The Month of Mary: To honor our Blessed Mother in the month of May, a month dedicated to Mary, the St. Paul Street Evangelization Ministry invites you to five, weekly, online “Zoom” presentations on Catholic teachings about Mary, presented by Dr. Brant Pitre. Each presentation is approximately 30 minutes long. Following the video presentation there will be a discussion led by Deacon Gary and the St. Paul Street Evangelization Team. Dr. Brant Pitre, a well-known Catholic Bible scholar, will explain and clarify the Catholic Church’s teachings about Mary, referring back to their roots in the Old Testament and connecting them with the New Testament. The weekly presentations, which will be on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., are: (May 7th) “Mary – The New Eve”; (Mary 14th) “Mary – The New Ark of the Covenant”; (May 21st) “Mary – The Mother of the Messiah”; (May 28th) “Mary – The Queen Mother”; (June 4th) “Mary – The Perpetual Virgin”. If you are interested in participating, just send an email to John Platfoot (john.platfoot@gmail.com) or Deacon Gary.
Requiem Mass: We will offer a private Mass tomorrow evening @ 6 pm for parishioners who have passed away since the beginning of the quarantine. Please keep our recently departed parishioners in your prayers: Juan Pablo Hernandez, Bill Levins, Marie Wiest, Dorothy Brown, Laura Storch, Mary Harvey and William Hughes. Please also pray for the repose of the soul of Carlyle Michelson, father of Fr. Chris Michelson, who was buried in our columbarium yesterday.
May Crowning: May 2nd. Parishioners are invited to bring flowers on Friday, May 1st for use during the May crowning ceremony. A receptacle will be placed in front of the chapel from 9 am until 5 pm. Photographs of the crowning will be posted here after the ceremony. May is a Marian month traditionally dedicated to the peaceful Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“When will public Masses resume?”: Bishop Stika has expressed his desire to resume public Masses at all of the parishes and mission churches in the Diocese of Knoxville the weekend of Pentecost Sunday, May 30-31. Bishop Stika is working with diocesan pastors, priests, and health-care experts to consider ways to implement the safety guidelines and mandates recently issued by public-health authorities.
Parish Grounds Clean-Up Day: This year instead of our regular cleanup day we put together a list of areas that need attention. We are asking volunteers to help with these areas. We ask that everyone practice SOCIAL DISTANCING. If you can help it would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions call Lawrence O’Rourke 294-5602.
Pastor’s Easter Challenge: Father Shelton is receiving regular updates from the follow households that accepted his Easter Challenge : Benning, Schmidt, Suggs, Tondo, Platfoot, Gionelli, Colburn, Walsh and Blaha. Keep up the momentum! It’s fun to be Catholic! If you accepted the Pastor’s Easter Challenge, then please remember to call Father Shelton each week to keep him updated and impressed!
Questions for Our Pastor: Father Shelton is preparing a fourth YouTube video. This time, he will answer questions from parishioners about faith, morals and parish life. Contact him by Saturday at noon to ask your question(s).
Essential contributions: Those of you who are continuing to make your financial contributions to the parish during this difficult time are very much appreciated by our staff who depended upon your generosity. For those who haven’t already done so, you can drop off your contributions in the office vestibule mail slot, or we encourage you to make online donations. Our third quarter financial report is below: