2023 Stewardship Commitment Appeal

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

What a blessing these last four months have been! Prior to coming to Holy Spirit, I had only heard wonderful things about this community. Since starting in July, I have been blown away by the love and generosity I have seen and experienced here.

I look fondly back at softball afterparties throughout the summer. It was a fun way to get to know so many of you. I quickly realized this was just a first taste of the great work the Men’s and Women’s Clubs are doing to bring our community together. When school started back up, I realized just how truly blessed we are with incredibly committed staff and amazing students. In a particular way, I am grateful for Dr. Krieger who has been leading our school so well since starting as principal in July. One of the biggest highlights I’ve experienced in my time here has been Spirit Fest. It was amazing to see our community come together for Mass and a time to simply have fun together.

The thing that I have come to love most about our community is that we honor our past by holding onto our strong traditions while at the same time not fearing to look to the future and to what God is calling us to. This is why we schedule our annual stewardship commitment appeal to coincide with our parish’s anniversary. We want to recognize that we stand on the shoulders of giants. There have been so many incredible men and women who have done so much for this community. As the new priest here, I feel this in a particular way. I recognize all that I have inherited here has come from the amazing gifts and sacrifices of my predecessors. We have the responsibility of honoring their legacy by continuing to look forward, by imagining the possibilities.

And so, I would like to invite you to invest in our future. If you are not giving financially, please prayerfully consider starting with a small recurring gift. If you are already giving, prayerfully consider increasing your offering if you are able. This year’s commitment card reflects the current needs of the parish. In the past, there were options to donate to different funds for specific needs of the parish. This year, we are encouraging everyone to give to the Sunday Giving fund. This does not reflect a change in our mission but will help support our daily operations, which is our greatest need at this time. This will help us to build up our current ministries and discern new ways the Lord is calling us to grow. If you are currently giving to another fund, please consider contacting Justin Carrick (ext. 2213), our business administrator, and request that your giving be changed to Sunday Giving. If you would still like to give to another fund, you may do so by visiting Online Giving on our website.

Thank you for joining me in supporting our parish. Let us entrust Holy Spirit to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer, who allowed herself to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so that Christ may enter the world.

In Christ,
Father Nathan Hastings

Welcome, Fr. Nathan!

Photo provided by Our Lady of Grace.

Fr. Nathan Hastings was ordained by Archbishop Hebda in the spring of 2020. He looks forward to meeting you, and together, asking Our Lady to obtain an overflowing measure of the incredible grace of God. Fr. Nathan will start at Holy Spirit on July 1.

Fr. Nathan grew up in Inver Grove Heights and attended St. Joseph’s Church in West St. Paul. He is the fifth of five children: one brother, three sisters, and himself. He has many nieces and nephews which he loves to spend time with. He attended public school from Kindergarten–12th grade. He loves Twins baseball and playing cards with friends.

After finishing high school, Fr. Nathan served a year with NET Ministries where he fell in love with evangelization. After serving with NET, he attended the University of Minnesota to study computer engineering. While there, Fr. Nathan lived in a Catholic men’s household and did college outreach through Saint Paul’s Outreach. During his freshman year, he started discerning his vocation more seriously and decided to transfer to the Saint John Vianney College Seminary where he finished an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a minor in Catholic Studies. In between his undergraduate studies and the seminary, Fr. Nathan spent seven months doing an internship at Our Lady of Grace where he fell in love with parish ministry. After interning, Fr. Nathan went on to complete his Master’s in Divinity at the Saint Paul Seminary. Fr. Nathan belongs to a fraternity of Archdiocesan priests called the Companions of Christ. These priests aspire to live and serve the local church and live in community.

Fr. Nathan has been the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Grace in Edina for the past two years. He is excited to begin his pastorship at Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit Catholic School Update #2

Beloved Members of the Holy Spirit Community,

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Ott Krieger has accepted the position of principal at Holy Spirit Catholic School and will begin her role in July.

Dr. Krieger has been an active member of the Holy Spirit community for over two decades and has served as our Assistant Principal for many years. She has demonstrated leadership through faith, kindness, and commitment. We are excited that she has chosen to share her gifts as our principal!

I am overjoyed, with Dr. Krieger as our new principal, that Holy Spirit School will be able to continue to provide an amazing education for our students and reach even greater heights in helping our children to know, love, and serve God and one another. Congratulations, Dr. Krieger!

In Christ,
Fr. Daniel C. Haugan

Holy Spirit Catholic School Update

Dear Holy Spirit Families,

Last year, I was blessed with the opportunity to join the Holy Spirit community as the new principal following the beautiful and long-standing tenure of Dr. Adrian. When I began this new position, I had never dreamed that we’d face yet another school year enduring so many different challenges with the ongoing pandemic. I had dreams of beginning my principalship with a bustling school year filled with new beginnings, new adventures, and a Covid-free year! Darn—that certainly didn’t happen with the Delta variant, then Omicron, and now the newest strand that’s creeping back in. Many of us in education would say this was our most challenging year in education, even more challenging than last year and the spring of 2020. It has been a tumultuous time in education, while as a school we all tried to find our way through a pandemic as teachers, leaders, students, and parents. I appreciate the patience and understanding you have shown during the past year as we weathered another school year during a pandemic.

It is with mixed emotions that I share news with you about the next phase of my educational journey. At the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year, I will be leaving my role as principal at Holy Spirit and I will be starting as the new principal at St. Odilia Catholic School in Shoreview. While I never intended to be at Holy Spirit for just one year, I am a firm believer that God makes the plans for our lives and puts us all in places we are needed at specific times, which is what gives me assurance that God has a plan for me and the Holy Spirit community. Holy Spirit is a school with a dedicated staff that cares very deeply for all our students and our community. It is also a school that is blessed by amazing families. I am confident that Holy Spirit’s next principal will continue to bless this beautiful school and our families.

I leave Holy Spirit with a grateful heart, and I am blessed by all the relationships I have formed here. I will hold you all close to my heart in the coming years. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Jennifer Krieger for her amazing leadership and guidance during this year of transition. I am certain that God has wonderful plans for Holy Spirit, and this community will be blessed many times over.

I wish the very best for the entire Holy Spirit community in the future.

Kind regards,
Sandy Kane
Principal

The New Pastor Is...

- Originally announced at Masses the weekend of May 7-8 -

This past weekend at church, I made the announcement that after 13 years as your pastor and coworker in the Vineyard of the Lord here at Holy Spirit, I will be moved to a new parish on July 1st. I will let you all know next week what parish I will be moved to, but this past weekend I was able to announce who will be the new pastor of Holy Spirit Church and School starting July 1st, 2022:

Your new pastor will be Fr. Nathan Hastings. He is coming to us from the Church of Our Lady of Grace, in Edina, MN.

Fr. Nathan Hastings was ordained by Archbishop Hebda in May of 2020. Fr. Nathan looks forward to meeting you, and together with you, asks the Holy Spirit and Our Blessed Mother to obtain for us an overflowing measure of the incredible grace of God.

Fr. Nathan grew up in Inver Grove Heights, MN, and attended St. Joseph’s Church in West St. Paul. He is the fifth of five children: one brother, three sisters, and himself. He has many nieces and nephews which he loves to spend time with. He attended public school from kindergarten to 12th grade. He loves Twins baseball and playing cards with friends.

After Fr. Nathan finished high school, he discerned to serve a year with NET Ministries, where he fell in love with evangelization and the seeds of his vocation were planted. After serving with NET, Fr. Nathan attended the University of Minnesota studying computer engineering. While at the U of M, Fr. Nathan lived in a Catholic Men’s Household and did college outreach through Saint Paul’s Outreach. During Fr. Nathan’s freshman year at the U of M, he started discerning his vocation more seriously and decided to transfer to Saint John Vianney College Seminary on the campus of the University of St. Thomas the next fall. Fr. Nathan finished an undergraduate degree in Philosophy there, while minoring in Catholic Studies. Fr. Nathan went on to complete his Master’s of Divinity at The Saint Paul Seminary and was ordained a priest in May of 2020.

Fr. Hastings will take over as pastor on July 1st. I pray he will be graced by God to continue to move Holy Spirit Church and School forward to a bright and awesome future.

Fr. Hastings hopes to be a Good Shepherd for you here at Holy Spirit Catholic Church and School, and through it all, may God’s name be praised.

Thank you and God Bless,
Fr. Daniel Haugan