St. Stephen's Catholic Church Stephen, Mn
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Website Contact: ststephens@wiktel.com
Assumption Bulletin Website
Contact: assumption@wiktel.com
March 24, 2024 — Palm Sunday
St. Stephen’s
Church, Stephen
515 Fifth Street,
P.O. Box 507, Stephen, MN 56757
Phone: 218-478-2231 ststephens@wiktel.com www.wiktel.net/ststephens
Pastor: Father Luis Buitron lbuitron@wiktel.com Phone: 218-242-5689
Parish Secretary: Priscilla Steinke
Office
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
— 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
(closed all holy
days of obligation and holidays)
Youth
Minister: Ethan Marquis
Pastoral Council: Kristin Gajeski,
Katrina Halfmann, Autumn Schindele, and Danika Sundby
Finance Council: Alex Anderson,
Daniel Gerszewski, and Darrin Kowalski
Trustees: Todd Chwialkowski and Ethan
Marquis
Diocesan Victim
Assistance If you or someone you know has been the
victim of sexual misconduct on the part of a priest, deacon, or individual
representing the Diocese of Crookston, its parishes, or its schools, your first
call should be to law enforcement. In
addition, the diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator is available at 218-281-7895
(24-hour confidential number).
Project Rachel Ministry: Healing After Abortion The Project
Rachel ministry is offered to women and men who have had a past experience with
abortion and wish to seek healing and reconciliation. A trained counselor can be reached through
this confidential phone number (218‑470‑0112) on Tuesday-Friday 10
a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-Noon.
New to the area?
Please contact the parish office to register. Change of address/phone number. Please contact the parish office.
Knights of Columbus
members: If you have insurance questions, please
contact Joe Caouette at 320-485-2202.
Mission
Statement of St. Stephen’s Church
We the community of St
Stephen’s are believers in Jesus Christ; striving to proclaim His Gospel in
word and in deed. Through worship,
evangelization, formation and service we invite our brothers and sisters to
know the Lord.
The
Sacramental Life
Please
contact Father Luis at 218-242-5689 to schedule an appointment.
Baptism:
Pre-baptism class is required for parents. Please call Father Luis.
Reconciliation: available before Saturday evening Mass: 4:30-5:00 p.m.; before Sunday 8:30 a.m.
Mass: 8:00-8:30 a.m.; or by calling
Father Luis for an appointment. No
Reconciliation before 10:30 a.m. Mass.
If you are homebound or handicapped, please call Father Luis for an
in-home appointment.
Marriage: All Catholics who have made a
decision to enter into marriage must meet with a priest six months before the
proposed wedding date. If a Catholic is
contemplating marriage to a non-Catholic, the Catholic must still contact a
priest to fill the requirements of the Catholic Church for the marriage to be validly
recognized by the Catholic Church.
Pastoral
Visit/Anointing of the Sick: If you or a family member would like to receive
a home visit, the Holy Eucharist for the homebound, or the Sacrament of
Anointing of the Sick, please call Father Luis.
St. Stephen’s
Church Mass Schedule
Wednesday, March 27,
at 8:30 a.m. — Mass for †Jim Nelson by Jim & Renae Seibel
Holy Thursday,
March 28, at 7:00 p.m. — Mass for †Paul & Vi Halfmann by Bonnie Burnson
Easter Sunday, March
31, at 8:30 a.m. — Mass for †MaryAnn Chwialkowski by Ted & Juliet Rogus
No Rosary said
before Easter Sunday Mass
Note: Tri-Parish Mass times will change the weekend
of Easter
Eucharistic
Adoration at St. Stephen’s – April 7 from 1-5 p.m.
Tri-Parish
Mass Schedule for April, May & June, 2024
Saturday at 5:00
p.m. — Assumption (Exceptions: April 7
at 10:30 a.m. & April 21 at 8:30 a.m.)
Sunday at 8:30
a.m. — St. Stephen’s (Exception: Prom
Mass - April 20 at 5:00 p.m.)
Sunday at 10:30
a.m. — St. Rose (Exception: April 6 at
5:00 p.m.)
Tuesday Mass at
5:00 p.m. — St. Rose
Wednesday Mass
at 8:30 a.m. — St. Stephen’s
Thursday and
Friday Masses at 6:00 p.m. — Assumption
Liturgical
Ministry
Thursday, March
28 (Holy Thursday), at 7:00 p.m.
Lectors — Todd C.
Altar Servers —
Jacob S. & Avery S.
Eucharistic
Ministers — Darin A. & Gary A.
Greeters — Bill
& Becki S.
Sunday, March
31 (Easter Sunday), at 8:30 a.m.
Lectors — Katrina
H.
Altar Servers —
Annika A. & Ashley A.
Eucharistic
Ministers — Wendell P. & Katrina H.
Greeters — Darin
& Katie A.
Rosary Leader for
March — Roger K.
Note: No Rosary said before Mass on
Easter Sunday
Special
Prayers For
Rita Chwialkowski, Denese Nicholls, & DeAnna
Woinarowicz
To add a name to the
prayer list — ask their permission
first, then contact the parish office. Names
are left on the list for four weeks.
If you want a name kept on the prayer list, call the parish office for
an additional four weeks.
Prayer Chain Please call
the parish office with prayer requests.
Prayer Blankets Please contact
Theresa Kuznia if you know of anyone who needs comfort and prayers and would
like a prayer blanket from the Ladies Aid.
Stewardship of
Treasure
March 17: $778.00
Adults: $710.00
Children: $.00 Plate:
$68.00
Flowers: $200.00
2023-2024
Budget for Sunday Offertory: $97,050 / 52 weeks = $1,866.35
Donations while away for the weekend When you are away from Stephen for weekend
Mass you can still give to your home parish by dropping your donation envelope
in the collection basket at the church where you are attending Mass and it will
be mailed back to St. Stephen’s. OR Did you know that St. Stephen’s Church
has the option for automatic debit from a checking or savings account? Contact the parish office at 218‑478‑2231
to set this up.
CRS Rice Bowl MODERN
DAY SIMON OF CYRENE Palm
Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. As we walk with Jesus this week, we remember
the countless women, children and men who carry heavy crosses even today: crosses of hunger, of vulnerability to climate
change, or of a lack of resources. How—like
Simon of Cyrene—can you help to carry the crosses of our sisters and brothers
in your local community and around the world? Visit crsricebowl.org/holy-week to
learn more. RICE BOWLS WILL BE
COLLECTED APRIL 9.
2024 DAA See yourself as one of the many
characters in today’s readings. Are you
St. Peter, who denies Jesus and cannot stay awake? Are you the woman with the jar of oil, the
person who offered his colt or the man who provided hospitality via the upper
room. Maybe you are one of the crowd -
an observer, trying to see where you fit in.
Or you are Simon of Cyrene who carries the cross or one of the women by
the cross with Jesus. You are part of
the story continuing today. Play your
part! If you have prayed and played your
part in offering your gift to DAA, thank you!
If not, please offer your gift in gratitude for all the blessing you
will receive during Easter. You can
donate online at www.crookston.org/DAA. Thank you!
St.
Stephen’s 2024 DAA Goal:
$9,857 Committed as of March 18, 2024: $7,290 by 22 donors
Extra Flower Donation Envelopes are
located in the vestibule. If you would
like to donate toward the church flowers, please drop your donation envelope in
the Sunday collection basket.
Good Friday Collection Our
parish will support Christians in the Holy Land through the Good Friday
Collection. Please support our brothers
and sisters in the Holy Land by giving to the Good Friday collection. The pontifical collection allows for care of
Christianity’s holiest sites and for God’s people living in the Holy Land. Please be generous in your support!
Ladies Aid
Pans and Bowls There are many pans and bowls in the kitchen
from past events. Please pick yours up
today!
March Ladies Aid Leaders –
Kristin Gajeski, Linda Laudal, Donna Safranski, Jodi Szczepanski & Dana
Woinarowicz
Other Items
and Future Events
Thank You
Knights Thank
you to all of those who prepared food and served for the Lenten Soup and
Sandwich Supper and Stations of the Cross.
We are grateful for your continued service to our parish community.
Annual Sacred Sounds Concert to be held at St.
Stephen’s Church on Wednesday, March 27, beginning at 7:00 p.m. We invite you to come and enjoy some
prayerful music performed by the SAC students.
Following the concert, you are invited for refreshments which will be
served by the SAC Junior class. A
free-will offering will be collected at the concert. The offering will be split between the SAC
Junior Class and the Stephen Ministerial Fund.
St. Stephen’s Choir The
choir will sing: Thursday, March 28 at
7:00 p.m. for Holy Thursday and Sunday, March 31 at 8:30 a.m. for Easter. Please come a half hour early for each
service for practice upstairs in the church.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend "Love
one another as I have loved you." John 13:34 - Attend a
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend and experience the love of your spouse
like you never have before. The next available weekends are
April 27-28, 2024, in Owatonna, MN, and May 3-5, 2024, in Buffalo, MN. Early registration is highly
recommended. For more information visit our website at: northmnwwme.org or
contact Miki at applications@northmnwwme.org or
507-227-8229.
Things to know about the Mass Go, the Mass is ended! “And the angel of the Lord came again a
second time, and touched him, and said.
‘Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you.’ And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in
the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of
God” (1 Kings 19:7-8). The Eucharist is
this mysterious food and drink prefigured in the experience of the prophet
Elijah.
The dismissal
of the people by the deacon or priest is a mandate for mission. Many who “sit in darkness and in the shadow
of death” (Luke 1:79) wait for the light and warmth that only one nourished by
the Eucharist can bring. Paradoxically
the end of the
Mass is the beginning of our mission. We are bound to leave, and leaving, to labor
in love, so as to return “full of song, carrying our sheaves” (cf. Psalm
125:6).
The Mass ends,
mysteriously, with a kiss. The priest
and deacon kiss the altar. It is the
kiss of promise and anticipation, something that the heart understands. The Church thus lives from Eucharist to
Eucharist, “proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Corinthians
11:26).
“Pilate again said to
them, ‘Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?’ And they cried out again, ‘Crucify
him.’” Mark 15:12-13
Jesus told us “Whatever you do
for the least of my brothers, you do for me.”
Every day we are presented opportunities to help someone. Every day we have the opportunity to see the
face of Jesus in others and be the face of Jesus to others. Every day we pass by someone in need. Pray for the strength and courage to be the
answer to someone’s prayer.
Knights of
Columbus Council 3385
SAC Seniors Remember to pick up your Knights of Columbus
Scholarship Application at the high school counselor’s office. It is
available to any senior at Stephen-Argyle Central School who is member of the
St. Rose of Lima, St. Stephen’s or Assumption Catholic parishes.
Knights of Columbus members or family members
Remember that the Knights of Columbus
does have a college student loan program for 2- and 4-year colleges. Feel
free to contact Darrin Kowalski for more information at 218-289-1192.
Diocese of
Crookston Announcements
Chrism Mass The Most
Reverend Andrew H. Cozzens invites all the faithful of the Diocese of Crookston
to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the 2024 Chrism Mass at 6:30
p.m. on Monday, March 25.
Each year,
the oils for sacramental anointing used in the diocese are blessed at the
Chrism Mass. These oils include: the oil of the infirm, used for the sick and
dying to give them strength to bear their suffering, resist evil and obtain
forgiveness for sin; the oil of the catechumens, used to give strength to
renounce sin and the devil; and the Sacred Chrism, the chief anointing oil,
used at Baptism, Confirmation and Ordination as well as the anointing of altars
and walls of churches being dedicated for Christian worship. Representatives will receive the blessed oils
and take them to their parishes throughout the diocese.
The priests
of the diocese will also renew their promises to the bishop that evening. Livestream will be available at crookston.org.
Mercy Hour
The next Mercy Hour with Bishop Cozzens:
April 14 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Greenbush at
3:00 p.m.
Natural
Family Planning Introductory Session The Crookston Diocese welcomes all couples
to a free Natural Family Planning Introductory Session presented by Laura
Golden, FCP and Sarah McKeown, CFCP.
Here you will learn the Creighton model and will be provided with
responsible parenthood instructions for achieving pregnancy, avoiding
pregnancy, and monitoring fertility and cycles.
Laura and Sarah will also provide you with real solutions to problems
such as infertility, PMS, miscarriages, reproductive health concerns, and
more! This will be at no cost to the
couples, or the parishes. There are
three free introductory On-line Zoom sessions (7:30-9:00 p.m.) offered in 2024,
so feel free to go to https://www.crookston.org/offices/discipleship/marriagefam
for more dates. Next session: April 18, 2024. To register, the QR code is located on the
poster on the bulletin board.
Quilting Retreat The Holy Rosary Quilt Group invites you to a Quilting Retreat at the Diocese
Pastoral Center from Thursday, April 18 to Sunday, April 21, 2024. Contact Sandy at 701-540-2692 or sfgravelle@hotmail.com for reservation information.
Star of the North Eucharistic Congress - save the dates May 17-19, 2024 Bishop Andrew
Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, and Bishop Daniel J. Felton of the Diocese
of Duluth welcome you to the Star of the North Eucharistic Congress, May 17 and
18 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, MN.
The Congress is a collaboration between the Diocese of Crookston and the
Diocese of Duluth, preceding the May 19 commencement of the Marian Route of the
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage at the headwaters of the great Mississippi
River in Itasca State Park. Join Bishops
and pilgrims from across the Midwest as we gather to celebrate and glorify
Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The Star of
the North Eucharistic Congress will inspire pilgrims to increase their devotion
in the Eucharist while learning ways to share the many graces of this great
Sacrament through powerful talks and witness testimonies, panels, fellowship,
praise and worship, Mass, adoration, confession, and a Eucharistic Procession. Featured Speakers include
Bishop Robert Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, Jude Andrew Link, OP,
Tanner Kalina of Saints Alive, Aly Aleigha and more speakers to be announced
soon! The Star of the North Eucharistic
Congress is for the entire family. All
are welcome! Register soon as spaces are
limited. For more information and to register visit
CrookstonEucharist.org. To avoid
extra registration processing fees, at this time tickets are available by
calling Katrina Halfmann at 218-280-2388.
National Eucharistic Congress There are
still tickets remaining for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, July 17-21,
2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Join
80,000 Catholics from across the Country for this powerful, once in a lifetime
event! Please visit https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/. You are encouraged and invited to attend with
the Diocese of Crookston delegation. For
information about how to register for the congress as a member of the Diocese
of Crookston Delegation, please visit https://www.Crookston.org/revival. The Diocese of Crookston is working with
Corporate Travels who have arranged for hotel rooms near the venue and tickets
to the event.
Tri-Parish Holy Week
Schedule
(Note: There
will be no confessions during Holy Week)
Monday, March 25 — Chrism Mass at the Cathedral at
6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 27 — Sacred Sounds Concert at St.
Stephen’s at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 28 — Holy Thursday — Mass at St.
Stephen’s at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, March 29 — Good Friday Service — St. Rose
at 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 30 — Easter Vigil Mass — Assumption
at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 31 — Easter Sunday — Masses at St.
Stephen’s at 8:30 a.m. (No Rosary said before Mass) and St. Rose at 10:30 a.m.