Our Knights of Columbus will have their 46th Annual M.I. Drive (also known as the Tootsie Roll Fundraiser) to assist Michigan Citizens with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities on March 26, 27, and 28. Please bring your donations this weekend to help with this drive. Contact Al DeMars at ademars@stcatherinesiena.org with any questions.

Our Knights of Columbus and St. Vincent de Paul groups are gathering donations for Catholic Charities, 12 Baskets, and Loaves and Fishes the week of March 13—March 20. Please drop off non-perishable and baby items to the vestibule of the church anytime. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 20, between 9:00 am and noon, stop by for the “Drive-in and Drop” and donate items to the Knights directly in the St. Catherine’s parking lot. For a complete list of items needed, please see our attached list, or visit https://bit.ly/KofCSVDPDriveMar21. If you have any questions, please contact Al DeMars at ademars@stcatherinesiena.org or 978-2338. Thank you in advance for helping with this mission!

Our Knights of Columbus and St. Vincent de Paul groups are gathering donations for Catholic Charities, 12 Baskets, and Loaves and Fishes the week of March 13—March 20. Please drop off non-perishable and baby items to the vestibule of the church anytime. On Saturday, March 20, between 9:00 am and noon, stop by for the “Drive-in and Drop” and donate items to the Knights directly in the St. Catherine’s parking lot. For a complete list of items needed, please see our list of items needed by clicking on the article title. If you have any questions, please contact Al DeMars at ademars@stcatherinesiena.org or 978-2338. Thank you in advance for helping with this mission!

Forgotten Man Ministries at the Kalamazoo County Jail has an urgent need at the jail for men’s sweat pants, sweatshirts, or hoodies (pullover or full-zip) in sizes L, XL, and 2XL. Note: New (preferred) and used (in good condition) sweat clothes are accepted. If you are able to donate, you may drop off donations in the vestibule of the main church or contact Chaplain Mark Herberger at kalamazocounty@forgottenman.org. We are praying that Kalamazoo area Christians come together and give sweats (pants, shirts/hoodies). Please pray for the inmates' spiritual and physical needs, and give as the Lord leads you. Thank you for your generosity! For more information about Forgotten Man Ministries, please click on the article title.

Volunteer knitters from St. Catherine’s have gone above and beyond to help us provide hats and gloves for local charities in need. Recently, we donated hats to Radiant Church’s “Power Up” Backpack Program that provides backpacks filled with food every week to children who otherwise would have no access to food on the weekends. They were extremely happy to be able to put a few knitted hats and gloves into the bags for children who also need to keep warm during these colder days. Our recent donation of about 30 hats was gifted to students at Haverhill Elementary. Thank you to all who have donated knitted items for charity! If you are interested in helping our knitters make hats for children and infants, baby blankets, neck scarves, or gloves, please contact Marianne at mverner@stcatherinesiena.org.

Forgotten Man Ministries at the Kalamazoo County Jail has an urgent need at the jail for men’s sweat pants, sweatshirts, or hoodies (pullover or full-zip) in sizes L, XL, and 2XL. Note: New (preferred) and used (in good condition) sweat clothes are accepted. If you are able to donate, you may drop off donations in the vestibule of the main church or contact Chaplain Mark Herberger at kalamazocounty@forgottenman.org. Thank you for your generosity! In December, St. Catherine parishioners donated approximately 50 of the over 350 Christmas Gift Bags the jail inmates received. The men were extremely grateful. Not only did the gift bags include a Gospel message, but they were a tangible reminder to each of the inmates that they are not forgotten, but rather valued by Christians who still care and pray for them during this time when personal contact is not possible. We are praying that Kalamazoo area Christians come together and give sweats (pants, shirts/hoodies). Please pray for the inmate's spiritual and physical needs, and give as the Lord leads you. For more information about Forgotten Man Ministries, please click on the article title.

If you have the desire to help others from your own home, please join our team of Prayer Heroes on our St. Catherine’s Prayer Line! They are a dedicated team of women and men who wish to pray for the needs of others – and to pray for YOU. If you would like to join our Prayer Heroes team, or if you have a prayer request, please contact our confidential prayer line at prayers@stcatherinesiena.org or call 327-5165. We have a team of prayer heroes waiting to pray for you and/or your concerns.

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our local blood supply as many blood drives have been canceled during the pandemic. We will host a Versiti Blood Drive tomorrow, Tuesday, January 12, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm in the Stanley Centre. Sign up online at https://bit.ly/SCSBloodDriveJan12. Contact Deb Dozeman at ddozeman@stcatherinesiena.org with any questions.

The Catholic Charities Food Distribution program continues.  St. Catherine's parishioners have responded and are volunteering their time to pack the food into boxes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Portage location (7105 S Westnedge, next to Sam's club).   Each week (usually on Friday), the volunteer needs for the following week are posted online: https://ccdok.org/view-volunteer-opportunities-here/.  In addition to volunteers for food packing, drivers are needed to deliver the boxes of food on Wednesdays at 11:00 am, and Fridays at 8:00 am. Please click on the article title for more information about this volunteer opportunity!

We are looking for anyone who is interested in knitting prayer shawls, baby afghans, mittens, neck scarves, and knit caps. We have been asked to assist in helping the homeless stay warm as the cold weather approaches. If you can knit and have time to knit for the needy, we have yarn for you to use. We have also been asked to assist young mothers by providing baby blankets. Again, we can provide the yarn! If you are already a member of our prayer shawl weavers group, we could certainly use more prayer shawls. We will be supplying them for the sick, those in nursing homes, and those in need of comfort. Thank you in advance for considering this ministry. Please reach out to Marianne at mverner@stcatherinesiena.org with any questions.

Our 2020 Christmas Giving Tree project began on November 1st! This year, our Giving Tree lists are digital; please visit the Giving Tree page of our website (https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/giving-trees) for a complete list of participating agencies and their needs. We also have a list of needed supplies in the vestibule of the church. In addition to the items on the lists, we are also collecting knit hats, gloves, and scarves for distribution to our local homeless population (please see the image on the right for some of the beautiful handmade items we've received so far!). Please LABEL the bag or item with the organization you wish to donate to and return your donations to the Narthex of the Church (after weekend Masses) or the boxes in the Church vestibule (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) between Sunday, November 22nd and Sunday, December 6th. *Please do NOT wrap the items.* Thank you in advance for your generous donations. If you have questions or would like to volunteer to help with sorting or delivery of the Giving Tree items, please contact Colette: gushursts@yahoo.com.

We are looking for anyone who is interested in knitting prayer shawls, baby afghans, mittens, neck scarves, and knit caps. We have been asked to assist in helping the homeless stay warm as the cold weather approaches. If you can knit and have time to knit for the needy, we have yarn for you to use. We have also been asked to assist young mothers by providing baby blankets. Again, we can provide the yarn! If you are already a member of our prayer shawl weavers group, we could certainly use more prayer shawls. We will be supplying them for the sick, those in nursing homes, and those in need of comfort. Thank you in advance for considering this ministry. Please reach out to Marianne at mverner@stcatherinsienna.org with any questions.