Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow, Sunday, November 1st, at 2 am. Please don't forget to set your clock BACK one hour before you go to bed, or you'll be very early for Mass tomorrow!

After a long wait, we’re excited to have our MagnifiKids, a spiritual guide to the Mass for kids ages 6 through 12, back in church! Every week, MagnifiKid offers the readings and the prayers of the Sunday Mass with explanations of the difficult words and the meaning of the rituals; a suggested prayer for morning and evening; many suggestions on how to live the entire week with the Lord; various games, a comic, and activities to help children learn about Christian life and culture; a page intended for the parents with suggestions for family prayers. You can find these magazines by the bulletins in the vestibule for your enjoyment. Please make sure if you touch a magazine that you take it with you to keep the spread of germs away. We do not need any copies back. Please enjoy this gift from our Knights of Columbus Council #6980! For more information about MagnifiKids, please click on the title of this article to visit the MagnifiKids website.

The fall clean-up for the Mary Garden is Saturday, November 7 at 9:00 am. Volunteers should meet in the front Mary Garden area. Please bring your garden gloves, rakes, and energy with you! This is a great opportunity to get the family involved and beautify the church. Contact our Front Office with any questions at FrontDesk@stcatherinesiena.org.

Bearing in mind our nation’s challenges and the need for wise, moral, civic leadership, the USCCB is offering an electronic Election Novena to help Catholics prepare for the upcoming election. The novena began on Monday, October 26th, and will conclude on Tuesday, November 3rd. To learn more, or to sign up to receive each day's intention in your email, please visit https://usccb.org/2020-election-novena. Intention for Wednesday, October 28 (Day 3): May all Americans recall the necessity of dialogue, civility, and humility in this election season.

Our annual poinsettia sale is underway! These beautiful flowers come in three color choices and three size options. Orders can be placed (and paid for!) on our website (https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/poinsettias2020) or you can pick up a paper order forms in the church entryway and either mail to the church (attention: Alana) or drop it off in the lock-box outside of the parish office door with your payment (cash or check made payable to St. Catherine of Siena Parish). The last day to order is November 20th and poinsettias will be available for pick up after each mass on December 5th and 6th. Proceeds from the sale will go towards improving the soundboard in the church, which will continue to give us the capability to live-stream our Masses. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - We are in need of volunteers to help when the greenhouse delivers (Dec 4th) and volunteers to help fellow parishioners pick up their flowers (Dec 5th and 6th). If interested in helping, please sign up online: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D48AAA62DA5F8C52-poinsettia.

We're so excited to announce that we will be bringing back donuts, COVID-19 style! Sadly, we cannot have Coffee & Donuts as it used to be, but thanks to the generous donations of several Parishioners, we will be able to make a few batches of donuts and bag them up by the half-dozen (all bags will have exactly the same kinds of donuts) to give out at the 9 am (in the Stanley Centre) and 11 am Masses on Sunday, November 1st. We hope to continue to do this monthly, but it will all depend on funding the project. We have a great group of volunteers coming in to make/bag the donuts and clean up the kitchen, but we still need to purchase the ingredients. If you're interested in helping to support the "Bring Back the Donuts" project, please contact Deb Dozeman (ddozeman@stcatherinesiena.org).

Recently, the Michigan Catholic Tribune highlighted our Pastor, Father Mark, and his appeal to our parish to support this year's Bishop's Annual Appeal (to read the article, please click on this news item's title). We only have a few weeks left until the "pledge" portion of the 2020 Bishop's Annual Appeal (BAA) Campaign is done for the year. We hope you will consider supporting our parish by contributing to the 2020 BAA Campaign! Thank you all for your support and your prayers during this time and always. Our Parish BAA Goal: $283,014 Total Pledged: $185,560 Total Paid: $133,331 Number of Pledges: 387

Bearing in mind our nation’s challenges and the need for wise, moral, civic leadership, the USCCB is offering an electronic Election Novena to help Catholics prepare for the upcoming election. For nine consecutive days, beginning today, Monday, October 26 through Tuesday, November 3, participants will be encouraged to pray one Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for the day’s intention. A closing prayer for elected leaders will be offered on day 10, Wednesday, November 4. To learn more, or to sign up to receive each day's intention in your email, please visit https://usccb.org/2020-election-novena. Intention for Day One - Monday, October 26 As we prepare for the national & local elections, in the midst of a global pandemic, may our political engagement be guided by our Catholic Faith.

Our annual poinsettia sale is underway! These beautiful flowers come in three color choices and three size options. Orders can be placed (and paid for!) on our website (click on the article title to go to the online form or find it under Contact Us->Parish Forms on our website) or you can pick up a paper order forms in the church entryway and either mail to the church (attention: Alana) or drop it off in the lockbox outside of the parish office door with your payment (cash or check made payable to St. Catherine of Siena Parish). The last day to order is November 20th and poinsettias will be available for pick up after each mass on December 5th and 6th. Proceeds from the sale will go towards improving the soundboard in the church, which will continue to give us the capability to live-stream our Masses. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - We are in need of volunteers to help when the greenhouse delivers (Dec 4th) and volunteers to help fellow parishioners pick up their flowers (Dec 5th and 6th). If interested in helping, please sign up online: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D48AAA62DA5F8C52-poinsettia.

Now that the Gospel of Luke Bible Study is wrapping up, Father Ben will begin a new Bible Study on the Gospel of John starting Friday, November 6, at 6:00 pm using Goggle Meet. Each week this virtual study will focus on a different book of John and you will learn about the different scriptures within the chapters. Grab your Bible and join Father Ben to learn more about the Gospel of John! Please register online at https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/biblestudyform to receive the Google Calendar invitation to the Google Meet Online Bible Study. **PLEASE NOTE: If you are already registered for the Gospel of Luke Bible Study, you already have the login information for the new study on the Gospel of John.** If you have any questions, please contact Father Ben at fatherben@stcatherinesiena.org.

Bearing in mind our nation’s challenges and the need for wise, moral, civic leadership, the USCCB is offering an electronic Election Novena to help Catholics prepare for the upcoming election. For nine consecutive days, Monday, October 26 through Tuesday, November 3, participants will be encouraged to pray one Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for the day’s intention. A closing prayer for elected leaders will be offered on day 10, Wednesday, November 4. To learn more, or to sign up to receive each day's intention in your email (beginning October 26th), please visit: https://www.usccb.org/2020-election-novena#tab--day-one-monday-october-26-

Alpha is coming back! Over 23 million people worldwide have done the Alpha program. We invite you to come and explore the basics of the Christian faith in a friendly and informal online environment. Virtual meetings start in late January 2021; online registration will begin soon. Please watch Facebook, our website, and the parish bulletin for more information coming soon. Questions? Please visit the Alpha page of our website: https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/alpha or email alpha@stcatherinesiena.org.

REVISED: We are less than two months away from the Christmas season. We’ve already started planning for our Christmas Masses and we need your feedback! For Christmas Eve Masses, we are *considering* the times of 4 pm, 7 pm, and 10 pm. Christmas Day Mass times are still being discussed, but we are considering 9 am, 10 am, and 11 am as options; we may have more than one Christmas Day Mass, depending on anticipated attendance. Mass times are different from last year because of the cleaning process we need to follow in between Masses and our much-more-limited capacity restrictions. Do you plan to attend Christmas Mass in person this year? Please click on the article title for a brief survey about your Christmas Mass plans. Thank you for helping us plan accordingly for this wonderful season!

Charter Member Robert Ostrowski passed away on October 12, 2020. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Catherine's tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21st, with a rosary at 10:30 am and Mass at 11 am, followed by burial at Fort Custer National Cemetery. To view Robert's obituary, please click on the title of this article. Eternal Rest Grant Unto Him, O Lord, and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him. May He Rest in Peace. Amen.

Due to COVID-19, the Primetimers will not be meeting for the rest of the year. The group encourages everyone to be safe and patronize their favorite restaurants by ordering take-out or home delivery. Primetimers are people 50 years old and over and their friends who enjoy eating out. They usually meet at an area restaurant on the 1st Monday of each month at 11:30 am. Each person picks up their own bill. If you're interested in joining them at a future date, please contact Paula White (330-3762 or pwhitentc@mac.com).

We're so excited to announce that we will be bringing back donuts, COVID-19 style! Sadly, we cannot have Coffee & Donuts as it used to be, but thanks to the generous donations of several Parishioners, we will be able to make a few batches of donuts and bag them up by the half-dozen (all bags will have exactly the same kinds of donuts) to give out at the 9 am and 11 am Masses on Sunday, November 1st. We hope to continue to do this monthly, but it will all depend on funding the project. We have a great group of volunteers coming in to make/bag the donuts and clean up the kitchen, but we still need to purchase the ingredients. If you're interested in helping to support the "Bring Back the Donuts" project, please contact Deb Dozeman (ddozeman@stcatherinesiena.org).

We are less than two months away from the Christmas season. We’ve already started planning for our Christmas Eve Masses and we need your feedback! For Christmas Eve Masses, we are *considering* the times of 4 pm, 7 pm, and 10 pm. Times are different from last year because of the cleaning process we need to follow in between Masses. Please click on the article title to take a brief survey about your plans for Christmas this year. Thank you for helping us plan accordingly for this wonderful season!

Tired of looking at those cans piling up in your garage? Moms of Preschoolers (MOPS) is collecting cans for their group! If you would like to donate cans to their Ministry, please contact Debra Dozeman at ddozeman@stcatherinesiena.org to schedule a drop off time. If you’re interested in joining MOPS, or learning more about their Ministry, please visit their page on our website at https://stcatherinesiena.org/mops.

Are you heading south for the winter? Please let the office know at FrontDesk@stcatherinesiena.org or 327-5165! We would appreciate as much notification as possible in order to have your envelopes held or forwarded as needed. Thank you in advance and enjoy your time in the south.

Bishop Paul J. Bradley warmly welcomes and applauds Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (Brothers and Sisters All) released October 3 in Assisi on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Bishop Bradley invites all the Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese to read this landmark encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, which adds greatly to the Church’s Social Teachings. (http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html). Also read Bishop Bradley's response (https://diokzoo.org/news/bishop-applauds-pope-francis-latest-fratelli-tutti) and delve into Pope Francis' latest writings.