St. Stephen's Catholic Church    Stephen, Mn

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Website Contact:  ststephens@wiktel.com

Assumption Bulletin         Website Contact:  assumption@wiktel.com

St Rose Bulletin       

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.