Garden Angels- Volunteers Welcome!

The Garden Angels began their work on the parish grounds on Wednesday, May 17th. The group will continue to meet weekly at 9:00 am. It’s never too late to join!

Luncheons will continue weekly through October after the work is done. (Everyone is asked to bring a dish to pass if you wish. They usually have a lot of food, so no worries if you don’t or cannot bring a dish.)

What to Bring

Please bring your own tools, gloves, rakes, shovels and cutters (if you have them) and put your name on your tools!

Men and women are welcome; many dirty hands make for light work! If you have any questions, please call Rosemary Cheslock at (616) 485-1184.

Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) 2023

We reached our 2023 CSA Goal! On behalf of Fr. Mark and the Parish Staff, thank you for giving generously to help support the many programs and supportive diocesan ministries that have a ripple effect in our community!

The Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) is an annual effort to reach out to people in our 11 counties in a variety of ways, including through seminarian and deacon formation; youth programming; support for the homebound and incarcerated; families who are struggling; the hungry, and the homeless. Through the CSA, we are strengthened in Christ and we can respond with joy. We all work together to care for the Church by sharing the gifts God has granted us.

Our parish goal for 2023 is $246,480 and 100% participation, which means every parishioner should return their pledge card, even if that pledge is $0 for you this year. Every gift, regardless of the amount, is important in this effort. Please join us!

Baby Shower Update

The Multipurpose Room was filled with onesies and socks and diapers and glimpses of pinks and pastels all over! The energy was high as people generously donated in support of a family expecting triplets this April!

Centerpieces made of socks by very creative volunteers!
Fr. Mark chats with the Sekelsky family over donuts.
Children stop by to guess how many M&Ms are in the jar for a chance to win!
Nancy and Paula share in the enthusiasm of the baby shower.

We were overwhelmed by how fully our parish community stood behind the baby shower, providing a pack n’ play full of gifts and outfits, wrote notes of encouragement for the mom-to-be and her family, and gave from the heart to someone they’ve never even met. God is at work in the hearts of our parish family as we make our efforts intentional as we support life and helping moms, dads, and families choose life and be able to support the life they are bringing into the world.

Final Total

We look forward to sharing the final total for donations made at this weekend’s baby shower, and sharing all of the ways in which the funds will be used. Stay tuned for an update later this week!

Thank you, Faithful Families planning committee!

The women pictured above were responsible for the initial idea to host a baby shower, the planning and organizational efforts involved in pulling the entire event together, organizing volunteers, and creatively turning the Multipurpose Room into a beautiful celebration of life for triplets on the way. Thank you Faithful Families ladies for your passion and energy for HELP Pregnancy and finding new ways to celebrate and support life in our parish!

Tithing Envelope Update

You most likely will not receive envelopes for January and February, so we encourage you to continue using the methods suggested below in the meantime. As a result of this envelop mishap with the third-party company that we use, we will be switching to a new company shortly that has been very quick to answer our questions, provide timely customer service, and make the process smooth and easy for us. You will receive a letter when the time comes explaining the switch. However, we assure you that the transition will be seamless, and in the long-run, Holy Spirit will be better served by this new company.

What can you do in the meantime?
1.) If you usually tithe with a check; your check has your name and address in the corner, and therefore we are able to process and post the donation to your account.

2.) If you usually tithe with cash; place your cash in an envelope with your name and address written on the outside

3.) If you would like to avoid both of these options, you are very welcome to call MacKenzie in the parish office at (616) 453-6369 to make donations directly online, or set up a recurring gift schedule until April when envelopes hopefully return.

4.) We have now received a large box of blank envelopes to be put on the ends of the pews. You are welcome to put your donation in an envelope and write your name and address on the outside.

**If you have tithing envelopes left over from previous months (or years!), you are very welcome to use those envelopes up! Regardless of the date written on the outside of the envelope, the donation will be posted for the week you put it in the collection.

What if I don’t remember my tithing envelope number?
No need to worry; as long as your name is on your donation (check) or the envelope it is in (cash), we are able to post that donation directly to your account. The envelope number is actually more related to the company who prints the envelopes, but it is no longer connected specifically to your Holy Spirit records.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience this causes for you in the coming weeks, and hope it will not deter you from finding a way to tithe that makes you feel most comfortable. If you have any other questions in regards to this situation, do not hesitate to email mbrady@hsparish.org, or call the parish office during weekdays between 8:00 am-4:00 pm.


Christmas Message

Merry Christmas from Holy Spirit

Dear Families and Friends of Holy Spirit Parish,

On this feast of Christmas, we gather with Christians all over the world to celebrate the birth of Christ, Savior of the world. As this familiar story of our Lord’s birth is proclaimed once again, our astonishment of this life-changing event should not be diminished. God has rightly fully chosen to manifest the depth of His love for us in the Christ Child.

On behalf of the entire parish staff, we extend to you and your loved ones our prayers and best wishes for a blessed and joyous Christmas season and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Fr. Mark, Fr. David, and Holy Spirit Staff

#GivingTuesday Success

Last week, on Tuesday, November 29, marked the world’s 10th year of #GivingTuesday. Created in 2012 as a simple idea to encourage people to do good, it has grown into a global generosity “movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world.”

This year, we asked you to consider giving a gift from the heart to help our community build a new playground. We set a goal of $50,000, knowing it might be a bit lofty, but we hoped and prayed that we could raise even half of that number. We informed you of the grant challenges being offered by the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan, and securing just one of those would have been a joy!

You gave enthusiastically from the heart, and spread the word to others who you knew might make an investment in the future playground. You shared your own memories of your days on the playground years ago. You strategically gave during the day when you knew your gift would potentially have the greatest impact.

Simply put, your generosity astounded us. Because of you, we raised $50,792.62! We are incredibly grateful for each of you! As we look ahead to building the new playground, we can’t wait to show you how your gift will have an impact on our community for many years to come!

One question you might be asking now is…
“So that’s it, right?! We’ll start building a new playground now, correct?!” Unfortunately, while we did meet our #GivingTuesday goal, we have a significant way to go before we have the funding for the entire playground. The price tag on a new one is a shocking $180,000-$250,000. So needless to say, we will continue to raise the remainder of the funds to start the build! If you are interested in donating to these continued efforts, please call the Parish Office at (616) 453-6369.

Traveling Chalice | Vocations

Traveling Vocation Chalice

As a parish family, we have committed to pray for vocations: to the priesthood and religious life, and to married and single life.

We invite you to sign up to receive the chalice after a Mass, take it home and put it in a prominent place where you will see it every day, and pray for young people to be open to God’s call. God has a plan for each one of us. Here are some ideas for when it is your turn to pray with the vocation chalice:
• Discuss marriage with your family. Who are some couples that are beautiful witnesses of marriage?
• Discuss the priesthood
• Pray for a seminarian or send a note to some seminarians to remind them of our prayers and support
• Pray a rosary for vocations to the priesthood and religious life

Sign up here: Traveling Chalice Sign-Up

We hope and pray that the traveling vocation chalice will increase awareness that a vocation is first a gift from God, and second, increases openness in our young people to consider a vocation in loving service to God and his people.

At the end of your week with the chalice, simply return it to the sacristy at Mass.

Exploring the Priesthood

Young men, experience life as a seminarian!
Where: St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota
When: November 17-19, 2022
What: The Diocese of Grand Rapids and St. John Vianney College Seminary will be offering young men ages 16-24 an opportunity to take a closer look at the priesthood by experiencing a few days in the life of a seminarian on the campus of the University of St. Thomas at the St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, MN.
How: Transportation, accommodations, and meals will be provided at no cost.

To register contact Pattie Reynolds at preynolds@grdiocese.org or call (616) 288-0910 by Nov. 1.

On the Mark, With Fr. Mark!

View all “On the Mark” videos on our Vimeo channel!

Please remember that there is a written transcript of all Fr. Mark’s homilies online at his blog. They are usually posted by the middle of the day Tuesday through Friday for daily Mass and in the afternoon on Sunday for the weekend.

Please use these ways to stay connected while you may be unable to gather with us.