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Message from Father Mende.... Dear Parishioner: Welcome to our SS Peter and Paul Web site. I'm delighted to invite you to visit us often to keep up to date on the ministries and activities of our parish family.  If you are not a member of St. Pete's, please take some time to explore our site to get acquainted with us and join us for worship or a special event.  We are still in the process of building our web site, and in the coming weeks and months new information will be added.  Soon, I hope to be able to take you on a virtual tour of our 112 year old building, which I believe is a masterpiece of ecclesiastical architecture.

NEW BEGINNINGS

            This weekend a new faith community is born in Jamestown.  What happened in 1854 with the founding of SS Peter & Paul Church and in 1939 with the founding of St. John Church happens for us as the two churches are wedded together and become Holy Apostles Parish.  In the over two thousand year history of the Catholic Church there have always been changes as the human family has grown in knowledge and understanding, creating new technologies that affect the manner in which we interact with the environment in which we live.  Because the faith rightly lived embraces all that we are as persons, societal, cultural, and technological changes as well as shifts in population will impact not only the way we live the Gospel but also the way in which the Church is organized as a people of faith.

            In the Southern Chautauqua Vicariate we are part of a change taking place throughout the Diocese of Buffalo occasioned by the significant change in population and economy of the region.  The geographical shift and decline in population and the weakened economy have caused many institutions, businesses and governmental agencies to consolidate and downsize their operations to better accomplish their tasks in the changed circumstances.  The Church, which exists within this larger society, needed to do likewise resulting in mergers (and in some areas, closings) of churches.  Hence, as the families of SS Peter and Paul and St. John we find ourselves beginning a new identity as Holy Apostles Parish.

            Much like a couple on their wedding day, we begin our life together with much hope and more than a little anxiety!  Sharing the same Catholic faith as neighbors for some sixty-nine years, we already know each other’s families and something of the customs and traditions that are part of each one’s life.  Now we bring those together in a new family.  There are challenges in doing so, and like those who marry we need the grace of the Holy Spirit to empower the two to become one in Christ.  Getting to know one another and worship and work together will require constant prayer so that what we do and how we do it will always be to the greater honor and glory of God and bring God’s blessings to those who form the Mystical Body of Christ.  This is particularly important for us to keep in mind because, like couples who marry and then find that they do not necessarily like everyone in the spouse’s extended family, we may find that we do not like or always get along with everyone who is now part of our faith family!

            Yes, the challenges are many as we experience our new beginning as Holy Apostles Parish, but as the Scripture proclaims, “eye has not seen nor ear heard nor has it entered the human heart what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9).  I am delighted to have the blessing to serve as your Pastor, and am so grateful to all who have helped to bring us to this new beginning.

Sincerely yours,

Rev. Dennis W. Mende Pastor of Holy Apostles Parish