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Thursday, January 21, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Live Free! Unbound Ministry is a network of prayer ministers trained in praying with others for spiritual freedom. Live Free is for all who seek freedom from spiritual anxieties, struggles and tribulation and operates under the pastoral oversight of the Catholic church.Read More -
Thursday, January 21, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
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Tuesday, January 26, 7:45 PM
Founded by Father Michael J. McGivney, the Knights of Columbus was chartered on March 29, 1882, in the state of Connecticut. It has blossomed into an International Society of more that 1.5 million Catholic men plus their families, who have dedicated themselves to the ideals of Columbianism: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. For registration and information about Church of the Holy Family Knights of Columbus Council 11811, click on http://www.kofcnovi.org.Read More -
Thursday, January 28, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Live Free! Unbound Ministry is a network of prayer ministers trained in praying with others for spiritual freedom. Live Free is for all who seek freedom from spiritual anxieties, struggles and tribulation and operates under the pastoral oversight of the Catholic church.Read More
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The Pastor's Heart December 5, 2020
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Dear Parishioners of Holy Family,
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…” the apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter one verse sixteen. These words also describe my thoughts and prayers for all of you, especially as we begin the special season of Advent.
I am writing this letter to talk to you about the following important things.- Our plans for Christmas
- Upcoming Developments Concerning the Family of Parishes
- The Christmas Collection
- An Update on Offertory Giving from July through November of this year
This has been almost nine months of everything being different. Lent, Holy Week, and Easter were certainly different. Christmas will be different also. We don’t know the exact circumstances that we will find ourselves in at Christmas, but we need to plan with the light we now have. This is more important than ever because, in the past, more people come to church on Christmas than at any other time of the year.
We usually have over one thousand people attending our Christmas Eve 4pm mass. That is around eight hundred people more than we have space for this year. Every other Christmas mass has attendance well over the number we can safely fit in church this year. So we need a reservation system. We have decided that we can safely fit 220 people in our church and our activities center (gym) this year. For each of our Christmas masses we will offer 220 reservations tickets. You will need to present a reservation ticket at the door to come to mass. If someone does not have a ticket then we will not be able to let them enter the church.
The schedule of Christmas masses is the same as it has been for the last several years. Our Christmas Eve masses (Thursday December 24) will be: 4pm, 6pm (Spanish), and 10pm. Our Christmas Day masses (Friday December 25) will be at 9am and 11am.
Our reservation system will begin taking reservations at 10 am on Tuesday December 8. The easiest and preferred way to make a reservation is on our parish website. Go to https://www.holyfamilynovi.org/mass-times to reserve tickets. You can print a copy of your ticket or you can bring your mobile device and show it at the door. If you do not have internet access then you can make a reservation by coming to the parish office. Our staff will assist you in making a reservation and printing a ticket. If you cannot do this then you can call the parish office and we mail you your reservation ticket. You can reserve up to seven tickets. If you need more than that then you can have another member of your family reserve more tickets. If you make a reservation that you later determine you will not need, then please cancel the reservation so that others may take that spot. Please do not reserve more spaces than you know that you will need.
All Christmas masses will be live streamed. For this you do not need a reservation.
Please pray that Christmas this year will truly be an inspiring experience for everyone. Please pray that we will not have to turn anyone away. Please pray that we can keep everyone safe and everyone that comes will be in full compliance with our safety protocols. We will communicate everything we are discussing here on our website, in our bulletin, at masses, and through all of our social media platforms. Please help us get the word out. If you hear of friends and family intending to come to Holy Family for Christmas mass then please tell them that they will need a reservation ticket.
Because of the large numbers that usually attend Christmas masses and because the day after Christmas begins the celebration of weekend masses (and the Feast of the Holy Family) the Archdiocese of Detroit has asked that parishioners only attend one mass over the four day, Thursday through Sunday, period. Our mass schedule for the weekend masses will be our normal weekend mass schedule.
The Family of Parishes
As you may recall the Archdiocese of Detroit has been planning to make some changes to help parishes more effectively share resources and accomplish our mission to Unleash the Gospel. This new approach is called Family of Parishes. The proposed groupings of these families will be announced on Tuesday December 8. Holy Family expects to be in a grouping of three to four adjacent area parishes.
We welcome these new opportunities for collaboration. We are eager to share with other parishes in our family what we have learned about being Catholic Missionary Disciples. We want to learn together how Catholics can more effectively share their faith, minister in the power of the Holy Spirit, and become equipped in Christ to change our world.
The exact form that this will take will be discovered in the coming months and years. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully through this process.
The Christmas Collection
What we call ‘the Christmas Collection’ is an important contribution to the life of our parish, often raising 10% or more of the year’s budget. This is because, in the past, many more people have come to church on Christmas than any other day of the year. Church attendance will not be the same this year, so raising the budgeted amount will be a special challenge. Another unique feature of the Christmas Collection is that it has become a regular opportunity for many people to make special contributions at the end of the year. There is a very good reason to do this. Regular offertory giving is assessed a 7% tax by the Archdiocese of Detroit. The Christmas collection does not have this assessment. All the money contributed to the parish stays in the parish.
So this is an excellent opportunity to get caught up on contributions that you are intending to give. It is a great time to give a little extra. It is a strategic time to give a special gift to the Lord at the end of the calendar year. You can bring your donation to Christmas mass, or you can mail it or drop it off in the office. Just clearly mark it ‘Christmas Collection’. You can easily make a contribution to the Christmas collection online. Simply click online giving on our parish website and select Christmas collection. All contributions so marked and received by December 31 will be credited to this collection.
Offertory Giving Update
I have regularly said that the generosity of Holy Family parishioners, especially since March, has been spectacular. After the first two weeks of closed churches in March we had a serious dip in offertory giving. When I pointed this out we quickly caught up, almost tripled on line giving, and (remarkably) ended the year with a positive cash flow. You amazed me. In the first four months of this fiscal year (July through October) we were ahead of our budgeted offertory giving goals. In the month of November we were down $16,780. This put us down for the year $4,000. This is, in itself, not a big problem. On the other hand, if it continued, it would be. I trust this will not be a trend. Last time I mentioned a concerning shortfall in offertory giving, we quickly got back on track. So I thought I would mention it again.
OK. That’s enough. Remember. I do not cease to give thanks to God for all of you.
Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus
Fr. Bob -
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Keeping Safe
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Click On For Holy Family Covid 19 Safety Guidelines
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