Father Joe is finally returning to our parish. Seeing our community stay united through these long months confirms how much he truly means to us. Keep him in your prayers as he steps back into the life of our church.
January 29, 2019
Final supporters
This is a petition, written by parishioners of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, that will be sent to Bishop Knestout, the bishop of the Diocese of Richmond. On Saturday, December 8th, our pastor, Father Joe Metzger, was missing from the 5 o'clock Mass. The following was read from the altar as an explanation: https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/norfolk/norfolk-priest-on-leave-accused-of-violating-code-of-conduct/291-622518991. Although no allegations of child sexual abuse have been made, our pastor has still not been allowed to return to our church.
On August 14, 2016, Father Joe celebrated his 25th jubilee as a priest. It was a very special time for Father Joe, and the parishioners of Blessed Sacrament were blessed to be a part of this special celebration. “I am very grateful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and I love being a priest,” he said. We are very grateful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we have had such a wonderful priest as our spiritual leader at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
Father Joe leads tireless ministries in his life and through our parish. He has a heart of gold and works hard to help those in need. He supports the homeless of Norfolk, through the NEST program, he ministers to those in the local jails, he ensures there is plenty of food for the local FoodBanks, he also encourages us to participate in our local angel tree. Our parish consistently brings in the largest amounts of any local parish, at the simple request of Father Joe.
We miss our pastor, priest, spiritual leader and friend. It is time for the bishop of our diocese to realize that Father Joe's actions do not warrant this continued suspension. We did not have the opportunity to share Advent and Christmas with our beloved pastor, let us not go too far into the new year without celebrating his return.
Please join me in adding your name to this petition. We also ask that you share this with as many people as possible. You do not have to be a member of our parish and you do not have to be catholic to sign this petition. We need to show our Bishop, Father Joe has all of our love and support. In this tumultuous time in the Catholic Church, it is important to keep the good priests around. Father Joe is definitely one of the good guys.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
January 6, 2019
Reached 100 supporters
January 3, 2019
January 3, 2019
Father Joe has spent decades serving our families and we cannot stop pushing until the Diocese listens to us. If you have signed this, please take a moment to text the link to three people who know his character. We need this momentum to force a response from Bishop Knestout.
January 2, 2019
Father Joe has spent his life caring for the people of Norfolk and now it is our turn to ensure he is not forgotten. I need everyone reading this to send the link to three neighbors right now so we can hit our first big goal and demand answers from the Bishop.
385 Comments
This has not been handled well by the Diocese. It is time for either an explanation or for Father Joe to feel as if he can return. Let's get on with this. This is borderline unprofessional at this stage as investigations don't take this long. Thank you.
Father Joe is a great man and a great priest. Father Joe’s direct connection and close involvement with teens is one of his greatest attributes as a priest. We are so grateful he spent time with our son and has had such a positive influence on him.
I'm very disappointed with how the church has handled this issue via the media. This should've been kept quiet until the investigation was completed. This approach unfortunately convicted Father Metzger in the court of public opinion.
Father Joe's absence is significantly impacting many of Blessed Sacrament's parishioners trust in the Diocese of Richmond/Catholic Church leadership. He is a good priest and the decision to return him should not be drawn out this way.
Father Joe brought my husband back to church and he also did the service for his funeral. I could not have asked for anything more fitting for my husband and afterwards I felt that he was totally at peace. A more thoughtful and kind person could not be found.
Bless you Father for all that you’ve done. Blessed Sacrament has never been the same since your absence.
Fr. Joe blessed our marriage , baptized our daughter . He was the reason we made 45 min drive to mass every Sunday .
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Father Joe is finally returning to our parish. Seeing our community stay united through these long months confirms how much he truly means to us. Keep him in your prayers as he steps back into the life of our church.
January 29, 2019
Final supporters
This is a petition, written by parishioners of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, that will be sent to Bishop Knestout, the bishop of the Diocese of Richmond. On Saturday, December 8th, our pastor, Father Joe Metzger, was missing from the 5 o'clock Mass. The following was read from the altar as an explanation: https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/norfolk/norfolk-priest-on-leave-accused-of-violating-code-of-conduct/291-622518991. Although no allegations of child sexual abuse have been made, our pastor has still not been allowed to return to our church.
On August 14, 2016, Father Joe celebrated his 25th jubilee as a priest. It was a very special time for Father Joe, and the parishioners of Blessed Sacrament were blessed to be a part of this special celebration. “I am very grateful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and I love being a priest,” he said. We are very grateful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we have had such a wonderful priest as our spiritual leader at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
Father Joe leads tireless ministries in his life and through our parish. He has a heart of gold and works hard to help those in need. He supports the homeless of Norfolk, through the NEST program, he ministers to those in the local jails, he ensures there is plenty of food for the local FoodBanks, he also encourages us to participate in our local angel tree. Our parish consistently brings in the largest amounts of any local parish, at the simple request of Father Joe.
We miss our pastor, priest, spiritual leader and friend. It is time for the bishop of our diocese to realize that Father Joe's actions do not warrant this continued suspension. We did not have the opportunity to share Advent and Christmas with our beloved pastor, let us not go too far into the new year without celebrating his return.
Please join me in adding your name to this petition. We also ask that you share this with as many people as possible. You do not have to be a member of our parish and you do not have to be catholic to sign this petition. We need to show our Bishop, Father Joe has all of our love and support. In this tumultuous time in the Catholic Church, it is important to keep the good priests around. Father Joe is definitely one of the good guys.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
January 6, 2019
Reached 100 supporters
January 3, 2019
January 3, 2019
Father Joe has spent decades serving our families and we cannot stop pushing until the Diocese listens to us. If you have signed this, please take a moment to text the link to three people who know his character. We need this momentum to force a response from Bishop Knestout.
January 2, 2019
Father Joe has spent his life caring for the people of Norfolk and now it is our turn to ensure he is not forgotten. I need everyone reading this to send the link to three neighbors right now so we can hit our first big goal and demand answers from the Bishop.
385 Comments
We miss and want our Pastor back . Father Joe means the world to Blessed Sacrament . He is a kind and giving person. He was there for me , when my husband passed away after we had just moved in the area . Those things you never forget Thank you.
This has not been handled well by the Diocese. It is time for either an explanation or for Father Joe to feel as if he can return. Let's get on with this. This is borderline unprofessional at this stage as investigations don't take this long. Thank you.
Father Joe is a great man and a great priest. Father Joe’s direct connection and close involvement with teens is one of his greatest attributes as a priest. We are so grateful he spent time with our son and has had such a positive influence on him.
I'm very disappointed with how the church has handled this issue via the media. This should've been kept quiet until the investigation was completed. This approach unfortunately convicted Father Metzger in the court of public opinion.
Father Joe's absence is significantly impacting many of Blessed Sacrament's parishioners trust in the Diocese of Richmond/Catholic Church leadership. He is a good priest and the decision to return him should not be drawn out this way.
Father Joe brought my husband back to church and he also did the service for his funeral. I could not have asked for anything more fitting for my husband and afterwards I felt that he was totally at peace. A more thoughtful and kind person could not be found.
Bless you Father for all that you’ve done. Blessed Sacrament has never been the same since your absence.
Fr. Joe blessed our marriage , baptized our daughter . He was the reason we made 45 min drive to mass every Sunday .
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We miss and want our Pastor back . Father Joe means the world to Blessed Sacrament . He is a kind and giving person. He was there for me , when my husband passed away after we had just moved in the area . Those things you never forget Thank you.