Catholic Community of St. Jude

Welcome to the Catholic Community of St. Jude located at 801 N. Bridge Street in beautiful down town DeWitt, Michigan

This is our Home on the Internet!

Here you will find the news and information about our church. Please take a moment to visit the online Calendar for upcoming events and our downloaded weekly bulletin for the most up to date information on the life of our parish. We hope you enjoy your visit and encourage you to check back often for updates!

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Articles Featured on our Home Page this week:

Memorial Day Mass ins the Cemetery

Diocesan Services Appeal Update

Parish Pictorial Setting Updates

6PM Mass Sunday on vacation

Hunger Knows No Season

On Line Giving

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Memorial Day Mass in the Cemetery
Memorial Day began in 1868 as a day to remember all those who died in the Civil War. Now it honors all United States citizens who died in war. Unfortunately, that meaning of Memorial Day often gets lost when we see that day as the “unofficial” start to our summer holidays.

Congress has encouraged Memorial Day as a time to remember all who have died in war (combatants and innocent civilians) and as a day to renew our efforts for just and lasting peace throughout the world. To mark this day, we will celebrate Mass in the DeWitt City Cemetery at 9:00 AM on Monday morning, May 26. Mass will be celebrated in section “D” of the cemetery, which is directly across Bridge Street from the church. This is also the area of the cemetery in which DeWitt’s memorial to its Civil War dead is located.

Please park in the church parking lot and walk across Bridge Street to the cemetery. Please reserve parking in the cemetery only for those with mobility problems. Bring lawn chairs for seating. At Mass we will remember all those who have died and a special prayer for visiting the grave of a loved one will be available for quiet prayer after Mass. If it’s raining at 8:00 AM that morning, Mass will be celebrated in the church. Mass will be followed by coffee and donuts in the community center.

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2008 DSA Update

As of May 14, the families of the Catholic Community of St. Jude have pledged a total of $51,287.82 toward our parish community’s 2008 Diocesan Services Appeal goal. This represents 102% of our goal of $50,486. Thank you to all who have given so generously! On the diocesan level, families in the 95 parishes of our diocese have pledged $2,928,551 or 59% of the diocese-wide goal of $5,000,000.

This is great progress, both for our parish and for the diocese. If you have not yet made your gift to this year’s DSA, please prayerfully consider doing so soon. Thank you for your generous response.

Attaining our parish DSA goal once again is no small feat, especially with the current state of the economy. Now that we have reached our parish DSA goal, please don’t   forget that our parish expenses continue year-round. The parish ended its last fiscal year (June 30, 2007) with a small deficit. As of the end of April, we once again find ourselves with a small deficit (see p. 10). It is important that all of us do what we are able in terms of our parish giving to ensure that we do not encounter another deficit this year. Everyone’s continued generosity in support of the parish is greatly appreciated.

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Parish Pictorial Sitting Updates
There are now MORE appointment slots open June 16 and 17, they have added a second photographer which now opens a whole new set of appointment times on those days.
Lifetouch will be calling all those parishioners who do not yet have an appointment. So if your caller ID say area code 419, it’s them.

       VISIT the Pictorial Directory Tab to make your reservation now!

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No Sunday Evening Mass May 25 thru the End of July

Because of the Memorial Day holiday next weekend, there will be no 6:00 PM Mass next Sunday, May 25. Because of the variety of late spring and early summer holidays, the Sunday evening Mass will be on vacation through the end of July. The Sunday evening Mass will return the first Sunday of August (August 3).

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Hunger knows no Season

With the sluggish economy continuing to take its toll, many people from the DeWitt area turn to us seeking basic food assistance. We are able to do this only through your generous support of our parish food pantry. Your gifts of non-perishable food items placed in the large baskets near the baptismal font is an important way that we are able to assist individuals or families who are in need. In the months of January through April, we assisted 121 families (a total of 391 people) with food. In addition, we were able to offer over $4000 in assistance with heating, housing, prescriptions and other basic needs through our Helping Hands Fund.

The sad truth is that people are hungry whether it is cold or warm outside. With continued cuts to area social service agency budgets, we try to do what we can to help to fill the gap, but we need your help. See page 10 of this bulletin for suggested food items for the pantry. If you’d like to support the Helping Hands Fund, you can do so through the on-line giving website or by dropping an envelope marked “Helping Hands” into the regular Sunday collection. Everyone’s generosity is appreciated and it makes a huge difference in the lives of those whom we assist.

As we make our way into the warmer months of the spring and summer, foods gifts to our parish food pantry begin to decrease. Perhaps this is because of the natural generosity that we associate with the times leading up to Christmas and Easter, or perhaps it’s because we think that hunger is only a problem during the cold times of the year. Unfortunately, this is not so.

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OnLine Giving
Many families now use this program and have shared how easy and convenient it is.
All you need to do is on this web site click on the “Links” tab or on the On Line Giving Article to the right side of the screen. The complete instructions for registering are listed there and from there you can be linked directly to the Logos Giving website.
If you need any assistance, Rob Strouse, our Operattions Manager will help you to complete the process on your behalf, feel free to give me a call at the office or email me at catholic.stjude@comcast.net Thank you for your continued support of the Catholic Community of St. Jude.

A vision of Heaven
As Dale McKay was facing death, he spoke to writer Nancy Schertzing about his feelings and his hopes for heaven. Later, Nancy spoke with Dale’s widow, Ellen, who shared the joy of their marriage and the moving experience of Dale’s death. Their story is filled with love and hope that speaks to all of us.

(see full story)

Part 1: Lourdes: 150 Years of God's Healing Care

A priest who served as chaplain at Lourdes recalls God's love and mercy that Bernadette Soubirous and countless pilgrims have experienced there.

(see full story)

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