Newsletter for Friday, May 15, 2020

Our newsletter opens this week with an update from Fr. Jim on reopening Churches and resuming public Masses:

Dear Friends,

Many of you have probably heard or seen some of the recommendations the Diocese of Lansing and the Archdiocese of Detroit have published regarding reopening churches and resuming public masses. As we all know, this virus is powerful and dangerous. We are in conversations about when and how we can safely begin to have public masses. As we discern this question, please note the following:

We will not have any public or private masses until Governor Whitmer’s “Stay Home Stay Safe” executive order is rescinded. For the common good, we will respect our Governor’s request.

We are trying to buy the necessary cleaning supplies to keep our church both sanitized and disinfected. As of now, we do not have those supplies and they are hard to come by. Everybody’s safety is a priority.

We are also in consultation with medical professionals who will provide scientific data to guide our discernment.

When we resume public masses, it will happen slowly, gradually, and with social distancing.

The Bishops have extended the dispensation from our Sunday obligation.

The Bishops have left decision making in the hands of individual parishes.

This is not an easy time for all of us. I do not take this discernment lightly. I am aware that whatever we do or not do will not please everybody. We will continue to live-stream Masses when we begin to have small public Masses. For the foreseeable future, most of us will be gathering to pray via live-streaming. Let’s continue to pray for one another. One of the blessings during this difficult time is the strengthening of the domestic family Church. I am moved by how you and your families are gathering for prayer. May our focus continue to be Jesus and our desire to walk with him as his companions.

In the companionship with Jesus we share,

Rev. James Gartland, SJ

Read below for our weekly parish updates and be sure to use our updated link below for Sunday mass streaming. You may also find links to other Jesuit parishes and ministries live streaming mass every day of the week HERE.

Haga clic aquí para ver las noticias parroquiales en español.

SUNDAY MASS, DAILY REFLECTIONS, AND SPECIAL INTERCESSIONS

We will continue to live-stream mass on Sundays. English mass at 9 a.m. will stream live on our website, followed immediately by Spanish mass at 10:10 a.m. Recordings will be available immediately following the masses at the same location: https://michigancatholics.org/category/live-mass/

Scheduled mass intentions will be offered by the Jesuit Community, but not necessarily on the scheduled date.

DAILY REFLECTIONS

Our quick reflections on the daily readings continue with many wonderful contributions from SMSP staff members and Jesuits. With most reflections under 2 minutes, we invite you to watch these as a great way to start your day or to take a quick break during your day. All reflections can be found on our website here: https://michigancatholics.org/category/daily-video-reflections/

SPECIAL INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray for the sick who have been entrusted to our prayers. We pray especially for Betty and Joe Filer. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who kept God’s commands close to their hearts during life, and who now have recently died, especially Gertrude Campau and Benedict Lucchesi, we rejoice for they live in freedom and joy in Christ Jesus, we pray to the Lord.

If you would like a name added to either of these special intercessions, please email lmele@smspnewman.org.

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP

Thank you for your generous support of our work here at St. Mary Student Parish. We are only able to do the work of ministry because of your generosity. As we strive to meet the needs of our parish and ministries during this pandemic, we want to make it as easy as possible for parishioners and friends to continue to support our ministries, though we are not able to gather together for Sunday mass in person.

OPTIONS FOR GIVING

Personal Check: These can be sent in our offertory envelopes or in another envelope with a note for allocation, such as offertory, Sunday mass, etc. These can be sent to our mailing address:

St. Mary Student Parish
331 Thompson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Please use precautions in the process to prevent the spread of viruses (washing hands, not licking to close the envelope, but using a sponge blotter or glue stick to seal the envelope, etc.). While our parish office is not open to the public, a few staff members are keeping up with essential administrative tasks.

Online Giving:

ParishSoft Giving Our new online portal!
Many of you have signed up for online giving, which is a great help to us. Thank you. Some of you may be open to doing so. We are introducing a new “online giving portal” through ParishSoft. This will eventually be the only online giving program that we will use. You can sign up (and allocate gifts to particular causes) HERE. Contact Kristen Gowman with any questions about this new online portal.

Legacy Online Giving Our original online portal
Legacy online giving is what we are calling the program we have been using prior to today. If you wish to change your allocations, you can do so using this LINK. (It would be ideal if you would establish an account using ParishSoft and then eliminate your one-time, weekly, monthly, etc., giving in the Legacy system.)

Venmo: St. Mary Student Parish is on Venmo @SMSPumich. Join many students and parishioners who use this payment app on their smartphone to send money from their bank account straight to the offertory each week.

YEAR TO DATE SUNDAY OFFERING REPORT AS OF 5/10/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $897,000
Amount Collected: $891,486
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($5,514)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 5/10/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $411,161
Amount Collected:  $381,323
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($29,838)