The parking lot between Queens Church and School is closed until 3pm tomorrow, Saturday October 12th.  We are having the lot patched, sealed and re-striped.  This means overnight and daytime adorers at the chapel need to park on the street as well as those attending the 8am Mass tomorrow.  I apologize for the inconvenience.  

The Parish Life Commission invites you all to their first coffee and donuts of the fall season.  They will be serving in Vincentian Hall after the 7:30, 9 and 11 Masses.

Put some cash in your pocket when you come to Mass.  Why?  In honor of Columbus Day, the Knights of Columbus will be offering Tootsie Rolls for donations after all the Masses this weekend.  The funds collected help those with special needs in great programs like Michigan Special Olympics and the St. Louis Center in Chelsea.  Whether you take some candy or not, please be generous in support of these important and life changing charities.  

Join us at Lumen Christi for the Annual Public Rosary this Sunday October 13th at 2:30pm.  We will have adoration, the patriotic rosary, the sung chaplet and a brief Eucharistic procession.   The picture below shows what part of the Lumen campus we will be set up on – the east side of the building.  There is plenty of parking near that area, but you need to bring your own seating and dress for the weather.  Right now there is a chance of rain showers.  If it a steady rain, we will move the event to Queens.  If it is just misty or there is a break in the weather, we will go ahead with the plan to be outside.  

During these most turbulent times in our country and our world, we need to pray and place our nation and our planet under the protection of Our Most Merciful God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Our Queens goal is $2,600,000.  This is 1.25x our annual offertory, and part of a diocesan goal of $70,000,000.  More than $10,000,000 in leadership gifts have already been pledged toward the success of this campaign.   I hope you have received your campaign packet by now and that you are in the process of reviewing its contents carefully and praying over what size gift commitment you might be able to spare for the legacy of affordable, accessible and exceptional Catholic schools in our Diocese.

If you don’t receive a packet, let us know at the parish office.  

If you have ‘sticker shock’ at what was in the letter, please know that every gift is optional, and every ‘ask’ for your gift is ‘aspirational’.  A bold vision such as S3 requires bold requests and even bolder pledge commitments in order to be a success, and that is why we are aiming higher.  

Please consider the specific gift amount requested as an amount to pledge and pay over time on a schedule of your choosing, not as something you have to give now.  All of us are able to give more when we extend the gift for a period of years.  The Catholic Foundation would love to hear from you if you wish to discuss gifts of stock or real estate, planned gifts or IRA distributions.  I would be happy to put you in touch with them.

If you did not already do so, I invite you to go back in your e-mail inbox to find the message I sent out about the campaign last Monday evening October 7th.  There, in the ‘Pastor’s Plea for S3,” I laid out the campaign priorities, why we are supporting Jackson Catholic Schools, and the process going forward with the campaign.  I also included the link to the video shown at Mass for those who may have missed it or had trouble seeing or hearing it.  Here again is the link to the S3 campaign video:

CAMPAIGN PRAYER

Lord, everything we have is a gift from you. 
You call us to receive your gifts with thanks,  
to develop these gifts fully, 
and to share them generously.
Through the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars campaign
help every young person in the Diocese of Lansing
see your truth, beauty, and goodness;
help families to raise their children in the Faith;
and help parishes make a truly Catholic education
available to all.
May the work of this campaign bear abundant fruit
in the Saints and Scholars you are raising up for the future.
We ask these blessings through Christ our Lord.
Amen.   

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us 

The people affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton still need our help.  Too many people are without the basic necessities of life.  Choose the charity of your choice when looking to help them, but for those who don’t know where to begin, here are two choices for secure online gifts:  links to the American Red Cross and Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse.

Join the middle school and high school youth group on Sundays at St. Joseph’s Oratory. We meet in the youth room, which is next to the Church. Middle school meets from 3:15 to 4:45 and high school meets from 6-7:30. There is always food and plenty of snacks. Bring a friend!  Come for the 5pm Youth Mass!

The link below takes you to the online giving page of our Queens website.  There are so many worthy causes to support and some are hard to find.  Scroll down until you see ‘Youth Ministry Donation.’  Thank you for your support!  Our kids deserve it.  

For more information contact the Jackson Director of Youth Discipleship, Mr. Jake Gerber:

youth@queenschurch.com

“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

Queen of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church

606 S. Wisner St.  Jackson, Michigan 49203

(517) 783-2748  www.queenschurch.com