St Martin of Tours Parish

Vicksburg, MI
Parish Office: 269-649-1629

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Ministries

- Parish Life
HALOS St. martin's catholic Women's Group

Many Ways in Which to Joyfully Serve!

Please find below the ways our parish reaches out and serves our community. Please consider joining one (or more!) of these ways to be a witness of Christ's love. If you have any questions, please contact the Parish Office at 269-649-1629. Thanks and God bless!

Adult Education

A group of volunteers working to offer the adults of our parish varied opportunities to continue to grow more deeply in our Catholic faith. The goal is to offer opportunities in several forms, and on varied days and times, to appeal to all parishioners. Recently offered are bible studies, seasonal programs for Lent or Advent, and Pack the House, which is a gathering to share a meal and hear a speaker or view a video on current Catholic topics. New members are welcomed and appreciated. Diversity of volunteers (age, background, etc.) will result in new ideas, which are encouraged. If you are interested, please leave your name, phone number and email address in the Parish Office at 269-649-1629.

Altar Linen Team

This invisible, yet essential ministry is responsible for cleaning and pressing the altar linens and purificators that are used during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Guidelines are provided to ensure altar linens are prepared with appropriate care and respect. By the diligent care of the altar linens, the Church expresses her joy at the inestimable gifts and graces she receives form Christ’s altar.

This ministry is time-flexible and performed at home with training provided! The time commitment would be approximately four hours a week on a rotating team schedule. Call the Parish Office at 269-649-1629 to join this team.

Annual Rummage Sale Fundraiser

Our annual rummage sale is held in the Parish Hall each summer, with our sale dates looking to be August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for 2024. Everyone is encouraged to donate their unwanted items. Help is also needed to set up, sort, price, work during the sale, and take down. Proceeds go to the building fund. Watch the bulletin for information &/or contact the Parish Office (269-649-1629) if you would like to help.

Bible Sudy with Msgr. Martin

All are invited every Monday evening in the Manning Center from 6:00pm to 7:00pm for Bible Study with Msgr. Tom Martin. No reservation required and you can just bring yourself. The study looks at the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday and is a wonderful opportunity for prayer, reflection, and personal connection. For questions, please contact the Parish Office at 269-649-1629.

Coffee and Donuts

Coffee and donuts are served after the 8am and 11am Masses September through March. We serve coffee, donuts, milk and orange juice once a month, usually on the fourth Sunday, depending on holidays and parish activities. New volunteers are always welcome, please call the Parish Office (269-649-1629) if you are interested.

Funeral Ministry

The funeral ministry organizes compassionate volunteers to set-up and clean-up a catered meal after a funeral. To volunteer to serve in this important work of ministering towards grieving family and friends, please call the Parish Office at 269-649-1629 to have your name put on the list.

Hospitality Ministry

The Hospitality Ministry provides meals for new mothers and other parishioners recovering at home after a hospital stay. For more information, email Deb Stafinski at dstafinski11@gmail.com. We also provide welcome bags to new parishioners. Please email Christy Salasbury for more details at christysalisbury1@hotmail.com.

In-Sharing Ministry

The In-Sharing ministry works in conjunction with other churches in the Vicksburg area and the South County Community Services to serve the poor and needy in the Vicksburg area. Currently, members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society are covering this. Please call 269-649-1629 and listen for the St. Vincent de Paul Society extension to leave a message in order to receive more information here.

Knights of Columbus

St. Martin’s Knights of Columbus Council 13305 was chartered in 2003. The Knights provide service to St. Martin and St. Edward Parishes as a whole, with the founding principles charity, unity, and fraternity ever on their minds. The Knights meet in the Manning Center on the fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m. and have a family summer picnic and Christmas party. Fund raising activities include a Farmers’ Breakfast one Sunday a month in the Parish Hall and a Corn Beef and Cabbage Dinner around St. Patrick's Day. Membership is open to all men 18 years or older, who are practicing Catholics. For more information, contact Bill Zeman (616-914-3962)

Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA)

OCIA stands for the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults. It is the standard discernment and formation process for adults wishing to learn more about our Catholic faith and to prepare those interested for their profession of faith, entrance into the Church and reception of the Sacraments of Initiation. The OCIA process is composed of several parts: Inquiry, which is general information about the Church, such as our core beliefs, devotions, types of prayer, Mary and the Saints, and general practices and teachings of the Church. The second part is the Catechumenate, a period in which the Seven Sacraments of the Church are discussed. During this time that we discern at a deeper level the upcoming initiation into the Church and reception of the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and Confirmation. Those who complete the program are received into the church at the Easter vigil. For more information, please contact the Parish Office at 269-649-1629.

Pastoral Care Ministry

If you or someone you know is homebound, sick, or infirm and they would like a visit or communion, please call Sue Maneikis in the Parish Office at 269-649-1629. We'll schedule a time in which Msgr. Martin or one of our Deacons will come to visit you. If you have a Sacramental emergency, such as needing Last Rites, please call the parish number (269-649-1629) and select the emergency phone line.

Prayer Line

The Prayer Line has played a significant role in connecting parishioners through the power of prayer since it started in 2009. Beginning with eleven prayer warriors and a lead contact, our Prayer Line has grown to 35 prayer warriors who lift up the needs of anyone who asks for prayer. To leave a prayer request, or to begin to participate as a prayer warrior, please email deena.christine@yahoo.com, or call (269) 303-8016.
Prayer requests are confidential, and full names are used only when requested.

Raise Right Gift Cards

Raise Right, formerly known as Scrip, are sold after the weekend Masses in the narthex. The parish benefits from Raise Right sales by earning a profit on each card we sell. We do need volunteers for the Raise Right Sales, please call the Parish Office (269-649-1629) if you are interested. Selling the cards does not take a lot of time after Mass and is easy to learn- training is available.

Readers and Ushers

We always welcome new readers and ushers! Please call the Parish Office (269-649-1629) if you are interested. Training to become a reader or usher is easily arranged by appointment.

Religious Education

One of our most important callings as Christians is to instill the living faith in our children. To assist parents in this duty, children in 1st through 12th grade meet on Sunday mornings from 9:30a.m. - 10:45a.m.

Please note: In order to enroll in Religious Education, as a student or catechist or volunteer, we kindly ask that you register with the parish, and then as your spiritual accompaniers we can walk the journey of our Catholic faith together in community.

To register, please visit our site here. Thank you very much and God bless!

For information, to register your children, or to volunteer as a catechist or assist in any age group, please contact Tim McNamara at the Religious Education Office dre@stmartinvicksburg.org or the Parish Office at (269) 649-1629.

St. Isidore Guild

The St. Isidore Guild maintains and cares for the Mary Garden and surrounding areas. The Garden was created in the 1960's by a group of dedicated and innovative parishioners for the purpose of honoring Our Blessed Mother by providing a sacred space for enjoyment, meditation and beauty. The flowers chosen for inclusion into the Garden are special to Mary and have lovely meanings.

We meet on Monday mornings, weather permitting, from spring to fall. We work for as long as we want. If Mondays do not work on a particular week, we meet whenever the weather clears up. Also, some of our members prefer to work evenings, so we are at the Garden at all hours.
We are always looking for volunteers, as many hands lighten the work. You are welcome to bring your children (however, they will be a mess!!)

Please feel free to call the Parish Office (269-649-1629) for more information. We look forward to seeing you very soon!!!

St. Martin's Council of Catholic Women

SMCCW (locally known as the HALOS) is an organization of women of the parish wishing to grow spiritually, strengthened by the diversity of age, and sharing faith to build our community. We are members of the National Council of Catholic Women. There are no membership requirements for any woman in the parish. Just bring an interest for the fun, friendship, and fellowship that grows out of planning and participating in numerous activities and services. Some of the many projects and activities that SMCCW arranges are:
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• Caring Hands, the craft group that meets to create and provide prayer shawls, sleeping mats for the homeless, baby shawls for newborns, hats for preemies in the hospital, and whatever is requested using our craft skills. Meeting on the second Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m.
• Provide meals for short term hospital patients released to their home or any shut-ins as requested.
• One or two fund raising events per year, to obtain needed funds for support of our youth and donate to charities or groups in need of support
• One or two social events per year for community building.
SMCCW meets the third Tuesday of the month September through May, for about an hour at 1:00 p.m. Just drop in on a meeting, or contact the SMCCW chairperson, Kathi Lovell, 269.217.2547 or leave your name at the office for more information. Other officers; Lynn Timko, treasurer, Christy Salisbury and Deb Stafinski, secretaries. Deb is also chairperson of our meal ministry, 269.491.8884. See Hospitality Ministry.
Fun Fact: The HALOS name from a member years ago who had a dream that we were Heavenly Angels Loving Our Savior.

St. Vincent DePaul Society

The St. Vincent DePaul group meets twice a month on Monday evenings. If you are interested in joining this group, which administers the parish’s charity contributions, please contact Lisbeth Polasek, 269-649-1629, ext. 70. or
email svdp@stmartinvicksburg.org.

Social Committee

The Social Committee plans a variety of social functions throughout the year to increase fellowship among our parishioners. Some events are for the entire family (like the Annual Parish Picnic), other events are targeted to specific age groups in the parish (like the Annual Mardi Gras - style "Anything Goes" party). By coming together at these events and getting to know the people of the parish, each of us will feel more a part of our parish family. Through these social events, new parishioners and visitors have opportunities to meet others and learn about the various other ministries of our parish and community. If you are interested in joining the Social Committee, if you have ideas for social events, or if you want to volunteer to help at any of the functions, please contact Nick & Barb Ostrosky at (269) 459-6271. Volunteers are always needed. Exact dates of the various social events are announced at Mass and in the weekly bulletin.

Youth Ministry

St. Martin of Tours Youth Ministry desires that students encounter Jesus Christ: through fun activities, in-depth discussions, the call to prayer, and most profoundly in the Eucharist. We strive to live virtuously, so that we may be active followers of Christ in the Church and our communities. We look to engage our parish and local community through different acts of service.

What we value: Honesty, Compassion, Truth, and Service. For more information, please contact Michelle Klein at ym@stmartinvicksburg.org.