St Simon the Apostle Church

I must say, I can’t help but have a soft-​spot for the parish that I have been a part of for nearly 23 years.
The church itself is beautiful. It is red brick, built in the 1920s — not all that special from the outside. The inside has the perfect mix of vintage pillars, wood pews, and statues, with modern design and décor. It was repainted and had new carpeting installed in the 90s, and it still holds up to this day. The stained-​glass windows and perfectly painted statues are something to see. It was the first official Slovak church in the neighborhood, and now serves English, Spanish, and Slovak-​speaking people.
The parish as an organization has been run more than adequately by a group of very competent people. For the past two decades, Fr. Kub and his pastoral associate have made sure that the church strives in tough times. Some people have been taken aback by our pastor’s blatant and fervorous attitude, but I can respect a leader that doesn’t hold anything back and communicates the needs of his church. I like his homily style, which is full of facts and history about why and how celebrations came to be; I find that more fascinating than a made-​up story that just retells the homily. The man speaks 3 languages — English, Slovak, Spanish — can’t touch that! And it doesn’t hurt that Mass usually doesn’t last more than 45 minutes.
I am both worried and saddened that this era will come to an end this summer when our pastor retires. He was there all the years I went to St. Simon School, and he gave me my first Communion and married me. He also baptized both my sister and her baby. Our lovely Bishop Gustavo has taken it upon himself to meddle in the official procedures of selecting a new pastor and is trying to get his buddy in our church. If that happens, I don’t want to even think about the possibility of what’s to come. Please pray for us!