Holy Family Parish Summer Festival Update

Holy Family Parishioners,
I write to you today to inform you of an adjustment in the life of our parish for this coming
summer. While I know that I am away this weekend for this important announcement, I wanted
this news to come to you from the right source and well explained.
On Thursday, the festival committee met to discuss what would be happening with the
festival this summer. After prayer, discernment, and a long discussion that was honest and
peaceful, a decision was made to not move forward with the festival as we have known it. There
were many challenging factors that went into the difficult decision, including many obstacles and
unknowns regarding the upcoming sewer district construction project at the back of the property.
Additionally, the past number of years has seen an increasingly challenging lack of volunteers at
various levels. Unfortunately, for these and other reasons, the festival will not continue as we
have known it considering the ongoing challenges.
One word that was used and agreed upon in our discussion was “pivot” and is a word
that brings with it positivity and opportunity. Athletes must pivot to win games; companies must
pivot in order to thrive in changing industries (think COVID). The festival committee is
committed to pivoting in order to bring about great events throughout the year that foster
community and raise money for the parish, be it in new ways. I and the committee are
beginning that conversation and planning immediately. We are planning for a weekend possibly
in June to have a few events and possibly a large raffle. We may see another event in August or
September.
An image that was shared in our meeting, regarding growing grass (Say, ultimately,
growing faith, discipleship, and community, for which we exist), is the use of a waterpark dump
bucket versus a sprinkler. The festival was an amazing event, but took incredible effort and
happened over a short time. Our plan is to have high quality community events throughout the
year that bring people together from inside and outside the church and provide for fundraising
opportunities. It is exciting that this increased number of events will create more contact points
with other people to draw them into the faith and into the church, which the bishop has
emphasized is one of our top three priorities (To Worship, To Evangelize, To Serve) in his new
pastoral letter, “A Flourishing Apostolic Church”.
Obviously, this change raises questions about the parish’s financial situation. To be sure,
as we know, we are in a good financial situation, and we will remain so. As mentioned in the
parish financial address last Fall, we did receive a substantial sum from the sale of the property
to the Northeast Ohio Sewer District. That being said, understandably, those funds are
ultimately limited and are not the basis for our ongoing financial security. With parish and
finance council’s help, we will be developing a plan, immediately, to provide for effective
fundraising opportunities.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for all of your support of Holy Family
Parish! Please keep our festival and parish leadership in your prayers as we discern and
respond to God’s will in this time of transition.
In Christ,
Fr. David Stavarz

Mr. Bill Brickman, Festival Chairman