Parish Newsletter for June 12, 2020 A lot has been going on here at St. Mary despite the Covid restrictions we have been living with these past few months. As Father has said, your generosity is impressive and pleasantly overwhelming because your weekly church donations have been consistent over the past several months even with actual church attendance down a bit due to COVID. People continue to attend Mass, wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and wipe down chairs after Mass all while praying for a break in this COVID pandemic. Prayer & dedication is working!! Vacation Bible School Space Odyssey 2020 is Monday June 15th – Friday June 19th 9:00 am – 12:00 pm with early drop off starting at 7:30 am and late pick up by 12:30 pm. It is not too late to attend. Register on the parish website, get a form from the back of church, or register Monday morning. Drop off and pick up are at the Regina Caeli Rm. There is no cost this year because of a generous donation by a dedicated parishioner. PANCAKE BREAKFAST SOCIAL after all Sunday Masses this weekend, June 14th! The cost is $5.00 per plate. Bring your own chair or blanket to social distance and sit comfortably under the trees on the School and Church grounds. 1. We have been celebrating Mass in the School gymnasium because of renovations being done in our beautiful and historic church. We are hopeful that the work will be done in the next few months. Please continue to attend Mass, join in fellowship with other parishioners (while social distancing) and contributing to the weekly collection. Your continued support of the Parish is greatly appreciated either in person or online. 2. We had 3 adults welcomed into the Catholic faith as they celebrated their Profession of Faith and an infant Baptism all at the Saturday May 30th Mass. At the 11:30 Mass on Sunday May 31st, we had 8 teens celebrate their needed Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion and or Confirmation. The Holy Spirit is certainly alive and well here at St. Mary! Check out the pictures when I get them posted! It was an awesome celebration of the Sacraments inside the church/gym and outside under the oak tree on parish grounds. 3. We had the drawing of the raffle prizes: Janie Hattemer won the grand prize of the car, Tom Curler won the Vacation package, Michael Applewhite won the $1,000 gift card and Dorothy Frei won the $500 gift card. Congratulations to all the winners! A BIG THANK YOU to all those who bought tickets! You all surpassed expectations in how many of you sold and bought tickets! AWESOME JOB!! 4. We are still waiting on the Diocese/Bishop’s Office to reschedule our celebration of Confirmation with the teenagers and adults who were on the books to celebrate the Sacrament on March 21st when the COVID restrictions started. The Diocese has all the information they need. I will let you know as soon as I hear from the Bishop’s Office with a date. Keep in mind that we may be given only a few weeks’ notice which is beyond our control, so continue to pray and prepare. Thank you for your continued understanding. 5. WOMEN’S MINISTRY SCHOLARSHIP (Women’s Outreach Ministry Evangelization Network) is being awarded this year to a graduating High School Senior. Applications can be found on the church's website. The APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday July 24, 2020. Scholarship winner will be announced by August 2, 2020. The amount of scholarship is $500. See www.stmarytempletx.org for more information. 6. Fr. Kurtis will be hosting the 2nd Annual Altar Server Jamboree Tuesday July 7th - Thursday July 9th, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Any boy or girl going into 3rd Grade who has celebrated their 1st Holy Communion can attend and join the ministry of Altar Server. This will be a fun-filled 3 days of games, activities, and fellowship. Any adult interested in helping or donating needed supplies, gift items or gift cards (for rewards and prizes) would be totally welcomed. Call the Parish Office for more information That is all for now. On Fr. Kurtis’ behalf, have a blessed week, Patricia St. Amour, DFF
This current situation is one with many unknowns and this means that adjustments need to be made as we go along. I thank you for your patience and continue to stay connected to the Parish.