There will be a Life Chain in downtown Montrose on Sunday, October 5 at 3:00 p.m. Participants will peacefully hold Pro-Life signs for one hour. This coincides with October being designated as Respect Life Month and the 40 Days For Life.
We are in need of volunteers to work Bingo. You would only need to work once per month or you can volunteer to be a substitute to fill in as needed.
Bingo is an important fund raiser for our parish. Please consider helping out.
Please call the parish office at 810.639.7600 for more information or to volunteer.
Thank you!
There will be a Euchre Tournament on Wednesday, October 1 in the Good Shepherd Knights of Columbus Hall. at 6:30pm. Cost is $5.00 per person. All levels of experience. Learner’s Table. Bring your own snacks and beverages. Friends and Family welcome!
Hope to see you there!!
Christians throughout Genesee County are invited to take part in the international 40 Days for Life effort from September 23 through November 3.
This year Jim and Nancy Hall are heading up the Flint campaign involving multiple churches. They are asking for volunteers to hold vigil at Planned Parenthood. Please contact them if you are able to help: (810) 639-2551, (810) 287-1642 or (810) 287-3122 or sign-up here
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Join now to sign up for our prayer vigil and keep in touch with us. https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/flint and email us at Flint40Daysforlife@gmail.com
Happy Twenty-Fourth Sunday!
We’re continuing our deep dive into the details of this capital campaign, and as you have seen there is a lot to share, so thank you for letting me spread out this information over several bulletin articles. For the past few weeks I’ve written about major campaign objectives and the three main areas of Catholic educational need they aim to support for the long-term. Today we will look at the final portion of this diocesan endeavor, the 20% which parishes will retain for their own needs.
Each parish in the diocese has been set a base campaign goal of about 1.25x its annual offertory. For Good Shepherd, that number comes out to $220,000. 80% of that goal, $176,000, will flow to the various campaign endowments. The remainder, $44,000, will stay at Good Shepherd for our capital needs. 100% of anything raised above our base goal would also stay with the parish. For example, $50k stays with us for $226k raised, $55k for $231k etc. There is no practical penalty if we do not meet our parish goal, except that it would change with 20% remainder we receive (42K for $210k, $40k for $200, etc.)
Something that I decided in my first year as your pastor was to frontload some time-sensitive major project costs in view of this upcoming diocesan campaign. Thus we spent ~ $10k of parish bingo savings last summer on reinforced concrete for the east parking lot entrance, and we finished the asphalt top coat for our parking lot in July. 46 of our parish households contributed $18k to get us across the finish line, and I am so humbled and grateful to you all for that. I directed it this way so as to avoid the requirement of tying these project to this diocesan campaign, which is designed to receive pledges over the next five years. We could not afford to let these paving projects wait, and we rose to the occasion. So thank you, thank you, it made all the difference.
As for our campus, we’re generally in a good position for now, excepting any emergency. Our next major infrastructure need – about five years out we thing – would appear to be the replacement of our roof shingles. It is the plan for us to use the 20% parish portion of this diocesan campaign to save up for that project so that when it arrives, we will be in the best position to minimize any additional fundraising. Next week I’ll be writing about the timing and mechanics of individual household participation so you know what to expect moving forward.
Our parish families, you all, and your faithfulness to this community, both spiritually and materially, are the only reason we can continue to build the kingdom of God and bless Montrose with the witness and gift of our Catholic faith. I am always praying for our future, our health, our protection, and our growth. I’m grateful to be a part of the journey with you.
Fr. Brian
Thank you to all who gave so generously to the Parking Lot project. Here are some photos of the paving company putting on the sealer coat and our own Tom Bigelow adding the striping.
the completed project
Are you or someone you know seeking a closer relationship with Jesus? Are there questions about the Catholic faith that need to be answered? Or would you like to help others in their journey toward discerning the Catholic faith? Then consider participating in this year’s Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA)! Classes will be starting soon. If you would like to join us, or have any questions, please call the parish office or Bill or Sherry Stroup at 810-348-6990.
See more information here
Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Year of Hope for the universal Church on Christmas Eve 2024 in Rome. Pope Francis released a papal bull proclaiming the Holy Year 2025. The Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year is entitled Spes non confundit (“Hope does not disappoint” and can be found here). In addition, the Apostolic Penitentiary has published this decree.
The Jubilee of Hope Opened in the Diocese of Lansing on December 29, 2024,
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
To Strengthen & Share Hope
A central aspect of the Jubilee Year is the Jubilee Year Indulgence.
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY
INDULGENCES FOR JUBILEE YEAR 2025
A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.
The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. Plenary indulgences obtained during the Jubilee Year can also be applied to souls in purgatory with the possibility of obtaining two plenary indulgences for the deceased in one day.
To obtain an indulgence, the usual conditions of detachment from all sin, sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope must be met. (Usually, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be).
Holy Doors are to be opened at the Papal Basilicas of St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls (no. 6) and at the Rebibbia Prison in Rome. The Dicastery for Evangelization notes that the distinguishing mark of the Jubilee Year is not the Holy Door, but rather the Jubilee Indulgence, received through the Sacrament of Penance and acts of charity and hope. The various ways and many places where this indulgence may be obtained are summarized above and are outlined in the Apostolic Penitentiary’s Decree on the Granting of the Jubilee Indulgence issued May 13, 2024.
Click here to learn more:
+Find out conditions for how to obtain the Jubilee Year Indulgences
+Diocesan Events for the Jubilee Year
+Places of Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Lansing
+Questions Regarding Indulgences