MidWeek Update 8/23
Sausage Fest September 9th
Join us for community and fun at St. Joan of Arc’s acclaimed SausageFest!
The Fest is still accepting donations and sponsorships for the event. Please contact Chad Spady at 402-616-3749 if you would like to donate or help! 4 Raffle Drawings for $1,000 each. Get your raffle tickets as you exit church! Bring your appetite with you to this annual party in the St. Joan of Arc Parking Lot.
Italian Sausage & Peppers – Polish Sausage
Bratwurst & Hot Dogs – Cold Beer & Soft Drinks
Ice Cream and Brownies – Margaritas
Nachos and Cheese – Great Conversation
Ablaze Coming September 10th
Ablaze is coming to St. Thomas More on September 10th. Join the Midtown Catholic community for an afternoon of Eucharistic praise and worship from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Invite anyone and everyone! This event is not the liturgy and is thus accessible for non-Catholics.
Learn more about Ablaze Worship and Fr. Michael’s ministry here: Ablaze Worship Ministry
Plans for a New Office
Dear Midtown parishioners,
We are still trying to fix the rectory at St. Thomas More from the hailstorm of June 2022. We are getting new windows put in starting August 16. When that project is finished, we will work on the new siding. Some of this is covered by insurance because of the hailstorm. But the windows and doors in the rectory are old and the seals in the windows are not working very well. The patio door on the north side of the house I had to brace shut, because it is not working any longer. The front door facing Grover is worn out as well and that will be replaced.
But this is not the only adjustment we need to make. This is a picture of the office space for four of our employees. This is just not good. I don’t know about any of you, but I would not want to have to be working in such tight spaces.
So, we are going to work on a remodel of the rectory at St. Joan of Arc. The cost will be shared between the parishes.
When it is finished, we will have seven different office spaces as well as a nice sized conference room on the main floor of St. Joan of Arc rectory. This will accommodate us for many years to come. I still plan on keeping my residence at St. Thomas More. Most of the remodel we are planning to do during Father Frank’s trip around South America. Oh, you didn’t know about that? Father Frank (lucky dog!) has arranged for a 10-week cruise around South America starting in October. He will have to work hard for that. He will be required to celebrate a mass every day for the people on the cruise. Tough job, but somebody has to do it. Yes I am a little envious, but he deserves this too.
Back to the remodel. As I said, the main reason for it is because the space used at St. Thomas More rectory is just not that good. Its size is 14 x 14 with, as you can see, four desks. The remodel will give each person a separate room. Some of the rooms will be on the second floor. We will also have a dedicated residential side for priest.
Once this is accomplished, I would like to turn the basement of the St. Thomas More rectory into a larger T-shaped conference room. We seem to always need more space for meetings, and this larger room setup for that will be another great advantage.
I am looking forward to the changes because I think it will enable us to serve both parishes better. Yes, it will cost some, and I do not yet have figures from the company that will be doing the work. However, the owner of the business is a good Catholic man. And as I was talking with him yesterday, he wanted to know if there were people in the parish who would volunteer some time for the work in order to keep the prices down even more. If you have some skills, please volunteer. It would be a great help to all of us.
Finally, I hope your summer has been good. Mine was. I enjoy being on the road driving, and I spent two weeks driving to West Virginia for my retreat. That was excellent as well. I also bought a lot of wine on my way home as I passed through Missouri. If you ever get a chance to visit Herman Missouri it is a quaint little town with a lot of winemakers and beer makers and whiskey makers… It’s fun to visit!
Please consider what you can do to help us with the remodel that is coming up. Thank you and God bless. – Fr. Jindra
Becoming Catholic
Becoming Catholic will start September 13th at St. Thomas More. Classes will go from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
It looks like we are going to have a good crop of non-Catholics. All are welcome to attend, but please be considerate of the potential candidates and where they are on their faith journey. Please keep them in your prayers.
Help for EPS
The TMIY group will be helping out at Essential Pregnancy Services (EPS) in Bellevue. All men from Midtown Catholic are invited to help. The EPS educational classes and boutique in Bellevue were closed due to covid and had not yet restarted. The testing services are open. Unfortunately, the abortion clinic in Bellevue will be reopened. Hence,
EPS is planning to restart their education programs and boutique in Bellevue. The facility needs work. The TMIY group will be helping on the third Saturday of each month, starting in September. The effort at EPS will include general cleanup, including painting both interior and exterior, patching walls, moving office equipment, etc. We will continue to meet each month at EPS on the third Saturday until the work has been completed. This is a great opportunity to serve as well as an opportunity to get to know other men in our parish community. Please contact Jerry Hassett at 402-650-0360, if you have time and/or talent to invest.
This link is an easy way to sign up: Find a Group – Paradisus Dei
Saint Quote
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel.” St. Nathaniel (Feast Day August 24th)