Dear St. Gerard Majella Parish Family,

I write today to share some very significant news about both my and Father Huber’s future at SGM.

For many months in my prayer, I have felt the Lord inviting me to consider entering the consecrated life - particularly a form of consecrated life which prioritizes contemplative prayer. After these many months of discernment, I have been accepted by the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Washington Province (https://ocdfriarsvocation.org) to begin Postulancy on November 8, 2021, at the Carmelite Monastery in Brighton, Massachusetts.

This, of course, also means that my time as your pastor will be coming to an end. This is truly a bittersweet moment for me. My five years here have been rich and happy ones. My love and gratitude for all of you has made it difficult to say “yes” to Our Lord. In fact, I have done my share of “wrestling” with Him about it. It will be hard to say goodbye, but it is clear to me that He is calling me in this direction, and so I trust that it will be for the best. My last weekend with you will be October 23-24.

In addition, after his own period of discernment, Father Huber has received permission to take a three month sabbatical from parish ministry. This means that he, too, will be leaving SGM – at least for the near future. In fact, this weekend (October 2-3) will be his final one with us. The sabbatical will allow him to continue to discern how the Lord is calling him to exercise his priestly ministry.

Very soon Archbishop Rozanski will be appointing a new pastor, and I will share that news with you as soon as I can. He will likely come to SGM on November 1st. For the time being, we will have only one priest assigned to the parish, but the plan is for this to be temporary until a new associate pastor can be appointed. In the meantime, there will likely be some visiting priests who assist with Masses and confessions.

There is much to do as I prepare for my move, but I look forward to the time we still have together before I go. Above all, I ask for your prayers for Father Huber and me, and I assure you that you will always have a place in ours.

St. Gerard Majella, pray for us!

Yours in Christ,

Father Skillman