Say it isn't so, Father Mike Figler is being transferred

I received this letter in the mail on Thursday---it's a letter from my pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Riverton indicating that he's being transferred to another parish. Father Mike is a wonderful young priest, full of energy, a great sense of humor, and will be hard to replace.
Here's his letter.

Dear Friends,

On Monday, June 1st, Bishop Smith called me and said he had an emergency situation. He told me that because of the poor health of a fellow pastor, he needed me to be the pastor of the two churches and school that were left vacant. He explained that with the shortage of priests, he has no experienced pastors available for this very complicated situation. I was saddened by this news but I realized that the bishop has a difficult task trying to do so much with so few priests. For this reason, I knew I had to put my own preferences aside and agreed to help in this pressing task. He then named me pastor of St. Agnes in Atlantic Highlands, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Highlands as well as Mother Teresa grade school. All three are in the northeast corner of the diocese.

I am writing this with a heavy heart, because I have been very happy here at Sacred Heart and I will miss all of you very much. You are the first parish in which I served as a pastor, and you will always be dear to me. I think of the words of Saint Paul to the Phillippians, when he said, "I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

I am sure that you are wondering who the new pastor will be and I am happy to say that one of the finest priests in the Diocese is coming here. His name is Fr. Michael J. Waites. I find him to be consistently pleasant, a real gentleman. Most importantly, he is a faith-filled priest and a tried and true shepherd. I am sure that you will welcome him just as warmly as you did me.

If you are upset or unsure, just remember that Jesus is the Shepherd of shepherds and after 130 years of His providence here, we can be sure that He will continue to provide for this wonderful parish community long into the future.

You will always remain in my thoughts and prayers,

Fr. Michael B. Figler

PS- If you would like to contact me, I can be reached at:

Fr. Michael Figler
Saint Agnes Church
103 Center Avenue
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 07716