Newsletter for Friday, May 29, 2020

May 29, 2020

This week our newsletter opens with another update from Fr. Jim on the continuation of our live-streamed masses and our decision to remain closed through June 12th:

Dear Friends,

Happy Pentecost and happy birthday as we celebrate the birth of the Church. Fifty days after the resurrection, the disciples were gathered in isolation trying to make sense of who Jesus is and what it means to call oneself Christian. A diverse group speaking different languages, they gathered in prayer. As they opened their minds and their hearts, they received the Spirit of Christ; his peace, joy, and love. Despite differences, it became clear that they were one in Christ, and their mission was to bring Christ into the world, as God sent Christ, Christ sends us.

This pandemic has left us isolated, fearful, and confused. Yet it offers us the opportunity to pray and reexamine our lives. We need to pray. We open our hearts and beg that the Spirit come and lead. This pandemic has made us aware of our solidarity with the world. In our faith, we hear Jesus’ call to be sent into the world and love. As much as we miss coming together for Mass, we know our center is not the Mass but Christ who we encounter in the Eucharist. It’s with Christ we walk. It’s like Christ that we love, especially those most vulnerable and at the margins. It’s with Christ that we build the common good, where all life is sacred and all life is to be protected, defended, and promoted, from the womb to the tomb.

We will continue to gather in prayer during this pandemic at our live-streamed Masses on Sunday. Isolated in our homes, we continue to pray, to sing, to hear God’s word, to come together in spiritual communion. Little did we know these Masses would be such the hit all over the country and the world. We come together as one in Christ. We will encourage all to make our live-streamed Masses their family worship on Sundays for the foreseeable future.

We will continue to respect our Governor’s call to stay at home through June 12^th for the common good. When the stay at home order is lifted, we will begin to have small groups for first communions and confirmations. These will be arranged in communication with families, deciding when and how to celebrate these sacraments. Families can also opt to wait until we have a vaccine. Given the large number, we imagine these celebrations will be ongoing throughout the summer.

Knowing that the virus is spread in contained groups, we will need to discern how to proceed safely. This probably means no music and no homily to keep the Mass short. After the stay at home order is lifted, we may consider offering communion in the church at an appointed time on Sunday if we think we can do so safely. This is merely a consideration at this point.

As you can see, this is an ongoing discernment. No one has all the answers. We will proceed with caution, with safety, and together.

As we continue to gather in prayer, let’s continue to open ourselves to the Spirit, and allow Christ to lead. Let Christ be our light, shining in our hearts and in our darkness, let Christ be our light as we continue to gather as community here at St. Mary Student Parish.

Rev. James Gartland, SJ

Read below for our weekly parish updates and scroll all the way to the bottom for some Faith Doing Justice virtual events this weekend!

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 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 Geoffrey Riches, Baby Kaiya Misiuk, Les Guinn, Thomas Eggleston, Nancy Brozovich, and Anneliese White. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who blessed God by striving to fulfill the purpose of their earthly life, and who now have recently died, especially: Guillermo Foncerrada, Marilyn Hughes, Sheila Dornas, Dorothy Gabel Leibowitz, and Lori Gee. We rejoice for their souls rest peacefully with 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

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 $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 5/24/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $931,000
Amount Collected: $929,542
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($1,458)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 5/24/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $423,767
Amount Collected: $381,880
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($41,887)

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 cwelch@smspnewman.org 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.

EVENTS

Connect and Act: COVID-19 and Organizing for a Just Transformation

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) is bringing together faith and community leaders to share what they have learned and experienced during COVID-19 and what comes as we pursue peace and justice for all. There are two great virtual events tomorrow, Saturday, May 30:

Facing This Moment

Saturday, May 30 at 1:30-3:00 pm

The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed realities of inequities that some in our community didn’t realize existed. As we practice physical distancing, many are experiencing grief and loss of loved ones. While we try to mitigate a public health crisis, the economy is failing to support the needs of those most vulnerable- people who are poor, undocumented, or who belong to marginalized identities. This webinar will provide a space to talk about grief, faith, and the actions we are driven to take in order to connect through radical compassion.

This is What I know is Possible

Saturday, May 30 at 3:30-5:00 pm

Some have described COVID-19 as a “zero gravity moment” where we can see new potential realities and have an opportunity to rewrite the rules. We have the choice to move toward more love and solidarity or to double down on exploitation and despair. Join us as our panel shares what they see as possible in their different areas of expertise and activism.

Click here for more information or to sign up for these free events.

Live Youth Forum Webinar

Join Liberate! Don’t Incarcerate, Youth Arts Alliance, Michigan Juvenile Justice Youth Advisory Board, Dispute Resolution Center, and Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice for our Youth Forum Webinar on Sunday, May 31st from 3-4:30pm!

This will be a space for young people to be engaged in the issues that matter to them and to have the opportunity to ask the three candidates for Washtenaw County Prosecutor their questions about restorative justice and how the criminal-legal system impacts youth in Washtenaw County.

All candidates––Hugo Mack, Eli Savit, and Arianne Slay––will be present. The webinar will be hosted over Facebook Live here: https://www.facebook.com/icpja2/.