Upcoming Events
- Saturday, August 17, 1-3 pm, Help is needed to prepare materials and clean our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd spaces (Please RSVP - see details below)
- Sunday, August 18, 9-10:15 am, training for anyone interested in being a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd assistant (Please RSVP - see details below)
- Sunday, August 18, Feel good about your shopping! Fair Trade items will be available for purchase in the vestibule of church after 8 am and 10:30 am Masses. (see details in the bulletin)
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Happy Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Did you know it was on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1534, that St. Ignatius and six companions, including our own St. Francis Xavier, chose to pronounce vows before the Blessed Sacrament during Mass at Montmartre, Paris? This was six years before the founding of the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) in 1540.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, let's pray together the Collect (the opening prayer) from today's Mass:
Almighty ever-living God,
who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son,
body and soul into heavenly glory,
grant we pray,
that, always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Here are the readings for today.
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Welcome SLU Students and SLU Families!
Tomorrow, Friday, August 16, is New Student Move-In, the official beginning of Saint Louis University's Fall Welcome, with the first 8 pm Student Mass this Sunday, August 18 (coordinated by Campus Ministry), classes beginning on Wednesday, August 22, and the Mass of the Holy Spirit at 11 am on Thursday, August 23.
Please be extra welcoming to any students you see at Mass this weekend (and, of course, throughout the year)! We wish a happy new school year to all of our parishioners and friends at the University!
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Two Years Since Katie's Installation
This week marks the two year anniversary of Katie Jansen's installation as our Parish Life Coordinator. Thank you, Katie! Be sure to read Katie's reflection in this week's bulletin.
Pictured: Fr. Tim McMahon, SJ, Msgr. Dennis Stehly, Katie Jansen, Fr. Tom Greene, SJ and Fr. Dan White, SJ at the installation of Katie Jansen as Parish Life Coordinator, August 21, 2022 (Photograph courtesy Michael Burks)
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Space Still Available In Our Youth Faith Formation Programs
Do you know wonderful families who are looking for engaging faith formation for their children and might be interested in joining our community? Please invite them to join you here at College Church and let them know there is still time to register for our classes beginning in September.
See details in the bulletin and at sfxstl.org/youth-faith to learn more about our traditional Religious Education (RE) classes and our Montessori-based Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS).
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Speaking of Youth Faith Formation, Can You Help?
We are looking for volunteers to help make materials and clean our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd spaces this Saturday, August 17 from 1-3 pm. It will be a great way to meet folks involved and to learn about our program! RSVP to Julie Kilian at julie@sfxstl.org.
Our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is seeking assistants to help in the atria on Sunday mornings (atria = plural of atrium, the lovely prepared environments for our Montessori-based CGS). We will host a training for anyone who is interested on Sunday, August 18, from 9-10:15 am. Please contact Julie for more info and to RSVP: julie@sfxstl.org
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Supporting the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA)
If you have not made your gift to the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, we wanted to let you know the deadline for this year’s appeal is August 16. Please go to aca.archstl.org to learn more about the important ministries funded through the ACA and to make your donation. In the "Parish to Credit" field on the donation form, click the dropdown and select Saint Francis Xavier “College Church” Parish. Thank you!
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Missouri ID Access Summit: Register Today!
From Christine Dragonette, our Director of Social Ministry: The Missouri State ID Access Coalition (of which College Church is a co-convener) is thrilled to host our first annual MO ID Access Summit on Saturday, September 7th, 2024 at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being, just down the street from College Church.
We'll bring together advocates, neighbors, lawyers, service providers, students and more to explore the ID landscape in Missouri. Sessions will delve into the basics of ID access and current disparities, advocacy skills, and prepare participants to take action moving forward to ensure all Missourians have the identification documents they need to thrive. Everyone is welcome!
More info and registration here: bit.ly/idaccess24
[Note: This is the same day as the What We Have Seen & Heard: Voices of the People Prayer Breakfast listed below - two great opportunities for College Church parishioners.]
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Meet Jaime, our new Director of Faith Formation
Hi, my name is Jaime (in Spanish it is pronounced something like HI-MEH) Gil Nuñez. I was born and raised in a small town in the state of Michoacan in central Mexico. I spent a lot of my younger years playing soccer, serving in church as lector, altar server and catechist, and later as a seminarian preparing for the priesthood in Mexico, the United States and Rome...yes, I ate a lot of pasta, gelato, and drove a scooter most days all over the Eternal City!
As a lay minister, I found joy and passion creating spaces where faith and life can flourish while working in various parishes and dioceses. After completing a Master's degree in Theology and Ministry at Boston College in 2017, I moved to Saint Louis to be close to my then girlfriend Michelle whom I met while in Boston. You could say that love brought me to Saint Louis! Michelle and I got married at St. Francis Xavier College Church in the fall of 2019. I truly believe that our beautiful wedding celebration with friends and family in this church is a testament of the powerful impact that a community like College Church can have in the lives of many people, especially those in most need of God's mercy and loving embrace.
I am humbled to now serve in this role as Director of Faith Formation. My hope is that we will all continue helping each other to become Christ-like, even if it's in little ways. I ask for your prayers and I ask that you too continue giving your time and talents to the mission of this faith community. I look forward to serving you and your loved ones. I can be reached at jaime@sfxstl.org.
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We are glad to share our bulletin for August 18. We look forward to welcoming you to Mass either in-person or online.
Our parish Masses will be at 5:15 pm on Saturday and 8 am and 10:30 am on Sunday.
The bulletin has the text of the songs that will be sung at our weekend liturgies. The livestream of the 10:30 am Sunday Mass will be available to access at any time on our YouTube channel.
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Many parishioner and friends of College Church have set up weekly or monthly recurring online giving - which is easy to do and a tremendous help to our parish. It requires no processing of checks or trips to the bank, while also allowing us to better predict our weekly and monthly cashflow.
We have a newly replenished supply of the blue and white offertory cards (pictured above) on the tables at the entrances to the church. If you give online, please pick up one of these cards before Mass and place it in a collection basket during the offertory, a symbol of your offering at the Presentation of Gifts. Update: We were delighted that many of our online donors placed the new offertory cards in the collection last weekend! Thank you!! We put the cards back at the entrances, so they are ready to be used again this weekend.
If you have any questions about how to set up online giving or are interested in making your donations through a Donor Advised Fund or a retirement account, please contact Meg Beugg, Director of Parish Engagement, at meg@sfxstl.org or 314-977-7304 .
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