

All Saints- Holy Day of Obligation
November 1st, The Feast of All Hallows, is a Holy Day of Obligation. The Parish Office will be closed. Masses are as follows:
Vigil October 31st: 6:00 p.m. at St. Thomas More
Tuesday November 1st:
7:00 a.m. St. Thomas More
8:15 a.m. St. Thomas More
8:30 a.m. St. Joan of Arc
6:00 p.m. St. Joan of Arc
Please look up Mass times of surrounding Parishes if you cannot attend any of these!
Feast of All Souls November 2nd
We will have an extra Mass, St. Thomas More 6:00 p.m., along with our typical 7 am and 8:30 am at STM and SJA respectfully.
On the Feast of All Souls up to the 8th of November, one might attain an indulgence. Read the article below to learn more. Consider visiting a graveyard.
All Souls Day History and Tradition: All Souls | EWTN
Mass intention scheduling for 2023 for both SJA and STM will begin BY MAIL REQUEST ONLY on November 15th. Keep watch in the bulletin for specific information and a flyer insert toward the end of October with all the directions you will need. Thank you for your cooperation and patience.
Midtown Catholic Parish Office
4804 Grover Street
Omaha, NE 68106
This week’s Gospel talks about our disposition before God. Do we approach as righteous saints, or repentant sinners? Every saint (other than Mary and John the Baptist) is a sinner. All have fallen and need the mercy of God. By his grace and forgiveness, we find our place as his Children. When we share our story of redemption, we truly act righteous.
The Parish Offices will close at noon this Friday the 21st. We have a vacation, a retreat, and a wedding for three members of our staff. Next week’s post will be shortened.
Advent Poll
The last two Advents saw great missions led by our own pastors, and Fr. Dave Belt from St. Stephen the Martyr. This year, I would like your input on how we can take advent to grow as a community. Please take this poll if you have not yet: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WD3MC7G
Don’t be discouraged if your favorite doesn’t win out! Contact me after Advent to see if you can help me do another item on the list. tjsimpson@midtowncatholic.church
Hurricane Ian Relief
There will be a 2nd collection at all Masses October 22-23, for the victims of Hurricane Ian. Checks can be made out to SJA- Ian or STM-Ian
Please be generous.
School Fundraisers:
La Casa Pizza Supports SJA- TODAY ONLY!
All day Wednesday, your purchase at La Casa Pizza will support St. Joan of Arc Catholic School.
Christmas Wreath Fundraiser for STM
St. Thomas More 8th Graders will be selling Christmas Wreaths in the Back of church after STM masses this weekend.
All Saints- Holy Day of Obligation
November 1st, The Feast of All Hallows, is a Holy Day of Obligation. The Parish Office will be closed. Masses are as follows:
Vigil October 31st: 6:00 p.m. at St. Thomas More
Tuesday November 1st:
7:00 a.m. St. Thomas More
8:15 a.m. St. Thomas More
8:30 a.m. St. Joan of Arc
6:00 p.m. St. Joan of Arc
Please look up Mass times of surrounding Parishes if you cannot attend any of these!
Feast of All Souls November 2nd
We will have an extra Mass, St. Thomas More 6:00 p.m., along with our typical 7 am and 8:30 am at STM and SJA respectfully.
On the Feast of All Souls up to the 8th of November, one might attain an indulgence. Read the article below to learn more. Consider visiting a graveyard.
All Souls Day History and Tradition: All Souls | EWTN
Mass Intention Scheduling
Mass intention scheduling for 2023 for both SJA and STM will begin BY MAIL REQUEST ONLY on November 15th. Keep watch in the bulletin for specific information and a flyer insert toward the end of October with all the directions you will need. Thank you for your cooperation and patience.
Fr. Frank’s Think Tank
In case you missed it, here is Fr. Jindra’s podcast from the past weekend: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1896336/11509615-16-october-2022
Looking In From the Outside
Do you remember filling out a survey back in February? Many Catholics across the globe took part in a survey for a 2023 Bishops synod (conference) that would help Bishops understand the state of their flocks. My fiancé was part of the team for our Archdiocese who compiled our answers and assessed them. One general reaction they had I found striking: Every age group feels that parish programs are excluding them. EVERY age group thinks that the parish programing is excluding THEM.
Most of us are experiencing a phenomenon of looking in from the outside. I assure you that I can sympathize with this, and am possibly the cause of it. This is an opportunity for self-reflection. What lies do I believe that prevent me from participating in the life of my parish? Whether it is thinking a different age group would not benefit from your witness, that you are not educated enough to participate in a group, that no one else is having an experience of loneliness in practicing their faith, or that parish involvement is limited to school and youth groups- you have believed a lie.
I remember when I was child being upset that a neighbor had not invited me over to play in the sprinkler. Only when it was over did I learn he had invited no one, they had just come.
Demons want you to feel isolated, alone, and misunderstood. Your life has a purpose, and you have a story to share that others need to hear. Our lives bear witness to Christ in our midst. Taking part in a parish community involves getting to know others, sharing our experiences, and hearing their experiences. Sharing our lives together is not an option for a parish- it is a given for a Christian community to thrive. Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 describes the first Christian community:
“And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2: 43-47 RSV
So what part do you have to play in the story of salvation? Only God knows the full answer. What I can tell you that it is from the inside looking out, not the outside looking in. You never know what impact you may make from joining a small group or going through a parish study. Certainly, if your only communal exercise is the Mass, then you are missing out.
Do you know someone involved with a small group? That Man is You? The Lady’s Guild? Return? Alpha? Ask them what their experience has been like and if you would enjoy it. If it has enhanced their life, it is certainly worth looking into.
If you don’t know where to begin, I want to personally invite you to The Search. This parish-wide study is for everyone. I was impressed with the level of conversation at our first meeting last week. Whether it is for you or not it is your style, it is a place to start. Please feel free to join us for any of the upcoming sessions:
The Search 6:30 p.m. St. Joan of Arc Cafeteria. Join us for a video and discussion with food. Upcoming dates: September 22nd, October 6th, October 13th, October 20th, November 3rd, November 10th.
Peace in Christ,
T.J. Simpson
Director of Evangelization
It may seem like a new phase to life in St. Joan of Arc and St. Thomas More parishes, now that we have a new pastor, but it isn’t. It will involve some changes over the next year, but most things will be the same. For instance, I will be staying at SJA rectory the pastor, Fr. Jindra will be staying at the STM rectory. I will still have my office at SJA rectory and Fr. Jindra will have his at STM. We will continue to share the Mass load, with the two of us taking turns at each parish. Both of us like to have classes for adults. The two of us will be making plans for those kinds of opportunities.
The changes that we will be working on will have to do with a continuation of the process that Fr. Lorig started two years ago. That was when it looks as if STM, SJA, and Holy Cross would eventually be working together under one pastor. In the last few months, the Archbishop and the Pastoral Planning Team at the Archdiocese have revised this plan which is now called The Journey of Faith. Many of you know a little about this plan but only a few of you know a lot.
This plan is all about trying to reorganize the Archdiocese’s placement of priests so we will be optimizing the impact these priests will have over the next decade. A big part of that plan is to work to form parish “families.” This is the new way of referring to groups of parishes that will be working together. It is a far better way of referring to them rather than clusters. As the Pastoral Planning Team worked through the initial structuring of these plans for parish families, they decided that it would be better if STM and SJA would be one family and Holy Cross would work with Our Lady of Lourdes to become another family. Each would eventually have one priest. Just like each of the other 27 parish families, we need to set things up for that situation of having one priest. Just so you know, that does not mean that I will just be disappearing.
Some of those parish families, depending on their size, will have anywhere from 1-7 priests. No parish will continue to stand on its own. So for instance, one of the biggest families will be St. Vincent de Paul, St. Wenceslaus, St. Stephen the Martyr, and Boys Town Immaculate Conception. These parishes will remain individual parishes but will be working together as one family with 7 priests rather than the 8 that they have now, and that is the situation for these growing parishes that have thousands of families and are growth areas in our Archdiocese.
Our family situation, Midtown Catholic, has a great start on dealing with this process because of the work that Fr. Lorig did these last two years. As it continues, Fr. Jindra and I will do our best to keep you informed. Because of the fact that there is no longer a paper version of the Catholic Voice, this information will take a while to be communicated to you adequately. For that reason, I encourage you to stay tuned to these letters. I also encourage you to share this information with other people in the parish who you are connected with that might not have immediate access to electronic communication from the parish and the Archdiocese.
God bless you all,
Fr. Frank Baumert
St. Joan of Arc
St. Thomas More
7:00 pm Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion at both churches
Description
Midtown Catholic is a family of parishes in the center of Omaha, Nebraska. Starting in 2020, St. Thomas More and St. Joan of Arc parish came together and share a pastor, parish office, and staff. We are looking for an energetic Director of Evangelization who will help the pastor create and implement a Clear Pathway for discipleship for our parishioners and anyone who is interested in joining the Church. The Director of Evangelization will report directly to the pastor and give support to our coordinator for religious education and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, as well as a number of small groups and ministries.
Duties
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Theology, Philosophy, Evangelization, or related field preferred.
Must be Safe Environment certified and background check completed or complete within first month of employment.
Application Instructions
Send resume and cover letter to Eric Keisling, Director of Finance and Operations, at ejkeisling@midtowncatholic.church
The group of men watch a thirty-minute video every week and discuss what they learned and how it might impact their lives. It is a forum where men get together hoping to learn something from one another’s life experiences. It is a group of “Good Men Trying to Get Better”.
There is no obligation to speak up in the group. You are welcome to just sit and listen.
All men are welcome from any parish, any background, or faith.
The group meets every Saturday at 6 a.m. in the St. Thomas More cafeteria. Each session normally concludes around 7 a.m. Please enter through the door on the West side of the cafeteria.
Coffee and donuts are provided.
Any questions, please call Jerry Hassett at 402-650-0360.