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“Each day be conscious of your duty to be a saint. — A saint! And that doesn’t mean doing strange things. It means a daily struggle in the interior life and in heroically fulfilling your duty right through to the end.” ~ St. Jose Maria Escriva

Looking for ideas on how to celebrate Lent as a couple or as a family? Listen in! When a married person celebrates Lent, especially when they have children, it looks very different than how a single person or religious does it. Lent is a time to take stock of how we are responding to God’s grace to become who He is calling us to be. How are we becoming a better wife, mother, husband, or father? To really invest in Lent this year, we want to encourage you to consider commitments of prayer, fasting and mercy all in light of your married vocation. We have provided a great resource for you on our website — Cana90! Sign up to receive daily emails of encouragement, tracking sheet, services for the Triduum, ideas for weekend celebrations with children, and more! Sign up for free online or order the book. Let us walk with you and encourage each other on our Lenten journey.

PASTOR’S MESSAGE—UNITED IN GOD’S LOVE

A cross etched in the center of the 1896 cornerstone of our original church proclaims St. Ann’s Parish as a community “with Christ as the cornerstone”(Ephesians 2:20), a people “united in God’s love.”  We rejoice in a distinguished history of 125 years.  With our offertory commitment program, which I will address today, we pledge our stewardship to carry on this legacy.

 

​We are a community of believers, united in God’s love, who are striving to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.  When we keep this mission at the forefront of our thoughts, words and actions, everything falls in place.  There is so much to be done to serve our own parish community and to keep us moving forward:  celebrating the sacraments, offering faith formation in a full service school and in religious education programs, in various retreats and scripture studies, encouraging marriage and family life, tending the sick and dying, and caring for our buildings and property.  And we also have a mission directed outside of ourselves to others:  serving the poor, working with our partners in Honduras, evangelizing through the Guadalupe Radio Network, supporting pro-life causes, giving witness to Christ in the Midland community–in so many things we reach out to others to spread the Kingdom of God.

 

​You make this possible.  You are very generous in the offertory collection and in your support of the parish in general.  You also respond to special needs as they arise.  And even in the midst of a pandemic, we have been able to build a beautiful Youth Activity Center to engage the youth of our parish in the life of the Church, in a marvelous facility with great programs.  I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you!

 

​None of us can do this alone.  But “united in God’s love” we each do our part, offering time, talent and treasure to build up the Kingdom of God.  In order to live our mission, we invite all parishioners to join together.  The basic stewardship message is this:  Everything we have is a gift from God, so we are grateful and we support God’s work by offering a percentage of our income to the parish.  This is love in action.

 

​In a few days, you will receive information in your regular mail about the offertory.  Please check your mailbox, study the brochure, pray about your response and bring the Commitment Card with you to Mass on November 13 & 14.  If you don’t receive a Commitment Card in the mail, you can pick one up in the church that weekend.  And if you won’t be present that weekend, you can always return it to the Parish Office.

 

​As you fill out your commitment card, you might reflect on your current level of donations and then decide on your commitment for the next twelve months.    If an increase is possible, that will be welcomed.  If your income has decreased, perhaps your commitment will be less.  Another way to calculate a commitment to the offertory and general parish support would be to figure out a percentage of your income, say 5%, and commit to that.

 

​We use the phrase “offertory collection” which is the way most people donate, using the weekly envelopes.  However, we do encourage on-line giving for this purpose.  These days, fewer people carry cash and write checks.  You can call our parish office about on-line giving or automatic bank withdrawals, or just follow the instructions on the brochure.

 

​The commitment we are making when filling out the Commitment Card does not include special collections taken up after Holy Communion.  The commitment does not include payments on pledges for the Youth Activity Center.  We still encourage you to fulfill your pledges to that or even to make new gifts for the Youth Activity Center.  Our parish has a debt of just under half a million dollars to pay back.

 

​One new feature that is on the Commitment Card this year is a place to note a one-time gift to be given with the Commitment Card.  Maybe you missed opportunities to give during the Covid shutdown over the past year and this could help fill that gap.

 

​Our offertory gift at Mass is a sacrifice of praise to God.  We thank Him for our life, our families and our faith.  And so, we give to God some of the first fruits of our income, to express thanksgiving and to support His work in the Church to carry out our mission.

 

​United in God’s love, we pledge our stewardship to carry on the wonderful legacy of St. Ann’s Parish.  So please pray about these things and formulate a plan to give a certain percentage of your income for the next twelve months.  Then come to Mass on November 13 or 14 with your Commitment Card.

 

​​​​​​–Msgr. Larry J. Droll, pastor

Hi all!  We would like you all to know that Edge and LifeTeen are still in full swing!  We have an amazing group of volunteers (we can always use more….) that have agreed to help keep it strong and growing as we look for a new Coordinator of Youth Ministry.  Please share this with anyone that you feel may or may not check emails, the church website, or social media. (Forward this email to whomever you think would benefit!)  LifeTeen WILL meet this Sunday Oct 31^st.  Edge will NOT meet next week Nov 3^rd (We are hoping you will all join us for our 125^th Anniversary Trivia Night at the YAC that evening.  More dates to follow.  Please email me back with any questions, concerns, or to volunteer to help.  Thanks for your patience and please pray for our search for a new Coordinator of Youth Ministry.

Thank you for making the 73rd Annual St. Ann’s Fair a success!

Gettin’ to know Bishop Michael Sis! – YouTube

That Man Is You is a men’s group that meets each Tuesday morning via video.
This year is going to be a powerful one! Since last year was so well received, this new year also has multiple speakers including Dr. Scott Hahn. Everyone is welcome to join whether they have been a part of the program in the past or not. You can learn more about this upcoming year by clicking here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnEvkBgtTjk&feature=youtu.be
To register, click on the REGISTRATION LINK. https://onrealm.org/stannsparish/PublicRegistrations/Event?linkString=NmRiNmZjYTAtNjAzYi00YTc1LWJiN2ItYWMzMDAxNGRiN2Nm
Once your register, we’ll send you a link each week’s video and video discussion. Watch the video on your own or with us at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday mornings and then join in the conversation and fellowship starting at 7:00 a.m. All the meetings are done over Zoom.
We hope to see you there! May God bless you and your family abundantly!
Deacon Tom Collier