Announcements
COVID Protocol Changes
Starting January 30th the diocese has changed the COVID protocols. We will still be social distancing and wearing masks. However, we will pretty much return to way things were about 6 weeks ago (before the protocols were tightened). We will have a cantor at Mass with limited singing. Religious Ed will be in person, and in-person meetings will be taking place. However, there will be no meals after funerals and all parish meals will be take out only. Also the parish centers will not be able to be rented for private events. I am sorry for any inconvenience. Hopefully we will be able to go back to normal in few months.
Gratitude Give
Show our wonderful school staff your appreciation during Gratitude Give! Gratitude Give is the week of Catholic Schools Week, January 31-February 6. Make a gift online at ww.scdiocese.org or send a gift to (school) or Central Catholic Offices, Attn: Gratitude Give, 1821 Jackson Street, Sioux City, IA 51105.
Annual Briar Cliff Collection
The weekend of January 30 and 31st we will be having our annual Briar Cliff Collection. Last year over $28,000 was raised for scholarships. Since we are not formally taking collections up, please put your donation in the envelope provided or simply write Briar Cliff on an envelope and drop it in the baskets by the doors. You can also bring it to the office or mail it in. Thanks for your generosity.
Special Thanks For Years of Service
A special Thank You to Donna Culver and Mary Ann Higgins for their years of service in decorating Nativity Church. They always did a great job. The new decorating coordinator is Sherri Rossiter. I thank her for volunteering to replace Donna and Mary Ann.
Together as One
Let’s make sure to come Together as One! Make sure you pledge or make your gift this year to support adult and youth conferences and retreats, marriage preparation, religious education, and mental health assessments through Catholic Charities, just to name a few things! Our goal this year is $89,534. With your help, we will get there. You can give online, easily and safely, at www.scdiocese.org
Donations From Your IRA
I have been reminded that it is possible and can be advantageous for you to make donations to the parish directly from your IRA. You can ask you financial advisor or call me if you need more information. I thank you for all that you do for the parish.
Census Coming
This fall we will be taking a census of the parish. We will be looking to verify your information concentrating on emails, texting and the like. You will be receiving information in the mail soon. Thanks for your cooperation.
COME JOIN US! PRAY FOR OUR COUNTRY!
As a Parish, we are asking you to join us as we PRAY
throughout the rest of 2020 for our Country and it's spiritual health!
HERE'S HOW-
*Pray just a few minutes every day for our country.
*Simple FAST on FRIDAYS. (no Fb, no coffee, go to daily
mass, kind words only, read scripture, online prayers,
etc.)
SPREAD THE WORD! Ask others to join us!
We as a country need to unite in prayer in asking Our
Lord to bless our country, our families, and their children,
and their children........Amen (We have yard signs of the
below graphic available at the church front office entrance and at the back of both churches)
Live Streaming of Weekend Masses
Even though we are now that we are back in church for weekend Masses, we realize that not everyone will attend as there is still no obligation to attend. Thus, we are live streaming one Mass from each church during the weekend. This will be viewable on our website and hopefully Facebook. We have purchased some new equipment to make this possible. Hopefully it will go as planned. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Weekly Parish Updates on Facebook
I will be giving weekly updates (Fireside Chats) on our parish Facebook page (Mater Dei Parish Facebook). I will be discussing what is new in the parish and how things are moving along. If you are not already following our Facebook page, now is a good time to start.
Year End Video
Tom Schoening from Siouxland Videos has created a video summarizing our yearly activities. It can be seen at https://youtu.be/OaYqoi5lnh4 Enjoy and thanks Tom!!!
Mater Dei Personal Products Pantry
Advent is a special time for making gifts to the pantry. During this season as we await the birth of Jesus Christ, you may bring your gifts to the altarbefore or after Mass. There will also be a basket at the altar marked for the pantry for monetary gifts. Thank you for sharing your gifts with those in need in our community.
Get Formed.org Now!
Mater Dei Parish provides FREE Formed.org. The Catholic Faith On Demand. Now for the first time ever, all the best Catholic video studies, movies, audio presentations and eBooks are all just a click away!
Learn How Click Here
Get Connected with the Mater Dei Parish Texting Group!
Texting helps us keep you Up-to-Date with the major happenings in Mater Dei Parish. It is an easy and immediate way to stay connected