St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church -

Saturday, October 16th at noon Elkhart Civic Plaza Our Blessed Mother will be honored by all four local parishes with a 2021 Public Square Rosary. Come take part in this greatly needed prayer time for our country, our leaders, and our families. The Rosary was Pope St. John Paul’s favorite prayer. It is a powerful appeal to God and His Mother. Don't miss on this Catholic community event, and be sure to count your rosary said Saturday in the jars in the Gathering Space.

BLESSING OF THE PETS - Father Jason will be blessing pets this afternoon at 3:15pm in the school dismissal line and then after that in the church parking lot.

ST THOMAS OCTOBER ROSARY CHALLENGE - Join other St. Thomas parishioners in saying the rosary during October, the month of the rosary. As a part of the Next Generation Parish Program, the Spiritual Growth and Discipleship committee has decided to challenge our parish to say 5000 rosaries over the course of the month. Use this time to fall in love with the rosary, grow in your devotion to our Mother Mary, and develop a deeper bond with our St. Thomas community as we all work toward this goal together. Find more information under the "MORE" tab on the parish website, and continue to follow us on FB and Twitter for updates about events and how we are doing in the challenge. https://youtu.be/YxTq9Ml5Z5U

Participate in the Michiana Life Chains organized by Right to Life Michiana on Sunday, October 3 (Respect Life Sunday) from 2-3 PM. This is a wonderful opportunity to stand for life in the streets of South Bend and Elkhart and peacefully protest abortion legalization. Elkhart location is at Concord Intermediate school.

LAST CHANCE!! ELKHART COUNTY CATHOLIC GOLF OPEN Sunday, September 26th, 2pm Shotgun Start Elcona Country Club Proceeds to Benefit St. Vincent Cemetery Registrations should be mailed or dropped off at St. Vincent de Paul Church today!

CHRIST RENEWS WELCOME RETREAT - Please support our parishioners on retreat by signing up for an hour of ADORATION while the retreat is going on: Adoration on Saturday, September 25th from 9am to 4pm. Sign ups in the Gathering Space.

THE CHOSEN IS TONIGHT! Come gather with us tonight, 6:30pm in Elliott Hall, to watch The Chosen. Feel free to bring dinner or snacks, drinks will be provided. After we watch the episode, stay after for a bit for a discussion about that episode with other parishioners.

CONFESSIONS TODAY 4:00pm to 5:00pm in the church

BISHOP RHOADES TO VISIT TOMORROW Everyone is welcome to join us tomorrow, Tuesday, August 31st, as Bishop Rhoades will be celebrating Mass at St. Thomas at 8:15am. *There will be no 5:30pm Mass tomorrow night.

Cost $75 per student, $160 for 3 or more students. Checks payable to: St. Thomas Church, write "Religious Education" on the memo line Please return payment by Sunday, August, 29, 2021 Class begins: Sunday, September 12, 2021, 9:05AM-10:20AM +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Are you interested in serving as a weekly Catechist? This program cannot exist without the help of our parishioners. We are in need of additional volunteers to serve God's children, please consider this extraordinary opportunity! Questions: please contact Jen Horoky: jhoroky@stselkhart.com or 574-264-4855

KIDCARE CLOTHING SALE - EVERYTHING $1 Thurs, Aug 26th, 9am - 5pm, Fri, Aug 27th 9am to 5pm, Sat, Aug 28th, 9am to 1pm. St. Mary's - Bristol Come find some great deals & support this amazing charity started by and run by members of our local Catholic Community.

Are you interested or know someone who is interested in learning about the Catholic faith? If so, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) will have an initial gathering on August 29th after the 10:30am Mass. We will meet in Elliott Hall. It is important that you attend so that we know how many people to expect for classes and can then order enough supplies. Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm until 8:30pm. The first class is September 7th, 2021.

FIRST THURSDAY CONFESSIONS - Tomorrow 8/5 are CANCELLED because Father Jason is out of town. Father Michael Chukwudi will be here Saturday morning to hear confessions at the normal time from 9am to 10am.

Registration for Religious Education is now open! Go to this link: https://forms.gle/9bsD8LhQdNXb2rqm7 Cost: $75 per student, $160 for 3 or more students. Checks payable to: St. Thomas Church, please write "Religious Education" on the memo line. Payment Due: Sunday, August, 29, 2021 Open House: Sunday, August 29, 2021 9:00AM-11:00AM Religious Education Begins: Sunday, September 12, 2021, 9:05AM-10:20AM Questions: please contact Jen Horoky: jhoroky@stselkhart.com or 574-264-4855

SERVER TRAINING - Seminarian John will be conducting server training on Friday, July 23rd at 4:30pm in the church for all students grades 4th through high school. New servers or returning servers are welcome. Students will be ready to be picked up by 5:45pm.

ONLINE GIVERS - JUST A HEADS UP St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church has recently upgraded its online giving platform. While the new system looks different, ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION HAS REMAINED THE SAME. Feel free to log in to familiarize yourself with the new platform as well as verify your information is correct. Your username is now your email address, and your password remains the same. Just to clarify - you do not need to do anything. Everything from the old system has moved to the new system. We just wanted to make sure you were aware of the changes as the site looks significantly different than it did before. It also has a new and easier to remember web address with the link still provided on the home page of the church website (top right corner). Your new Giving web address https://www.osvhub.com/stthomaselkhart

Reminder - No Mass Today, Tuesday, July 13th.

CONFESSIONS TODAY - Thursday before First Friday Confessions today from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. ***The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be moving back into the confessionals starting today.

ONLINE GIVERS - DID YOU KNOW WE HAVE A SUPER EASY TO USE APP THAT YOU CAN USE TO MANAGE YOUR DONATIONS? Online Giving provides a convenient way to make financial contributions to our church. Download our App We have an online giving app!! If you have a smart phone, visit the app store, and search “online giving.” Find the app with our online giving logo and download. Your giving can be easily modified using this app. The app keeps you logged in, and you can make changes to current gifts or add or delete gifts quickly and easily right from your phone. Be sure to download the online giving app today! Are you interested in setting up online giving? If you would like to use Online Giving to donate to your church, please go to your church website and click on Online Giving on the top right of the home page and create an account. If you have questions about your account or are having trouble logging into Online Giving, please contact Customer Support at 1-800-348-2886.

GOODBYE SARA BALOGH! We will miss you!! Join us tomorrow, Sunday, June 27th after the 10:30am Mass for a farewell reception for our Music Directory, Sara Balogh. Sara will be joining her husband Zach in Virginia where he is attending vet school. Come down to Elliott Hall after Mass to enjoy some refreshments and to say goodbye to Sara on her last weekend with us.