THE CATHOLIC FALCON CATHOLIC FALCON 425 Thurstin Ave. Bowling Green, OH 43402 419-352-7555 www.sttoms.com In This Issue St. Thomas More Parish Staff A Letter From Our Pastor The Catholic Falcon Community Newman Housing Community BGK20 Campus Minister Annual Appeal 3 Ways To Give Follow, Get, & Like Us! /bgsucatholic #BGSUStToms St. Tom s BGSU App MARCH 2017
THE CATHOLIC FALCON FROM OUR PASTOR STAFF Pastor Fr. Jason Kahle frjason@sttoms.com Parish Manager Theresa Williams info@sttoms.com Campus Minister Alicia Schmiesing cminister@sttoms.com Student Campus Minister Jeremy Litwinowicz litwinj@bgsu.edu Newman Housing Ministers Veronica Flacke Alex Winner aptmgr@sttoms.com Music Coordinators Sophia Moretto Hilary Powell musiclit@sttoms.com Receptionist Jan Meyer Receptionist@sttoms.com Bookkeeper Kathy Moss Assistant@sttoms.com Coordinators of RCIA Beth & Mike Manahan bmannahan@woh.rr.com Maintenance/Cleaning Ray Kagy raymondkagy@yahoo.com Maintenance Dick Hermes maintenance@sttoms.com Volunteer Coordinator Kathy Wojciechowski kathy.wojo612@gmail.com Coordinators of Religious Education Denise Russell deniserussell62@gmail.com Dana Nutter danagrape@hotmail.com Dear Family and Friends, The future is bright at St. Thomas More University Parish as we serve Bowling Green State University! We are grateful for our blessings from you that allow us to make campus ministry here readily available for our young adults who are being formed into becoming our leaders. Campus ministry is the public presence and service through which properly prepared baptized persons are empowered by the Spirit to use their talents and gifts on behalf of the Church in order to be a sign and instrument of the kingdom in the academic worlds (Empowered by the Spirit). As such, it is an essential aspect in higher education as it contributes to the formation of the entire person in six key ways. Appropriating the Faith: Faith is a free gift from God that is intended to be personalized and practiced. We have been blessed with the resources to share this in the BGSU community so that all can deepen their personal relationship with God and give witness to the Gospel. Developing Leaders for the Future: All of us are blessed with our own unique gifts that we are called to share with others. As a result of so many people sharing their gifts with us, we are able to instruct our students to recognize their own gifts, discover their personal calling, and embrace various opportunities for leadership in ordinary and extraordinary ways. Educating for Peace and Justice: This generation has and form faithful disciples. a desire to make a difference. Our desire is to assist in that by acting as advocates for peace and justice for all life from the womb to the tomb. Your support has helped us to further recognize and live out the aspects of Catholic social teaching. Facilitate Personal Development: College is ideal for developing ones identity, including discerning a vocation (i.e. calling from God) in the midst of academics. We have been graced with the assistance that enables us to encourage and guide this development, thus, forming individuals who are confident in themselves. Forming the Christian Conscience: Your gifts have allowed us to help form the consciences of our students so that they are better equipped to answer the many ethical and moral questions and dilemmas that inevitably arise in the academic community. Forming the Faith Community: Due to your generosity, our desire to form a faith community rooted in Jesus Christ and the Gospels that helps us recognize who we are is a reality here. This community of faith is available for all. Campus ministry is who we are here at St. Thomas More University Parish. Thank you for your support in our mission as we advance the kingdom of God and form faithful disciples. Praying for you as you pray for me, Pastor, St. Thomas More University Parish Campus ministry is who we are here at St. Thomas More University Parish. Thank you for your support in our mission as we advance the kingdom of God 2 St. Thomas More University Parish www.sttoms.com 419.352.7555
MARCH 2017 Hi Everybody, As we know, spring is coming up pretty soon and with spring comes new life. I m sure many of us enjoy gardening. Whether that s flowers or vegetables, gardeners know all about planting seeds. I want to thank all of you reading this newsletter because you all are the real gardeners. Thanks to all of you, seeds have been planted in many of the students at Bowling Green State University. As the President of the Catholic Falcon Community I have been blessed to watch new life spring forth. On behalf of the Catholic Falcon Community, I would like to thank you all immensely for the seeds you have helped plant in all of us. Whether you have helped as a parishioner, parent, alumni, student or anything else, you have done something to help us grow as a community and as individuals in our faith. Thanks to you, our core team of eight students has been able to host events like Winter Formal and our weekly Catholic Falcon Nights where we have discussions and activities on various topics such as the saints, the year of mercy and forming our consciences during the election. With your support, we have been able to provide students with service opportunities to give back to local nursing homes, hospice care, and organizations like Feed My Starving Children. On March 31st we are able to bring in Dr. John Wood to talk on campus about Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Mission. Thanks to you, we have been able to make our presence known on campus by handing out donuts or hot chocolate to passing students. As you can see there is a lot of growth that has taken place this year so thank you for being the gardeners that Christ has called you to be. Jeremy Davis Litwinowicz Student Campus Minister Catholic Falcon Community Hey friends! It hasn t ceased to amaze Alex or I how much this year has been one of thanksgiving. We both wanted to take a minute to step back and thank you all for the amazing community that you have supported and contributed to. The fruit that it s bore has brought this community closer to Christ. We want to thank you for being a part of the Newman Housing community. You might say that you re no longer a student or even living at St. Toms so how can you be a part of this community? To that, I say, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s descendant, heirs according to the promise Gal 3: 28-29. You my friends are a part of this community and a beautiful part of what makes Newman Housing such a wonderful place to live. We were able to renovate 21 student apartments this past summer because of your donations and hard work. Our students are living in brand new rooms! Thanks to you we are able to put on successful Lord s Day dinners, which, allow us to engage in fellowship, community prayer, and remind us to be thankful for the support of this wonderful community. Thanks to you we put on Friday Nights Out each month, which bring us together to share in laughter, fun, and the joy of Christ. Without you these ministries would not be possible. Thank you for being a part of something wonderful. Thank you for showing us Christ s love. Yours in Christ Jesus, Veronica Flacke and Alex Winner Your Newman Housing Ministers /bgsucatholic #BGSUStToms St. Tom s BGSU App 3
THE CATHOLIC FALCON thank you Dear Family in Christ, We have been truly blessed these last few years in making necessary and significant improvements in our facilities. As good stewards, most of these items were delayed for years until we, as a parish, decided that the repairs and improvements were absolutely critical; after which, many hours of discussion and meetings among various committees all of which centered in faith and prayer led to the completion of the numerous projects listed here. These are small and big projects that have gone above and beyond the already regular maintenance we practice (costs included): Renovated and repainted the Church ($90,000) Purchased new pews and chairs ($15,000) Replaced the roof over all our building ($110,000) Replaced or repaired boilers ($27,000) Solved draining and flooding problems ($31,000) Purchased and paved all parking lots ($300,000) The entirety of the above items has cost approximately: $1,133,000.00! Remodeled Seton Hall kitchen ($65,000) Remodeled Antioch kitchen ($15,000) Remodeled Rectory for the Pastor ($20,000) Totally remodeled the original Newman Housing apartments ($460,000) The mission of St. Thomas More University Parish is secure. Not only in the spirit of Christ carried out by our staff, parishioners, and students, but now, more than ever before, in our facilities. All this was possible because of you and your generosity. It was your gifts that made these improvements possible for us to budget and complete. You, our permanent community members, benefactors, friends, parishioners, non-parishioners, students, faculty, and staff of BGSU, all of you who have seen the fruit we provide in this University Parish community have generously invested in us by your donations. As a result, our accomplishments are your accomplishments. Truly, our blessings are many. It is beautiful and humbling to see such commitment in and for this community. The Lord s work is being done here without a doubt. Of all the projects we completed, the renovation of Newman Housing in the summer of 2016 was truly great and monumental. Due to the extraordinary situation of the deplorable conditions of the apartments prior to the renovations, it was necessary to take this project on, which had been discussed (and delayed) for over 30 years. The committees as a whole decided we couldn t wait any longer and with the permission from Bishop Thomas, we began this project the first day of BGSU s summer break with plans for the necessary fundraising. By the grace of God, we were able to complete this project just in time for the students to move in before the start of the academic year in August. Now that five months have passed since the completion, the students thoroughly enjoy their new living spaces and are able to further embrace the mission of our Newman Housing Community: a faith-based, intentional, living community. That being said, we wish to officially close the Newman Housing Campaign and thank each and every one of you who made this long-time dream a reality for us and our students. It wouldn t have been possible without your support in our mission as we share Christ in the BGSU community. And so, on behalf of the Pastoral, Finance, Maintenance, and Development Committees and Members, Thank You! Fr. Jason 4 St. Thomas More University Parish www.sttoms.com 419.352.7555
MARCH 2017 /bgsucatholic #BGSUStToms St. Tom s BGSU App 5
THE CATHOLIC FALCON FROM OUR Campus MINISTER Alicia Smash Schmiesing When I take a step back and think about what I m most thankful for in this ministry the gift of prayer resounds in my mind. Over the past several months, I have been humbled to hear the number of people who are praying for me, for us, and for all of the ministries here at St. Tom s. Every time I take a minute to think about it, tears of gratitude come to my eyes. I know, without a doubt, that the only reason I am at St. Tom s ministering to the students and permanent community members is because of the prayers many of you have offered up. As we were sitting in a staff meeting the other day, the word thanksgiving came up, even though it is February. While this word usually calls to mind images of turkey, stuffing, pilgrims, and Native Americans, there is another image that comes to my mind the Eucharist. Besides the fact that Eucharist means thanksgiving, it is also the time during Mass when I feel most connect to my Catholic family throughout the world. A good friend of mine shared with me a saying that has helped her feel close to her friends who live around the world. Before departing from them, she always says, I ll see you in the Eucharist. The phrase has struck me ever since then. The Christ who is present in the Eucharist at St. Tom s is the same Christ who is present in each Catholic Church throughout the world. When the priest raises the Precious Body during the Eucharistic Prayer, or when I am visiting Christ in the monstrance during Adoration, I can imagine a little portal connecting me to others throughout the world who have impacted my life. In that moment, I thank God for every single one of them. Words cannot express how thankful I am for all of your prayers. This year has been a tough one for me as I have taken on a new position right before the school year began, three of my closest friends have moved away, I moved to a new apartment, and, to top it off, I am taking classes to get my Master s degree in Pastoral Care. I know that it is only through your prayers that I have been able to find a new balance in my life. Please know of our prayers for each of you. If you have any prayer intentions that you would like me to pray for, please send them in the envelope provided or email them to me at cminister@sttoms.com. I ll be seeing you in the Eucharist, Alicia Smash Schmiesing 6 St. Thomas More University Parish www.sttoms.com 419.352.7555
MARCH 2017 ONLINE GIVING It s safe. It s simple. It s convenient. giving is easy with a one-time setup 1 Visit www. sttoms.com and click on Give Now in the lower righthand corner. This will bring you to a new website. Create an account. 2 Click Give a New Gift and select which fund you would like to donate to. Select which payment type you would like and click Next. 3 Add your payment source and enter your donation amount. /bgsucatholic #BGSUStToms St. Tom s BGSU App 7
NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOWLING GREEN, OH PERMIT NO. 41 425 Thurstin Ave Bowling Green, OH 43402 Phone: 419-352-7555 www.sttoms.com Return Service Requested. THE CATHOLIC FALCON WEEKLY EVENTS Saturday Reconciliation - 4:00 p.m. Mass - 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass - 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Religious Education after 10:00 a.m. Mass Thou Shall Chow after 5:00 p.m. Mass Monday Night of Worship - 9:00 p.m. Tuesday St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry Open 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 1:00-4:00 p.m. Reconciliation - 4:30 p.m. Rosary for Life - 5:00 p.m. Mass - 5:30 p.m. Parish Committee Meetings - 6:30 p.m. Prayer Group - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Community Morning Prayer and Breakfast - 7:00 a.m. Mass - 12:30 p.m. Reconciliation - 1:00 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration - 1:00 p.m. - 12:00 midnight RCIA - 7:00-9:00 p.m. Sports Night in Seton Hall - 9:00 p.m. Thursday St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry Open 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 1:00-4:00 p.m. Reconciliation - 4:30 p.m. Mass - 5:30 p.m. Catholic Falcon Nights in #201 Union 7:30 p.m. Bible Study - 9:00 p.m. Friday Mass - 12:30 p.m. Reconciliation - 1:00 p.m. Friday Night Out