The Diocesan Communicator is delivered through Flocknote.  You are now able to read the information right in your email message!

If you have any thoughts or suggestions to share, please email Sara at sshusta@dioceseofmarquette.org and John at jfee@dioceseofmarquette.org.

The current Communicator, as well as past issues, are available on the Diocesan website at https://dioceseofmarquette.org/communicator.

Jan. 13, 2024      Mission Combined Collection (Administration & Finance)

Jan. 14, 2024      Mission Combined Collection (Administration & Finance)

Our diocese is getting ready to participate in #iGiveCatholic for the second year. What I like about this giving day is that gifts go directly to our parishes and ministries to support the mission. See bulletin insert and www.iGiveCatholic.org for other customizable resources.  Thank you!

Our brothers and sisters in Christ living consecrated lives make great contributions to our society, our diocese, our parishes and our parishioners.  I welcome you and your parishioners to join me in celebrating the lives of these men and women who serve in many capacities and have dedicated their lives to contemplative prayer, teaching in our schools, taking care of the poor and the sick and bringing compassion and the love of Christ to those shunned by society.  
 
 Your observance on Nov. 12, 2023, of this Diocesan Day of Consecrated Life in your parish(es) may include a focus on consecrated life in your homily, promoting vocations to consecrated life and honoring women religious and others who live a consecrated life who serve in your parish(es).  Please see the addendum Diocesan Day of Consecrated Life Prayers of the Faithful that may be used on the Diocesan Day of Consecrated Life or throughout the year to pray for vocations.

Just a reminder:  Any parish that has more Mass intentions and Mass stipends than they can satisfy in a year should send the Mass intentions and corresponding Mass stipend check to the diocesan office c/o:  MaryAnn Bernier, Office of the Bishop, 1004 Harbor Hills Drive, Marquette, MI  49855.  You will receive a letter acknowledging our acceptance of the responsibility to see that the Mass intentions are celebrated.  The Mass intentions and stipends will be distributed to senior priests of the diocese who celebrate Masses or may be distributed to parishes who are in need of Mass intentions.  (Canon 953 No one is permitted to accept more offerings for Masses to be applied by himself than he can satisfy within a year.)

There is currently an individual representing themselves as the bishop using an email address that is NOT similar to his valid diocesan email address.  Diocesan email addresses follow a pattern of firstinitiallastname@dioceseofmarquette.org such as mbernier@dioceseofmarquette.org.

 

Would you kindly remind your parishioners via a bulletin announcement that the bishop, our priests and employees of the Diocese of Marquette will NEVER request the purchase of gift cards to be sent via text message or email for any type of fundraising project.  Regardless of what email address or cell phone number the request comes from, parishioners should NEVER purchase gift cards and send pictures of them via text or email.  

 

Scammers are using any information they can find to initiate these requests including information (such as board members cell numbers or email addresses) on our diocesan website, information in our parish bulletins and on parish websites.  

 

Unfortunately, we have had individuals who have responded to the emails and have purchased and sent pictures of the gift cards to the person misrepresenting themselves.

Catholics across the Diocese of Marquette are invited to our Cathedral Concert Series with a special evening of pipe organ music from Norway, the Baltic Lands, and the United States performed by concert organist James D. Hicks at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette: Thursday Nov. 9, 2023 at 6 p.m. 

Mr. Hicks is an accomplished organist from Califon, N.J. and a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and the University of Cincinnati. Mark your calendars for this spectacular evening of musical sounds played on the “King of Instruments.”  No admission charge.  A freewill offering will be made available to help support Mr. Hicks put on this beautiful concert.

Over the past fifteen years, Mr. Hicks has researched the music of the Nordic lands and the result is an ongoing venture entitled Nordic Journey. The endeavor places emphasis on new music.  He has commissioned over 60 compositions from Nordic composers, as well as researching repertoire from the past that has hitherto never been recorded or published. With the December 2023 release of Nordic Journey Volume XV, Baltic Sojourn, the series will now comprise 24 discs, all produced for the American label Pro Organo as well as being distributed by Naxos and the usual digital streaming platforms.

Visit www.jamesdhicks.com to learn more about James D. Hicks.

We have received some inquiries regarding the scheduling of Masses for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve, since Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year.   Priests can celebrate Mass three times on Sundays and Holy Days so parishes may need to adjust their schedule for Dec. 24 or make arrangements for other priests to help out.   The faithful have Mass obligations for the Sunday and for Christmas.  These obligations have to be fulfilled at two separate Masses. The last time this happened was in 2017.

Please note the following important dates for ministry personnel:

A reminder to Pastors, Pastoral Coordinators and the RCIA team of the importance of determining the marriage situation of the RCIA candidate and the candidate’s spouse which may require a declaration of nullity before he/she may enter the Church. If the candidate or the candidate’s current spouse has been married previously, an investigation into these marriages must be made. 

Save the dates for Spring Confirmations.  Dates have been set to share with Confirmands and families, but some locations are still being determined.  Registration will open when locations are finalized.

The Masses are scheduled as follows:

Diocesan and St. Peter Cathedral Vicariate Confirmations (combined)

St. Peter Cathedral, Marquette                      3:30pm ET           April 21, 2024

Holy Name of Mary Vicariate Confirmations

Location and Mass Time - TBD                                                  April 28, 2024

St. Mary Norway Vicariate Confirmation

Location and Mass Time – TBD                                                 May 5, 2024

The Diocesan Confirmation is open to all adults, youth younger than grade 11 who have permission from the bishop to be confirmed, and youth from vicariates other than St. Mary Norway Vicariate and Holy Name of Mary Vicariate. 

If you have any questions please contact Mark Salisbury, (906) 227-9127 or msalisbury@dioceseofmarquette.org

Confirmation retreats are currently scheduled for the following dates at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ishpeming.  Retreats are open to confirmands from all parishes. Retreats will start at noon and end at 6 p.m. ET.  An optional Mass will immediately follow.  Cost is $20 and registration is required at least one week in advance.   Register by emailing:  Ishpemingfaithformation@gmail.com.

Each retreat will be offered twice (Option 1 and Option 2) so a youth could attend one of the winter retreats and one in the spring for a second retreat, but they shouldn't attend two winter retreats or two spring retreats.

In addition, there will be a Teen Retreat for 7th-12th graders on Jan. 27, 2024, at the same times and location.  The fee is still being determined.

Visit www.eucharisticrevival.org/revival-resources for more information and resources about the Eucharistic Revival.

Mark your calendars for Spring Study Day, March 21, 2024.  We are excited to announce that Fr. Luke Ferris, a National Eucharistic Preacher and currently pastor of the Kaukauna Catholic Parishes in Kaukauna, Wis., will be one of our presenters. Fr. Ferris was named a National Eucharistic Preacher by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops last year.

More information and registration will be posted in December.

Attention Parishes: Do you have a parishioner who recently celebrated their 100th birthday? Send their name and a photo of their celebration to news@dioceseofmarquette.org for possible publication in a future issue of The U.P. Catholic’s Centenarian Corner and in other diocesan media including social media.

Are there special events being held at your parish? Please send information about events, including the date(s) and location to news@dioceseofmarquette.org for possible publication in The U.P. Catholic calendar in future issues and in other diocesan media including social media.

The U.P. Catholic is planning to publish Christmas Mass times in the Dec. 22 issue of the paper. Please submit Mass times using the jotform https://form.jotform.com/DioceseofMarquette/christmas-mass-times no later than Friday, Dec. 1. 

Bishop Doerfler directed all parish corporations to submit copies of their signed bylaws and minutes from initial Board meetings to the Diocese by Sept. 15, 2023. If you have yet to submit these documents, please do so at your earliest convenience to assist in the incorporation process. 

Diocesan staff are also working to transfer existing Employer Identification Numbers to parish corporate entities. Please scan or forward any correspondence/documentation received from the Internal Revenue Service to the diocesan office, attention: Irene McCauley.

If you have any questions about the parish incorporation process, please contact Tim Thomas or Irene McCauley for additional assistance. 

The Governance Report was due to the Diocese on Sept. 30, 2023. If your parish has not submitted a 2023 report yet, please send your Parish Governance Report to the Diocese, attention: Irene McCauley or imccauley@dioceseofmarquette.org. This report is available on the Diocesan website http://dioceseofmarquette.org/forms and has been included as Addendum #1. Please contact Irene McCauley with any questions at imccauley@dioceseofmarquette.org or (906) 227-9135.

Please be aware the maximum contribution per individual is $22,500 unless the employee is age 50 or over. Members over 50 years of age are allowed an additional "catch-up" contribution of $6,500. Since there are still two months left in 2023, it is a good time to evaluate your contributions to your 403(b) plan. Are you maximizing the amount you can contribute? Are you sure you will not exceed the maximum contribution amount by year-end?  If you have questions, please feel free to contact Irene at imccauley@dioceseofmarquette.org or (906) 227-9135.

The IRS requires tax-exempt organizations to withhold 25 percent of raffle winnings over $5,000 and report this amount on Form W-2G. Parishes and schools are advised to limit raffle winnings to no more than $5,000 to avoid tax liability. Federal reporting requirements apply to cash winnings and non-cash prizes whose value exceeds $5,000. If you are interested in holding a small raffle for your parish or school, please visit the State of Michigan charitable gaming website at www.michigan.gov/cg/ for more information. 

All parishes in the Diocese of Marquette will be taking up the 2024 Mission Collection on Jan. 13-14, 2024. The Mission Collection supports the following outreach ministries to the Universal Church: the Black & Indian Missions, Catholic Home Missions, the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, and the Propagation of the Faith Mission. Parish bookkeepers are advised to use the Collection Counting Sheet (Addendum #2) and to divide unspecified Mission fund donations evenly between the four individual collections. Bookkeepers may then complete the updated Combined Collection Transmittal Form found in Addendum #3 to include with their payment to the Diocese. Please make checks out to "Diocese of Marquette-Mission Collection."

Please see the Bulletin Announcements section for an advertisement that can be placed in your parish bulletins to promote this collection. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 

#iGiveCatholic is an online donation event held on Giving Tuesday, right after Thanksgiving.  It gives parishes, schools, campus ministries, and other Catholic ministries the opportunity to make use of social media and an online format to engage in a blitz style, one-day fundraising campaign.  If you have any questions or need assistance contact vbailey@dioceseofmarquette.org.

Christmas is coming early at the Bishop Baraga Association!  We are bringing Lifetime Memberships back for a Membership Blitz until Dec. 31, 2023.

Annual Members may purchase a Lifetime membership for $50 (Domestic) and $100 (International).  Your membership may be purchased online at www.bishopbaraga.org/store.

Already a Lifetime member?  You can gift an annual membership to friends and family and there are NO LIMITS to the number of memberships you can gift!  Please send contact information (name, mailing address, phone and email) to lmckeen@bishopbaraga.org.

Help us spread the word about this saintly man!

Visit our website to find new merchandise available.  Let us help with your Christmas shopping, while you help support Bishop Baraga’s Cause for Canonization!

July 17-21, 2024/Indianapolis, Ind.

The Diocese of Marquette has purchased 75 tickets to the National Eucharistic Congress thanks to a Legacy of Faith grant.  If you’d like to register for one, visit: https://petersway.com/1049.html and click the “Make a Deposit” button.

If you don’t need to reserve a hotel room (at the reduced price listed), you won’t have to enter your credit card information.

The 75 free tickets are available first come/first served.

If you have trouble with the website call Megan at Petersway Travel at (516) 605-1551 ext. 18 or email her at megan@petersway.com.

Join Bishop John Doerfler, and Deacon Steve and Jackie Gretzinger on a Spirit-filled pilgrimage to Portugal, Spain and France. Highlights of the pilgrimage include visits to Fatima, Lourdes, Avila, Lisieux, TGV Experience - High Speed Train Ride, Normandy: Omaha Beach and American Cemetery, Louvre Museum, Motorcoach site seeing of Notre Dame Cathedral, Eiffel Tower and so much more. For more information visit: https://tinyurl.com/CarmelitePilgrimage2024

The U.P. Catholic newspaper is a publication that seeks to inform, evangelize and educate the faithful in the Diocese of Marquette.  All parishioners should be receiving the newspaper as a member of their parish.  Please contact your parish office if you are not receiving The U.P. Catholic newspaper.

Have you considered starting a Catholic Mom’s Group at your parish?

Visit the “I Love My Catholic Moms Group” website at: www.catholicmomsgroup.com to getting started or join Dorothy on Nov. 30, 2023 at 7 p.m. ET for a free Zoom webinar and receive additional tools, training and resources.  Email dorothy.pilarski@CatholicMomsGroup.com for the registration link.

We are bringing Lifetime Memberships back for a Membership Blitz until Dec. 31, 2023.  Annual Members may purchase a Lifetime membership for $50 (Domestic) and $100 (International).  Your membership may be purchased online at www.bishopbaraga.org/store.

Already a Lifetime member?  You can gift an annual membership to friends and family and there are NO LIMITS to the number of memberships you can gift!  Please send contact information (name, mailing address, phone and email) to lmckeen@bishopbaraga.org.

The Black and Indian Mission Collection exists to help local African American and Native American diocesan communities throughout the United States spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and respond to real and pressing needs. This collection advances causes important to native and African American Catholics. To learn more, visit blackandindianmission.org. 

"Home Missions” is the name for dioceses and parishes in the United States, including its territories and former territories, which cannot provide basic pastoral services to Catholics without outside help. Basic pastoral services include Mass and sacraments, religious education, and ministry training for priests, deacons, religious sisters and lay people. For more information, visit usccb.org/committees/catholic-home-missions. 

While the Church in Africa is growing, many still lack access to basic resources and pastoral care. Many suffer due to high rates of poverty and unemployment, illiteracy, and poor education. The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa supports pastoral projects that foster lasting peace and reconciliation in a continent often marked by division and tension. To learn more about this ministry, visit usccb.org/committees/church-africa. 

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is vital to the missionaries serving in 1,111 dioceses throughout Asia, Africa, parts of Latin America and Europe, and on the Islands of the Pacific. Your generosity makes it possible for local priests, religious, and catechists to reach out to communities, families, and children in desperate need, bringing the light of Christ to the darkest of circumstances covering more than half the globe. For more information, visit onefamilyinmission.org.