ST. MARY MAGDALEN

Preparing For Easter We began Lent by proclaiming our determination to turn away from sin and live the Gospel. The prayer, penitential

practices and works of charity helped us grow in the Gospel life. Now, before Easter we ritualize this new life in both

individual and communal celebrations of the Sacrament of Penance:

MARCH 2015 Volume XXII Issue 3

The Days Of Our Salvation

This month we celebrate a time like no other in the Church year: Holy Week. Unlike

all other days of the year, these not only celebrate, but invite us to enter into the expe-

rience of the saving event of Jesus' Passover through death to life. The whole year

leads up to and away from the last three days of Holy Week, called the Triduum.

These three days stand as the pinnacle of our life and our hope!

On PASSION (PALM) SUNDAY we go back in time and enter Jerusalem, a city

filled with expectation. We welcome Christ with shouts of "hosannah"! Then, tragi-

cally; we stand with the same crowd and cry "crucify"!

The Liturgies from Monday through Wednesday recall the quiet events leading up to

the Triduum. On Wednesday evening, our parish will join together for a Jewish Seder

meal, the same ritual meal which was the Last Supper of the Lord. Our sharing in this meal will help us to better un-

derstand Jesus, the new Lamb of the new Passover.

Holy Week culminates with the Triduum (which means “three days”). It is really a single Liturgy stretched over

three days and three Liturgies. The pauses between these Liturgies enable us to go home and ponder what we have

witnessed.

On HOLY THURSDAY, we gather as the Lord's disciples around the table of His passover. Through the symbolic

washing of feet or hands, we understand the love that led the Lord to endure such a humiliating death. Then we go

with Him to the garden to watch and pray until midnight, the time of His arrest.

On GOOD FRIDAY, through the Gospel of the Lord's Passion, we walk with Jesus in His final hours and stand at

the foot of the cross to mourn the death brought about by sin. In the second part of the service, the assembly is invit-

ed to come before the cross to venerate and ponder its meaning. Finally, to show that the Lord of all compassion is

with us in our suffering, we conclude with a simple Communion service.

On HOLY SATURDAY, we celebrate the greatest of all Liturgies, the Great Mass of the Resurrection. In our

darkened worship area which was stripped the day before as it became the tomb, now we light a new fire to symbol-

ize Christ's victory over sin and darkness. Then through a series of readings we recount how God saved us through

the promise and gift of His Son. After this extended Liturgy of the Word, we receive adults and youths into the

Church and finally we share with them our most sacred gift, the Bread of Eternal Life.

COMMUNAL CELEBRATIONS: Sun, March 15 (3 pm) St. Agnes. Fowlerville Wed, March 18 (7 pm) St. Mary, Pinckney Thurs, March 19 (7 pm) St. Augustine, Deerfield Twp Thurs, March 19 (7 pm) St. Joseph, Howell Mon, March 23 (7 pm) Holy Spirit, Hamburg Wed, March 25 (7:30 pm) St. John, Hartland Sat, March 28 (9 am) St. Patrick, Brighton

Mon, March 30 (7:30 pm) St. Mary Magdalen

INDIVIDUAL CELEBRATION

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, March 28 - - - 11 am - 12 noon

Tuesday, March 31 - - - -12 noon - 1 pm

- - - - 7 - 8:30 pm

Wednesday, April 1 - 11 am - 12 noon

- 4:30 - 5:30 pm

from the PASTORAL COUNCIL

Our Pastoral Council met on Ash Wednesday after the evening Liturgy. We continued our discussion on the article from US Catholic on best pastoral practices. This time we looked at the way another parish uses social media to reach out to parishioners and we discussed how we might do that more effectively.

Mary Alice Galloway received an email from the bishop addressed to all pastoral councils. The communication was a series of questions raised by the Synod of Bishops called by Pope Francis last fall. The Holy Father asked for the thoughts and ideas Catholic laity on marriage and family in preparation for the second part of the synod in the fall of 2015. Mary Allice, the council chair, had sent the questions to all the members and she will compile their responses and return them to the bishop. (The questions were received at the start of February and the responses needed to be returned by the end of the month.)

Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 18. The council would like to invite any parishioner who attended the diocesan Conference on Evangelization in November or the Mission in January to join us for a discussion on how we might better evan-gelize our community and reach out to those who are no longer practicing the faith and those who have no church. The meeting and discussion Strategies for Evangelization will take place on March 18 in the East Room after the 7 pm Wednes-day evening Liturgy.

The Members of the Pastoral Council

from the TIME AND TALENT COUNCIL

Our Time & Talent Council met February 24. We are prepared a survey on parishioners’ talents to hand out in March. The purpose of the survey is create a list of talents that we can use as a particular need arises. (We have a partial list and, last fall, we recruited folks with carpentry skills to help on a project.) Our goal is to increase our list. We finalized our plans for our Spring Ministry Fair and we began discussing plans to form new ministry teams to better serve our community.

Members of the Time and Talent Council

Chair: Mary Alice Galloway Ginger Bosn Emily Wolfe Darlene March

Eileen Denhard Ralph Hazen Clarence Kroll Rob Cooney

Peter Kelly Jodi Williamsen Kelly Blazo Mike Rhoads

Tim Mulcaster Jillian Killian, Sr. Maryetta Churches Fr. David F. Howell

Eric Silvestri Dominic DiCicco Robert Sinke Anne Marie Lawson

Marsha McBride Bob Henderson Holly Moltane David Williamsen

Debra Barker Dianne Hardy Matt Uphoff Jim Panning

Bookkeeper, Dave Wisniewski Fr. David F. Howell

Don Powell Ed Bixler Eileen Denhard Jill Saxton

John Finn Katie Panczak Kristin Turner Rob Kehn

James Chevalier Dan VanTiem Mary Kay Edoff David Rychlick

Mike Olsem Father David Howell

from the FINANCE COUNCIL July 2014 - June 2015

For Month Ending January 31, 2015

Actual Actual Fiscal Annual Fiscal INCOME Jan 31 Year to Date Budget Church 112,367 796,657 1,386,000 Capital Campaign 30,830 205,295 350,000 Religious Ed/Preschool 10,606 72,455 110,000 TOTAL INCOME 153,802 1,074,407 1,846,000

EXPENSES Church 81,666 660,043 928,370 Building Mortgage 41,801 286,117 530,875 Religious Ed/Preschool 28,772 197,005 386,755

TOTAL EXPENSES 152,239 1,143,165 1,846,000

INCOME/(LOSS) 1,563 (68,758)

REMAINING BALANCE 3/1/15 - Building Mortgage - $3,595,178

The Members of the Finance Council

RELIGIOUS FORMATION from Mary Mahar

Our 4th grade Penance Candidates are in their final preparations for their solemn celebration of God's forgiveness. Teresa McDaniels and the 4th grade catechists worked hard on the Penance Retreat we had on February 28! At the retreat, the youth and their parents participated in activities, prayed, they experienced what actually happens in a “mock confession” and Fr. Dave talked about sin. All of these activities enhance the celebration of this important Sacrament as they come to Solemn Penance on March 5 and 7.

TEMPLE TRIP Sunday March 1, 3:15 pm This trip is open to all to join us, but we need you to sign up NOW to give

us a number for the Temple. Please sign up in the gathering area at the Formation Table. Kevin Blanck has arranged for us to visit Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor. Every year as a part of class, the 6th grade youth and their parents take a trip to visit a Temple. The Hebrew Scriptures are a regular part of our curriculum, and in class our youth learn about the Ark of the Covenant, the Torah, Jesus reading from the Scrolls in the Temple, Solomon building the first Temple, Passover and much more. What better way to pull what they have learned together than to actually see and hear what they have learned about in person? At the Temple we look at worship books (they read from the back to the front) and hear about the flow of a typical Jewish service. Did you know in the Temple they have an eternal light as well? We then see the opening of the Ark and the handwritten Torah scroll is displayed for us to see up close. The Torah is considered the most important treasure of the community. It has a beautiful cover and we see the writings up close. When reading it, they use a yad, a pointer used by the reader to keep their place. It is made to look like a finger, the finger of God. We then come back here, grab a quick bite of pizza and join Fr. Dave in Church for a comparison tour of our Worship and space! New Family Penance Services! During the year we all do things to make our hearts hard and rocky. On Thursday, March 5, 6:30 pm or Saturday, March 7, 10:00 am we are offering two youth-oriented family Penance services directed especially to bring your family and children together to celebrate this wonderful Sacrament of God’s Forgiveness. Celebrating this sacrament will free your heart for the rocky burdens that you carry. Move into Easter with a clean heart. Our First Eucharist parents and youth are also in their final preparations for the Sacrament and will have their retreat on Saturday, April 18. If you have any more service suggestions or are in need of service hours, (we have the Seder Meal, Easter Egg Hunt, Eucharist Retreat and more) please email mmahar@parishmail.com or call me in the office at 229-8624, ext. 115. We are also in need of help in April for our Gifts and Talents Show and ice cream social for the end of the year (see poster in gathering area!). See the dates below for more of what is happening!

COUNCIL COMMENDATIONS The Pastoral Council would like to commend Barb Lanigan and Elaine Woods for volunteering hours and hours of time organizing and cataloguing all the books in our fabulous library. Thank you for your time, talent and exper-tise!

THANKS AND PRAISE

We give thanks and praise for the wonderful and energetic couples who have led Eight Great Dates for years. These great couples have led many couples to realize what a gift the sacrament of Marriage is in their lives and what more it can be!

These folks are Sue and Dennis Wagener, Maureen and Steve Crowell, Sandi and Rick Phillips and Corrine and Dennis Cruz. Thank you for your ministry, it is a true blessing!

We also give thanks and praise to Kevin Blanck and his crew for making the snow removal during this winter season so per-fect. We have felt safe and the parking lot and the sidewalks are snow free. Thanks a million!

MARCH DATES TO REMEMBER

1 Temple Trip to Temple Beth Emeth leaves St. MM parking lot at 3:15, return for pizza and Fr. Dave’s talk 5 Grade 4 Solemn Penance 6:30 pm - grade 5 hosts reception Family Penance Service 6:30 pm

7 Grade 4 Solemn Penance 10 am - grade 5 hosts reception Family Penance Service 10 am 18/19 Stations of the Cross youth grades 1-8 29-April 9 No Classes. Classes resume April 12 April 22/23 Gifts and Talents Show/Ice cream Social!

OF FAITH AND SERVICE from Sr. Joyce Hoile, OSF

LENTEN PRAYER FOR OUR PARISH: Good and gracious God, we pray that every person in our Parish will come

to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ in a personal way. May we mature as true disciples of Christ Jesus as we come to

the table of the Eucharist, and may each of us become actively engaged in the life and mission of the Church, joyfully

using his or her gifts for the building up of your kingdom.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. As you renew the face

of the earth, re-create in the divine image all who are your own. Instruct the hearts of all the faithful by your heavenly

light and make us truly wise. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

LIVINGSTON REGION 50+ CATHOLIC COUNCIL ON AGING LENTEN RETREAT Preacher: Father Larry Delaney Wednesday, March 11, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church 2099 Hacker Road, Howell $8. For Retreat and Lunch - Limited number of Tickets are available from Sr. Joyce

SCHOOL FOR DISCIPLESHIP SPRING SESSIONS:

CHRISTIAN MORALITY Mr. John Schultz Monday evenings 7-8:45pm April 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11, 18 Families today are confronted with a plethora of new facts and decisions to make as they lead their families in Christian living.

COMMUNITY LIFE: TALENT SHOW NIGHT

Saturday, March 21 6 pm: Pizza/Salad/Dessert meal for a donation

7pm: On-Stage Talents (about 5 minutes) from anyone, family or group. All Talents must be screened by Sunday,

March 15 for the Program to be made. See the Community Life Board for more information.

Reminder: Stick to 5 minutes.

WORLD RELIGIONS II Mr. Derek Day Thursday evenings 7 – 8:45 pm April 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21

This Course will clarify the Easter Religions of the World

ANNUAL EASTER EGG SCRAMBLE

Peter Rabbit and helpers will be awaiting your arrival, Saturday, April 4, 12 o’clock noon, on the back lawns at St. Mary Magdalen Church. Parish-ioners and St. Patrick School families are invited.

Preparations are being done made month, donations of candy to fill the eggs are requested, and sign ups for helpers on that day are out. Come for our first outdoor event for the Spring!

THE DEACONS BENCH from Dave Scharf

During the semi-finals in cross-country skiing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Russian skier Anton Gafarov fell and broke one of his skis. As he got up and attempted to finish the race on one ski, Team Canada’s cross-country coach Justin Wadsworth quickly brought him a new ski and even dropped to his knees to affix it to Gafarov’s boot.

Though the Russian finished last, news of this example of good sportsmanship spread around the world. It also led writer Cindy Keating to ask, “Can an Olympic moment change the way we’ve complicated kindness?” Keating notes that we sometimes hesi-tate when an impulse toward kindness strikes us. She says, “We don’t want to intrude. We don’t want to be rejected, or look silly. We end up talking ourselves out of something good.”

If Coach Wadsworth had reacted that way, Gafarov and the world would have been denied a beautiful moment. Keating con-cludes, “The world needs people who will respond…people not afraid to get down on their knees and serve. Why? Because we all need help to finish the race we were put on earth to ski.” Lent is a time for all of us to take stock of our lives.

THE OTHER BENCH from Jim Chevalier

“I will turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” To me, that means following the Ten Commandments and receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation. Since we are all followers of Christ we have as our ultimate goal, Salvation. This season of Lent in-vites us to repent a life that hasn’t always had Jesus at its center. And it does invite us to rediscover a book (Bible) that hasn’t always held top priority in our lives. Through the centuries the season of Lent has always been a time of special grace for Chris-tians, especially for making changes in our lives. Jesus is offering that same special grace to each of us during this Lent. So, let us remember that the best is yet to Come! The kingdom of God is at hand!

YOU MAY SIGN UP FOR CLASSES ONLINE HERE

TOWARD THE TRIDUUM from Diane Kubus

Peacefulness and joy may not be the first characteristics that come to mind when describing

these last few weeks of Lent, but the reality is, in the real self-giving that comes from helping someone

in need, we come to know the joy of encountering Christ. In the attentive listening of prayer, we come

to know the peacefulness of growing in every moment closer to God. This is the time that we pray for

others, for the world, when we commit to changing our lives, when we ask for the strength to carry on,

when we plunge ourselves into the font of grace.

This “giving over” nature of Lent is setting aside the distractions in order that the mysteries of liturgy and life might draw us more deeply into relationship with Christ and with one another. We must, however, be both open and willing to trust. Our belief in the power of the resurrection is what carries us forward one grace-filled step at a time.

Our candidates and catechumens celebrated the Rite of Election on Saturday, February 21 with 30 other parishes in our diocese. With Bishop Boyea presiding, this major threshold rite makes an important statement. First, it reminds them that they are joining the Catholic Church “Universal”, not simply our local parish and that it is the Church that approves and vali-dates their readiness for initiation. They are now called “the Elect” not because we have voted for them, but because we see in them God’s election - God’s choice. They have been chosen by God for the Easter Sacraments. Their names are enrolled in the “Book of the Elect” which has been placed in our worship space until Holy Week. These men, women and children are now moving through and experiencing a time of intense preparation, this time of enlightenment, with a deeper awareness of the power of God’s grace, through prayer and reflection. As we continue on our Lenten journey toward the Great Vigil, let us pray for all those preparing for the Easter Sacraments. If you have never celebrated the Easter Vigil, you have missed out on a night like no other. Come to the great Triduum, The Three Days, Holy Thursday 7:30 pm, Good Friday, 7:30 pm and Holy Saturday, 8:30 pm. One great Liturgy spread over three days. You will want to come back every year. I guarantee it.

THE TRIDUUM: YOU SIMPLY MUST BE THERE. THE CHURCH NEEDS YOU!

OF FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE by Devon Wolfe

Lent is a time for us to look at our relationships with the Lord and with others and to respond to the Lord’s call for us to grow and change. For those of us who are married, the most important hu-man relationship in our lives is our relationship with our spouse. So it’s only appropriate that we would devote a portion of our Lenten practice to our marriage relationship.

But how do we do that? The most powerful means we have available for to experience forgiveness and growth in our lives is the Sacrament of Penance. But before we can approach the Lord and ask for his mercy, we first must al-low the Lord to shine his light into our hearts and expose to us the places where we fall short. We usually do this with an examination of conscience. So, here is a specific examination of conscience for married couples:

Have I honored our marriage covenant by giving my spouse all of who I am? Have I put other interests (work, family, fortune, hobbies) ahead of my relationship with my spouse? Do I pray for my spouse and our relationship on a regular basis? Do I take the time to listen with my heart to what my spouse has to say? Do I harbor anger or a grudge against my spouse? Have I been faithful to my spouse in my thoughts, words, and actions? Have I forgiven my spouse as Christ has forgiven me?

After you have considered these questions, it is certainly appropriate to bring your answers to the Sacrament of Pen-ance, but it’s also important to ask your spouse for his or her forgiveness for the areas where you could have been better. While it might seem risky the first time you try it, seeking forgiveness from your spouse is one of the keys to a lasting and fulfilling marriage!

It seems like just last month I was writing about Christmas and the season of joy; I was challenging you to spread love, hap-piness and good will to others. I asked that you think about the tangible things you planned to give and instead think about spending time with others sharing in the joys of the season. My writing was of hope for a new year sprinkled with good tidings for fun family gatherings. Christmas is a joyful, nice, pretty time of the year. We celebrate all things good and wishes for happiness are exchanged amongst strangers in the line at the store or on the street.

Well, here we are in the midst of Lent. A season of desert time when decorations require branches with no life and make implications of a sparse place; our time is spent in quiet personal reflection on things that we need to change or make right. The two seasons contradict each other it seems. BUT, we as Catholics know different. Although Lent is more drab and reflective, it is still a season of joy and cause to celebrate. To celebrate all that Jesus sacrificed for us! To celebrate all the blessings we have been giv-en! To take a look at our relationship with God and with others and to celebrate the gift of love! Lent is a season of giving to oth-ers who are need, to forgive where forgiveness is needed, to seek friendship with the friendless or lonely. This season is all but dull and drab! Lent challenges us to make the world around us beauti-ful with kindness and love, with our selfless acts of helping each other and to care for others as God cares for us. How will you decorate your world? Take some time this season to reflect on how you can change your world with light, kindness, warmth and happiness.

March keeps our Sundays busy as in addition to our regular youth group meetings, we have the Passion practices from 3-5pm in preparation for Good Friday. If you are interested in partici-pating and helping out with this beautiful prayer experience, con-tact me via email at yminister1@gmail.com. Although practices are underway, it is not too late to still get involved. It is a great way to spend the season of Lent and to grow in relationship with God and others.

We are planning a rake-and run- service opportunity for our youth but we need to know who needs are help. If you know someone who might need yard work done this spring, contact me at the above mentioned address. We are starting small with only taking the first five people who respond with a need if for your-self, a neighbor or a loved one. This one day event will take place Saturday May 16th.

Our week long work service trip this summer will be different. We will be going with another organization called Young Neighbors in Action, YNIA. I will have more details in the weekly bulletin with an initial meeting date for those wanting more information. The week will start July 5th and the service will take place in Detroit. I have participated in this program in the past and it is a great program, very different from our NRN ser-vice. For now, please check out their webpage at ynia.org.

EDGE NEWS

TEEN NEWS from Margaret Callaghan

(6 - 8 graders) We are headed to Catholic Central in Lansing on March 14th for the diocesan wide Middle School Rally , I’ve Got S.W.A.G Strength, Wisdom And God! I love the theme and am looking forward to a great day! We are taking our biggest group of mid-dle school students EVER! I am so excited to take so many!!

It doesn’t seem possible but we are less than five meetings from done with the 2014/15 EDGE year of meetings! We meet on March 9 and 23rd, then our two meetings in April on the 13th and 27th! WOW!!! Come join us for these four meetings. You won’t regret it!

MAGDALEN’S PRESCHOOL

from Kathie Anderer

Wow… it has sure been cold!! Old man winter seems to be hanging on forever! I am so ready for the spring weather to return. Our VIP Night is over for another year. What a fun night we had! The children love the whole idea of bringing someone special to “Night School”. Making memories is sure fun! We went from Night School to PJ day at preschool. Everyone got to where PJ’s to class. Another fun activity for sure! March is reading month. We have a field trip planned to go to Barnes and Noble. We are running a Book Fair in conjunction with the field trip. There will be a reminder in the church bulletin about this event. Any purchases made online or in-store from March 4th through March 10th will give us credit to make pur-chases of books or toys. You need to use the as-signed number for us to receive this credit. That number is: #11567112 . Please hold off on any pur-chases you may have in mind and help us out by mak-ing those purchases during that week. Thanks so much! Preschool sign up for the school year 2015-2016 is in progress. If you or someone you know is looking for a preschool for next year, please come in for a visit and to pick up an application or PRINT ONE HERE. Our class lists will be compiled soon so hurry and get your application turned in. We would love to have you join us! Also, if you have a child in the 3-year old class this year, please notify us by March 14th if you intend to keep them in the program next year. Our class lists will be compiled after that date. Have a wonderful Easter and God’s blessings to you

and your families.

IN FEBRUARY

SERVANT TO MANY from Gary Prise

As usual I am writing this article past the deadline. Last night was the coldest night this winter, -25, and that was the tem-perature without considering the wind. The good news is we are closer to Spring; we are celebrating the liturgical season of Spring, Lent. We are about a 1/3 of the way through Lent; how do you think you are doing? What changes have you made? what are you doing differently in your life? I am working on gossip among other things; eliminating it from my life. It is everywhere, yes even in the most perfect work environments. Six years ago when I started working for the church I naively thought it would be a perfect place, heaven on earth. Well it is better than most of the organizations I have worked in, but it is far from perfect. People are people regardless of their place in life. If I isolated myself in my office with the door locked, the internet off, and the phone un-plugged, I would be 100% successful at not talking about people behind their back. I may as well go off into the wilderness by myself. Not a terribly realistic approach. So, I am calling upon Jesus each time I have the urge to say something unflattering about someone else. The funny thing is, what I am about to verbal-ize about another is more often than not a fault I have perfected. Prayer is more about changing me than about changing God or fellow human being. Pray for me, please, it’s not easy.

THE KNIGHTS CORNER from Ken Anderer, Grand Knight

The annual Tootsie Roll Drive to benefit the mentally impaired will be conducted on Friday, March 27, Saturday the 28th, and on Palm Sunday the 29th. Many of the members or our council will be sta-tioned at area merchants and businesses, handing out these tasty little candies. Greet them warmly when you see them, and give generously. Thank you for shopping and banking with the businesses, that allow us to stand at their entrances, to make the drive possible. Watch for our next Mom-to-Mom Sale set for April 11th. Space is limited and we always sell out. To reserve a table go to brightonmomsale@gmail.com The K of C is a great way to make a difference, in ways not possible as an individual, and have a great time doing it. I invite men 18 years and older to contact me if they are interested in knowing more about our Order. Ken Anderer Grand Knight Gk12295@mikoc.org

CHARITY AND JUSTICE by Sue Weir

Charity is the response to an immediate need; Justice seeks to end the need

Easter Tree of Life Our “Senior Easter Tree of Life” went up in the Gathering Area on February 18th. Tags on the tree represent the needs of senior citizens from Brighton, Highland, Howell, and Hartland Senior Centers, Livingston County Catholic Services (LCCS), Medilodge, and The White Pines Rehabilitation Center (formally Howell Care Center). These basic needs include soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, paper towels, stationery, stamps, and gift cards for area grocery stores and pharmacies. You are invited to take a tag from the tree and return the unwrapped item or gift cards by March 22nd. Community and the Common Good is a Key Principle of Catholic social Teaching. Our Catholic faith tells us everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the good of the whole society and we need to resist excessive individualism. Human digni-ty and the well being of all are directly enhanced by just laws and inclusive economics. To love our neighbor is to promote a community spirit and well being for all. Charity and Justice meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm. All are welcome!

Megan & Brandon Szredzinski Cole & Brody Howell John & Jodi Haubenstricker Sydney Brighton

Michelle & Skip Dorrington Dexter Pam & Marvin Pustinger Alexis, Alaina, Amelia Milford

Mary & Jeff Libler Jordan, Joey, Josh, Julianne, Josie Howell Eugene Osowski Hartland

Lisa & William Hackett Brighton

Each year, the Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA) unites all 82 parishes of our dio-

cese, drawing us together to accomplish wonderful works that help change lives.

2015 DSA PRAYER

Loving God, we thank You for calling us together.

In You we are one.

Help us to remember that united, we are called to be merciful and love one another through the gen-erous sharing of our time, gifts and resources.

Please bless our efforts and help us to grow as a united and vibrant community of faith.

Give us the grace to generously support our Dioce-san Services Appeal so that we may faithfully do the work of Your Church. Amen

YOUR DSA CONTRIBUTION helps strengthen the

joint ministry of the 82 parishes in the Diocese of

Lansing and enables us to serve the people across

our 10 county region and beyond.

Diocese of Lansing facts:*

• More than 191,522 Catholics

• 2,067 Infant Baptisms

• 414 First Communions

• 2,824 Confirmations

• 691 Marriages

• 1,943 Funerals

• 29 Seminarians in Formation

• 15,007 Youth in Religious Education

• 8,148 Students in Catholic Schools

• 647 adults and children were welcomed into the

Catholic faith through the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA)

• More than 222,860 families touched by Catholic

Charities in the Diocese of Lansing

*As reported in The Kennedy Directory for fiscal year 2013

CONVENIENT WAYS TO GIVE Several payment options are available including;

• One time cash gift

• Credit card gift

• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

• Pledge with monthly payments

• Stock donation

• Donation online: www.DioceseofLansing.org

THE PASTORAL STAFF

PASTOR Fr. David F. Howell pastor1@saintmarymagdalen.org

PASTORAL MINISTER Sr. Maryetta Churches, O.P. pastmin2@saintmarymagdalen.org

EDUCATION & FORMATION-

YOUTH Mary Mahar, Director mmahar@parishmail.com Karen MacDonald, Adm. Assistant sect2@saintmarymagdalen.org

FORMATION & EVANGELIZA-

TION- ADULTS Sr. Joyce Hoile, O.S.F. pastmin1@saintmarymagdalen.org

RCIA DIRECTOR & LITURGIST Diane Kubus rcia@saintmarymagdalen.org liturgist@saintmarymagdalen.org

DEACONS H. David Scharf deacon1@saintmarymagdalen.org James Chevalier deacon2@saintmarymagdalen.org Gary Prise deacon3@saintmarymagdalen.org Devon Wolfe deacon4@saintmarymagdalen.org

SECRETARIES Jillian Killian sect5@saintmarymagdalen.org Debbie Dehanke sect3@saintmarymagdalen.org Sandi Phillips sect4@saintmarymagdalen.org

BOOKKEEPER Dave Wisniewski bookkeeper@saintmarymagdalen.org

PRE-SCHOOL DIRECTOR Kathie Anderer preschool1@saintmarymagdalen.org

YOUTH MINISTRY Margaret Callaghan yminister1@gmail.com

PASTORAL MUSICIAN Steven H. Schulte steve@colleengleason.com

MAINTENANCE Dan Tuthill maint1@saintmarymagdalen.org Mark Wolf - Kathleen Gehring

2201 South Old US 23 Highway Brighton, Michigan 48114-7609 Phone: (810) 229 - 8624 Fax: (810) 229—6471 Email: info@saintmarymagdalen.org Website: www.saintmarymagdalen.org

MARKING THE CALENDAR March 30 (Monday) COMMUNAL PENANCE SERVICE -- 7:30pm

April 1 (Wednesday) SEDER MEAL -- 6:30pm Seating is limited! Sign up in the gathering area!

April 2 (Holy Thursday) MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER -- 7:30pm Our celebration of Holy Thursday will begin with Morning Prayer at 8 AM. In the evening, after the Mass of the Lord's Supper, we will watch and pray with the Lord in Holy Cross Chapel from 9 pm until Tenebrae at 11:30. The night watch will end at midnight.

April 3 (Good Friday) LITURGY OF THE LORD'S PASSION -- 7:30 pm 9 am Our celebration of Good Friday will begin with Morning Prayer. 1:00 pm A special Way of the Cross will commemorate the Lord's Passion and Death. 7:30 pm The traditional Good Friday Service, with the re-enactment of the Passion.

April 4 (Holy Saturday) SOLEMN CELEBRATION OF EASTER -- 8:30 pm Our celebration of Holy Saturday will begin with Morning Prayer at 9 AM. In the evening we will celebrate the most important Liturgy of the year and the completion of the Lord's Passover through death to life! It is a Celebration of the Resurrection, rich in ancient symbolism. During the Liturgy new members are initiated into the Church through Bap-tism, Confirmation and Eucharist. We who have made the journey of Lent renew our Baptismal commitment as we strive to live the new life Christ has given us through His death and resurrection.

EASTER EGG HUNT All children are welcome to attend from 12 noon to 2 pm. We will gather promptly at 12 noon back by the barn.

April 5 (Easter Sunday) THE CELEBRATION OF EASTER -- 9 & 11 am These two Sunday Masses continue the celebration from the evening before. They include the renewal of Baptismal promises as we strive to live the new life Christ has given us through His death and resurrection.

SAINT MARY MAGDALEN PARISH