Lots of fun!: We had a nice turnout, great food and a beautiful day at our parish picnic/back@school bash last Sunday. Special thanks to Rob and Jill Andreski and the countless volunteers who graciously gave of their time and talent to help out!
Pope Francis: When our Holy Father visits Congress, our parish will host an event, The Pope Goes to Congress Watch Party, on September 24th from 9 – 11:00 a.m.
Another use for bottles: I sat in on a recent Knights of Columbus meeting. I admire these men so much. Their motto is charity, unity and fraternity. One of their charity events currently taking place is the baby bottle fundraiser. The proceeds assist with programs to provide alternatives to abortion in Genesee County—including free ultrasound procedures to pregnant women. Thank you for your support.
Singing like angels: Both Fr. Gary and I really enjoy celebrating Mass with our students. We had our first school Mass on September 10th and the singing was really wonderful. Speaking of our school, our overall enrollment (preschool students included) is up almost 11 percent.
School Advancement Committee: Speaking of our school, I recently met with the school advancement committee. We are trying to develop an information list of all our past students. Next year the school will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. Do you know the contact information for Holy Family School graduates from the past? Please let us know.
Everyday Mercy: As many of you know, we have confessions every day at Holy Family. The times are Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday at
5 p.m., and Saturdays at 11 a.m. Fr. Gary and I are usually both hearing confessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Many people are taking advantage of the opportunity to experience God’s mercy!
Our Mother: Randy Ranville is one of our long-time parishioners. He is 96 and drives to church each day. He also leads a rosary and other special prayers each day: 7:15 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 4:45 p.m. on Tuesdays and 8 a.m. on Saturdays. Please join us if you are able.
On film: Fr. Gary might be used to it due to his CNN special, but it’s easy to get nervous when one is being filmed. Recently Fr. Gary and I were filmed for our website. One of our parishioners, Norm Williams, and his company did the filming. I asked if they were going to put makeup on me and do my hair for the filming. I didn’t get a kind response.
Congratulations: I am very happy to learn that our Holy Family Mission Makeover Team will be presented with an “Autism Award” from the Autism Support and Resource Center. This award is being presented because our Mission Makeover team spent over 200 hours enhancing their playground.
40 days: Please see page 13 (September 20th Bulletin) for more information on the Defunding of Planned Parenthood. Our Right to Life Committee, led by Joe Bonifazi, is working hard to promote the 40 Days for Life. Since 40 Days for Life started several years ago, 10,331 lives have been saved, 118 abortion workers have walked away from the abortion industry, and 60 abortion facilities have shut down. Please contact Tina Phillpotts at (810) 240-8446 or tinaphillpotts@hotmail.com if you can be of service.
Family Promise: I recently met with Amy Deloney and Jim Distelrath to discuss the wonderful work that our parish does for Family Promise. They are still looking for some parishioners to provide meals for families in temporary housing situations. Please see an article on page 4 in this weekend’s bulletin for further information.
A great time for women of our parish: The diocese is hosting a women’s conference on October 24th and one of our best weekends of the year is the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) weekend on October 10/11. Please consider attending.
Saint quote of the week:
You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.
-Saint Therese of Lisieux
Msgr. Jerry