2026 Brings Change
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Happy New Year to you all! As with every new year, 2026 will bring change into our lives. Some changes are welcome, some are neutral, and others can be quite challenging. It is often the difficult news that tests us most deeply. How we respond to those moments becomes part of our journey of faith.
Jesus never promised that life would be easy. In fact, he entered fully into the brokenness of our world precisely because of sin and its consequences. While he came to save us ultimately for the life to come, he also teaches us how to live faithfully in the present. Our trials can become moments of grace—opportunities where God strengthens us and even gives us joy beyond our circumstances.
Jesus himself modeled this through his suffering, death, and resurrection. In these three movements of his life, he shows us that he understands what we endure and teaches us how to walk through difficult times. When we avoid hardship, our wounds often remain unhealed. But when we bring our suffering honestly to God and ask for his help, something within us can be transformed. We may find healing, a new perspective, or a deeper freedom—each a form of renewal in our lives.
Here at Holy Trinity, we will experience a few changes this year as well. One of the more visible ones will be the first phase of the widening of Walker Road. The cedar trees behind the Food Closet have already been marked for removal, a change that Dcn. Brett shared at Mass last weekend as part of the announcements. This work is expected to begin sometime this month and will eventually include road construction from that area to Murphy Blvd., along with the addition of a stoplight at Walker Road and Devonshire. Traffic will undoubtedly be disturbed by this road work.
Another change you will notice is the replacement of the corpus (the body figure on the cross) on our main cross. We mentioned this about a year ago, but to recap: the General Instruction of the Roman Missal requires that the primary cross in a church clearly depict the crucified Christ. This reflects the greatest act of love Jesus offers us. After careful research, our Liturgy Committee has selected a replacement that fits well with our church’s architecture. As we prepare for this transition, we are also looking for a covered storage space for the current corpus, which we hope to place in the entryway of a future parish hall and office space. If you know of a suitable storage option, specifically someone who can store it for free, please let me, Dana, or Deacon Brett know. At this time, there is no timeline for this to take place, as both storage for the current corpus needs to be secured and the new corpus will need to be ordered and shipped.
Change often brings uncertainty, but we never face it alone. God remains with us in moments of joy and stress, hope and struggle. How we allow our faith to guide us through these times is deeply personal—and deeply important. Please offer up these two events in your prayers and for the continued growth of our faith.
May God bless you and your loved ones throughout this new year.
Blessings,
Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor
