New Albany Deanery Catholic Youth Ministries will be kicking off the annual fundraising campaign with a dinner on August 28 at Huber’s Plantation Hall at 6pm. This year’s guest speaker is Archbishop Charles Thompson. All are welcome to attend. For more information, please call Sandy at (812) 923-8355 or email sandy@nadyouth.org

Don’t go back to college without it! All 2018 high school graduates and college-age compatriots are invited out for a night of Tacomania craziness with Catholic YouthMinistries! Meet at Mt. St. Francis (101 St. Anthony Dr / Mt. St. Francis, IN) on August 3 at 5 pm. We will travel together to Kraft’s pool complex where tacos, games and general pool shenanigans will take place! Please RSVP by July 30 by texting “George” to 84576 and sign on to the “Tacomania” group. You may also call (812) 923-8355 for more information.

Youth in grades 6 through 8 are welcome to register for the New Albany deanery’s upcoming Safe Sitter® class on September 22 from 9am until 3pm. The course will help participants learn the safety skills needed and best practices of babysitting. The class will be held at Catholic Youth Ministries at Mt. St. Francis (101 St. Anthony Dr / Mt. St. Francis, IN) and has a fee is $20 per participant. Please register by September 14 at nadyouth.org or call 812-923-8355 for assistance.

Batter up! Bring the whole family out for a fun night watching the Louisville Bats take on the Indianapolis Indians on Friday, August 24. Tickets are $8 per person and include reserved seating and a Bats hat! It’s the anniversary of the classic baseball movie, The Sandlot, so the first 2000 fans in attendance will also receive a “Ham Porter” bobblehead. Place your ticket order in the Parish Office no later than August 20. For more information, contact Michelle at (812) 952-2853 or faithformation@frontier.com.

Thirsty Thursdays begins new series Catholic young adults (21-40) are invited to Thirsty Thursday, every Thursday night beginning at 6pm. This group enjoys fellowship, discussion and the new series “The Catholic Faith As We’ve Never Seen It Before.” Contact Philip at (812) 923-8355 or Philip@nadyouth.org for more details. No RSVP required.

Can you lend a hand? St. Mary Youth Ministry is in need of volunteers to help kick off our annual Parish Picnic! To accomplish our goal of “the best picnic EVER” in 2018, we will be hosting a work day on Saturday, August 5 from 9am until 4pm. (Lunch will be provided.) Come for the whole day or just a few hours. We will be doing all kinds of projects, including but not limited to setting up a parish museum, building yard games for the children’s area, delivering picnic invitations to neighborhoods surrounding the parish, scrapbooking and setting up a museum display. Your help and creativity is needed! Call Michelle at (812) 952-2853 or faithformaiton@frontier.com for more information. No RSVP required.

Bring the whole family out for a fun night watching the Louisville Bats take on the Indianapolis Indians on Friday, August 24. Tickets are $8 per person and include reserved seating and a Bats hat! It’s the anniversary of the classic baseball movie, The Sandlot, so the first 2000 fans in attendance will also receive a “ Ham Porter ” bobblehead. Place your ticket order in the Parish Office no later than August 20. For more information, contact Michelle at (812) 952-2853 or faithformation@frontier.com.

Youth Ministers from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, including St. Mary’s Sara Hollowell, began the summer with training and education on the ministry fundamentals. “Vocation” Bible School offered school age children a chance to learn more about hearing God’s call in our lives. Three representatives of St. Mary Church attended One Bread One Cup, a liturgical leadership conference at St. Meinrad Archabbey.

To receive periodic text messages from St. Mary Church, including ministry updates, weather-related cancellations, and Holy Day Mass reminders and the latest news, please text the ministry code for your specific age-group, (below) to (607) 564-5066.

St. Mary Youth Ministry will host a weekly Holy Hour of Adoration from 3:30-4:30pm in Church. This quiet time of prayer and reflection is just the answer in the middle of a busy week of school, sports, clubs and work!

Children and youth from our parish are preparing their hearts to receive the Sacraments of Initiation in the spring. Would you consider joining them on their special day and give them your prayerful support?

St. Mary Youth Ministry will be hosting a Valentine’s Dinner, Dance & Silent Auction on Saturday, February 11, 2017 from 6:30pm - 10:00pm. Reserve your seat now!! Limited seating available. Reserve your seat by mailing or dropping off the reservation form to the parish office, or call 812-952-2853. Reservations will be accepted until 4:00pm Friday, February 3, 2017.

Have you ever been curious about One Bread, One Cup, the liturgical conference held each year at St. Meinrad? For years, high school students from our parish have spent a week at the seminary growing in faith through prayer, liturgical ministry, reflection on Sacred Scripture and more.

Are you in high school and interested in spending more time in the great outdoors? St. Mary’s youth ministry office is excited to announce that we will be offering a way to discover the beauty of God’s creation through hiking, skiing, ice skating, and just spending quality time with each other!

ICYC (Indianapolis Catholic Youth Conference) is an opportunity to join 1,000 of your closest friends from all over the state of Indiana for Mass, music, games, bounce houses, photo booths and more!

Faith Formation gatherings, for children and youth, will begin again in September! St. Mary Church offers excellent catechesis from children age 3 through those who are seniors in high school. (There are also ample opportunities for adult faith formation too!) Pick up your registration form today in the Parish Office or join us next weekend, August 27 & 28, for our registration weekend! Faith Formation classes will kick off on September 11, at 9am!

Youth currently in grade 5 - 8 are invited to Friday Morning Mass (8am) followed by breakfast, games and prayer until 10:30am! Come join in the summer fun on the following, remaining dates:

Today’s dating scene is more complicated than ever! In the quest for true love, it is important not to lose yourself along the way. In How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul, participants will discover twenty-one strategies to help them raise the bar, instead of sitting at it, waiting around for Mr. or Mrs. Wonderful.

It takes an entire Church to minister to children and youth! Even young families sometimes need a hand in order to participate in the life of the Church, for practical reasons. Our faith community has so much to offer as we aim to enrich the faith lives of our young people, encouraging them to grow in their faith and inspiring them to love and serve the Lord. In this spirit, St. Mary Catholic Church is looking for helping hands!

St. Mary Catholic Church will recognize all 2016 graduates, both high school and college graduates, on Sunday, May 15, at the 10:30am Mass. Those interested in participating in this special Mass are asked to contact the Parish Office (812-952-2853) to reserve a spot in the procession. Graduates will be asked to wear their cap and gown to the Mass.