As Lent approaches, team captains of the Fish Fry Committee are preparing for the famous St. Mary Fish Fry that will be held each Friday. Sign-up sheets are available in the entryway of the Church after Masses to either renew your volunteer commitment or choose new tasks. The first dinner will be held on Friday, March 8th. Many hands make light work.

Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 6th. Ash Wednesday is always observed as a day of fast and abstinence. It is also set aside as a day of prayer and contemplation given that we are marked with ashes as the priest reminds us that we are dust and unto dust we shall return. This year there will be three Masses offered that day: 7:00am (no music, no homily, simple Mass with imposition of ashes), 8:30am and 7:00pm. At each Mass there will be a second collection that will be used to fill the parish poor box. Please take the opportunity to begin Lent with the three pillars firmly in place and come prepared to help fill the poor box to assist our brothers and sisters in need.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and regardless of your work schedule or other commitments, you still have an opportunity at the very beginning of your day to attend Holy Mass and receive the Imposition of Ashes. St Mary Catholic Church in Manchester will have a Sunrise Mass at 7:00 am on Ash Wednesday, March 6. Respecting the fact that many people need to get to work, the Mass will be relatively brief, that is without hymns or a sermon. However, the Mass will include the powerful Imposition of Ashes. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Take this opportunity to begin Ash Wednesday – and all of Lent – with this holy reminder. St. Mary is the lovely little fieldstone church, located in the Village of Manchester on Main Street, two blocks west of downtown, at the back of the Village Green (directly across from the Gazebo). For more information, please call the parish office at 734-428-8811.

FORMED, an online service for accessing thousands of Catholic videos, audios and eBooks On Demand anytime, anywhere is available to all parishioners. If you need more assistance contact Deacon Dennis or the Parish Office.

If Jesus is really "present" in the Eucharist, why don't I sense it? Has this question crossed your mind? If you're curious about the Eucharist, you will have an opportunity to get answers. St. Mary's will host five sessions including dinner, a 30min video, and friendly discussion that will open your mind to the Eucharistic truth. The 1st session is Tuesday, March 12th, 6-7:30pm, in Fr. Fisher Hall. Sign-up sheets are in the vestibule.

The St. Mary’s Adult choir will be rehearsing on Wednesday, February 13th at 7:00 pm in the choir loft. The choir will be singing at 10:30 am Mass on Sunday, February 17th.

Fr. Bosco would like to extend his thanks for the many ways that parishioners have been generous this Christmas season. Thank you Bill, Janet and Vida Shurtliff for the donation of calendars and books that were sold as a fundraiser for the parish. Thank you to Sue Fielder and the decorating committee for making our church so beautiful. The church truly looks like a place that is fit for a king. Thank you to everyone who has participated in the parish fundraisers throughout this season: purchasing books and calendars, donating winter clothes, helping to fund Deacon Dennis’ pilgrimage to the Holy Land, end of the year donations and your Christmas offerings. May all of you be truly blessed in 2019 as you continue to grow in faith and holiness in our parish family.

Amazing Greys will have their next gathering on Monday, January 14th following 12:10 pm Mass. Please join us in the Fr. Fisher Hall for a potluck lunch and fellowship.

2019 religious year calendars are now available in the vestibule of the Church. These calendars are a gift to you from the Parish.

This year we are partnering with Our Lady of Fatima and St. Rita’s for our ‘Spreading the Fire’ retreat on November 17th. The event, including the lock-in will be held at Fatima. Cost is $10. Please contact Monica for registration forms.

The residents of the St. Louis Center Aktion Club design and sell a Christmas Card each year to raise funds to support children in third world countries that are dying because they lack access to tetanus shots. Since so many people have helped SLC residents over the years they take great pride in being able to help others. They will be present following Masses the weekend of December 1st-2nd.

The Knights of Columbus would like to invite all parishioners to honor deceased members of Council 4354 at All Souls’ Day Mass. A special Mass in their honor will be held on Monday, November 5th at 7 pm where names of deceased members will be read. The names will also be read at the All Soul’s Day Mass at 8:30 am on Friday, November 2nd for those parishioners who cannot attend the November 5th Mass. If any Parishioner or community member is in need of assistance in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the KofC or call Grand Knight Jim Burch at 517-240-3406. The KofC’s purpose is to help those in our community thru Charity, Faith, Fraternalism and Patriotism. For more information about the KofC please check out our new website: http:// kofcknights.org/CouncilSite/ index.asp?CNO=4354

If you did not get an order form in last week’s bulletin for the the Wreath Sale, there are order forms in the church lobby. We will be taking orders until Sunday, November 11th. Besides wreaths, we also offer centerpieces, grave blankets, grave pillows, and easels for the wreaths. Please put your prepaid order in the collection basket or the labeled box in the lobby.

The Diocese of Lansing is inviting all women to the annual Women’s Conference on Saturday, November 3rd. The day includes Adoration, Confession, shopping, spiritual talks by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC and Kelly Wahlquist of ‘Women in the New Evangelization. Your registration also includes lunch and the day ends with the Vigil Mass celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Carl F. Mengling. To register visit lansingdiocesecwc.org. The event will be held at the Lansing Center.

Bishop Boyea offered a special grant to all of our parishes towards the use of FORMED. Formed.org contains a wide variety of faithful and inspiring Catholic content including sacramental preparation, Bible studies, children's and youth programs, e-books, movies, and an increasing library of Spanish-language content. Our parish has decided to take advantage of this site. We will be publishing more details about our membership in the upcoming Family Newsletter. All parishes in the diocese are being given free trial access to FORMED until November 9, 2018 to participate in the diocesan-wide Wild Goose study. You can access this free trial by following these steps:  Go to www.formed.org. Click "Login  Enter email: Lansing18@formed.org  Enter password: formed#18

The Christmas Holiday Decorating committee will begin planning for this year. We have received a generous financial donation to enhance our décor. All who have been on the committee in the past and anyone who may want to be part of the team this year should contact Sue Fielder at sfielder@umich.edu or 734-428-8816.

Due to the Diocesan Priests Convocation this week in Lansing the Mass schedule for Manchester has been changed. Monday’s Mass will be at 8:30 am. Mass is cancelled on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. October ~ The Month of the Rosary October is approaching and once again the Rosary will be said 30 minutes before each of the weekend Masses. Please consider leading the recitation of the Rosary. Call Marja Warner at 428-9506 for more details.

October 13, 2018 marks the day of the last of the 6 Apparitions of Fatima in 1917. Since October is the month of the Rosary – and to kick off the Diocesan Year of Prayer – St. Mary’s is sponsoring a Rosary Run. Come out and join us on Saturday, October 13th, at 9:00 am in front of the church to pray the Rosary while walking/running a mapped circuit. You can participate in three different groups: one to pray the Rosary in the church; another to walk while saying the Rosary outside in the mapped area; and the third to jog or run the mapped area. Each group will have a leader that will recite the rosary out loud. The Rosary Run is approximately 2.5 miles. Please dress according to the weather and wear good shoes. Rosaries and bottled water will be available. Cider and donuts will be served after the Run. Kids are encouraged to join in. Let’s come together to pray the rosary, enjoy God’s creations, and relish the exercise!

This Friday, October 5th, is the First Friday of the month. There will be Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament following the 8:30 am Mass. Confessions will be heard beginning at 8:00 pm. At 10:00pm Benediction will close the time of Adoration. First Saturday Mass will be offered at 8:30 am October 6th.

Amazing Greys’ of St Mary’s Parish would like to invite you to the annual Candle Light Advent Dinner December 2nd. The evening starts out with a social hour starting at 5:00 pm. Dinner will be served at precisely 5:30pm and will include dessert. The evening will end with a variety of scriptural readings and songs. If you are interested in attending, please contact Connie Schaffer at 734-428-7271. Seating is limited so reserve early.