Parish News

STEWARDSHIP OF PRAYER PETITION:  Father, may the gift of our parish mission generate serious reflection on our gifts and purpose as disciples of your Son, Jesus Christ.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS AND LENTEN SOUP SUPPERS:  On Fridays during Lent, there will be Stations of the Cross at 5:30 pm in the upper church, followed by a soup supper in the lower church gathering space.  There will be no soup supper on February 24 and March 16.  Please attend the Fish Fry at St. Augustine’s to support St. Katharine Drexel school.  Also note, instead of regular Stations of the Cross on March 30 we will have Via Crucis at 7:30 pm with soup supper beforehand at 6 pm. Join us on Fridays, starting Feb. 24.

40 DAYS FOR LIFE:  The opening rally is Sunday, February 19, at St. Mary’s Cathedral.  Following the 6 pm Mass in the lower church, there will be a short program with refreshments served.  St. Mary’s parishioners will be keeping vigil outside the Planned Parenthood building on Mondays from 1 to 2 pm during the 40 days.  Please join our parish members through keeping vigil, prayer, fasting or spreading the word so that we can support each other in our faith.  Please call Dcn. Rick Scheierl if you are able to support us during this Lenten season.

HELP IS ALWAYS NEEDED:  Mark your calendar for the last Sunday of each month for the Community Meal.  Setup starts at 4 pm, serving at 5 pm, and cleanup until done (about 6:30 pm.)  As a goodwill act, a family can volunteer one or two times during the year, or a group of friends can plan and prepare a meal.  If you or someone you know is willing to prepare the main meal or just do the food preparation from a provided menu, additional help will come to set up, serve, and clean up as well.  Please consider joining this volunteering event that fills a great need in our community.  Contact Pat Anderson for more info at 253-6919.

PARISH MISSION:  In case you haven’t heard, we are having a Parish Mission to kick off our 2012 Lenten Season.  Fr. Michael Fones, OP, will speak at all the Masses the weekend of Feb. 18 & 19.  The Mission will begin Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19 and end Tuesday evening, Feb. 21.  See the Cluster News section for more information.

WE WANT YOU!  Since we have begun planning for the next parish directory, we want to make sure we include ALL of our parishioners.  The more we can include, the better!  Do you know of a parish member who is homebound or in a nursing home that would not be able to get here to have their photo taken?  Please call the parish office at 251-1840 ext. 101 or contact Dcn. Rick Scheierl at ext. 108 and let us know how to reach them.  There is a volunteer willing to go to these folks and take a nice photo for the directory.

ELEVATOR UPDATE:  Thank you for your continued patience during the repair work to the elevator.  If all goes well with no issues, the work should be completed by February 22.  Please pray for the success of the project to have the work completed by Ash Wednesday.

PASTORAL CARE:  If any parishioner or family member is in need of a pastoral care visit and Holy Communion, please call Deacon Rick Scheierl at 251-1840 ext. 108.  Today’s privacy laws do not permit hospitals to contact churches when a patient is in need of a pastoral visit.  We are made aware of it only when the individual or their friends and family contact us.

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE:  We have a limited number of hearing aid devices available.  Just ask an usher and please remember to return all parts after Mass.

PICTORAL DIRECTORY:  We will be publishing a new directory later this year.  But first we need to make sure our records are as up-to-date as possible.  This means that you will be receiving a letter in the mail with a form to review the information we have on file for you.  Please review this information and return the form with any changes.  This first step will last approximately two months.  If, by the beginning of April, you have not received a letter in regard to this, please contact the office so we can make sure you are  registered appropriately.  Thank you so much for your cooperation!