The Knights of Columbus will host the Blessing of the Bikes on Sunday, June 9, 2024 after 11:15 a.m. Mass. Be there by 12:15 pm. There will be a Poker Run, Food/Drinks, T-shirts and Raffle. $25 per Bike / $12 per passenger. Bikes and Cars Welcome. See PDF for details.
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Children Share the Good News
Good Shepherd children in K-7 lived out Jesus’ command to share the Good News with others on Tuesday, April 16.
After their faith formation session at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, they went outside to the local construction site where workers were digging up the waterline. The children invited the workers to pray with them the prayer Jesus taught His disciples– The Our Father. The construction crews descended from their equipment and joined in the prayer. The children thanked God for the workers who were helping to keep the city’s water safe. They asked God to protect the men while using the big equipment.
children praying with construction workers
Half Day Hospitality Outreach Program
Good Shepherd Catholic Church sponsors an outreach program, “Half Day Hospitality” once per month for Montrose Public School children in grades K-7.
The free event provides parents an option for children on half days of school.
The program includes hot, homemade food such as meatballs, soups, sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, fruit, vegetables and cookies all provided by members of the church. There is no budget for the program- it operates solely on donations from the parish in the form of time, food, and materials for crafts, games, and other seasonal projects.
volunteer Gloria Polzin shares her sewing skills with some young girls
Upon arrival children are greeted by many volunteers who have become like adopted grandparents to the youngsters. The older generation volunteers are teaching the young guests the meaning of hospitality. They also invite children to choose an activity while on site such as sewing, embroidery, sing-along with guitar, jewelry-making, painting, sidewalk chalk, cookie-making, butter-making, card-making, basketball, board games, puzzles, and more. Since September, 2023 the group has evolved into a family-like atmosphere, and many children do not want to leave when their parents arrive to pick them up. Next month, the event will be on Friday, May 10, and will include a hotdog roast, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus #8669 and hospitality gift bags to the children as a keepsake of their participation in the program.
On the walk from Carter Elementary to Good Shepherd Church, children decided to pick dandelions and make bouquets for the volunteers who serve at the Half-Day Hospitality event.
Religious Ed News
Religious Ed News
Dear Parents of a First Communion/First Reconciliation Candidate:
A First Communion and First Reconciliation Retreat will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, at Good Shepherd Family Life Center. Every candidate must be accompanied by a parent/Godparent. The retreat includes a mini-breakfast and lunch. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated during the retreat. The following day, Sunday, April 28, children will celebrate the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Please keep these children in your prayers: Addixon Coxon, Reagan Ensminger, Adeline Gutowski, Easton Henige, and Jayce Stroup.
Religious Ed Registration Form (print and fill out)
Celebrate Easter’s 50 Days!
Family Activities to Celebrate the Easter Season
Easter is the most important feast of the Christian year—so important that the Church sets aside a seven-week season to rejoice in Christ’s victory over sin and death.
1. Use a special candle at family meals to recall the light of Christ.
2. Every day, read together from the Easter story: Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21.
3. Plan fun family activities—one for every week of Easter.
4. Put up a sign or banner that proclaims, “He is risen!”
5. Was anyone received into the Church during your parish Easter Vigil? Have them over.
6. Add an “alleluia” song—or three alleluias—to your grace before meals.
7. Put on an Easter play. Invite relatives and friends to a performance.
8. Make a poster of a life-giving cross. Add paper flowers and leaves to it throughout Easter.
9. Celebrate new life by doing something as a family to support unborn children and their parents.
10. Keep fresh flowers around.
11. Use the old Easter greeting and response: “Christ is risen! – He is risen indeed!”
12. Visit a lonely neighbor or do some other family act of kindness to express thanks for the resurrection.
13. Talk about baptism. Tell stories of family members’ baptisms.
14. Plan a family outing to a river, lake, stream, or ocean.
15. Drape your crucifixes and crosses with a strip of white cloth.
16. Make cookies in the shapes of Easter symbols. Freeze some to serve throughout the season.
17. Learn how other cultures celebrate Easter. Try out some of their customs and foods.
18. Make cards announcing the good news of the resurrection.
19. Use a special container for newly blessed water from church. Show your kids how to use holy water.
20. Throw some water balloons!
21. Listen to Handel’s Messiah and other Easter music.
22. Read about the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13-35); take a family walk.
23. What about a short trip to an interesting shrine or church?
24. Place a resurrection icon or picture in a place of honor.
25. Discuss what it means to be Christ’s “witnesses” (Luke 24:48)? Help each family member to see that their witness matters.
26. Wear more white, or even gold! They’re the season’s special colors.
27. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours together in the morning or evening (www.liturgyhours.org).
28. If your family likes to sing and play instruments, have people over for a musical Easter celebration.
29. Read about the disciples’ amazing catch of fish (John 21:1-14). Then go fishing together.
30. Or imitate Peter, and go swimming (John 21:7).
31. The Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. Explore this relatively new devotion (www.marian.org/divinemercy).
32. Talk about how the disciples hid (John 20:19) until the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. Follow up by playing hide and seek.
33. Plant some seeds.
34. Honor the risen Lord’s mother by learning about “Mary gardens” (www.mgardens.org).
35. Read Luke 24:50-53 or Acts 1:6-11. Ask family members to imagine themselves present at Jesus’ ascension. How would they have felt about it?
36. Watch a movie with an Easter theme (For ideas, see the list from the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Conference: www.uscbb.org/ movies/filmsforlent.htm).
37. Just before his ascension, Jesus blessed the disciples. Pray Numbers 6:24-26 together as a way of communicating his blessing to one another.
38. On Ascension Thursday, choose a family intention. Make the nine days till Pentecost a novena to the Holy Spirit.
39. Add some Pentecost red (for fire) to your Easter decorations.
40. Read Acts 2, the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. Read it in all the languages family members speak! (See the Bible translations at www.biblegateway.com/languages).
41. Decorate a cake with Pentecost flames and other symbols to celebrate the birthday of the church.
42. Talk about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (see Isaiah 11 and 1 Corinthians 12; also the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1830-1832).
43. Make a Pentecost hanging or mobile that features a dove and tongues of fire.
44. Learn a prayer to the Holy Spirit to use in your family prayer time.
45. Play “twenty questions”: Have someone choose a Bible character or thing from the Easter and Pentecost stories. The group gets twenty questions (yes or no answers only) to guess the right answer.
46. List the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; Catechism, 1832) on separate slips of paper. Have each family member randomly select a fruit to cultivate.
47. Fly a kite to celebrate the wind of the Holy Spirit.
48. Find ways to make Sunday meals special during the Easter season.
49. Continue the “special Sunday meal” tradition to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection all year.
50. Discuss why Sunday is holy (see John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, On Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy; Catechism, 2174-2195). Decide how you can keep the Lord’s Day as a family.
Ways You Can Take Action
Please Urge the Senate to Approve the Conscience Protection Act!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACTION! With voices all over Michigan and all over the country encouraging its passage, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Conscience Protection Act this week by a 245-182 bipartisan vote. The measure allows for health care providers and payers to protect their rights in court should they be forced to participate in abortion. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the respective chairs of the pro-life and religious liberty committees at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), applauded the vote and urged continued action as the bill moves forward to the U.S. Senate. Please send a message to the senate now: http://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/catholic-advocacy-network/vv/?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns
Please Urge Congress to Approve the First Amendment Defense Act!
The First Amendment Defense Act (H.R. 2802, S. 1598) would bar the federal government from discriminating against individuals and organizations based upon their religious beliefs or moral convictions that marriage is the union of one man and one woman or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. Please send a message now: https://www.votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns/43794/Respond
Download our Parish App!
At Good Shepherd we are pursuing new opportunities to foster a stronger parish life and better engage the New Evangelization. As a part of these efforts we are happy to announce that Good Shepherd now has it’s own app for Apple and Android phones.
Our new app will allow us to send you useful and important messages throughout the week regarding our parish life and events, and allow you to reply to messages or RSVP for events.
There will be no need for parishioners with smart phones to remember to silence their phones before Mass. The app will send you a reminder to silence your phone 20 minutes before the Mass you select. Many more great features will be a help to all of us, such as, daily Mass readings, Catholic news, prayers and prayer reminders, quick access to online tithing, Confession reminders, and our weekly bulletin.
So, be sure to download the app by visiting myparishapp.com or searching for myparish on your phone’s app store, or text APP to 55321 and stay connected with us all week long.
Once downloaded open the app and search for Good Shepherd Church 400 N. Saginaw St. click on that. That’s it!
Click Below to Get App
Check out some of the features