LANSING — The Michigan Catholic Conference has named Tom Hickson its vice president for public policy, effective Monday, Jan. 31.
Tom Hickson
Hickson was director of legislative affairs for the Michigan Association of Counties, where he was responsible for coordinating legislative strategies to advance that organization’s policy agenda. He also has served as legislative liaison for the state Department of Environmental Quality, as assistant legislative liaison for the state Department of Natural Resources and as a policy advisor in the Michigan House of Representatives. He also has served as a legislative assistant to former State Representative Andrew Richner and as constituent relations assistant to former State Senator Jon Cisky. (more…)
SAGINAW — The big day for this year’s Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 30-Feb. 5), as far as Saginaw schools are concerned, is Monday, Jan. 31.
That’s when Bishop Joseph R. Cistone will join students from St. Thomas Aquinas schools and St. Elizabeth School in Reese for Mass at 9 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas, then have a 1 p.m. Mass at St. Stephen for Nouvel Catholic Central High School and St. Stephen students.
The rest of the week, however, also includes some interesting events. (more…)
Kindergarteners Josh Beauchamp and Ashlyn Boogren set up the altar as part of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at St. Robert School in Flushing. Courtesy photo
By Fr. Steven Mattson
Special to The Catholic Times
Catholic Schools Week this year places a fitting focus on the great gift of Catholic schools to our families, our diocese and our world. Each year at this time of year, we recall the witness, words and work of St. Thomas Aquinas, the patron of Catholic schools. He offered his life in service to God and was a man of great wisdom and holiness who effectively communicated the truth to believers and non-believers alike. Under his great patronage, we pause this week to wonder at God’s goodness to us. We thank God for the privilege of being able to call upon the Lord within Catholic school classrooms and to help children become vibrant and faithful disciples of Christ. (more…)
LANSING — Students and staff at Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lansing will join with fellow Catholic schools supporters to mark Catholic Schools Week Sunday through Saturday, Jan. 30-Feb. 5.
This year’s theme is “A+ for America — Catholic Schools” and celebrates the heritage of Catholic Schools, the backbone of faith formation in America.
The big event is the Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 31, at St. Mary Cathedral with Bishop Earl Boyea. (more…)
BAY CITY — As Catholic schools in the Bay Area celebrate Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 30-Feb. 5), two of the big events will be Masses with Saginaw Bishop Joseph R. Cistone.
One will be 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, at St. Michael Church, 225 S. Jennings St. in Pinconning. The other will be 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at St. Stanislaus Church, 1503 Kosciuscko Ave. in Bay City.
At All Saints High School and Middle School, the students will spend the week in a penny war, raising funds for the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
During the week, the high schoolers will be gathering donations of food so that on Friday, some students can spend the day preparing sack lunches with the donated materials for the rescue mission. (more…)
Roberta Schrock receives a bouquet of roses from daughter, Paula, during Roberta’s 50th Christmas party on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at St. Joseph Parish in Ypsilanti, where she is a member. Joe Yekulis/Catholic Times
By Joseph Yekulis
Special to The Catholic Times
YPSILANTI — Roberta Schrock of Ypsilanti Township celebrated her 50th year of caring for persons with developmental disabilities by sponsoring a Christmas party for 310 of her closest friends and family from throughout Washtenaw County in early December at St. Joseph Parish hall in Whittaker.
What’s just as remarkable is that this was also the 50th year for this annual Christmas party, which began in 1960 during her first year in the direct-care business. (more…)
Workshop helps parish leaders with new Roman Missal translation
By Lisa Briggs
The Catholic Times
GRAND BLANC — Snowy roads didn’t stop more than 100 people from getting to a five-hour workshop on the revised Roman Missal on Thursday, Jan. 13, at Holy Family Parish.
That’s because everyone in attendance — priests, deacons, sisters, principals, directors of religious education, directors of Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, music directors, cantors, youth ministers, parish worship members and office secretaries — wanted to know what all the commotion about the revised Roman Missal is all about.
“The first question I know you all have is, ‘Why are we here?’” said Rita Thiron, associate director of the Office of Worship at the Diocese of Lansing, who led the workshop — the third in a series of six workshops offered throughout the diocese to help parish leaders with the task of implementing the revised Roman Missal at the parish local level.
“You’re here today,” Thiron said, “because we have a new liturgical book and it has new words that we all have to learn. Beginning the first Sunday of Advent (Nov. 27) we will all be using a new Roman Missal, the third edition, and we all better find out what all the fuss is about.” (more…)
Fr. Randall P. Phillips is a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit who earned his doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, writing his thesis on “Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Concept of Faith.” Courtesy photo
By MariAnn Saenen
The Catholic Weekly
SAGINAW — The snow that fell Saturday, Jan. 15, couldn’t keep 40-plus people from gathering at Saginaw’s Center for Ministry.
The racially mixed crowd came to hear Fr. Randy Phillips, a priest from the Archdiocese of Detroit, talk about “What Catholics Might Learn from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.”
Fr. Phillips started his presentation with a personal anecdote describing how he, as a boy of 11, learned the news on April 4, 1968, that King had been assassinated. The audience also took a few moments to share their memories of that event. (more…)
Fr. Andy Booms, pastor of St. Michael Church in Port Austin, stands outside the historic church with its newly renovated steeple (above). Debbie Oglenski/Catholic Weekly
By Debbie Oglenski
The Catholic Weekly
PORT AUSTIN — The steeple at St. Michael Church is a landmark in this Thumb town.
A year ago, that landmark was in trouble.
“The cross was in danger of falling,” said Fr. Andrew Booms, pastor since 2008. “We had to do something to prevent injury to person or property.”
When Fr. Booms arrived there was some angst over the future of the building but there was also a moratorium on any maintenance. A year later, the moratorium was lifted and a search was launched to find a company to inspect the historic 140-year-old church. (more…)
At the Vocations Awards Dinner, Bishop Bernard Hebda presented three framed Papal blessings to honorees for their special efforts and support for vocations in the Diocese of Gaylord. Don and Linda Zielinski from Alpena also Dave and Alice Fernelius from Fernelius Auto in Cheboygan; and (above) members of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Knights of Columbus Council 7623 from Hale/Whittemore.
Diocese of Gaylord opened a year-long celebration of its 40th Anniversary and the annual observance of National Vocations Awareness Week on January 8, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, with a special event at St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord.
Bishop Bernard Hebda presided at the Eucharistic Liturgy with Fr. Dennis Stilwell, Fr. James Bearss, Fr. Matthew Wigton, Fr. Donald Geyman, and Fr. Gerald Okoli concelebrating. Deacon Paul Fifer served as Deacon for the Mass. Joining parishioners from the Cathedral were 22 young men who were attending the St. Andrew Task Force retreat for high school boys being held that weekend as well as members of the Vocations Advisory Committee and over 150 others from across the diocese who came to attend the Inaugural Vocations Awards Dinner taking place after Mass in the Cathedral Parish Hall.
During his homily Bishop Hebda focused on the Gospel reading recalling the baptism of Jesus by John and reminding the congregation “how important it is that just as God the Father had a plan for God the Son that the Son embraced completely, so too does God have a plan for each one of us.” Noting that the day also marked the beginning of Vocations Awareness Week, Bishop Hebda explained that it is a week set apart for each person to reflect upon God’s love for each of us and how we are “all called in some way to build up the local church, to give our gifts back to Him to do with what He wills.” (more…)