Dear Friends in Christ,
I thank you for the warm welcome you have extended to me since my appointment as pastor of Jesus the Good Shepherd Church and School, effective last July 1.  Good Shepherd parish has a fine reputation and it is due of course to you and your past and present clergy and lay staff.

I especially want to commend Fr. Mark Watson, your recent pastor of nearly nine years, who has brought many good works to this parish.  He is now pastor of the churches of St. Patrick in Lake Providence and Sacred Heart in Oak Grove.  Should you want to reach him, our office staff will be happy to provide his address and phone. 
               
Quoted below is the prayer Fr. Mark asked you to pray over the next few months for the new pastorates he and I have begun:

Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd,
We rejoice and give thanks that you called us together as your flock.  Thank you for your countless gifts and most especially for the gift of each other and your willingness to be our shepherd.  Please bless Fr. Richter and Fr. Mark with your Spirit as they begin their ministries as pastors of Good Shepherd and St. Patrick.  Give them the wisdom and courage they will both need to be successful in their ministry. 
We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Again, thank you for your welcoming gestures.  Together, may we in our parish become, in the words of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, “something beautiful for God.” 

In the Lord’s Peace,
 
 
Fr. David T. Richter