LET US GO OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE (Mark 4:35)
"Beginning with Abraham, the faith of each of his sons represents a constant leaving behind of what is cherished, familiar, and personal, in order to open up to the unknown, trusting in the truth we share and the common future we have in God". Those are the words of Pope John Paul 11 in his book titled “Rise, Let us be on our Way”. He says further that " we are all invited to participate in this process of leaving behind the well-known, the familiar...to turn toward the God who in Jesus Christ, opened Himself to us”. I drew strength from that as I write this farewell note.
I planned to stay here for a long time and not to depart this quick. I loved the parish, I loved the people, I loved the community, the way of life and how people are relating and connecting to one another, and that makes St Mary’s, the place to be. I loved the beautiful and quiet Muncie town with its slow-paced life where people look out for each other in contrast to fast pace and disconnections of human relationships of bigger cities. However, we have our plans but God has the master plan. Now, he has called me to another duty. As a strong believer in providence, I accept this invitation with open heart and docile spirit.
I sincerely appreciate Fr. Dudzinski for accepting to have me. He exercised a lot of spiritual influence on me, an influence that has further enriched my priestly life and ministry. I admire his organizational skills and his ministry of presence. I thank the staff for the ever ready willingness to guide me through the processes of the parish with a sincere smile. They make the office look more like a family. I enjoyed much love from this parish family and from our school that I will forever remember.
I am taking up a position as a Chaplain at UH, Parma Medical Center and Nigerian Catholic Chaplaincy of northeast Ohio, all in Cleveland Diocese while I will be in residence at Holy Family Church, 7367 York Rd, Parma, OH 44130.
Be that as it may, I now have a home at St Mary’s. Be sure of seeing me once in a while as I would want to keep the relationship open. I will miss you all dearly and please keep me in your prayers.
May the peace of Christ be with you all.
Fr. Donald Chiemeka Ewulu
[email protected]