Feb 22/23—Mar 22/23 • Afternoon & Evening Sessions • FFH Monday afternoon sessions start at 1pm • Tuesday evening sessions start at 7pm. Hear the first-hand experiences from an American exorcist Listen to authoritative Catholic speakers teach the truth about the unseen reality. Also, you will get access to additional videos, books and talks.

This scripture text from the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians affirms a fundamental truth and teaching of the Catholic Church – the word of God is alive here and now, it is active in you and in the work of all who believe. Thanks be to God for His Holy Word! DSA is an opportunity to put God’s word into action, to participate personally in the many good works of our Church in communion with fellow Catholics. Our contributions are put to work, right away, in a multitude of ministries to offer direct assistance to individuals and families and to parishes, Catholic schools, and Catholic Charities agencies. Next weekend our parish will conduct “Commitment Weekend” for our Diocesan Services Appeal. This is when we will be asking each member of St. Mary’s Parish to consider a generous gift to DSA. Our parish goal of $28,87100 can be reached if each one of us shares a portion of the many blessings God has bestowed upon us. Please prayerfully consider how you or your family will respond to this call to carry on Christ’s work in our community.

On the day of your choice (Mondays at 12:45pm or Tuesdays at 7:00pm), from now through March 23, you can gather with friends in Fr. Fisher Hall for 90 minutes of video and conversation, delving into the Church’s teaching on “Heaven, Hell, Angels, and Demons.” But if you cannot make it – or came, but want to learn more! – Bill Kwolek has put together a comprehensive list of resources, easily available online, that cover the meeting materials plus much, much more. (If you did not receive a parish office email with this info attached, make sure the office has your email address.) It is also available at Bill’s cloud account: 1drv.ms/u/s!Aku2ORF4gf9wgYBOuuJ7NMEmI1L__Q?e=dYuTXr or on the parish website: stmarymanchester.org Discover God’s revelation of reality!

“Bonfire” is a group of “men on fire”! The next meeting will be Wed., Jan. 27 from 6-9pm at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 9565 Musch Rd, Brighton, MI 48116. The theme will be “Reestablishing Our Devotion & Commitment to the Lord.” (Dinner: Sausage Jambalaya.) All men are welcome. For additional info, contact David Struppa at 734-678-7280 or visit Bonfire Catholic Men’s Group at bonfirecatholic.com

Can you lend a hand? Several of our fellow parishioners – selfless and hardworking – volunteer to help on one of the several cleaning crews for the church and the parish center, and they are in urgent need of additional help! If you are able to give a small amount of your time and energy – just once a month – please contact Stephanie at 734-368-8585. If only a few more people could help a little, then no one would be overwhelmed by having to do too much! Thank you.

The Diocese sends this invitation to all Young Adults 18 +: You are invited to participate in a weekly Zoom call at 8-9pm on the Tuesdays of Advent. Come explore through conversation and community what God’s word is saying to you at this unique time. Although the first meeting has passed, it’s not too late to join. No experience necessary. To register, visit dioceseoflansing.org

“Fr. Bosco and I have decided that a full CHOIR is not possible due to the inability to implement social distancing guidelines in our small choir loft; however, in place of a full choir, we are planning small clusters of 2 or 3 cantors to sing at each of the three Christmas Masses (5:00pm Christmas Eve, Midnight Mass, and 10:00am Christmas Day); having only 2 or 3 additional singers to myself in the choir loft will still allow for 6-foot social distancing. I would like to schedule 2-3 singers at each Mass soon, so if you are interested in this opportunity to sing to the Lord this Christmas at St. Mary’s, please email me at stmarymanchesterchoir@gmail.com or text me at 734-428-0007. Once I hear back from all who are interested, I will arrange separate rehearsals for each cluster. Thank you.” —Benjamin Dahl, St. Mary Music Director

Any youth in grades 7-12 interested in joining the New Youth Group, please contact Sarah Cencer at stmarymanchester.dre@gmail.com. Religious education classes are continuing as usual on Mondays from 3:30-4:45pm. Thank you and have a great week!

The Diocese of Lansing invites faith-filled women to an on-line digital event on Sat., Dec. 12. You will visit five different religious orders from around the nation. All women are invited to attend. If you are under the age of 18, we ask that you be sure to inform your parents and seek their permission to attend this event. They can attend it with you since this will be an on-line event. The cost is $5. For more info and to register, visit: vocations.breezechms.com/form/c2066484

On Thurs., Nov. 19 at 7:00pm the Diocese of Lansing “Realign Resources for Mission” committee will be at our parish to meet with staff and parishioners in an effort to explain the reason, rationale and methodology of the Realign Resources for Mission process and, most importantly, to listen to parishioners’ responses to the process and how it could, potentially, impact upon our parish positively or negatively. The meeting will take place in Fr. Fisher Hall and will be approximately 90 minutes long. The meeting will consist of two components: First, a presentation on behalf of the Realign Resource for Mission Committee. Second, small group discussion followed by feedback from parishioners on our hopes and fears for the process; what we love or feel needs to be known about our parish; and any specific suggestions we may have for the future of our parish or the future of the diocese. Because of covid restraints, only eight parishioners can be present for the live, in-person meeting. However, the meeting will be set up for Zoom so all parishioners can join in. There will be info on how to access the Zoom meeting in the bulletins closer to the date. And for more info from the Diocese about this, please visit: dioceseoflansing.org/realign-resources-for-mission PLEASE NOTE: Let us consider and take seriously this suggestion offered by one of our fellow parishioners: “I believe our whole parish should pray from the heart that we be blessed by God, through the intercession of Our Lady of the Assumption, during the diocesan Realignment.”

•EACH WEEKEND IN OCTOBER, come to Mass 20 minutes early to Pray the Rosary together as a Parish Family. •Attend the “KNIGHT’S ROSARY HOUR” at the Planned Parenthood’ 3100 Professional Dr. in Ann Arbor each Saturday now through Nov. 7 from 10-11am. •ROSARY RALLY at the Lansing State Capitol on Tues., Oct. 13 at 3:00pm.

Altar flowers and Sanctuary Lamps are available to reserve for special prayer intentions that will be published, and the whole parish will pray with you! Contact the parish office (734-428-8811).

Religious Education ♦ Youth Group ♦ Confirmation ♦ RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CLASSES will begin on Mon., Sept. 14 in-person at the Parish Center. Classes will begin at 3:30pm. ♦ YOUTH GROUP will also begin that day. More details to follow regarding times and location. ♦ CONFIRMATION preparation sessions will begin Wed., Sept. 16. If you have not yet been confirmed, please email Lynn at Waldecker.L@gmail.com for more details.

Have you still not received the powerful sacrament of Confirmation? If not, then you are invited to be part of this year’s Confirmation Class. It will be an exciting and interesting series of meetings led by Lynn Waldecker and Gayle Antonelli that will culminate in you being “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spriit.” In order to make sure everything is ready for the number of people who will be attending, we need to hear from you ASAP. If you would like to be part of this group, please email Lynn at WALDECKER.L@gmail.com. Then get ready for sacramental preparation like you may never have had before!

Deacon Dennis encourages us to consider this thought: It is now less than 100 days until the November election. One of the many prayer initiatives that I’ve heard of involves praying a daily Rosary, receiving Communion (actual or spiritual) in reparation for our sins, and praying the following prayer, written by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. I offer it for your consideration: ...

Family Life Services of Washtenaw County (flsfriends.org/), located in Ypsilanti, empowers women to make informed choices by providing free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, education, resources and referrals. We are a donation and volunteer-based charity serving Washtenaw County for 35 years, now from a redeemed Planned Parenthood Building. We are seeking to hire a Client Services Manager and an Outreach & Education Coordinator. For position descriptions and application information please search for these position titles on Indeed.com. We especially welcome applicants fluent in Spanish or Arabic, or those from historically disadvantaged communities. Please answer the call to join this our amazing team of dedicated, pro-life staff and volunteers.

Please remember that for the Mass on Saturdays at 5:00pm, the wearing of masks is mandatory. This is to make sure there is a Mass time when those for whom their health and well-being require strict precautions during this time of Covid-19 can attend the Holy Mass without unnecessary worry. Please respect your fellow parishioners who have this need by wearing a mask if you attend Saturday 5:00pm Mass. [Note: If for any reason you are not able to wear a mask, please consider attending Sunday 10:30am Mass. Those attending this Mass should be aware that there may be many without masks, so if mask-wearing is a concern for you, please consider coming to Mass on either Saturday at 5:00pm or Sunday at 8:30am.

Thank you to everyone who has made a gift or pledge commitment to our Diocesan Services Appeal. “Every good work” of the Church occurs through dozens of ongoing ministries made possible by DSA. For those yet to give, gift envelopes are available in church or the parish office. Or you may submit your gift online at www.dioceseoflansing.org/dsa. With your help we will reach our parish goal!.

FORMED is an online library that the parish subscribes to, and it’s yours to use for free. During this stay-at-home period, now is a good time to take advantage of it. If you’ve never used FORMED before, here is how to sign up for it on your computer: 1. Go to the formed.org website. A screen appears with a Sign Up button in the center of the screen. 2. Click on Sign Up. A screen with three options appears. 3. Select the “I belong to a parish or organization” option 4. In the Search field, enter: “St. Mary Manchester/” The parish name, St. Mary of the Assumption, appears along with our parish address (210 W Main St. Manchester MI). 5. Press Enter, then next under Create a new account, enter your first and last name. 6. Enter your email address, then click Sign Up. Congratulations! Enjoy using FORMED

We invited parishioners to share thoughts, blessings, experiences during this quarantine period. Here is a particularly heartfelt, loving, and important response submitted by fellow parishioner Betty Cummings. Consider… As I was watching Easter Sunday Mass being broadcast from a large church, I was struck by just how empty the church looked. I wondered what the priest might be thinking. With Mass attendance down, is this a wake-up call for all of us? Faith Magazine published some astounding figures in its April issue. In the Diocese of Lansing, Sunday Mass attendance is down by 20,776 people in just ten years – a 26% drop! The church was empty this year because of the quarantine, but what about the years to come? We cannot afford to keep losing people in those numbers. Each number represents a person, a friend, a family member, or a co-worker. Someone with an immortal soul. We can’t let them simply drift away. I do not have the answers, but I hope and pray that someone does.