1. New Pastoral Team Member: Dear Corpus Christi Family, I pray this email update finds you well, staying safe and cool and drinking lots of water and lots and lots of God’s love! (1 Cor 12:13)   On this sunny Thursday there’s a few items I’d like to update you on.   Please join me in giving a warm welcome to our newest staff member:  Mr. John Stockwell.   John will be joining us as our Digital Media Evangelization Manager.  John’s position is designed to give Corpus Christi a powerful digital evangelization presence both locally and beyond.   John hails from Toledo and has a Bachelors from the University of Toledo and a Masters in Theology as well, and is currently finishing up another Masters in Pastoral Studies at Sacred Heart.  He worked as a news reporter and anchor for WJR for years and is a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award.  John’s previous digital evangelization work has generated 800 videos on YouTube with over 2 million views worldwide and his work has helped to bring a lot of people into the Catholic faith.  John has been married for 22 years and he and his wife Michelle have a son who is a senior in High School.  John loves God, people, and has a huge heart for sharing Jesus and for service.  He is most at home in a multi-cultural setting and has visited Corpus Christi and is quite excited to help share the sacred treasure of this uniquely joyful vibrant city Church with both the local community and beyond through his God-given gifts.   Blessings on all your endeavors! Fr. Patrick

2. Good News on Curtis Simpson, Jr.  Fortunately, Curtis’ case of Covid ’19 is relatively mild, and on a scale of 1 to 10 he’s around an 8.  Also, fortunately, his children have tested negative!  Your prayers are appreciated. 3. Tonight, tonight!    This evening, Thursday, July 9th, at 7pm we can view the second session of an AOD series called “Strong Faith – Vital Connections”, a panel discussion on racism.  The panel includes our very own Vickie Figueroa, Fr. John McKenzie (he served here at Corpus Christi a few years ago while he was a transitional deacon), Christina Hall (AOD staff) and other guests.  There are two viewing options for this week’s session.  Click on one of these two links at 7pm this evening.

AOD FaceBook Event  To view a list of future topics and dates click on button below.  The sessions are listed at the end of the article.

AOD Panel Discussions on Racism

4. Survey – your input, please!  A couple of weeks ago we cheerfully announced a Save the Date for Sunday, August 23rd, with a 10:00 am outdoor Mass to celebrate Fr. Don’s 50th Anniversary of Ordination.  This would be followed by a very modified Ice Cream Social (individual cups of pre-packed ice cream).  Steady increases in the number of COVID cases across the country, as well as in Michigan, along with input from some parish members have caused us to look more closely at that decision. We had planned to incorporate safety precautions such as those being used for the weekend Masses, including temperature checks, questions about COVID symptoms, and the requirement to wear a face mask for everyone over two (2) years old.  There would also be hand sanitizer stations and no open food containers would be allowed.  Everyone would be asked to bring their own chair and be socially/physically distanced by household, for added safety.  We do not want to cause anyone undue stress by having to choose between their desire to honor Fr. Don, enjoy some ice cream and fellowship, and a concern for their own and their loved ones’ health and safety.   Should the decision be made to postpone this mass and ice cream social, we will be sure to put it at the top of the list of events to schedule once the pandemic is behind us. As such, we would like to know – at this point in time - if you would be willing to attend an outdoor Mass and Ice Cream Social on Sunday, August 23? Please click on the button below to give us your opinion.  It is most appreciated!

Click here to give us your opinion

5. A Note of Caution – fake email: There is a fake email being sent to several people.  It pretends to be coming from Mary Davis, a pastoral assistant on our parish staff.  The email asks you to not call her.  If you get such a fake email simply dispose of it.   6. Fr. John McKenzie, Homilist on African Culture at St. Anne: Fr. John spent his diaconate year here at Corpus Christi so you may well recall him.  The following flier tells about the St. Anne Novena 2020 Mass.

This special mass is part of a nine-day novena of masses leading up to the celebration of the feast day of The Archdiocese of Detroit's patron saint, St. Anne, the mother of Mary.   You can attend the mass in person or you can watch a live stream of the mass by click this button.

Click for Live Stream of Mass

7. AOD article “How Your Parish Can Actively Combat Racism”:  In a June 24th article on the AOD “Encounter, Grow, Witness” website, Maggie Bickerstaff offers four ideas: “Read, Listen, Act and Pray”.  Each of those four topics has links to other useful resources, like the USCCB 2018 pastoral “Open Wide Our Hearts”.  Click below for the article.

AOD Article on Combating Racism

8. Weekend Masses – 9:00am Mass will be livestreamed: The livestreaming of this weekend’s Mass will again be 9:00am Sunday morning. view the Live Mass this weekend   If you wish to signup to attend a Mass in person please register …  before noon on Saturday.

 

If you have not registered to attend by noon on Saturday and you still wish to attend a Mass in person at church this weekend please: - park in the parking lot, - go to the parking lot side entrance, - and ask the staff at that doorway if there is still available room.  If there is room in church they will do a check-in process for you.  Based on the slightly relaxed directions from AOD there is now more space available in the church to attend Mass in person.

9. Looking for some books to read this summer? 
For an America Magazine article on books by authors of color for summer reading click here:

Summer Reading Suggestions

10. Interested in reading the parish bulletins?

Corpus Christi Bulletins