From Austin: 

Greetings Queen’s parish family,

My name is Austin Endter, and I am pleased to be serving as your new Musical Director at Queens. I have been blessed to be involved in music ministry for the past 13 years at various churches in Colorado and Michigan, with six years of experience as a Music Director. 

My goal is to create a music ministry that encourages everyone to sing praises to the Lord each weekend.  Outside of my musical work, my wife, Emma, and I have been married for one year, and we live in Grass Lake. I enjoy playing pickleball, working on my Pontiac Fiero, mountain biking, and going on walks with my wife. I sincerely look forward to leading you in the musical worship of our Creator and getting to know you all.

In Christ,

Austin

Austin comes to Queens from St. Mary in Chelsea.  He has obligations there through October 25th. His first weekend at Queens will be 10/31-11/1. Adult Choir rehearsals begin on Wednesday November 4th at 7pm in the choir loft with the first choir Mass at the 9am on Sunday November 8th.   It is not too late th join the choir if you have any interest whatsoever.

For those who may have missed out on being part of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, it is not too late. There is no need to wait until next year to get on board. We can get you caught up and on track for the sacraments at Easter, 2027. The OCIA is intended for those who have never been Baptized, Christians of other denomination hoping to become Catholic, and those who were baptized Catholic but never received 1st Eucharist or Confirmation. OCIA meets Wednesday evenings at 6:30 in the lower level of the parish office. If you know someone who isn’t Catholic, or are related to them, have you ever discussed this possibility with them? It is amazing how a personal invitation can make someone feel wanted and welcome.

We have three funerals coming up this week at Queens. Jan Kalahar Monday at 11. Jan Van Buren Tuesday at 11 and Roger Gleeson Saturday at 10. I am writing you because the Gleeson funeral on October 24th was originally listed as starting at 10:30am, but I needed to move it to 10 when I realized we had a wedding scheduled for noon. I promised the family I would find a way to correct this so people don’t show up late. If you planned on attending, please note the time change and please pray for these and all the souls of the faithful departed. May they rest in peace.

A handful of weekend Mass readers/lectors still need to stop by the server sacristy after Mass this weekend to pick up your lector’s workbook for the new liturgical year that starts the First Sunday of Advent, November 28-29.

We have a rather robust network of people taking Holy Communion to family members, the sick and the homebound, and that is a good thing.  Often, these folks come up and receive extra hosts in a pyx while receiving Holy Communion at Mass to take to a loved one, a friend, or a nursing home or hospital bed.  I fully support this. 

However, some area priests have expressed concern about this practice because they do not know who is taking the blessed sacrament and what they intend to do with it.  To avoid this, we are going to start issuing cards for those who have been deputized to do this by a priest.  The card can be shown with the pyx when coming forward to receive the hosts desired for the visit you intend to make.  It will be the same card for every volunteer from every parish in the deanery and will be universally accepted, especially when you seek to obtain a host somewhere besides your own parish. 

Therefore, if you are someone who uses a pyx at Mass to take Communion to someone else, please contact the Queens parish office at 517.783.2748 and leave your name, parish and contact information.  You will be alerted when cards are ready to issue. 

I stopped by my mother’s grave and then went to see my dad on my way back from the Convocation in Frankenmuth a couple days ago. My dad and I were discussing his upcoming concert here. Be our welcome guest at 2pm on Sunday November 1st. No tickets or reservations are required. We will take up a free will offering to support the music ministry here at Queens.

My father will be playing movie soundtracks from famous films and taking your requests. Afterwards, during a reception hosted by the Guild in Vincentian Hall, there will be a book signing of his 4th book, Oscar Snubs. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, or you can use the Amazon link below.

Dad’s two great passions are music and movies, and he loves to research and write about music and film. In this book, he looks at the movies that he feels should have won Oscars but didn’t.

Laurence MacDonald’s other published works include The Invisible Art of Film Music (1998), 100 Greatest Film Scores (2018) and Best Picture: A Critical Look at the Academy Award Winning Films 1927 – 2022 (2024).

ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS:  All Saints Day (November 1) is a Holy Day of Obligation.  This year the date falls on a Sunday so you won’t be making an extra trip to Mass.  The day after that, November 2^nd, is the Commemoration of All the Souls of the Faithful Departed, better known as All Souls Day.  Where All Saints Day celebrates the victory of our loved ones who have made it home to heaven, All Souls Day is a chance for us to pray the more recently deceased home to heaven, that their time in Purgatory will be brief. 

Each year Queens hosts a Mass of Remembrance to pray for the repose of the souls buried from our parish over the last year.  Those families who held funerals here should have received a letter of invitation.  All are invited to this year’s Mass of Remembrance on Monday November 2^nd at 6pm in the Church.  We will call the names of the recently deceased, family members will be invited forward to light a candle for them.  Once those names are read, anyone mourning the loss of a loved one or friend will also be invited to come light a candle for them.  A reception hosted by the Guild will follow in Vincentian Hall.  The next Holy Day of Obligation is Tuesday December 8^th, the Immaculate Conception.  After that, besides Christmas, is January 1, Mary the Mother of God on New Year’s Day.  Both Christmas and New Year’s fall on Friday, meaning we will have Mass on Sunday.  It should be interesting! 

Queens parishioner Brian Craft, son of Rick and Debbie, has been accepted into the Novitiate of the Jesuits, Midwestern Province. He is currently living in community in St. Paul, MN and was recently featured in the province’s monthly magazine as you can see below. Please keep Brian in your prayers and feel free to drop him a line to let him know you support his vocational discernment:

Mr. Brian Craft, nSJ

Jesuit Novitiate

1035 Summit Ave

St. Paul, MN 55105

Meanwhile, you can click on the video below to watch a brief presentation about Lansing priests and seminarians currently assigned to Rome and my alma mater, the Pontifical North American College. It is short but shows great footage of the seminary very near to the Vatican with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background. Continue to pray for vocations. Join us each Wednesday at 5pm at Queens for the Eucharistic Holy Hour for Vocations and stick around for Mass afterward at 6.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching” (Heb 13:8-9).

Fr. Tim MacDonald

Pastor