Category: Newsletter

Pasta and Pancakes

A St. Joan of Arc Lenten Pasta Feed is scheduled for Friday, April 8th 4:30 -8:00 pm. Adults, $10; Children 6-12, $5; Children ages 5 and under, Free. This affordable price includes all-you-can-eat pasta, salad, bread & butter, dessert, & beverage. There’s a single serve to-go option as well. Pop is available for $1. Beer/Wine available for donation. The Pasta Feed is sponsored by the SJA Men’s Club and the Knights of Columbus. Questions, contact Kevin Malick at 402-990-4759 or at kmalick@cox.net.

There will also be a Pancake Feed at St. Thomas More in the cafeteria on Sunday, April 10th, 8:30 – 12pm. Menu includes all the pancakes you can eat along with sausage, coffee, and juice. Free will offering. Proceeds go to SVdP Conference at STM.

SJA Development Dinner – April 30

The Crusade for Excellence Development Dinner is a biennial parish and school fundraiser where you can enjoy an evening featuring dinner, auction and fellowship. The theme this year is “Gearing Up for Our Future.” We have made new connections in the recent past and are excited to build and strengthen these partnerships in the future.

All money raised will go towards the maintenance fund to make building improvements.

The dinner and auction are held after the 5:30pm mass on Saturday, April 30^th.  The silent auction is in the gym and the dinner and live auction are in the cafeteria.

The Crusade for Excellence Dinner is open to everyone!  Parishioners, SJA parents, DLA (Dual Language Academy) parents, STM friends and families are all welcome.  Invitations will be handed out over the next weeks prior to the event and tickets will be made available online at that time. 

Here’s the link

Easter Egg Hunt

The Knights of Columbus will be putting on an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 9th at Pipal Park at 9am.

Extra Confession Times

We have extra confession times available on Saturday, April 9th from 10am -11:30am at St. Joan of Arc and Tuesday, April 12th from 6:30 – 8pm at St. Thomas More. Extra priests besides Fr. Lorig and Fr. Baumert will be available for the Tuesday evening session at STM.

Women’s Retreat

The SJA Ladies Guild is excited to host a Lenten Retreat April 9th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. If you haven’t RSVP’d for this free opportunity to deepen your faith journey, please call Amanda Wells, 402-981-2420. This is a FREE event. Bring an open heart and a desire to love. The retreat is open to any woman from either parish and will make for a great opportunity grow in faith and friendship together!

Holy Week Schedule

Here’s a link to see Midtown Catholic’s Holy Week Schedule.

Parish Council Update

The St. Thomas More and St. Joan of Arc Parish Councils have been meeting both separately and together over the last two years. They have decided to meet as one council from here on out. To accomplish this, they are working on combining their bylaws. There will be some turnover at the end this academic year, and they will need new council members from both parishes. Information about how to become a council member will be shared as soon as the new bylaws are completed.

Serve Here Highlight: Food for the Francis House

Food for the Francis House has been in existence at St Joan of Arc since 1983.  We provide the supper meal every 3rd Friday of the month.  Menu is meat loaf, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, & desserts.  Each person who brings one of the mentioned should have it feed at least 10 people.  We are always in need of volunteers.  No meetings involved. 

Maybe cooking is not your thing? They also need people to help deliver it. 

Call Mary Kentch at 402-676-5054 to get involved.

Discover more ways to serve here.

Additional Reconciliation Opportunities

10:00 am, Sat., April 9th at St. Joan of Arc
6:30 pm, Tues., April 12th at St. Thomas More

Women’s Retreat at SJA

The SJA Ladies Guild is excited to host a Lenten Retreat April 9th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. If you haven’t RSVP’d for this free opportunity to deepen your faith journey, please call Amanda Wells, 402-981-2420. This is a FREE event. Bring an open heart and a desire to love. The retreat is open to any woman from either parish and will make for a great opportunity grow in faith and friendship together!

Consecration to Mary

Pope Francis has asked bishops worldwide to join him March 25 in consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Fr. Frank and Fr. Lorig will offer the prayer of consecration at the end of the 7am (STM) and 8:30am (SJA) Masses on Friday, before the blessing and dismissal.

Archbishop Lucas will join Pope Francis first by celebrating the 11:15 Mass at St. Cecilia Cathedral and then offer the prayer of consecration at the end.

Pope Francis also invites priests, religious and lay faithful to assemble in their churches and places of prayer on Friday, “so that God’s Holy People may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother.”

https://archomaha.org/consecration-for-russia-ukraine/

New Pastor Named

It’s not a rumor, a new pastor has been named for St. Joan of Arc and St. Thomas More. Fr. Frank Jindra will take over as pastor in July.

Job Opening

Eric Keisling, our current Director of Finance and Operations, has accepted a position at Gallup. His last day of employment is April 15th. While saddened that he is leaving, we are excited for this new opportunity for him. We wish him the best of luck. 

We now begin a job search to fill the position. If interested or know someone who might be a good fit, check out the job description in the link below.

https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=director%20of%20finance&l=Omaha%2C%20NE&vjk=f13d4448bde95f27

Office Closed Friday

The parish office will be closed on Friday, March 25.

Extra Confession Times

10:00 – 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 9th at St. Joan of Arc

6:30pm – 8:00pm on Tuesday, April 12th at St. Thomas More

Note: These are not penance services, just extra times for confession. You do not need to be there at the start time.

2nd Collection

This week, we are taking up a second collection. March 19-20 is the USCCB Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which will allow the faithful to give critical and timely humanitarian aid to the victims of war in Ukraine. Please continue to pray for all of those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Midtown Catholic Office Closed March 25

The Midtown Catholic Offices will be closed on Friday March 25 to celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation.

Serve Here

We’ve recently created a page on our website titled “Serve Here”. It’s far from complete because we need your help. We need information about the ways you serve and how others can get involved. It can range from church cleaning to decorating. We’re not looking for ways to join groups like the ladies guild or men’s clubs, which do a lot of serving. We’ll create a page for those groups later. Please send your information to office@midtowncatholic.church or call the parish office. Thank you!

Hospitality Team Coming to STM

We will be launching our Hospitality Team at St. Thomas More on Sunday March 27 at 10:30 a.m. Mass. If you are interested in being a part of this team which will serve in welcoming all who join us for worship in a spirit of prayer and Christ-like hospitality for either St. Thomas More or St. Joan of Arc, please contact TJ Simpson, Director of Evangelization, at tjsimpson@midtowncatholic.church.

Fr. Jeff on Vacation

Fr. Jeff is on vacation for the rest of this week. If you need the immediate assistance of a priest, please contact Fr. Baumert, for any other issues or questions please contact the parish office or Eric Keisling at ejkeisling@midtowncatholic.church.

2nd Collection

This weekend at our Masses we’ll be hearing from members of St. Vincent de Paul parish conferences. Both parish conferences are up and running. They’re still separate but working very closely together. We’ll also be having a 2nd collection for the groups after communion.

Serve Here

We’ve recently created a page on our website titled “Serve Here”. It’s far from complete because we need your help. We need information about the ways you serve and how others can get involved. It can range from church cleaning to decorating. We’re not looking for ways to join groups like the ladies guild or men’s clubs, which do a lot of serving. We’ll create a page for those groups later. Please send your information to office@midtowncatholic.church or call the parish office. Thank you!

Truck for Sale

We are selling a work truck currently owned by St. Thomas More. It is a 1997 Ford F-250 with just over 30,000 miles, originally purchased by the parish in 1998. A snow plow will be included with the truck. We are selling it for $4,500 or best offer. If you are interested in putting in an offer or have any questions, please email Director of Finance and Operations Eric Keisling at ejkeisling@midtowncatholic.church.

Snow in the Forecast

As you may be aware, snow is in the forecast for the next few days. We are currently planning on keeping the offices open; however, we will close down the parish office for the safety of the staff if OPS and Omaha Catholic Schools do not have in-person learning. We will make an announcement via Facebook in the situation where the office will remain closed due to snow.

Fr. Jeff on Vacation

Fr. Jeff is on vacation for the next two weeks. If you need the immediate assistance of a priest, please contact Fr. Baumert, for any other issues or questions please contact the parish office or Eric Keisling.

Ash Wednesday Mass Times

Stations of the Cross

St. Thomas More will have Stations of the Cross every Friday at 6:30pm.

St. Joan of Arc will have Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:00pm.

A Little Extra Prayer

As many of you already know, the season of Lent gives us the opportunity to reevaluate and adjust our prayer, penance, and almsgiving.

Here are two recommendations for prayer:

The Hallow App – https://hallow.com/

For Lent in 2022, Hallow invites you to join the #Pray40 Challenge where—for the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter—thousands will join together in prayer and meditation on these important words. 

The #Pray40 Community Challenge on Hallow is one of the most popular and life-changing challenges of the year with exclusive prayer resources to enhance your Lenten journey. This Lent, unite yourself to Christ’s suffering and: Deepen your relationship with God, Meditate on the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, Be God’s love to others.

Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence –
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1591451884/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_R3TWZS4A425MPPT8QRHE

Jesus Calling is your yearlong guide to living a more peaceful life. More than 30 million copies sold! By spending time in the presence of the Savior with the much-loved devotions in Jesus Calling, you will:

• Feel comforted by words of hope and encouragement
• Be reassured of Jesus’ unending love for you
• Receive gentle guidance based on Scripture
• Strengthen your faith with Scripture verses
• Connect with Jesus further with reflection and meditation based on God’s Word

Bringing Back the Gifts

As we begin this new liturgical season, perhaps it is time to return to a little more normal at our weekend Masses. We will begin bringing up the gifts at offertory starting the first weekend of Lent.

Journey of Faith Pastoral Planning

If you were at Mass this past weekend anywhere in the archdiocese, you probably heard a letter from the archbishop read from the pulpit. To learn more about the pastoral planning that’s going on right now in the archdiocese, go to https://journeyoffaith.org/.

Ready to Lent

Lent should definitely be a verb. How will you be Lenting this year? Ash Wednesday is next week and so a good place to start is with an Ash Wednesday Mass. Here’s the Mass schedule.

Another great place to Lent is at Formed.org. They have several videos available so you can get the most out of Lent. You can watch the videos on our own, with your family, or for bonus points, reach out to some friends and do a weekly faith study together.

A Lent to Remember – https://watch.formed.org/a-lent-to-remember

Tracking the Mass Numbers

This Weekend’s Gospel

Lk 6:39-45

Jesus told his disciples a parable,
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

Daily Mass Schedule

If you are a daily Mass goer at either parish, pay close attention to the Mass schedule for Monday and Tuesday of next week. With Fr. Frank out of town for a well-deserved vacation, we put a daily Mass schedule together that only requires one priest so we don’t have a hire a priest to cover for us. Here’s the schedule.

Monday, February 21	7:00am at St. Joan of Arc 8:15am at St. Thomas More (school Mass – all welcome)
Tuesday, February 22	7:00am at St. Joan of Arc 8:15am at St. Thomas More (school Mass – all welcome)

Still Looking for help with Weddings

Midtown Catholic is looking for someone to help with weddings for both parishes. Between the two parishes we have about 20 weddings a year. Wedding Coordinators have been used at St. Thomas More for a number of years and have proved to be very helpful for not only helping the clergy but the couples as well. This is a paid position, $100 per wedding. Email Fr. Lorig if you are interested in learning more @ jplorig@midtowncatholic.church.

Big Changes Coming to the Archdiocese

A press release from the Archdiocese of Omaha will be going out this week and you should be receiving a letter in the mail as well about a comprehensive pastoral planning process to be undertaken over the next couple of years. The planning process will affect the entire archdiocese. The goal is to promote flourishing faith communities by renewing and aligning all our people, resources and actions on the mission of Jesus Christ. Over the next ten years we will need to plan for declining church participation, shifting regional demographics, and declining priest availability. While an initial proposal of changes was shared at the recent Clergy Conference, the planning process will include several rounds collaboration and revision amongst clergy and laity.

Fr. Lorig believes the hardest steps for creating our family of parishes, Midtown Catholic, have been achieved. Now, St. Joan of Arc and St. Thomas More can be a helpful guide for several other families of parishes that will be formed throughout the archdiocese.

Synod Survey

The Holy Father has asked Catholics worldwide to share their experiences of participation in the life and mission of the Church.

Individuals thirteen and older are asked to respond to a series of questions online from February 5-28 at https://archomaha.org/synod/.

Mass Attendance

Many have asked how attendance was for our first weekend with the new Mass schedule. We had a total of 690 attend on the weekend of February 5/6, 2022. To give you some perspective, our January 2022 average was 712. The January 2021 average was 522. Thank you to everyone who have had to make changes their schedule!

Hospitality Training

Our long-term strategy for church growth not only in numbers, but in discipleship will be determined by people’s encounter with Christ and their experience of community. We will launch our first hospitality ministry at the St. Joan of Arc’s 5:30pm Mass. TJ Simpson, our Director of Evangelization, will take the lead on this endeavor. The first training date is set for Sunday, Feb 13 at 9am at St. Joan of Arc. If you are interested in helping the church to grow here, plan to attend this extremely important ministry training. If you have questions, contact TJ at 402-556-1456 ext. 203 or tjsimpson@midtowncatholic.church.

Synod Survey

Pope Francis announced last spring that the topic of the October 2023 Synod of Bishops will be synodality in the Church. A synod is a meeting of bishop delegates from around the world invited to discuss a topic of theological or pastoral significance, in order to offer advice or counsel to the pope. Synodality is understood by Pope Francis to mean all members of the Church (clergy, laity, religious) participating in the evangelizing mission of the Church, journeying together as a community, prayerfully listening to one another in order to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit.

In preparation for the synod, the Holy Father has asked Catholics worldwide to share their experiences of participation in the life and mission of the Church. We have begun the diocesan phase of this consultation by holding listening sessions with some of our neighbors on the peripheries, including the incarcerated, homeless, migrants, refugees and the elderly. I now invite all of you to participate in the consultation with the wider Church that the pope desires.

Individuals thirteen and older are asked to respond to a series of questions online from February 5-28 at https://archomaha.org/synod/. Those without internet access can ask for a printed copy of the questions from your parish. The questions should take you 5-10 minutes to complete. Feel free to share this link with family and friends living in the archdiocese, including those who may not be members of the Catholic Church.

All that is received in our archdiocese, from the listening sessions and responses to the questions will be summarized later this spring, published on our synod website this summer, and forwarded to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. There it will become part of a national
summary that will be forwarded to the Holy See. This worldwide consultation about the experience of the Church’s life and mission is a daunting project. At the same time, Pope Francis is sincere in his hope that even this process of sharing will strengthen the bonds of our life in Christ. I encourage you to respond to the pope’s invitation to participate.

With best wishes and prayers,
Most Reverend George J. Lucas

Homily Highlight

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Blessing of Throats

St. Blaise’s Feast day is on Feb. 3rd. There will be a special blessing of throats not only at the daily Masses that day, but the weekend Masses too after the Mass.

Give it a Try

This weekend marks the beginning of the new Mass schedule for our two parishes. Let’s approach this change with the mindset that we are one church with two parishes. The goal is to have a schedule that needs only one priest between the two parishes. We are awaiting permission from the Archbishop to have a 4pm Mass at St. Thomas More someday in the very near future.

Saturday
5:00 PM	St. Thomas More
5:30 PM	St. Joan of Arc
Sunday
8:00 AM	St. Joan of Arc
10:30 AM	St. Thomas More

Sunday Collection Envelopes

You can use your parish envelopes at either of our parishes and your offering will get to the appropriate place. We are not able to do the same for cash offerings unless it is placed in a marked envelope. An easy and safe way to make your offering is to use our online giving platform, WeShare.

Parish Office Hours

Effective Monday, January 31, the Midtown Catholic Parish office hours will change to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an hour lunch break from noon until 1 p.m. Please call ahead if you need anything from the office after 4 in order to make sure there is someone available to help you.  We appreciate your flexibility.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to Eric Keisling if you have any questions.

Homily Highlights

Every week, watch for the Homily Highlight on Facebook! We are starting off with a light-hearted one! Like us on Facebook so you don’t miss out.

Youth Choir and Living Stations

Below are links to promotional flyers for the Youth Choir and St. Joan of Arc’s Living Stations of the Cross.  Both are great opportunities for your children to get more involved in the parish community – especially if they have a love for acting, singing, and the arts!   

Youth Choir Flyer

Living Stations Flyer

• To be part of the Living Stations, please contact Mr. and Mrs. Manno.  Their contact information is in the handout. 
• To be part of the Youth Choir, please register at the link below.  
  • https://app.onechurchsoftware.com/midtowncatholic/groups/19

Please feel free to contact Rachel Bielstein at the parish office if you have any questions.

Have a blessed rest of your week!