Scam Alert



Debbie in the office has reported that there are still ongoing scams being targeted to our parishioners.  Apparently, some unscrupulous people are trying to take advantage of the suffering of this pandemic.  Some parishioners are receiving texts that claim to be from me (the pastor) asking to text back funds.

Please remember that I will never ask for money or financial assistance from any parishioner by text or email.  If I ever asked for assistance, that would always be done in person.

If you see a text or email asking for financial help or asking you to send personal information (bank account number, social security number, contact information) please delete it immediately and (if you know how) place a block on the number or email address. 

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Confession availability (drive-up confessions) [UPDATED]

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UPDATED 3/31/20.  See new entry for St. Mary's confession time. OK.  So my makeshift confessional won't look quite as elegant as the confessional booth in this photo, but I have set up a temporary outdoor confession station at St. Peter's, in the picnic shelter behind the church. I will be posting more hours here on this blog and also posting a sign on the shelter posts as I add hours over the next few days.  The first confession hour will be Monday, 3/30, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.  Please spread the word.  If there are still penitents waiting at 6:00, I will wait too. I am also giving thought to when and how I can hear confessions at St. Mary's.  Will keep you posted on that. Please note that the church allows confessions outdoors in these unusual circumstances, so the sacrament will be valid even though not offered in church. Here are instructions for using the makeshift "drive through" confession station at St. Peter: Confessions will be ...
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Thanks for your generosity

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 UPDATED: 22 January  I'm a little belated in posting this, but just wanted to thank all of our parishioners who have been so generous with their time and financial resources to engage in the works of mercy -- such as feeding the hungry.  In partnership with St. Vincent de Paul and New Richmond Area Ministries (NRAM), we have been continuing our ongoing efforts to feed the hungry through our food pantries, stationary and mobile, on an ongoing basis.  Each year, we also try to remember our families in need for the year-end holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. For instance, on the St. Mary side, last November 24th we provided 20 Thanksgiving dinner baskets to needy families in the Bethel area.   On December 22nd, we provided 20 Christmas Dinner baskets to needy families as well. On the St. Peter side, together with the NRAM, o n November 20th, 90 boxes of food for a Thanksgiving Dinner were assembled at St. Peter's and then passed out the next day to the needy ...
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Confession and Examination of Conscience

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I am currently working on a plan to provide for confessions.  We priests are going to have to get creative and figure out how to do this while maintaining mandated "social distancing" requirements.  Stay tuned here for details, coming by early next week.  They might involve some kind of outside or "drive up" confessions. In the meantime, it is good to make a prayerful examination of conscience -- praying with the help of the Holy Spirit to know what sins to bring to the Lord for forgiveness. Here is one helpful confession guide , including that examination of conscience, provided by the Knights of Columbus.
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