Pastoral Plan Updates

Sharing the faith begins with our own encounter with the living Christ through sacraments, scripture and prayer. During the Lenten season we had the opportunity to “Repent and believe in the Gospel” through prayer, fasting and abstinence. To continue to grow spiritually as Catholics, we recommend the Hallow Prayer App to help you establish a habit of daily personal prayer and/or deepen and expand your existing prayer life.  There is something for everyone! You'll find guided rosaries, minute meditations, daily reflections, content for children, music, Bible in a Year, prayer [...]

Do you know one sign of a vibrant parish? The sight and sounds of young families at Mass. Children are always welcomed at St. Katharine’s, but taking care of them in church can be stressful for parents, and makes it difficult to focus on the Word of God. The Pastoral Plan’s Liturgy Experience committee understands this and, with the help of Mothers of Young Children and Faithful Families, has put together baskets of quiet toys for families to borrow during Mass. The baskets are located in the Lancaster Avenue vestibule and both side doors. The toys [...]

Human hand holding Christian cross with a sunset sky background Did you hear about our last children’s mass? When parishioners arrived, they were warmly welcomed by children offering a small gift to each child! Father Scott invited the children to join him up on the altar and had a meaningful conversation with them about Jesus’ love for us. The Children’s Choir, expertly led by Steph Twohig, filled church with joy and praise. Faithful Families and Mother's of Young Children hosted coffee, donuts & treats for everyone and organized a [...]

Would you guess that St. Katharine’s has almost 20 active ministries? Music, Bible Study, Walking with Purpose, Mercy Hospice, Youth Group, to name a few.   The primary goal of the Parishioner Engagement committee is, obviously, to involve more parishioners in activities at SKS. The first step has been to increase awareness of our existing ministries. Hopefully you have noticed more info about the mission and activities of different groups in Flocknote and the bulletin. The new “Ministry Corner” in the weekend email shines a spotlight on a specific ministry [...]

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Catholic Church is the sacrament of Reconciliation. Instituted by Jesus Christ, Reconciliation allows us to obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconcile with God. All three Pastoral Plan committees (Faith Sharing, Liturgy Experience and Parishioner Engagement) have been called to increase attendance at confession and, in doing so, help parishioners receive peace through the priest’s audible assurance of forgiveness.   Catholics are encouraged to go to confession all year but especially during Lent, the season of repentance and penance. St. Katharine’s is [...]

“…Make their words the echo of Christ’s voice so that those who hear them may be drawn to obey the Gospel” January was a fruitful month for the Faith Sharing committee, whose goal is to grow missionary discipleship at SKS and help parishioners deepen their relationship with Christ. The committee has focused on growing the Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) program, a series of five small group faith studies. On January 8, Monsignor Brouwers commissioned four parishioners from the altar following their completion of CCO, preparing them to be Christ-centered leaders [...]