Our Little Free Pantry is finally here!
Thank you Knights of Columbus, Msgr. Kohler #15204 for building it for us!
We hope everyone in our community will use this box, both to bring food, but also to take food when they need a little help. Look for it next to our office building!
"For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink..." Matthew 25:35
Rev. Fr. Shafique and the Friends of Mary Cause of Our Joy,
Greetings and gratitude from St. Thomas the Apostle Minor Seminary Faisalabad, Pakistan.
We are living in a difficult time when the whole world is facing the challenge of corona virus but Easter Season strengthen our faith that the One who overcame death and sin will heal our world and He will help us to overcome.
Sharing this moment of gratitude I would like to express my sincere thanks to Fr. Shafique and the friends of Mary cause of our Joy for being a cause of our joy. Thank you for your being so thoughtful and sharing with us the blessing of our Lord this time buying for our seminary 25 bags of 40kgs of wheat. We appreciate very much and I assure you that as this wheat will nourish our seminarians we will continue praying for you for your spiritual nourishment. Thank you very much once again for your generous sharing.
Wish you all the best and be assure of our prayers,
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Fr. Khalid Yousaf
Rector
St. Thomas the Apostle Minor Seminary Faisalabad
Pakistan
This spring, our Christian Service Commission was planning on starting a Mini Pantry at our parish so that if people needed emergency food after hours, there was a place that they could come to get it. There is more information about this movement at Little Free Pantry. We were planning on making a fancy box like posted in the header (image is from Here), but with everything that has been happening in the world, it has not happened.
Since I, and the group, are still worried about people having emergency food we set up a 
low tech version of this at this time. It is a simple plastic tote with some food in it. It is there if someone wants to grab food, or if they want to drop off extra food. I know someone could just drive up and grab it, or that someone could make a mess by leaving food all over the place, but I think we have to do something to make sure our parishioners, and community members have access to food at this time. If you or someone you know needs something, please take advantage of the food. If you have something to drop off, please make sure it fits in the tote, and will stay dry.
Hopefully things will get on track again soon, and we can make something more permanent. Until then, I hope everyone stays safe, and uses every precaution to keep others safe as well. If you want to help with this project, even more than food, I ask that you pray that the food will find the people who need it, and that everyone will be able to feed themselves. After that, if you feel like you want to do more, feel free to drop non perishable food.
God Bless each of you,
Paul
I am not sure how many of you gave any thought to Pakistan before Fr. Shafique was named our pastor, but I am going to give you a quick history lesson so you will better understand a project that we will be working on over the next few years. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world. Because it is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the northeast, it is an important ally of the United States.
Christianity in the area now known as Pakistan goes as far back as the preaching of the 
apostle St. Thomas. Unfortunately, in an area dominated by other world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism) the church never got a strong, long term footing. Even with the work of missionaries in the 1500’s, it was not until the 1800’s, and the rise of the British Empire that the Catholic Church finally found fertile ground. Because of its work in medicine and education, the Church found many converts in the lower and working class. Even after the establishment of an independent Pakistan in 1947, the Muslim government has embraced the Church for its work in those areas.
To move our history lesson a little closer to home, over the last few years we have been d
iscussing the idea of having a “Sister Parish.” This would be a Parish that would be in great need, which we could establish an ongoing relationship with so that we could see how our help could benefit the Parish in the long term. After conversations with Finance and Pastoral Council as well as the Christian Service Committee, we have decided to adopt Sacred Heart Catholic Church, in Gojra, Pakistan, which is located in the Diocese of Faisalabad. This is a Parish that Father Shafique was pastor of from 1994 to 2011. The Parish covers a large geographical area, has a school with a hostel, as well as a convent. Because there are not school buses available, many of the students have to live at the schools hostel so that they can receive their education. This lent, we will start working on a program to assist Sacred Heart Parish and the school. We hope our support will help to continue to grow the church in Pakistan. Please look for more information about our Sister Parish in the near future.
Kids Coalition Against Hunger
ALL AGES FAMILY AND PARISH EVENT SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2019
MAIN EVENT: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 NOON
PLUS SET UP AND TEAR DOWN SHIFTS
St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Social Halls
Build and Pack 10,000 Meals
Packaged food benefits our local community in Westland and Wayne
Open to EVERYONE, All Ages Welcome – From Kindergarten to the Young at Heart
St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy is pleased to partner with Kids Coalition Against Hunger on Saturday, December 7 and we need EVERYONE’s help in order to make this event a HUGE Success.
Roles Needed for the event:
How do we accomplish this? By delivering a highly nutritious meal, that was developed by food scientists to provide a rich source of easily digestible protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins needed by an undernourished child’s body and mind. The food is also acceptable to the broad diversity of ethnic tastes and religious differences around the world. The food offers all nine of the essential amino acids required for complete nutrition, something that can’t be said about other typical food relief sources such as rice or beans alone. It is also very simple to prepare, requiring only six cups of boiling water to make a complete meal.
How do you sign up?
Financial Donation? We have raised $1450 towards the $3000 that is needed to pay for food that we are purchasing to build the 10,300 meals. If you would like to make a donation you can make a check payable to Kids Coalition Against Hunger or make a cash donation at the parish office during the day or faith formation class times on Monday evening. Every donation no matter the size helps us to reach our goal. If each person coming brings $10.00 to donate towards the event we will reach our goal.
Any questions about this event please contact Carol Nelius, Coordinator of Youth Ministry at youthministry@stmarycooj.org or call/text 734-765-5525
Kids Coalition Against Hunger is a 501 c(3) humanitarian food relief organization whose mission is to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the USA and feed starving children throughout the world.
St Mary, Cause of Our Joy is hosting three Red Cross Blood Drives this Calendar Year:
Wednesday, August 21st from Noon – 6 pm.
Wednesday, October 23rd from 9 am – 3 pm.
Donations will take place in the Large Social Hall.
Register for a time: Here!
All donors will receive a digital $5.00 Amazon gift card. Make your donation faster. Go to http://www.redcrossblood.org/rapidpass the day of the drive. You can do all the reading and answer the questions. You can do this on your computer or smart phone. Thank you
Next weekend, we welcome Fr. Paulus Wawan, S.X. of the St. Francis Xavier Missionaries at all of our Masses as part of the annual Missionary Cooperation Plan.
Fr. Wawan was born and grew up in Indonesia as a part of a Buddhist family. The loss of his younger sister was what touched him and his family to convert to Christianity. During their mourning and some of the most difficult moments of their lifetime, he experienced the tangible presence of God through the support and help of Christian neighbors. This loving and caring witness of Christians triggered and touched him to answer God’s call to bring hope, love, mercy and compassion to the whole world.
In 2007, Fr. Wawan graduated from the Catholic Theological Union (Chicago, IL). Immediately after his ordination, he was sent as a missionary to Taiwan—China. He was involved in various pastoral, cultural, and social fields of ministry. In October, 2016, he began a new experience: serving mentally and physically challenged children in southern China. This experience touched him so deeply that it pushed him to come back to the U.S. (in July, 2018) to go back to school in order to broaden and enhance his knowledge and understanding with mental health issue. Currently, he lives in the Xaverian Missionaries Community in Franklin, Wisconsin. He is willing to share his mission experience with anyone interested.
Being exclusively a foreign mission society, the Xaverian Fathers and Brothers depend greatly on proceeds from this collection.
Thank you
St Mary, Cause of Our Joy is hosting three Red Cross Blood Drives this Calendar Year:
Donations will take place in the Large Social Hall.
Register for a time at:
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=stmarywestland
All donors will receive a digital $5.00 Amazon gift card. Make your donation faster. Go to http://www.redcrossblood.org/rapidpass the day of the drive. You can do all the reading and answer the questions. You can do this on your computer or smart phone. Thank you
Many of you probably know that one of my “dreams” when the parish first began in 2016, and I was named pastor, was to reach out to the greater community in a special way by providing a free lunch once a month to whoever wanted to attend. We are called to reach beyond ourselves and our boundaries and be present to others, and in doing so we bring Christ to them. Last weekend we read the Gospel of Jesus feeding the 5000 with barley loaves and a few fish. Among the many aspects that we can learn from this Gospel, which is repeated six times in the four Gospels, is that we, the community, are called to feed those who are in need. Jesus didn’t ask them who they were, what their needs were, where they came from or what they believed. He just wanted to give them something to eat.
In September, St. Mary Cause of Our Joy will begin having a free lunch for everyone in our community. It is not just for the poor, or the homeless. Anyone who may want to attend is welcome. No questions asked; no donations required. Just come and eat and spend a little time with others. People who live alone and may want a little bit of company once and a while may want to attend. People who drive old, beat-up cars and brand new, shiny ones as well. Or maybe those who have no car at all.
We are called to reach out and care for others. This is one way we can do so. Under the guidance of Paul, Sabrina and Steve, we will be gathering a team of leaders who will coordinate the lunch every month, which will take place on the fourth Thursday of the month beginning at 12:00 noon. Those people will then ask for volunteers from amongst our parish members and others as well. We will need help to cook, set up, serve, clean up, to bake desserts and maybe just to be here and greet our guests and make them feel welcome. You can volunteer just once, or once every few months or every month.
By looking outward and not inward, we will see the presence of God in the eyes of others. Please help us make this endeavor a success. Evangelization takes on many forms, and this is one of them.
Fr. Ken
St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Catholic Church 