Catholic Community of St. Jude at 801 North Bridge Street, DeWitt, MI 48820 US

Please take a moment to visit the Events box to the left, which contains a full calendar of this week's events, other upcoming events, plus a downloadable monthly calendar.

The Catholicism Series

Catholicism is the groundbreaking new documentary series hosted by Fr. Bob Barron of Word on Fire Ministries.

Catholicism illustrates the truth, goodness, and beauty of our Catholic faith in an epic media experience. Participants will witness a vision of our Catholic faith that has never before been seen.

Catholicism was filmed in over 50 locations in 15 different countries and is stunningly filmed in high-definition. It takes participants from the lands of the Bible to the great shrines of Europe; from the heartland of America to the mysteries of Asia and the heart of Africa. It is a stunning view of the passion and glory of a faith that claims over 1.1 billion of the earth’s people. To see a preview of the series click here.

Catholicism is a 10-part series. Each part of the series begins with a 50-minute DVD episode led by Fr. Bob Barron, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Fr. Barron is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary and is the moving force behind Word on Fire Ministries (www.wordonfire.org), which seeks to use the variety of modern media to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Catholicism is also a discussion series, designed to help each participant to understand more clearly what we as Catholics believe and why.

Following each DVD episode there will be time for small group and large group discussion, led by Fr. Dwight. Topics for the ten sessions of Catholicism will include:

The Life of Jesus

The Teachings of Jesus

The Mystery of God

Mary, the Mother of God

Sts. Peter and Paul

The Church as the Body of Christ

The Sacraments and Worship

The Communion of Saints

Prayer and the Life of the Spirit

The Last Things: Heaven and Hell

Who should attend Catholicism? Anyone who is interested in learning more about what Catholics believe and why. Parents, catechists, teens, adults, confirmation sponsors and candidates, family members and friends who are Catholic, family members and friends who aren’t Catholic, those who are searching for a life faith, those who are searching to deepen their understanding of their Catholic faith—anyone!

A Special Invitation: Are you a baptized Catholic 18 years of age or older who has never received the sacrament of Confirmation? If so, join us for the Catholicism Series. It will serve as your preparation for the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation. Confirmation of adult candidates will be celebrated in early June at a regular Sunday Mass.

When will the Catholicism series be hosted? Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings during the seasons of Lent and Easter 2012:

Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:30 PM

February 28

March 6, 13, 20, 27

April 10, 17, 24

May 1, 8

Wednesdays, 8:45 AM to 10:15 AM
February 29
March 7, 14, 21, 28
April 11, 18, 25
May 2, 9

Where will the Catholicism series be hosted? The series will be hosted in the Community Center (parish hall) of the Catholic Community of St. Jude in order to take advantage of the projection system.

How much does it cost to take part in the Catholicism series?

It’s free! Advance registration will be necessary to plan for adequate materials.
Register On Line here

Annual Giving Statements to be Mailed Soon

2011 annual giving statements will be printed and mailed soon. If your mailing address has changed in the last year, please make sure that our records are up-to-date by contacting Tina in the parish office (517-669-8335 x 13).

When you receive your annual giving statement, please make sure to take some time to review the materials that are mailed with it, including the parish annual financial statement and the annual parish budget. Next year, we hope to be able to distribute the majority of these statements electronically (via email). Please complete the form contained in the mailing and return it as soon as possible for use next year. E-mailing next year’s annual statements will help us to save over $600 in postage.

No 6:00 PM Mass Super Bowl Sunday

As we did last year, there will be no 6:00 PM Mass on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5. We have learned from prior years’ experience that Mass that evening is very lightly attended. Don’t worry, though, the 6:00 PM Sunday evening Mass will return the following Sunday, February 12.

Alot of “Re-Purposing” Going On

You may notice over the next couple of weeks that we are making some minor changes in a few areas around the church and community center. Specifically, you may notice two new banks of cupboards in the community center, adjacent to the bride’s room. Those cupboards used to hang very high in the coat room in the gathering space—too high to be of any real use to anyone under 7 feet tall (and I’m not kidding!). Relocating them to the community center has allowed us to create a work area and storage center for copier supplies and a lot of common supplies that are regularly used by religious formation and many other parish programs and ministries. The current coat room—which was used for everything except hanging coats—will serve as added storage for the prayer shawl and quilt ministry and continue to serve as storage for the our parish music ministry.

We also have decided to eliminate the kitchenette in the gathering space (located behind the bi-fold doors of the parish information center). This space has never really been used and is no longer adequate for the purpose for which it was intended—coffee and donut socials after weekend Masses. This space will be converted into a coat closet for use for funerals and other occasions that may require a more readily available place to hang jackets and coats. The bi-fold doors and parish information center will remain intact.

The kitchenette cabinetry will be relocated to the large youth and adult catechetical room located at the south end of the community center, providing much-needed additional storage for that space.

My thanks go to Roger Pline and the rest of the crew of folks who have helped with the process of relocating all these items into spaces and places where they will be well-utilized for the benefit of all.

New to DeWitt? New to our Parish Community?

This time of year normally sees a number of new families move into the DeWitt area. I’d like to offer my own personal welcome if you are new to our parish community or to DeWitt. I’m glad that you are here with us and hope that you find a welcome home here within our parish community.

In order to take advantage of many of the programs and ministries our parish offers and in order for those ministries to best serve you, please take a moment to register with the parish.

Parish registration is a simple process: you can see me after any of the Masses and I will be most happy to assist you. You can call our parish offices (517-669-8335). Or you can stop by the parish offices, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (closed at noon for lunch) to register in person. You can also register by filling out the form electronically here and returning it via internet or you may download the Parish Registration Form PDF and complete it and bring it or mail it to the parish office. Also, don’t forget that our parish offices are located at 409 Wilson St., just a block south of Scott School, about 3/4 of a mile away from the church.

We are ready to help you and to answer any questions you may have. We also look forward to and encourage your involvement in the parish. That’s what helps to make our parish into the community that it seeks to be.

Thanks again for being a part of our parish community, and welcome!
Fr. Dwight

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On Line Giving

The online giving program continues to grow as families discover how easy and convenient it is for making your parish contributions. The process is very flexible and allows you complete control of your contributions while providing you the ability for immediate reporting of all your parish donations.

(more . . .)

A vision of Heaven
As Dale McKay was facing death, he spoke to writer Nancy Schertzing about his feelings and his hopes for heaven. Later, Nancy spoke with Dale's widow, Ellen, who shared the joy of their marriage and the moving experience of Dale's death. Their story is filled with love and hope that speaks to all of us.

(see full story)

Part 4: How to Be a Dynamic and Evangelizing Parish
Two very different parishes show what it takes to be both energetic and spiritual.

(see full story)

Catholic Community of St. Jude at 801 North Bridge Street, DeWitt, MI 48820 US - Home

Please take a moment to visit the Events box to the left, which contains a full calendar of this week's events, other upcoming events, plus a downloadable monthly calendar.

On Line Giving

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