Dear St Peter Parishioners:

I want to say” right off the bat” I look forward to my assignment as your pastor. It is true that leaving Ave Maria is not easy. The fact is there are many wonderful parishioners at Ave Maria parish. Over the last nine years a great deal of good has been accomplished at Ave Maria because of some very dedicated parishioners and a very dedicated parish staff. I have made some very close friends who I will miss and I have watched the Lord, through the celebration of the sacraments, through the power of the Word and through the witness of many fine people, change lives for the better. And for that I will always be gratefull!!     At the same time I look forward to my being your pastor because I know the same things are happening at St. Peter. Because of many talented people, alive with Gospel love lives are changing here for the better. Lives always change for the better when people experience how good God is and how good God has been to us as a community of faith and as individuals. Once we experience the goodness of God through our faith celebrated well and lived to the best of our ability we  have no choice but to let God change our lives for the better, its that simple and at the same time that profound.
     Over the next few weeks and months let’s try to get to know each other; help me to learn how to be an effective pastor for you. Teach me how you live out the call of Jesus Christ, the call to die to self for others. Show me how to support you in your faith, tell me who you are so I can be a good pastor. So much good has been going on here for a long time help me to be a part of that good.      I know St Peter parish is not Ave Maria and I do not want it to be. Never-the-less it is the same faith in Jesus Christ that bound me to the people of Ave Maria that will bind me to you.     I know your previous pastors have set the bar high: Fr. Dean Kumba, Msgr. Robert Jaeger, and Fr. Jeffrey Schneibel. I will try my best with God’s help and your prayers to also set the bar high.     I truly look forward to serving you as your pastor!
     Fr. Don