A Note From Our Pastor: July 5, 2026

Father Ben and I are blessed to be here at Priest Days, the annual convocation of priests, held here in Ocean Shores. Each priest is invited to choose a hotel, otherwise we can choose to organize as group, to rent a house together. I’m staying at a house with three of my good friends, brother priests.

The presenter, speaking to us each day is Deacon Tim Lynch, M.S., from the St. John Vianney Center in Philadelphia, a behavioral health facility, functioning to help clergy and avowed religious in crisis.

The topic this year is to acknowledge and better understand a common challenge experienced by priests (as well as many of you). As you know, we live in a culture in which anxieties and its effects are ever-increasing in our population. It’s increasing for priests too. Deacon Tim cited principal reasons including: 1) struggling in an increasingly secular world; 2) loneliness [by the way, that’s not because we’re celibate]; 3) burnout from persistent stress; 4) unrealistic expectations of self [perfectionism].

Acknowledging this, and I’m confident that I speak for Father Ben, I also acknowledge that there are many, many blessings in our ministry, serving the people of these parishes. Even more, there’s great satisfaction that comes with our growing and moving forward with our parishes, creating things that weren’t already here (e.g. Young Adult Ministry, Adult Faith Formation, Parish Missions, integration of our staffs and parishes, etc). Yes, there’s more we want to do, but God is so good.

My intention is not to make you frightened for us or even sympathetic toward us. After all, many of you struggle with these same things: loneliness, anxiety, burnout, falling short of expectations. But also, I can imagine that many parents hear children, in their own ways, expressing that you are not meeting all their expectations.

In whatever way we priests don’t meet your needs, it’s true in part, because we don’t personally possess the ministerial gifts some you would desire. But it’s also true in part, because we don’t have the capacity (even with great support from amazing staff members and volunteers) to do it all.

In this reality, most of you are so patient, loving and encouraging. Thank you. And some of you remain disappointed (sometimes for good reason), whether you keep it to yourselves, express it to one another, or express it to us. In any case, thank you for your prayers. We are so blessed to be in this with you. But also, please pray that each of us discern within our hearts, the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and that we have courage to allow it to guide us, even if it’s neither easy nor what you may not immediately wish for.

Yours in Christ,

Father Todd O. Strange