital Campaign in 2007 which raised almost half a million dollars to put new roofs on our church and part of our school, as well as to repair and re-lead most of our hundred-year-old stained glass windows. Mary Ann is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State Univ. and received her M.B.A. from the University of New Haven.

Mary Ann replaces retiring parish trustee Lou Marusic, a longtime parishioner who has served as lay trustee for over 25 years. The current Director of Finance for the City of Shelton, Lou is a dedicated member of St. Joseph Parish, having served most recently on the Parish Finance Council and as part of the Coro Hispano that plays every Sunday at our Spanish Mass.  We are very grateful for Lou’s many years of loyal, diligent service under multiple pastors. Mary Ann Miller joins lay trustee George Schrade, who with his wife Robin and daughter Kaitlin lives on Royal Court and is owner/manager of “A-Quick Pick Crane Service” here in Shelton. George was appointed trustee by Father Bob Weiss back in the nineties to replace former trustee Helena Cullen.

According to the laws of civil incorporation for Catholic churches in the state of Connecticut, the “trustees” or directors of The St. Joseph’s Church of Shelton (our corporate legal name) consist of the Bishop, the Vicars General, the pastor and two lay trustees. These lay parish representatives play an important role of advising the pastor, especially on matters concerning our parish’s institutional resources, human, financial, and physical. They serve to demonstrate that not just from a Catholic religious perspective, but also in a civil and legal sense, all members of the community of faith are invested in and responsible for the health of the Body of Christ which is the Church.

Our thanks to Mary Ann Miller and George Schrade for serving in this important role!

 

                 ― Monsignor Chris Walsh