What is the purpose of life? Why am I here? How can I live my life with faith and build a relationship with Jesus Christ? If you wrestle with questions about the meaning of life, have questions about your faith, or just want to learn more about the Catholic faith, we invite you to join our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program. Our new session begins on Sunday, September 13 from 1 pm until 2 pm online using Zoom.. If you are interested in finding out more about our RCIA program, we invite you to contact Father Mark (fathermark@stcatherinesiena.org). Please join us!

Join Women of the Word for their 26-week virtual study, "Touching the Divine: A Study of the Gospel of John" by Walking with Purpose. Weekly online classes will be held on Thursdays from 10 am until 12 pm ("Young Moms Group" is also available on Thursdays) or on Sundays from 6 pm until 8 pm. Registrations are due by September 14th and the book must be ordered individually by each participant (available at http://www.walkingwithpurpose.com or https://www.amazon.com). Financial Assistance is available. To register, please visit http://bit.ly/wowfall2020 (or click on the article title). For general questions, please contact Janet Wheeler (rwhee28934@aol.com). For registration questions, please contact Katie Packard (km_packard@hotmail.com).

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Monday, August 31st, is the last day to return your items for the Back-to-School Giving Tree. As in the past, you may drop off your donations in the designated boxes in the church vestibule (between the two sets of main front doors). Please label the bag or item with the name of the organization it goes to, if possible, to assist us with sorting and inventory. If you have questions about this project, please contact Marianne Verner (mverner@stcatherinesiena.org). If you would like to volunteer to help deliver the items at the completion of the project, please contact Collette Gushurst (gushursts@yahoo.com).

GriefShare is a special weekly seminar and support group designed to help you rebuild your life after the death of a loved one. Our next GriefShare session will be held via Zoom. GriefShare will meet on Thursdays from 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm beginning Thursday, September 10, 2020, and running through Thursday, December 10, 2020. To register, please go to http://bit.ly/GSRegFall2020. Questions? Please contact Paula White (269-330-3762 or pwhitentc@mac.com).

Please welcome Alan DeMars to our St. Catherine’s family as our new Finance & HR Director. Alan lives in Texas Corners with his wife of 29 years, Karen. They have two children: Tyler, who lives in Wisconsin, and Leah, who attends Western Michigan University. Alan’s work experience is mostly in the banking industry in Accounting and Finance, but he has recently been in the Human Resources and Administration roles. In his spare time, Alan enjoys golfing, camping, bicycling, and spending time in Northern Michigan. Please say “hello” to Alan if you see him around the church. We are incredibly happy to have him here!

As the Diocese of Kalamazoo prepares to launch the previously-postponed 2020 Bishop's Annual Appeal (BAA) Campaign, we wanted to make you aware of some important changes to the BAA which could substantially benefit our parish's financial situation. Please click on the title of this article to read additional details and find the links to a letter and video from Father Mark describing these important changes to the Bishop's Annual Appeal.

What is the Word of God telling us about today? It’s so important to focus on the Word and nurture your spirit during this pandemic. Please join Father Ben for an online Bible Study (using Google Meet) on “Reflections on the Gospel of Luke” starting Friday, September 11 at 6:00 pm. Each week will focus on a different book of Luke and you will learn about the different scriptures within the chapters. Please grab your Bible and join Father Ben to learn more about the Gospel of Luke. To register for this Bible Study and receive the link to the online event, please visit our website: https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/biblestudyform. If you have any questions, please contact Father Ben (frben@stcatherinesiena.org)

This is the last week of our annual Back-to-School Giving Tree project. As in the past, you may drop off your donations in the designated boxes in the church vestibule. Please label the bag or item with the name of the organization it goes to, if possible, to assist us with sorting and inventory. Please drop off all donations for this year's partner organizations at the church by Monday, August 31st. To see full details about the project, learn more about the organizations participating in this project, or view the lists of requested items for each organization, please visit the Giving Trees page of our parish website by clicking on the article title and scroll down to the 2020 Back-to-School Giving Tree Project Information. If you have questions about this project, please contact Marianne Verner (mverner@stcatherinesiena.org). If you would like to volunteer to help deliver the items at the completion of the project, please contact Collette Gushurst (gushursts@yahoo.com). There are also printed lists of requested items for each organization (as well as a description of each organization) available in the vestibule of the church (between the two sets of main church doors). On those printed lists, you will also find a QR code. If you scan that QR code with your smartphone, it will take you directly to the online SignUpGenius list for that organization where you can volunteer to donate specific items. Thank you in advance for your assistance and generosity!

Bishop Bradley has extended the General Dispensation of Mass through November 22, 2020. You may read his full Letter to the Faithful here http://bit.ly/BPJBLetterAug2020. To view the Bishop's video announcement, please click on the title of this article.

We Collected $1,033 for the Assumption of Mary Holy Day. Thank you for your generous donations and for continuing to support our church and other ministries!

Please welcome back Karen Galloway, Director of Children’s Faith Formation, and Phil Dezern, Director of Youth Faith Formation! We’ve missed them this summer and look forward to having them back. Please give them time to adjust to being back in the office. They have many emails and updates they need to address before they can get back to everyone about First Communion and Confirmation. They will get you information as soon as they can. Thank you for your patience!

As many may know already, our Bulletin is currently online only. To read our weekly bulletin, please visit our website: https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/bulletins. Our bulletin for each weekend is usually online by Friday morning. We hope to one day be able to offer printed copies again, but in following the guidelines from our Diocese, but we will not be able to offer print copies yet. We will keep you updated as we know more. Thank you for working with us in this new “digital age” of post COVID-19!

Trauma Recovery Associates is offering RENEW, RENEW, a free, online, self-paced program created in response to the current pandemic. In light of the distress experienced by many people, RENEW will present information about Refreshing, Enriching, and Nourishing Essentials for Wellbeing. This program will be offered in Spanish and English. Learn more and register at http://www.traumarecoveryassociates.com.

Though most of our staff continues to work remotely and our Front Office remains closed, if you need to see someone in our Front Office in person, we do have appointments available. Please email us at frontdesk@stcatherinesiena.org and we will arrange a time to meet with you. We can do many things via email and phone, but if you need something we can’t do digitally, we can meet with you. We have also installed a new Intercom System outside our office for easy communication. Please be patient with us as we learn this new system with you.

Our annual Back-to-School Giving Tree project kicked off this weekend and will run through the month of August. We've made a few changes to the project due to COVID-19. We'll still be collecting requested items for Family and Children Services, Generous Hands, and Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries, but rather than asking people to take paper tags during this time of pandemic, we have created online donation lists for each organization on SignUpGenius.com. To see full details about the project, learn more about the organizations participating in this project, or view the lists of requested items for each organization, please visit the Giving Trees page of our parish website: https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/giving-trees and scroll down to the 2020 Back-to-School Giving Tree Project Information. As in the past, you may drop off your donations in the designated boxes in the church vestibule. Please label the bag or item with the name of the organization it goes to, if possible, to assist us with sorting and inventory. If you have questions about this project, please contact Marianne Verner (mverner@stcatherinesiena.org). If you would like to volunteer to help deliver the items at the completion of the project, please contact Collette Gushurst (gushursts@yahoo.com). There are also printed lists of requested items for each organization (as well as a description of each organization) available in the vestibule of the church (between the two sets of main church doors). On those printed lists, you will also find a QR code. If you scan that QR code with your smartphone, it will take you directly to the online SignUpGenius list for that organization where you can volunteer to donate specific items. Thank you in advance for your assistance and generosity!

Bishop Bradley joins the Bishops of the United States in requesting donations to Catholic Relief Services to support their emergency response efforts to assist survivors of the Aug. 4th explosion that devastated much of the city in Beirut, Lebanon. CRS is providing critical and immediate relief to the most vulnerable—hot meals, safe shelter, medication, hygiene kits, and clean water. Your gift also helps ensure that mobile medical units and trauma support are available for those who need it most. Contributions can be made online at www.crs.org. For more information, please see the fact sheet image attached to this post, or view the PDF by clicking on the title of this article. Thank you in advance for your support!

We wish to welcome Theresa Cook to St. Catherine's! She joined our Parish in July of 2020.

This weekend, our Adult Faith Formation Director, Jay Landry, is leaving our parish for a new job in Wisconsin. Please click on the title of this article to read a special thank you letter from Jay. We wish Jay all the best!

We had 5 Baptisms in July 2020. We want to extend our congratulations to our newly-baptized and welcome them to our parish family. Please click on the title of this article to see the list of July Baptisms.

Have you ever asked someone to pray for you; or been asked to pray for someone else? As a Church, we pray for one another that the Lord continue to bless, guide, strengthen, and console us. One incredibly beautiful and ancient way we can pray for someone is to have a Mass offered for that person. It is a holy and devout practice to have Masses offered for a loved one, living or deceased. Masses may be offered on any day, but many offer them on a birthday, anniversary or for a special need. Payment for Mass Intentions are not required but are appreciated. Most Parishioners give $10 per Mass Intention. Our priests here at St. Catherine’s do not take the money for the Mass itself, but for the purpose of supplying the things necessary for Mass (hosts, wine, etc.) as well as for the support of the whole parish community. If you would like to have a Mass Intention said for a loved one, email our Front Office at FrontDesk@stcatherinesiena.org with the name of the person for your Mass Intention and your requested date(s). Please include a few alternative dates if possible. Contact our Front Office at 327-5165 or email us at FrontDesk@stcatherinesiena.org with any questions.