Author: btobias

Newsletter for Friday, June 26, 2020

Welcome to our final Friday newsletter! It has been three months since we began these weekly newsletters as a small way to keep our parishioners connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, we are excited to announce that St. Mary will open its doors for one public mass each Sunday beginning Sunday, July 5th at 5:00 p.m. Gathering for mass will look and feel different. Our parish can safely accommodate 50 seats at this time. On a regular summer Sunday in years past, we might have seen as many as 1,500 parishioners across five masses. We know not every person will return for mass as soon as it is offered. However, to help keep everybody safe, we are asking you to make a reservation in advance if you wish to attend mass. Please see the sign-up link and more details below.

A quick reminder that our parish office and church are open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday – Friday. During this time the office is staffed to assist with scheduling, questions, donations, etc. You may also enter the church for individual prayer. Masks and social distancing are required.

With our decision to reopen for public mass, we are going to return to our weekly bulletin, which is supported by many parishioners and local businesses. If you would like to receive the weekly bulletin via email, please click here. Otherwise, the weekly bulletin will be available on our website here: https://michigancatholics.org/category/bulletin/

We’ve enjoyed sending these newsletters to you each week and will revisit sending a regular email newsletter in the fall. Thank you for your continued support of our parish!

SUNDAY MASS, COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION, AND SPECIAL INTERCESSIONS

PUBLIC SUNDAY MASS

St. Mary will open to the public for 5:00 p.m. Sunday mass (in English) beginning Sunday, July 5th. Our capacity for this first mass will be limited to 50 seats. Click here to reserve your seat. To protect the health and safety of everyone at the mass, please note the following:

• Reservations will be limited to registered parishioners.
• Since we do not have pews, seating will be 50 individual chairs.
• If you make a reservation for more than one seat, you will be sitting alone and you may not be sitting near anybody else on your reservation.
• The moving of chairs will not be permitted.
• We strongly discourage those with compromised immune systems or families with small children from attending mass.
• Masks and social distancing are required.

Thank you for your patience and support while we navigate the many challenges of welcoming parishioners back for mass. Should you choose to reserve a seat at mass, please be considerate of your fellow parishioners and do not reserve a seat every Sunday if there is more demand than we can accommodate.

LIVE-STREAMED SUNDAY MASS

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/live-english-mass/

Mass intentions may be requested through the parish office as usual. Weekday mass intentions will be offered by the Jesuit Community.

COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION

We will continue to offer communion distribution between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Sundays. If you arrive early, please wait in your car. The parish will remain locked until 11:30 AM. Enter through the William Street doors unless you require handicap accessibility through the Thompson Street side. Masks and social distancing are required.

SPECIAL INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray for the sick who have been entrusted to our prayers. We pray especially for Tina Jones, Pedro Osorio Soriano, Maria Enriqueta Ramirez Flores, Elena Galano, Donna Osborne, and Ernie Jones. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who believed during life that what is hidden will one day be made clear, and who now have recently died, especially: Maria Esther Goyanes and Aura Elena Rangel. We rejoice for long life remains in their hearts, we pray to the Lord.

If you would like a name added to either of these special intercessions, please email [email protected].

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL (DSA)

Thank you to everyone who has made a gift or pledge commitment to our Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA). This year’s appeal began right as the COVID-19 pandemic closed our parish and as such, many regular givers may not be able to give this year. Your contributions will help make up for those unable to give. Please watch this short video from Bishop Boyea welcoming parishioners back to mass and sharing the many good works supported by the DSA:

As of June 15th, St. Mary Student Parish has raised a total of $28,325 towards our goal of $97,785. If you have not yet made a gift or a pledge, you are invited to do so online today: www.dioceseoflansing.org/dsa. Your DSA gift will support the vital services and ministries that help bring the love of Christ to all we encounter.

SUPPORTING ST. MARY

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.).

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 have introduced 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.

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 6/21/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $1,002,000
Amount Collected:  $997,862
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($4,138)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 6/21/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $437,518
Amount Collected: $385,043
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($52,475)

UPDATES FROM FAITH DOING JUSTICE

“Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, we live a faith that does justice, reaching out to the marginalized.” Our parish mission remains at the heart of all we do. If you’d like to give directly to St. Mary parishioners affected by this pandemic through unemployment and other risk factors, please email Cathy Welch [email protected] or donate online to Faith Doing Justice and add a note to your donation that references helping parishioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INSPIRED LINKS

Undergraduate students Cecilia Rivet & Emily Furtado put together this great list of racial justice resources, which along with Catholic resources and prayers, it includes a list of black-owned businesses in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti that you can support.

ADVOCACY

2020 Census
The 2020 U.S. Census timeline has been shifted in order to better protect the health and safety of the general public and the U.S. Census Bureau employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Michiganders now have until October 31, 2020 to respond. The Catholic Church in Michigan has promoted full participation in the count because of the ramifications it has for individuals and local communities:

The count influences legislative representation at all levels of government, where decisions about the common good and the most vulnerable are often made.
The Catholic Church relies on an accurate census to more effectively serve those in need.
Under-counting households leads to under-funding critical programs and services.

The Detroit News featured the Church’s efforts to increase census participation in an article about the partnership between the faith community and Michigan’s 2020 “Be Counted” campaign.

Visit https://my2020census.gov/ now to fill out the 2020 Census, which will take approximately ten minutes to complete. The process is safe, secure, and confidential, and your response will help direct how billions of federal funds for local communities are distributed over the next decade.

Thank you for your prayers and advocacy!

Newsletter for Friday, June 19, 2020

Our banner is up! Thank you to those who responded to last week’s newsletter with your support. Based on parishioner feedback, we changed the small line underneath Black Lives Matter to read Live a Faith that does Justice. Taken from our mission statement, it reflects our call as Catholics to reach out to the marginalized.

Undergraduate students Cecilia Rivet & Emily Furtado put together this great list of racial justice resources, which along with Catholic resources and prayers, it includes a list of black-owned businesses in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti that you can support.

Today our nation celebrates Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. There are two great events planned here in Ann Arbor to raise awareness and celebrate black history:

Today, June 19, 12-2 PM: Protest and Celebration on the University of Michigan Diag
Tomorrow, June 20, 9 AM – 12 Noon: One-Mile walk for Racial Justice

Click here for more details on these Juneteeth events.

A quick reminder that our parish office and church are open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday – Friday. During this time the office is staffed to assist with scheduling, questions, donations, etc. You may also enter the church for individual prayer. Masks and social distancing are required.

This Sunday, June 21, we will offer communion distribution between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon. If you arrive early, please wait in your car. The parish will remain locked until 11:30 AM. Enter through the William Street doors unless you require handicap accessibility through the Thompson Street side. Masks and social distancing are required. Only 6 people will be allowed to enter the church at one time, which along with 2 priests and 2 ushers, brings the total count of people in the church to 10 (to adhere to current guidelines of a maximum of 10 people for indoor gatherings).

We will continue to live-stream our Sunday masses in English and Spanish for the foreseeable future. We are still working on plans to add a public Sunday mass but have no further updates to share this week. When we do reopen for public mass, we will continue to live-stream mass as well, prioritizing the health and safety of all parishioners and students.

Read below for our weekly parish updates, including a Father’s Day Blessing, a new link to a video supporting our annual Diocesan Services Appeal featuring the Center for Hope in Flint, MI, and scroll all the way down to the Faith Doing Justice section to read more on yesterday’s Supreme Court DACA decision.

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-english-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, parishioners, 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 Dianna Nati. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who believed during life that what is hidden will one day be made clear, and who now have recently died, especially: Debbie Gilbert, Remedios and Maria del Refugio Avalos, Geoffrey Riches, and Sherry Parks. We rejoice for long life remains in their hearts, we pray to the Lord.

If you would like a name added to either of these special intercessions, please email [email protected].

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL (DSA)

Thank you to everyone who has made a gift or pledge commitment to our Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA). Here’s a great story about how you who donate to the Diocese of Lansing’s annual Diocesan Services Appeal or DSA helps bring the love of Jesus Christ into the lives of real people in our poorest communities – people like Kathy Morris from Flint, a single mother of four who was unable to work last year due to an injury.

“It’s hard when you’ve always worked and you haven’t ever had to ask for help. I was going through a lot of distress. I said, ‘Lord this is in your hands’,” says Kathy. That prayer led Kathy to Catholic Charities’ Center for Hope in Flint, where she was able to work, develop job skills and experience renewed stability.

For many, the Center for Hope is the beginning of a new path to recovery, offering access to counseling and mental health services, substance use treatment and recovery, housing assistance and referrals for food and furniture. For Kathy, the greatest gift she’s received is a renewed sense of hope in the loving providence of God.

The mission of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Lansing is to share the love of Christ by performing spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Dollars donated to the annual Diocesan Services Appeal fuel that mission.

As of June 15th, St. Mary Student Parish has raised a total of $25,825 towards our goal of $97,785. If you have not yet made a gift or a pledge, you are invited to do so online today: www.dioceseoflansing.org/dsa. Your DSA gift will support the vital services and ministries that help bring the love of Christ to all we encounter.

SUPPORTING ST. MARY

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.).

Online Giving: ParishSoft Giving Our new online portal!

Tomorrow, June 20, is national egiving day! We prayerfully invite you to use ParishSoft Giving from your computer, smartphone or tablet to set up a recurring donation or make a one-time gift to our parish.

How ParishSOFT Giving benefits you and our parish:
• Consistent giving and community support
• Convenience of giving from home or any location
• Cost-effective and better for the environment

Please consider making a recurring or one-time donation today! It’s easy to get started! You can sign up (and allocate gifts to particular causes) HERE. Contact Kristen Gowman with any questions about this new online portal.

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 6/14/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $984,000
Amount Collected:  $981,051
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($2,949)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 6/14/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $435,035
Amount Collected: $384,688
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($50,347)

UPDATES FROM FAITH DOING JUSTICE

“Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, we live a faith that does justice, reaching out to the marginalized.” Our parish mission remains at the heart of all we do. If you’d like to give directly to St. Mary parishioners affected by this pandemic through unemployment and other risk factors, please email Cathy Welch [email protected] or donate online to Faith Doing Justice and add a note to your donation that references helping parishioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ADVOCACY

Supreme Court DACA Decision
Yesterday, June 18, the Supreme Court issued its decision to extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While this ruling is a victory for DACA recipients, the program was never intended to serve as a permanent solution. Read this statement from the Ignatian Solidarity Network and you can watch a recording of yesterday’s press conference.

Thank you for your prayers and advocacy!

Newsletter for Friday, June 12, 2020

“My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.”
Pope Francis’ General Audience, Wednesday, June 3, 2020

This week, St. Mary will be hanging a “Black Lives Matter” banner on our church above the doors on Thompson Street. Underneath these three words we’ve added the phrase “Unconditionally Pro-Life.” This phrase is taken from Pope John Paul II’s final pastoral visit to the United States back in 1999 when he summoned Catholics to “eradicate every form of racism” as part of their wholehearted and essential commitment to life.

We recognize simply hanging a banner isn’t enough. During this time of social distancing, there are some valuable resources on our website you can use now to deepen our mission to live a faith that does justice. Our parish launched our Big Read program in 2016 and the first two selections were:

Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson (click here for blog)
Racial Justice and the Catholic Church, by Fr. Bryan Massingale (click here for blog)

Each title features a chapter-by-chapter reflection blog on our website with contributions from parishioners and staff members. If you haven’t read either book, or have read them and would appreciate a refresher, we invite you to visit the blogs.

Additionally, 100 parishioners and students gathered last Sunday to participate in a prayer service for racial justice. If you were unable to join, you can watch the prayer service here.

We are excited to announce that we are developing plans for our parish office and church to open to the public:

Beginning Wednesday, June 17, our parish office and church will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday – Friday. During this time the office will be staffed to assist with scheduling, questions, donations, etc. You may also enter the church for individual prayer. Masks and social distancing will be required.

Beginning Sunday, June 21, we will offer communion distribution between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon. We will provide additional details for communion distribution in next week’s newsletter.

We will continue to live-stream our Sunday masses in English and Spanish for the foreseeable future. We are finalizing plans to add a public Sunday mass and hope to share those with you in next week’s newsletter. When we do reopen for public mass, we will continue to live-stream mass as well, prioritizing the health and safety of all parishioners and students.

Read below for our weekly parish updates, including a link to a video supporting our annual Diocesan Services Appeal, and scroll all the way to the bottom for some inspired Faith Doing Justice links and a virtual webinar about the immigration crisis and our faith later this month.

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-english-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, parishioners 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 Les Guinn and Dianna Nati. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who chose to eat and drink of the Son of Man during life, and who now have recently died, especially: Remedios and Maria del Refugio Avalos, Geoffrey Riches, and Debbie Gilbert. We rejoice for they continue to draw life from Creator God until Jesus raises them on the last day, we pray to the Lord.

For wise and decisive action on the part of local and national leaders, that the scandal of racism may be eradicated from our society, we pray to the Lord.

For all faith communities, that they may not succumb to indifference or accept the status quo, but press on for fundamental change, we pray to the Lord.

If you would like a name added to either of these special intercessions, please email [email protected].

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL (DSA)

Thank you to everyone who has made a gift or pledge commitment to our Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA). Our gifts to DSA enable our diocese to provide services crucial to our parish. The programs and services funded by DSA offer direct assistance to individuals and families, and to parishes, schools, and Catholic Charities agencies. “Every good work” of the Church occurs through dozens of ongoing ministries made possible by our contributions to DSA.

As of June 8th, St. Mary Student Parish has raised a total of $16,225 towards our goal of $97,785. If you have not yet made a gift or a pledge, you are invited to do so online today: www.dioceseoflansing.org/dsa. Your DSA gift will support the vital services and ministries that help bring the love of Christ to all we encounter.

SUPPORTING ST. MARY

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 6/07/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $966,000
Amount Collected:  $959,215
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($6,785)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 6/07/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $432,553
Amount Collected: $383,736
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($48,817)

UPDATES FROM FAITH DOING JUSTICE

“Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, we live a faith that does justice, reaching out to the marginalized.” Our parish mission remains at the heart of all we do. If you’d like to give directly to St. Mary parishioners affected by this pandemic through unemployment and other risk factors, please email Cathy Welch [email protected] or donate online to Faith Doing Justice and add a note to your donation that references helping parishioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESOURCES

SMSP COVID-19 Resources Webpage
Our new webpage features a local guide of organizations offering free food, healthcare support, and financial assistance, along with links to spiritual resources and updates from Governor Whitmer.

Huron Valley COVID-19 Mutual Aid Form
Whether you’re requesting a need or offering a service – this is the form for you.

Mental Health Care: Coping with COVID-19
The University of Michigan shared these ideas for caring for your mental health and your loved ones! Even if you’re feeling okay, you’ll find creative ideas on checking in on loved ones and neighbors.

INSPIRED LINKS

Seven Last Words of the Unarmed: A 14-minute performance by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club (2017)

Pope Francis speaks out on the sin of racism and social unrest in the United States with a call for non-violence.

Bellarmine Chapel and the Institute for Spirituality and Social Justice addressed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the African American population and health care ethics in the prison system. Watch a recording of Monday’s conversation here.

ADVOCACY

Strangers No Longer
Did you know St Mary is a member of Strangers No Longer, a grassroots network of Catholic parishes supporting immigrants in southeast Michigan? Named after the bishops’ pastoral letter on immigration, Strangers No Longer aims to accompany immigrants, educate our communities, and advocate for policies that reflect the dignity of every human.

Strangers No Longer is thrilled to launch a summer educational series, available online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first part of this series is a webinar about the Immigration Crisis and Our Faith. If you wonder how social action is Catholic, why immigrants can’t enter this country the way our grandparents did, or why Central Americans flee their countries, you are not alone. We invite you to a presentation by topic experts on Saturday, June 20th at 10:00-11:00 a.m. OR Tuesday, June 23rd 7:00–8:00 p.m. (You choose your preferred date upon registration.)

Click here to register. If you have any questions, please email Amy Ketner [email protected].

Newsletter for Friday, June 5, 2020

Our hearts and minds are on fire for justice. As Fr. Jim mentioned in his homily last Sunday, he is away on retreat this week. He is undoubtedly praying for each of us, so let us also pray for him. In his absence, Fr. Mark Mossa, SJ offers a deeply moving response to our nation’s long history of individual and systemic racism in the context of our Catholic faith:

Friends in Christ,

As the feast of Pentecost that we just celebrated reminds us, change is rarely born out of peace and calm. We sometimes imagine the Holy Spirit like that “light silent sound” by which God was revealed to Elijah (1 Kings 19:12). But, there was nothing light or silent about the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day, the day the Christian Church was born. Instead, we are told: “And suddenly there came from the sky a sound like a strong driving wind and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 2:2-4). As blessed as we as a Church see that momentous day now, that sound, that fire, surely must have, at least initially, inspired anxiety and fear.

Anxiety, fear and anger are only some of the things that we feel as we see our nation engulfed in protests enflamed by the justified and righteous anger over the murder in Minnesota of George Floyd, a black man, suffocated under the knee of a white police officer pinning his neck down on the pavement for more than eight minutes, even after he became unresponsive, while other officers looked on, and bystanders begged him to stop. Like Eric Garner in New York six years before, held in a choke hold by officers until he died, he spoke the same words: “I can’t breathe.” Only weeks after Eric Garner’s death, an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, setting off a similar wave of protests like those we have seen this week. In those intervening six years, despite the efforts of organizations like Black Lives Matter and the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, George Floyd’s death was a stark reminder that much has not changed. Police officers and citizens, armed and unarmed, continue to target, abuse and sometimes kill those whose only offense is being black. Our duty to join the efforts of our brothers and sisters of color in eradicating this ongoing and systemic social sin has never been clearer.

If the protests make us uneasy, it is because they should. If they lead to violence, we should strive to understand. Otherwise, we become like the perpetrators of these racist crimes, who look at a black person but see only violence. Is it not possible to step back and see through the driving winds of chaos in our streets, the work of the Holy Spirit? To seek to see the Spirit at work, even in the midst of violence, is not to condone violence, but to trust that God’s redemptive spirit can bring all things to good. In his 1967 speech, “The Other America,” oft-quoted this week, Martin Luther King, Jr. framed this well: “ . . . riots are socially destructive and self-defeating . . . But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?”

What as a parish have we failed to see or hear? How have we failed to act? At this moment, we cannot ignore that ours is a parish that is predominately white. And that simple fact is a reminder to many, if not most of us, that when it comes to the experience of Black Americans, and other people of color in our country, we are deaf and blind. We cannot pretend to know their experience. Many of us have lived lives in which, without even noticing, we have never had to. We don’t know what we don’t know, and it’s time to change that. When I examine myself, seeking the evidence of my own racism, I see what I have been taught and absorbed: Even if I don’t consciously think about it, I know that merely being white allows me a level of safety, and a presumption of innocence, that I don’t deserve merely because of the color of my skin. We must make every effort to let our brothers and sisters of color teach us what it is like to live in fear as they do, and how we can help accompany them and erase that fear. Fr. Bryan Massingale, a black priest and theologian, offers a wake-up call to those who are white in a powerful piece in this week’s National Catholic Reporter, “The Assumptions of White Privilege and What We Can Do About It.” I urge you all to read it. It reveals what we fear to acknowledge: We are part of the problem.

Those disciples who were present on Pentecost day found themselves “confused,” “astounded,” and “bewildered,” and they asked themselves, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:6;12). Each of us is called to ask ourselves that same question as we seek to understand what response God demands of us. During this pandemic, many of us have expressed the hope that things would get “back to normal.” And just as we have slowly realized that what lies on the horizon can only be described as a “new normal,” so we must realize that when it comes to demanding justice in our society for all the poor and marginalized, and especially people of color, it would be a sin for us to let things get “back to normal.” Whatever our new normal might be, it cannot return us to a place of complacency and comfort, especially when it comes to eradicating the sin of racism in our society.

Maybe this new normal could also be a new Pentecost. As we imagine our way beyond protest and pandemic, may we be confused and bewildered, but also astounded at the ways in which God uses us to bring about justice. May we be filled with the Holy Spirit in a way that enflames us with a love that inspires us to stand with and for victims of racism, and against the violence that it inspires. And may each of us have the courage to ask ourselves as individuals and as a community of faith, how we are called to “sing a new Church into being,” as the hymn of the same name urges: Daring to “dream the vision promised, sprung from the seed of what has been,” as we “Bring the hopes of every nation; bring the art of every race. Weave a song of peace and justice; let it sound through time and space.”

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love!

Sincerely,
Fr. Mark Mossa, SJ
and the leadership team of St. Mary Student Parish

The Diocese of Lansing declared the next six Fridays of prayer and fasting for peace, justice, and reconciliation. This announcement comes only a day after Pope Francis enjoined everyone in the United States to work towards national reconciliation and peace.

All are welcome to virtually join St. Mary Student Parish for an online prayer service of lament and hope for racial justice offered by students and parishioners this Sunday, June 7, at 7:00 pm. Please fill out this short interest form and we will email a link to you in the coming days. The service will also be recorded for later viewing.

Read below for our weekly parish updates, including an update on RCIA, a blessing for high school graduates, and scroll all the way to the bottom for some inspired Faith Doing Justice links and a virtual webinar about the immigration crisis and our faith later this month.

SUNDAY MASS, BLESSING FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, 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-english-mass/

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

CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME: AN UPDATE ON RCIA

Last Saturday, the Eve of Pentecost, in a small, private liturgy, we welcomed into the Church Dharma Akmon and Nathan Korth through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist. Nancy Hernandez and Caroline Parins-Fukuchi were Confirmed the same evening. These represent the first four of this past year’s RCIA group to receive the sacraments that have been delayed because of the pandemic. We congratulate them and welcome them fully into our parish community!

Given both individual and wider social circumstances, it has not been possible to administer the Sacraments to the entire RCIA group at one time. We have opted instead to celebrate these sacraments in smaller groups as we are able. While we cannot reproduce the Easter Vigil celebration that we all might have hoped for, the Spirit is no less active in the midst of the dedication and faith commitment that these members of our parish demonstrate to us all. Please continue to pray for them, and give thanks to God for the gifts they have been given, and the gifts they are to our parish.

BLESSING FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

Lord God,

We ask for your almighty hand to be upon our high school graduates. Bless their lives from this day on with goodness and love. Help them to stay true to their dreams, to use their gifts wisely, and to walk into the future with faith, hope, and great love.

Amen.

DAILY REFLECTIONS

Our quick reflections on the daily readings continue with many wonderful contributions from SMSP staff members, Jesuits, and parishioners. 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. Especially Geoffrey Riches and Terri White Kaufman. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who believed during life how much God loves the world, and who now have recently died, especially: Betty Feiler and Sergio Lopez. We rejoice for now they sit with the Trinity at the table of eternal life, we pray to the Lord.

For George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. That their tragic deaths may move us to eliminate racism and hate from our hearts, and renew our commitment to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise to be a people of life, liberty, equality, and justice for all.

If you would like a name added to either of these special intercessions, please email [email protected].

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL (DSA)

Thank you to everyone who has made a gift or pledge commitment to our Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA). Our gifts to DSA enable our diocese to provide services crucial to our parish. The programs and services funded by DSA offer direct assistance to individuals and families, and to parishes, schools, and Catholic Charities agencies. “Every good work” of the Church occurs through dozens of ongoing ministries made possible by our contributions to DSA.

As of May 21st, St. Mary Student Parish has raised a total of $21,375 towards our goal of $97,785. If you have not yet made a gift or a pledge, you are invited to do so online today: www.dioceseoflansing.org/dsa. Your DSA gift will support the vital services and ministries that help bring the love of Christ to all we encounter.

SUPPORTING ST. MARY

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 5/31/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $948,000
Amount Collected:  $945,746
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($2,254)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 5/31/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $430,070
Amount Collected: $383,044
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($47,026)

UPDATES FROM FAITH DOING JUSTICE

“Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, we live a faith that does justice, reaching out to the marginalized.” Our parish mission remains at the heart of all we do. If you’d like to give directly to St. Mary parishioners affected by this pandemic through unemployment and other risk factors, please email Cathy Welch [email protected] or donate online to Faith Doing Justice and add a note to your donation that references helping parishioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESOURCES

SMSP COVID-19 Resources Webpage
Our new webpage features a local guide of organizations offering free food, healthcare support, and financial assistance, along with links to spiritual resources and updates from Governor Whitmer.

Huron Valley COVID-19 Mutual Aid Form
Whether you’re requesting a need or offering a service – this is the form for you.

Mental Health Care: Coping with COVID-19
The University of Michigan shared these ideas for caring for your mental health and your loved ones! Even if you’re feeling okay, you’ll find creative ideas on checking in on loved ones and neighbors.

INSPIRED LINKS

Seven Last Words of the Unarmed: A 14-minute performance by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club (2017)

Pope Francis speaks out on the sin of racism and social unrest in the United States with a call for non-violence.

Bellarmine Chapel and the Institute for Spirituality and Social Justice addressed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the African American population and health care ethics in the prison system. Watch a recording of Monday’s conversation here.

ADVOCACY

Strangers No Longer
Did you know St Mary is a member of Strangers No Longer, a grassroots network of Catholic parishes supporting immigrants in southeast Michigan? Named after the bishops’ pastoral letter on immigration, Strangers No Longer aims to accompany immigrants, educate our communities, and advocate for policies that reflect the dignity of every human.

Strangers No Longer is thrilled to launch a summer educational series, available online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first part of this series is a webinar about the Immigration Crisis and Our Faith. If you wonder how social action is Catholic, why immigrants can’t enter this country the way our grandparents did, or why Central Americans flee their countries, you are not alone. We invite you to a presentation by topic experts on Saturday, June 20th at 10:00-11:00 a.m. OR Tuesday, June 23rd 7:00–8:00 p.m. (You choose your preferred date upon registration.)

Click here to register. If you have any questions, please email Amy Ketner [email protected].