Last week’s Shop n’ Share was a great success, with 324 bags of food donated so far (50 more than last year) and over $3,000 in donations that can be used to buy even more food at the Food Bank of West Michigan. Our parishioners always go above and beyond for these charitable causes and it makes a real difference.

Please to join us in Blackman Park downtown at 2:00pm this Sunday afternoon October 11th for this annual event that includes the patriotic rosary where we pray for each state by name, a sung chaplet of Divine Mercy, a Eucharistic procession and benediction.  Outdoor seating is limited so please bring a lawn chair if needed. 

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 interested whatsoever.

All weekend Mass readers/lectors can 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. 

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! 

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).

“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