Upcoming Events At the Parish Community of St. Bridget

FELLOWSHIP AFTER MASS

The Parish Pastoral Council has recommended that Coffee & Donuts be served after the 9:30 AM once a month during June, July, and August. This will be on the second Sunday of each month. Weekly hospitality will resume after Labor Day.

FEAST OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA

The annual celebration of the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua is Thursday, June 13. In addition to being a faithful son of St. Francis and finder of our lost articles, St. Anthony is also the patron of the Secular Franciscan Fraternity which is part of our parish and wider community. There will be a special Mass at 7:00 PM on June 13th at the St. Austin Campus to celebrate this feast. Within the Mass there will be the blessing and distribution of St. Anthony’s Bread and, following the liturgy, the Secular Franciscans will host a reception in Brennan Hall. The members of the parish and wider community are cordially invited and encouraged to join us for this celebration. Please note: There will be no 8:00 AM Mass at St. Austin’s on that day.

ST. BRIDGET’S TRIP TO ST. FRANCIS CONVENT IN LITTLE FALLS ON TUESDAY, JUNE 25TH.

Tentative itinerary—leave St. Bridget’s at 8:00 AM, 11:00 AM Mass at St. Francis Convent with Father Anthony and the sisters, followed by lunch, tour of the campus, visit the Munsinger Clemens flower gardens in St. Cloud, supper (on your own) at Emma Krumbee’s in Albertville, back at St. Bridget’s at 8:00 PM. Cost $35-$45 per person includes bus fare and lunch. Please call the parish office if you are interested. We will need to make reservations for the size of the bus by May 15th. The size will determine the actual cost.

Shorty's 5th Annual Golf Tournament

Friday July 19th in honor of Kay Ennen. There will be bulletin announcements with all the details. Any questions: contact Gerri Hare at 612-886-3527. Please join us for a day of fun.

Summer Bible School

SAVE THE DATES for Summer Bible School Monday, August 5th –Friday, August 9th, 9:00-11:30 AM for ages 3 years and including youth who have completed 6th grade. The program will be held at Ascension Catholic Church.

CHANHASSEN DINNER THEATRE OUTING

On Wednesday, August 28th, the parish community will host an outing to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre to see a matinee production of ―Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.‖ This is also the Feast of St. Augustine, patron of the church of St. Austin. The day will begin with Mass at St. Austin’s at 8 o’clock, followed by coffee and rolls in Brennan Hall. At 10:00 AM we will leave for lunch and the play. We should be back to St. Austin’s by 3 o’clock. Although we do not know the final cost of this outing (due to the rental of a motor coach), we are asking those who are interested to indicate their interest by calling the Parish Office during regular office hours. At this time, we have a reservation for 30 people and many have already indicated that they would like to join us. It is possible that we can expand the reservation if the number increases.

MINISTRY TO YOUNG ADULTS

The parish community is hoping to begin an outreach to young adult members of the community—men and women, single and married, between the ages of 20 – 35. If you are interested in helping to get this effort off the ground, call Fr. Anthony (612-529-7779) during office hours or e-mail him at franthony@stbridgetnorthside.org. Your help and input would be very much appreciated.

PARISH CENSUS

In an effort to save on stewardship envelopes and other mailings, we try to update the parish census throughout the year. If you regular attend liturgies at the Parish Community of St. Bridget but are not a registered member, we welcome your registration. On the other hand, if you know people who have given up their membership and joined another parish community, invite them to let us know so that we can remove them from the parish roster. Many times people keep up a registration so that they can be buried from a parish. Registration in a parish is not necessary for burial from that parish. The Canon Law of the Church tells us that we cannot deny burial to any Catholic person who is in good standing with the Church, regardless of their parish affiliation.

REDISCOVER CATHOLICISM

Over the past several weekends we have been distributing free copies of Matthew Kelly’s Rediscovering Catholicism. These books are meant to help you be better informed about your Catholic Faith and more comfortable reaching out to invite another to return to the Church. In the weeks ahead, book clubs will be forming to come together to discuss the content of the book and provide an opportunity to share faith with one another. Consider joining or hosting a book club as part of your observance of the this Year of Faith.

The following individuals and couples attended a training session and are trying to form a club. If you are interested, please call one of them:

Marie Lorbiecki—612-522-3176—plans to meet on Sunday evenings from 7:00—9:00 PM in her home;
Nick Sandemeir—763-537-7953—plans to meet on Wedneday evenings at 6:30 during Faith Formation classes at OLV;
Mike Johnson—763-521-4481—plans to meet on an undetermined weeknight from 7:00—9:00 PM in his home;
Brenna McShane—612-360-4114—plans to meet on Monday s at 11:15 AM at Wendy’s, Brooklyn Center (after exercise group);
George & Kathleen Ross—763-535-7758—meeting at their home at a time and day to be determined.

Mike and Mary Regan – 612-521-7975: They anticipate meeting in their home on Tuesday evenings from 7 – 9 PM.
Beth Pender – 612-529-4488: She hopes to organize a group that will meet in the summer months.

If anyone else would like to host a Book Club, it’s not too late. Fr. Anthony will be happy to meet with you and provide you with the information you need.

Faithfully Fit!

Join Lea Schuett, Parish Nurse and members of our Parish Community for Faithfully Fit, an exercise program with spiritual reflection. Physical activity everyday has a powerful impact on an individual’s health now and in the future. Benefits include: sleeping better at night, stronger muscles and bones, reducing the risk of becoming depressed and staying a healthy weight.

Meet us each week on Monday and Thursday during the summer and on Monday during the winter at 10:00 AM at the St. Bridget Campus.

Faithfully Fit will not be meeting on Thursday mornings during the winter months. Contact Lea Schuett, Parish Nurse with any concerns or questions.

ARTS & CRAFTS GROUP

For almost 30 years, a dedicated group of women have been meeting each Tuesday morning and evening at St. Austin’s. They knit, crochet, sew, do all manner of needlework and crafts and then make their work available at parish festivals and various craft shows. They have raised funds to help support the parish community, as well as to sustain their workshop. If you are a "crafty" individual—man or woman—and would like to join them in the morning or evening, just show up any Tuesday after morning Mass or in the evening around 6:30 PM. They will be happy to have you join them. All skill levels are welcome and one of the experienced crafters will even teach you how to crochet, knit, or do other needlework. The Arts & Crafts Group was inadvertently left off the Ministry Fair Brochure and they would like to welcome new members to their group!

NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS DONATIONS

Thanks to a new relationship between our parish community—through the Social Justice Committee—and Second Harvest, we have a new place to channel our non-perishable food items. Second Harvest, an agency of Feeding America (a network of U.S. food banks that combine resources to advocate for the hungry) operates a food bank in Golden Valley that supplies a number of local food shelves that serve people on the north side. Please bring non-perishable food items to either campus and they will be taken to Second Harvest. Members of the Social Justice committee and other parishioners also volunteer each third Thursday of the month to package groceries and produce at a local school. If you’re interested in joining the effort, call Sr. Gert at the Parish Office.