Dear Friends in Christ, I write today to offer a clarification and an apology. On the St. Joseph the Worker website, I offered up my own sense of what the outcomes would be from the current process studying the parishes in our deanery here in Independence. This was a mistake and imprudent on my part because the planning process is still ongoing and probably will not be completed until the latter part of May. Most importantly, Bishop Johnston has not even received the recommendations which will not be finalized until the end of the study process. Ultimately, he is the only one who will decide what, if any, changes will occur. I wish to apologize to Bishop Johnston and to all of you for creating such confusion. Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide our planning process to promote the flowering of the Church in our part of the diocese. Sincerely, Fr. Joe Powers