St. Anthony Catholic Church
Davenport, Iowa
Daily Email Newsletter
‌
Lent is an Opportunity...
for a "Controlled Burn" of the Soul
by John Cooper
Lent is a lot of things to a lot of people. For me, its a time to empty my body, mind, and spirit of those things which block my soul on a daily basis from its rightful home in God.

At Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat we see that nature itself needs "purging" to make way for new life. This is accomplished through "controlled burns" at the Prairie. See the video along with pictures.

Let us be that seed that falls into the ground and dies this Lent and then bears new life at Easter.

Kitty O'Meara uses this same theme in her widely popular poem below which has become a comfort to many during this Coronavirus Pandemic.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
‌
Core Team to Facilitate Merger of St. Anthony and St. Mary
St. Mary's Establish 1867
S t. Anthony's second oldest Catholic Church west of the Mississippi established 1837 will become the new home of the merged churches.
The St. Anthony and St. Mary merger core team met last evening for the first time. Unfortunately, we had to convene the meeting with seventeen people via online conference call. Dan Ebener with the diocese convened and led the meeting which last almost two hours.

The purpose of the core team is foster a sense of unity as the communities of St. Mary and St. Anthony come together as one. 
  1. Address the experience of loss and grief in the transition
  2. Create opportunities to pray, serve and celebrate together
  3. Coordinate the communication between the communities of both parishes
  4. Clarify how decisions are made before the new pastor arrives
  5. Welcome the new pastor upon his arrival at St. Anthony
  6. Facilitate the merger of parish council / finance council / lay trustees
  7. Nurture a spirit of hospitality throughout the merger
  8. Sensitize the parish community to cultural norms, customs and practices
  9. Inspire all members to be positive and appreciative of the multi-cultural nature of the new community

Those serving on this core team include:
Manuel Toquinto St. Mary's Latino Community
Martin Pérez St. Mary's Latino Community
Juan Desantiago St. Mary's Latino Community
Alicia Viera St. Mary's Latino Community
Rosario Castel St. Mary's Latino Community
Mike Lovewell St. Mary's Latin Community
Michael Tarpey St. Mary's Latin Community
Rev Chris Young St. Mary's Church
Rev Joseph Sia St. Mary's Church
Sam Lazio St. Anthony's Church
Vic Quinn St. Anthony's Church
Linda Bower St. Anthony's Church
Larry Duke St. Anthony's Church
John D Cooper St. Anthony's Church
Rev Apo Mpanda St. Anthony's Church
Dan Ebener Diocese of Davenport
Miguel Moreno Diocese of Davenport

Our next core team meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. We will be keeping you up-to-date as information about the merger becomes available. Please pray for the work of this core team.
At this time, how are you feeling about the merger with St. Mary's?
I'm very excited about it.
I'm optimistic about it.
I don't feel good or bad about it at the moment.
I haven't really given it any thought..
I have a lot of questions and I'm eager for answers.
I'm concerned about it.
Meet Sarina Miller
Candidate and Catechumens Entering the Catholic Church
Where are you originally from?  I grew up in Dubuque and decided to move to Davenport in 2016 for more opportunities with my career.  

What has been your main line of work (inside or outside the home)? Or where are you currently working? I am a dental assistant at Community Health Care.

What led you to the Catholic faith? I was raised in a Catholic family but we were not practicing Catholics and I was not baptized. Recently, my sister-in-law and my brother asked me to become my 5 month old nieces Godmother. I really wanted to do that for them, which lead me here to become baptized as a Catholic.

What's the journey to becoming Catholic been like for you? Being a true catholic has brought immense peace and a deeper understanding of my existence. It has helped to realize my duties and my ultimate mission in life. Being closer to God has made my life much more meaningful. By following God's teachings, I wish to be able to have a much more peaceful and positive existence.
To all the parishioners of St. Anthony’s:

Like you, I'm moved every day to see the suffering and death that so many are experiencing. It's times like these that make us more aware of our dependence on the God who created us. We aren't in control, God is.

Let us all pray for patience, kindness and good will. In particular, we pray for members of our parish that are first responders, health care providers and essential personnel that they may be safe as they put their lives on the line each day to serve us.

In Christ’s Peace,
Rev. Apo Mpanda
Pastor
Humorous Prayer for the Day

Dear God, so far today, I’ve done all right.
I haven’t gossiped, and I haven’t lost my temper.
I haven’t been grumpy, nasty or selfish, and I’m really glad of that!
But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help.
Thank you! Amen.