Past Events

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August 8-9, 2009: St. Mary's International Festival

Good food, good fun, good company - thanks to all who planned, volunteered, and participated the festival!
PHOTO GALLERIES COMING SOON

 

Easter 2009

A brief photo gallery tour of the Easter portion of our Triduum celebrations.

 

The Prayer of Peace

On the second Monday of each month at 7:30 PM, we host the ecumenical Prayer of Peace. We pray in the style of Taizé (pronounced "teh-ZAY"). Taizé prayer is an ecumenical form of prayer, for Christians of all traditions. It is a very different experience from a 'normal' church service. No one stands up front; there is no sermon. The church is lit by candles. The service is meditative in character, using singing, scripture and silence.

The special intention of each of these prayer services is for peace. We pray with compassion, without divisive politics, taking sides or pointing fingers. Christ gave us the gift of peace; now it is our responsibility to seek it, accept it and use it.

» View the photo gallery «

» Visit the Prayer of Peace web site »

Our Food Pantry Ministry

We are experiencing about a 50% increase in the number of people who are coming to the Steepletown Food Pantry compared to the first months of last year. God has been blessing us, and new things keep happening that allow us to continue to meet this increased need.

Our partnership with Feeding America West Michigan (formerly Second Harvest Gleaners) is reducing our food costs dramatically. We are able to buy cans of food for 12 to 15 cents each that would cost far more if we had to buy them at a store.
Last January we received $1,000.00 from the Alpine Meijer store as their designated pantry for the "Simply Give" program. We were selected again for this program this spring!
Our efforts at recycling to raise money for the pantry is helping, although scrap prices have plummeted from last year's level, So continue to use the Paper Gator and save your scrap metals for the Metal for Meals scrap drives.
St. Stephens, St. James, St. Paul Anglican churches and the Polish Falcons have held food drives for our pantry and helped in other ways recently.

The biggest news is that we applied for a grant from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation's Essential Needs Task Force Fund to help get us through the rest of this year. We were awarded a grant! We will be splitting the money between our Feeding America account and our food pantry purchase account to use for items we cannot get through Feeding America.

We still need your help in many ways:
• We always need paper and plastic grocery bags in which to pack food. You can drop these off in the back of the church in the box for food donations.
• Continue to use the Paper Gator to recycle your papers, and bring any scrap metal to our Metal for Meals fundraisers.
• Consider volunteering at the pantry – we can always use help!
• We can always use donations of money also, to the church, to our Feeding America account #1423 (envelopes are available in the back of church), or buy a donation card at the Alpine Meijer location during their "Simply Give" program.

The need is great but so is the heart of this parish!

» Photos of our food pantry ministry «

The Sunday Sessions

Throughout the last year (September-May), we've been gathering periodically for The Sunday Sessions. These parish gatherings have been an opportunity for people of all ages to bring their families, learn something and share their faith experiences. We brought in guest speakers, shared stories, prayed, sang, laughed and enjoyed each others company. The subjects for the Sessions during the last year has been the seven sacraments and what they mean in real life to us. We had some wonderful conversations!

 

March 9, 2009: A "Tough Times" Potluck Dinner

With so many people unemployed or underemployed, sometimes it helps just to have a nice family dinner for next-to-nothing. Make it a potluck and there's no stress, no mess. Whether people were employed or not mattered less than the fact we gathered to spend time together and share a meal. We look forward to doing this again!

 

February 28, 2009: A Midwinter Celebration

Because of scheduling, our annual midwinter celebration was held the weekend after Mardi Gras this time. We gathered quite a crowd for great food, good company, a silent auction and a "lively" live auction. All of the auction items — including things like home-cooked meals, artwork, small appliances and chocolate — were donated to support the building restoration fund.

Here are some snapshots from the night.

 

 

February 2009: A New Piano!

We were very blessed to receive a significant donation at the end of 2008 specifically for the purchase of a piano for our parish. Even as generous as the anonymous donor was, the amount was not enough to cover the normal price of a used piano that would be appropriate for St. Mary's. Because of the economic situation, the prices of pianos were far below normal. Roberta was soon able to find a used Yamaha G3 grand piano for sale that met our specifications and was close to our budget. She went to visit the piano (at a showroom on the east side of Michigan) and haggled the price of the piano and delivery into our budget range!

» Some Photos «

January 4, 2009 (Epiphany): Edelweiss Choir Concert

The Edelweiss Choir of Grand Rapids came to St. Mary's to perform its annual Concert of Christmas music from Germany and Austria. Originally scheduled for December 21, it was postponed due to weather. Performing the concert on the Solemnity of Epiphany helped to extend the festive nature of the Christmas season. Take a look at some of the photos from the event!

Look inside the Concert Program for the night.

The Edelweiss Club of Grand Rapids is a German/American club that promotes and celebrates German culture through a variety of events, including the activities of the Edelweiss Choir.

December 24, 2008: Christmas Joy

The Christmas Masses were joyful and prayerful. The Hispanic Marriage Encounter group reprised La Pastorela, the presentation of the Nativity story as part of the Christmas Eve services.

» Take a look «

 

December 20, 2008: La Pastorela

The Hispanic Marriage Encounter group presented the story of the Nativity, with a special focus on the story of the shepherds, a special guest appearance by the Devil, and singing Las Posadas.

» Photo Gallery «

December 14, 2008: Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe

We started with the music of Las Mañanitas at 5:30 in the morning! Before the Masses of the day we were treated to indigenous dances and the presentation of the story of Juan Diego. The dancers and storytellers worked long hours to prepare these special pieces of our celebration. Take a look at some of the scenes from the day.

 

December, 2008: A Generous Response to the Giving Tree

Each year, families from the West Side who are in need receive Christmas gifts for their children through our Giving Tree. Each child receives something fun and something practical to add something special to Christmas. How many gifts do we collect? These photos will give you a glimpse of part of the project and people's generosity...

 

December 7, 2008: A Jolly Old Elf Visits the Ushers' Breakfast

While everyone enjoyed the breakfast cooked up by the St. Mary's Ushers' Club, Santa paid a visit! As you can see from the photo gallery, kids of all ages enjoy some jolly company.

 

November 23, 2008: "Christmas in Latin America" Concert at St. Mary's

featuring the VocalArt Singers and Ars Voce

We were thrilled to host the "Christmas in Latin America, Then and Now" Concert by the VocalArt Singers of Grand Rapids, and Ars Voce of Battle Creek. The high point of the concert was the performance of Ariel Ramirez' Navidad Nuestra (Our Christmas), a beautiful folk drama of the nativity of Jesus Christ using the rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America.

» Photos of the Concert «

Look inside the Concert Program for the night.

 

November 23, 2008: Parish Historical Exhibition

We began quite a project when the parish's 150th anniversary came around, and went through our archives, old books, artifacts, relics and historical treasures few had seen for a long time. Now that the time is coming to pack a lot of it away again, we had one last public opportunity for people to tour the history of our parish with these special objects.

Here are some photos from the day.

 

October 11, 2008: Amazing "How Great the Art" Concert

St. Mary's was the host for an amazing concert, featuring three great college choirs: The Grand Valley State University Cantate Chamber Ensemble, the Grand Rapids Community College Madrigal Singers, and the Aquinas College Chorus. Dr. Brandon Spence performed works by Buxtehude, Bach and Brahms on our Skinner organ to get us started and wrap things up.

» Photos of the Concert «

Want to know more? Take a look at the detailed Concert Program for the night!

 

October 4, 2008: Metal for Meals Scrap Collection

Take a look at some photos of our very successful scrap metal collection in October of 2008!

 

Vito Martinez joins Franciscan Order

Congratulations to Vito, who began his journey as a Postulant with the Franciscan Capuchin Order on August 15th (2008). If you would like to send your prayers and well-wishes, he can be contacted at St. Conrad Friary, 3138 North 2nd Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212.

Here's a photo of Vito with Fr. Dick many years ago (at St. James)!

 

August 9-10, 2008: St. Mary's International Festival!

Food, music, dancing, and great fun. Check out the Photo Gallery to see some of the memories of this great weekend!

 

April 27, 2008: Kids' Festival!

Check out the Photo Gallery of our Kids' Festival, where kids of all ages had a blast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 14-15, 2007: Historical Exhibition

We brought out many of the treasures from our church's long history: relics (including the famed 1907 monstrance), photos, documents, and more.

More Photos of the Exhibition

 

April 29, 2007: Kids' Festival!

Kids of all ages had a wonderful time, with enough prizes to send everyone home tired, but thrilled. Over 30 bicyles were donated and raffled off, too!

More Kids' Festival Photos

 

February 17, 2007: Mardi Gras Party

Great food. Silent auction. Chocolate fountain. Live auction. Laughter. Friends. Balloons, beads, masks, funny hats and feathered boas.

More Mardi Gras Photos

 

March 9, 2006: Monthly Parish Luncheon Has St. Patrick's Day Flair

Check out some photos from the luncheon, and plan on joining us on the second Thursday of each month at noon for some great food and conversation. The cost of the meal is $6 per person. Each month, two lucky people win door prizes of a free ticket to the following month’s luncheon!

More March Luncheon Photos

 

February 28, 2006: Mardi Gras Party Breaks Winter "Blahs"

We had a wonderful celebration, which included a silent auction, a live auction, great food and wonderful desserts (including a chocolate fountain). The bidding for both auctions was animated as we bid on gourmet meals, crafts, art and more, raising money for the parish. We are already looking forward to next year’s celebration!

More Mardi Gras Pictures

 

December 11, 2005: St. Mary's Celebrates Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Beginning with Las Mañanitas, starting at 5:00 AM, we honored God and the Blessed Mother with song, story, dance, Eucharist, fellowship and food.

More Photos

 

 

October 12, 2005: Parish “ Town ” Meeting

Fr. Dick, assisted by representatives from the firms of Owen-Ames-Kimball and Cox-Medendorp-Olson, presented to the parishioners an overview of the work that needs to be done on our church building. For a building that is so old, it is in good shape, but it does need attention. The project will be expensive, but is certainly worth the cost.

We also heard from Fr. Dick about the statistics of the parish: number of parishioners, sacramental statistics, growth statistics, potential changes in the neighborhood, etc.

Sample Photos of Areas Needing Repair

 

October 8, 2005: Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

A parish cannot carry out its mission without the faithful efforts of many volunteers. Every service that the parish provides relies on the work of many hands. In October, a feast was held to honor these volunteers who bring so many blessings to the community through the work of their hands. We celebrated with food, music, conversation and laughter—God has truly blessed us!

 

September 25, 2005: Pig Roast & Cornerstone Opening Party

On September 25, over 300 people gathered to celebrate the opening of the time capsule taken from the church cornerstone. The food was splendid and the company was terrific. Many interesting documents, photos and artifacts were carefully removed from the cornerstone and displayed. This was a great opportunity to gain a deeper view of the rich history of our parish and to celebrate together.

 

More photos of Pig Roast/Cornerstone Opening