Christmas at St. Mary's, Stewardship Update, Virtual Coffee Hour recipes, and more...

Ancient worship. Affirming Faith. Genuine love.

Christmas at St. Mary's

Dear St. Mary's Family,

Despite our deep desire to worship together in a packed church as in years' past, our Christmas celebration this year will be subdued because of the pandemic. We will have more service times with fewer people at each one in order to stay safe. Each service is limited to 30 people, masks are required, there will be minimal congregational singing, no choir, etc. You may attend virtually or in-person. Click here for the schedule and the link to register.

I know that Midnight Mass (11pm Christmas Eve) holds a special place in your heart as it does in mine. I ask you to humbly consider attending one of the other services instead so that we have room for all our parishioners, as well as those from outside our community who have nowhere to go at Christmas.

If you plan to attend in person, please try to sign up by Friday, December 11th. At that time, we will let those outside the parish know that they are invited. You can check the number of tickets available to see how full each service is until December 23rd.

I'm praying for each of you during this difficult time of isolation. May the hope of eternal life with God and all the saints sustain us as we patiently await the coming of Our Savior in the manger, on the altar, and at the Last Day!

Peace,

Fr. Charles

2021 Stewardship Campaign Update

The 2021 Stewardship Campaign is off to an excellent start! So far, we've received 36 pledges totaling $89,934.00, six of which are from first-time pledgers. Thank you to all who have pledged to support St. Mary's in the coming year!

There are 20 family units who pledged last year who have not yet submitted a pledge card.

Please know that St. Mary's relies on donations from individuals for the vast majority of our income. Our secondary (yet very important) source of income comes from renting out parking spots to local workers. Due to the pandemic, almost all of our parkers are working from home, leaving a significant budget shortfall this year. We have been able to adjust by reducing expenses in certain areas, but the pandemic will continue into 2021, making it even more important to offset the reduced parking income with increased income from individual pledges.

If you have not already done so, please prayerfully consider submitting a pledge for the 2021 calendar year. Click here to submit a pledge card electronically. Thank you in advance for your support of the ministry of St. Mary's Church!

Virtual Sunday Morning Coffee Hour

We are all missing the Immaculate Reception in the Parish Hall after Sunday worship and look forward to a time when we are all together again in person. In the meantime, let's stay connected with a Virtual Coffee Hour immediately following the 10:00am service via Zoom.

For the holidays we will be sharing simple recipes of cookies and coffee to make beforehand to bring to the coffee hour. This week's recipe is Russian Tea Cookies. If you would like to try your hand at making some, click here for the recipe. Grab a cup of coffee and hop on your computer or phone as we break bread together.

Click here (password is STM2020) and someone will be there to welcome you into this virtual gathering.

Advent Book Study

C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a classic of children’s literature, but it is also meaningful for Christians of all ages because of the powerful themes in the novel that resonate with our faith – despair and hope, sin and redemption. Heidi Haverkamp’s Advent in Narnia: Reflections for the Season weaves together aspects of the book with passages from Scripture to provide meditations on the Season of Advent.

Our last three sessions will be online Mondays, December 7, 14 and 21 at

6:30 p.m.

Click here to order the book.

To join online, click here.

Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Sung Mass begins at 10:00 a.m. Join in-person (reservations are required - click here to register), via Facebook by clicking here, or via YouTube by clicking here. The livestream begins at 9:45, with the prelude beginning at ten minutes before the hour.

Click here to access recent sermons preached at St. Mary's!

Daily Mass

Daily Mass is open for in-person worship (6pm Wednesdays; 12:00 M, T, Th, F). Attendance is limited to 10 people at any one service. Click here to preregister to attend.

Private Confession

A priest will be available to offer spiritual guidance and sacramental confession each Saturday from 3:00-3:45 in St. George's Chapel.

Enter the church under the green awning off of the parking lot, and wait for the priest in the new living room area on the far side of the parish hall. Please bring your mask!

Artist's Inspiration Hour | Tuesday's @ 6:30 p.m.

Do you have an artistic goal? Do you find it rather hard to stay focused during the very stressful time. Won’t you consider joining the St. Mary’s Artists’ working group, via Zoom. We will meet weekly on Tuesday’s at 7 PM CST. Come to discuss an ongoing project or proposed project for which you want feed back or encouragement. Please also join us if you are looking for ideas or inspiration.

For questions, or more information, contact Sylvia Augustus at augustusimages@gmail.com. Click here to join.

Liturgy Nerds | Wednesday's @ 6:30 p.m.

This group traditionally meets at Bistro 303 each Wednesday after Evening Prayer for drinks and discussion. There is no official topic or agenda, but the group is known for liturgy geeks and theological chatter -- expect to hear about maniples, monstrances, and papal liturgical straws. During the lockdown we are meeting weekly via Zoom....BYOB.

For questions or more information, contact Chris McQueeny at cmcqueeny@gmail.com.

Click here to join.