Our

Farewell Reception
for
Fr. Rich

Welcome -

Michael Flahive

Reflections - 

Sheryl & Stan Van Hoose

Chris Duran
 

A Presentation from the Community - 

Paula Pratte
 

Remarks -

Fr. Chuck Kullmann, CSP

In Farewell - 

Fr. Rich Andre, CSP

In Closing -

Michael Flahive

The Servant Song, #788
Over My Head

Fr. Rich will be the first to tell you that he wanted to come to St. Austin’s so much that he actively campaigned for the assignment in 2015. Why? He wanted to prepare for his next step in ministry, leading a Paulist foundation as a director or pastor. St. Austin’s seemed just the right place to learn, for it’s in the center of a vital city, next door to a major university, and home to a vibrant community of Paulists (eight at that time), ministering in a setting that includes a busy parish and school.

His arrival on our campus was a great relief for him, the end of a marathon on I-35 – three hours from Temple in grueling traffic, not the usual hour for that journey. He’ll readily tell you it nearly brought him to tears. Then smile to know that Frank and Stephen were there to greet him and help unload the truck that brought him from another UT to The UT.

At St. Austin’s, Fr. Rich found a community flourishing on a busy corner in a major urban setting that’s home to a confluence of cultures – education, government, technology, and the creative arts. In this place, he found opportunities to mature in his ministry in social justice work through service and advocacy. He’s grown in program administration and by direct counsel of persons experiencing mental health crises. He’s gotten to know parishioners who established and lead organizations tackling the problems of our day such as housing and mental health, and supporting families in crisis and those fleeing violence in their homes or countries of origin.

In this creative center, he found solutions to unanticipated challenges. A prime example is our now much-cherished livestreaming of liturgies and other programming. At the dawn of the pandemic, called to find a way to bring Mass online to our community, Fr. Rich used the resources available - his cell phone and a very weak internet signal from the Rectory. He convened a workgroup (Frank, Stephen, K, Mitzi) and the problem-solving began. It was truly a Right Stuff moment that now enables us to bring God’s Word to a dedicated following that reaches all the way to Seneca Falls, New York, and beyond.

In a very Paulist way, Fr. Rich uses the media of the moment to meet people where they are. From presentations and engaging the world at South by Southwest to visiting with the Pre-K three-year-olds in our school, Father finds joy and inspiration in people. This week, reading the bag of cards he received from our school students, he mused about the many lessons and sparks of insight he’s gained from that sector of our community. He was charmed by their drawings, expressions of gratitude, and what they’ll remember from their time with him.

Facebook is Fr. Rich’s contemporary agora. As ancient Greeks met in that gathering place, Father gathers online feedback from friends on drafts of his homilies. He shares that this collaboration improves his preaching and gives greater voice to the laity. That experience, combined with questions and interest in Sacred Scripture generated by increased participation in daily Mass online, sparked another cooperative venture - our online Lectionary Guide. The RICHly illustrated work supports a deeper understanding of the Bible for our time and place.  

One of Fr. Rich’s favorite musicals is Stephen Schwartz’s Children of Eden. A lyric from the Hardest Part of Love expresses our feelings today… That the hardest part of love, and the rarest part of love, and the truest part of love, is the letting go.