Inaugural Generosity of Spirit Award, Given in Honor of Fr. John Sassani and Fr. John Connelly

On June 1st, 2023, at the Collaborative's annual Ministers’ Evening of Reflection, we inaugurated a new award: the Generosity of Spirit Award Given in Honor of Fr. John Sassani and Fr. John Connelly. Each year, the staff will present the award to one person from each parish—one person who has served our community of faith with great generosity of spirit.

Some background: as we mark the 10th anniversary of Sacred Heart and Our Lady’s Collaborative, the staff has found ourselves doing a lot of reflection, including on the two beloved pastors who brought our two parishes to one collaborative: Fr. John Connelly and Fr. John Sassani. While so many things could be said about each of these good men and great priests, we’d like to simply say that they were generous. With their lives – devoting them to God and to us; with their laughs and smiles; with their time, always giving of themselves to lead others closer to Christ. It is that generosity of spirit that we honor with this new award.

The inaugural recipients are Kathie Long from Sacred Heart and Chris Graf from Our Lady’s!

Kathie Long has touched every aspect of our parish lives. Serving as the President and other major roles within the Guild of St. Francis, she knows and has a hand in most of the social events in the parish. She is the one responsible for making sure 70+ sick or lonely people receive cards from Sacred Heart's Ministry of Care every month, bringing Christ’s presence into people’s houses. If you’re new to the parish, she’ll grab you, have you come to Coffee Hour, and within a month, have you serving at it! Kathie Long is a bright face for everyone who meets her; she knows everyone, knows what’s going on with them, and wants to help.

Chris Graf is an indispensable liturgical behind-the-scenes virtuoso at Our Lady’s—and has been for decades. She has also served on the Pastoral Council and currently sits on the Finance Council. More than 10 years ago, she was asked to teach a Grade 5 Religious Education class, something very much outside her comfort zone. But here we are 10 years later – and she is still teaching on Monday afternoons – sharing the joy of her faith in Jesus with children! Chris is someone the staff turns to when older children are seeking the sacraments – just this spring, she prepared a 15-year-old girl for all three Sacraments of Initiation and another young girl for Baptism and First Communion. She consistently gives of herself to bring others closer to Christ, in so many ways.

For all these things and so much more, it was a privilege for the staff to present this award to Kathie and Chris.