Fall 2019

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Fall 2019

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Mayor Bynum advises Church on charities Page 2

Catholic Rapper chosen to do parish Mission Page 3

Church of Saint Mary Newsletter

Outreach releases its Year in Review

Jackie Fusco shares an Outreach true story

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Fall 2019

Quarterly Newsletter

Parish Men distributed thousands of bottles of water and wet towels at the downtown water cooling station.

Give Drink to the Thirsty Parish Men spend two months bringing a Corporal Work of Mercy to downtown Tulsa Demand was up during the second year of the downtown water cooling stations. Parish men met the demand by giving out thousands of bottles of cool water.

a one-day record of 511 bottles on August 21 of this year. The group credits this summer’s especially hot and humid weather for driving up demand.

The crew gathered at the church twice every week to ice down hundreds of bottles of water in coolers. They soaked towels in other coolers filled with ice water.

The water cooling station project embraces the corporal work of mercy: give drink to the thirsty. The parish Year of Service is focusing on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Those works of mercy are concrete ways parishioners can express their faith in Jesus by performing acts of service.

They set up the cooling station near the downtown bus station. Hundreds of people pass through the downtown bus station and often wait there as they change buses. Cooling station volunteers distributed over 5,000 bottles of water this summer and

The cooling station is a smaller ministry under the umbrella of the parish Outreach Ministry.

By the Numbers Date

Bottles

Towels

7/8/19 7/10/19 7/15/19 7/17/19 7/22/19 7/24/19 7/29/19 7/31/19 8/5/19 8/7/19 8/12/19 8/14/19 8/19/19 8/21/19 8/26/19 8/28/19

200 175 188 328 170 220 360 361 414 435 500 360 503 511 504 440

165 120 150 175 110 110 250 230 300 200 300 220 230 280 300 240

Total

5,668

3,380


churchofsaintmary.com

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Fall 2019

Parishioners promise Works of Mercy as Year of Service begins

The vestibule was full of bricks last month as parishioners wrote their names pledging to perform a couple of works of mercy in the coming year. The parish stewardship council invited parishioners to do one work of mercy on the Church of Saint Mary campus, and another work of mercy offsite. Most parishioners perform works of mercy every day - perhaps without giving themselves credit. The Year of Service is an August to June period in which parishioners reflect on their own actions of service. It’s also a time for the church as a whole to look at the ways it serves the local community. The seven Corporal and seven Spiritual Works of Mercy have long been taught by the Church as the foundation of service. The Corporal Works of Mercy are: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; shelter the homeless; visit the Sick; visit the Imprisoned; bury the dead. The Spiritual Works of Mercy are: counsel the doubtful; admonish the sinner; instruct the ignorant; bear wrongs patiently; forgive offenses willingly; comfort the afflicted, pray for the living and the dead.

Mayor GT Bynum and his staff tour the parish Outreach Center.

Mayor GT Bynum and his staff advise church leaders on effective charity Get good advice. Talk to the right people. Make connections. The Church of Saint Mary has a long commitment to serving our brothers and sisters in need. As the church looks to expand its ministry, church leaders aim to find the most effective ways to serve.

Tulsa police captain Thom Bell and officer Donnie Johnson often work at 61st & Peoria. They offered ideas about ways the Church of Saint Mary can embrace the Hope Valley community in practical and safe ways. In August, the parish stewardship council organized a small service project at Marshall Elementary School. Two dozen parishioners provided breakfast and assisted teachers in setting up their classrooms for the coming school year. Marshall teachers very much appreciated the service project.

Mayor G.T. Bynum and his talented staff visited the Church of Saint Mary twice last summer. Outreach Director Jackie Fusco organized the Mayor Bynum applauded initial meeting the service project and reafter the city of flected that the school has a Tulsa gave the 110% annual turnover rate, Jackie Fusco and Officer Donnie Johnson name Hope Valmeaning that most stuley to the 61st & Peoria community. dents who begin the year will move out of the district before the end of the When he was a city counselor, Hope year. That information is useful in deValley was part of Mayor Bynum’s distermining the most effective way to trict. Mayor Bynum offered his wisdom minister to Hope Valley families with and experience with the area. young children.


Fall 2019

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Church of Saint Mary Newsletter

The theme Hope Is… refers to Hope Valley, the community that lives around 61st & Peoria.

A Year of Service, Hope, and a rapper named Righteous B The Church and School of Saint Mary has begun a year focusing on how we can further integrate service into our lives. Each brick that lines the walls in the vestibule is an individual parishioner’s promise to perform two corporal or spiritual works of mercy.

Bob’s life mission is for the Church to be anything but silent in popular culture. A leader in youth ministry for 20 years, Bob speaks and performs his music in front of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

Parish service ministries are offering extra opportunities for on-campus and off-campus service. Expect to see notices from Outreach Ministry, Day of Service, Middle School Service Week, and the School of Saint Mary. Keeping in mind the Year of Service and building on the recent expansions to the parish Outreach Ministry, the Church of Saint Mary asked Mr. Bob Lesnefsky to be the 2020 Parish Mission speaker. The Parish Mission Father Brendan Moss, Father Jim Sichko, and Monsignor Thomas Richter gave the three most recent parish missions. Those three priests spoke with a credibility that years of prayer brings.

Bob Lesnefsky, 2020 Parish Mission speaker

Additionally, Bob’s passion is his family of 7 children and wife, Kate, as well as doing inner-city ministry. In 2005 he started Vagabond Missions, which serves under-served inner city youth in cities around the United States. Bob’s degree is in Theology and Catechetics, and his motto is “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary use rap.”

Righteous B Bob Lesnefsky carries a different credibility - street cred, to use the colloquial term. Bob founded Vagabond Missions, a Catholic apostolate working in the streets of Los Angeles. According to his website, Bob Lesnefsky, a.k.a. Catholic rapper "Righteous B," is a powerful voice in evangelization today. Saint John Paul II said, "If the Church holds back from culture, the Gospel will fall silent."

The 2020 Parish Mission will be February 23, 24, and 25. Watch the complete 2017 and 2019 Parish Missions on YouTube.com/ churchofsaintmary


churchofsaintmary.com

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Fall 2019

Deacon Robert Healey led prayer before the Outreach Center opened for the day.

Outreach Annual Report 2018-2019 FROM THE DESK OF JACKIE FUSCO, DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH AND VOLUNTEER COORIDNATOR RE: STATS ON END OF YEAR 2018/2019 SERVICE TO THE POOR We touched and served over 10,642 souls (documented in our records). We have accumulated over 11,814 service hours from dedicated, joyful volunteers. We have an Outreach Ministry whose goal is to show dignity and respect to

each person as if they were Christ Himself. Our banquet table is full and bountiful because of you. Our parish gives with a great desire to do good for others even without knowing who the recipients are. Thank you all for your gifts, treasures Volunteer appreciate week celebrated nearly sixty Outreach Center workers. and time. It is all given joyfully and received joyfully. Just as Thank you Church of Saint Mary. Jesus commands us to do: “Love one Thank you for all you do to serve the another as I have loved you.” poor. I can only imagine how IMPACTFUL “The Year of Service” could look like for the upcoming year of 2019/2020!

Jackie Fusco


Fall 2019

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Church of Saint Mary Newsletter

Outreach Ministry 2018-2019 Year in Review

Christian Ministries Tithing

Donated Goods in Dollar Value

Volunteer Hours in Payroll Value

The Church of Saint Mary tithes one tenth of its income to a number of

Primarily food, Christmas gifts, baby furniture, funds for Night Light Tulsa,

The church’s volunteers do not ask for pay. However, this is the value of their

charitable causes.

craft materials, water, towels, clothing, and medical equipment

donated work at minimum wage.

St. Catherine, Sts. Peter & Paul, San Miguel, TU Newman Tuition Assistance

$ 67,800.00

Outreach Activities

$ 1,700.00

Western Neighbors

$ 5,200.00

Assistance

$ 4,800.00

Porta Caeli

$ 4,800.00

School of Saint Mary

Clare House

$ 4,200.00

DVIS

$ 4,800.00

Meals on Wheels

$ 6,000.00

Neighbor for Neighbor Life Senior Services

Gift Giving Sunday

$ 3,000.00

Day Center for the Homeless $ 3,600.00

Saturday Street Ministry

$ 33,600.00

ACTS Ministry

$ 750.00

Women's Ministry

$ 5,200.00

VBS

$ 785.00

Water Cooling Station

$ 1,080.00

New Charities

$ 20,400.00

Total

$ 130,500.00

Outreach Pantry Ministry $ 242,597.00

Knights of Columbus

Total

$ 800.00

Reading Partners

$ 7,000.00

Saturday Street Ministry

$ 6,480.00

Outreach Committee

$ 3,200.00

ACTS Ministry

$ 750.00

Women's Ministry

$ 1,300.00

VBS/Children Hours

$ 300.00

Middle School Service

$ 4,500.00

Home Improvement Ministry

$ 13,750.00

Water Cooling Station Ministry

$ 3,360.00

$ 24,550.00

$ 4,800.00 $ 2,400.00

School of Saint Mary

$ 5,291.00

$ 316,853.00

GRAND TOTAL $573,743.00

Outreach Pantry Ministry $ 55,520.00

Knights of Columbus

$ 29,430.00

Total

$ 126,390.00


churchofsaintmary.com

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Fall 2019

Outreach: The Miracle of the Rosary

October 2018

very core.

A Gas Card and a Rosary

Today I counseled a young man who works in the streets of Tulsa, mostly at 61st and Peoria area. He was greatly stressed because of his lack of funds and inability to provide for A true story written by his family. He has a wife Jackie Fusco, Outreach and two children – one with special needs requir- Director ing daily medicines that the child cannot live without.

I did my best to calm him down and help him map out the next 72 hours of his life, but to no avail. I was out of tools to earnestly guide him to hope. Towards the end of our session he said to me that he did not want to go back out on the streets as a way to provide for his family.

And the money easily appeared. I was happy to give him a gift card so he could see the miracle that was happening. I privately prayed for him to our Mother and asked for his heart to be restored to the man he once was -a loving father, husband, smart, funny and who might come to love Jesus. As he was leaving my office the Holy Spirit prompted me to give him a rosary to hang on his rear view mirror for safe travels.

This client spoke candidly of the way he was living. He lived a thug life – selling drugs, working with the gangs of Tulsa, robbing people and doing harm to others just to take what he felt was his. The gentleman was highly agitated, strung out with despair and found himself hopeless during our visit. He stated “[the world] owed him a chance.” He was angry and couldn’t get past the prejudice he felt that was stealing his ability to provide for his family in a righteous way. The lies from the evil one had penetrated his

A Divine Plan At that moment, my thoughts were captured by the Holy Spirit. And He started to guide us to work together with a radical plan. I paid attention to the Holy Spirit as He opened the doors that were closed to this young man just minutes ago. We navigated his departure out of state where a real bonafide job was waiting for him. The only thing that was holding him back was gas money.

When he left I wondered if we would ever hear from him again. I smiled when I heard the word “Yes.” Days went by and so did my thoughts of him. I soon forgot about our encounter. August 13, 2019 I woke up this morning with the words on my heart, “Lord renew my eyes with your eyes and allow me to experience an affirmation of your works today.” I drove myself to work with a touch of excitement bubbling in my stomach.


Fall 2019

The day started with lots of prayers and the volunteers were just as excited as I was. We opened our doors and was soon swamped with client after client. We were hit with a difficult case later that morning that was hard to process emotionally. We knew then that our day was going to be spiritually hard.

The Phone Call Just as we had been hit with this challenge, we received a phone call from an old client. When I answered, I heard in his voice an excitment to hear mine. He began to re-introduce himself to me, and I found myself full of joy as I recognized his voice.

The Car Accident He shared how his life was changed on the car ride to Philly after he left Saint Mary Outreach Center. He was involved in a horrific accident – one that should have killed him. After the impact, he came to, and the only thing he saw were the rosary beads I had asked him to hang on his mirror. As he looked around he noticed that he was not injured, and his car had not been touched and the rosary was dangling on his dashboard. He also said that at that very moment God protected him. And then he remembered the Church of Saint Mary, where he got that rosary.

Recognizing God’s Goodness He stated that he is still near the east coast. He told me he has steady construction work and is able to send money home to his family. He makes

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enough to take care of everyone and have some left over. In fact, he said that he takes $50.00 every Friday and goes to the streets of Philly and passes out $1.00 and $5.00 bills to the homeless. He says it makes him feel amazing that he is able to give in this capacity. He was excited to report to me all the blessings he has received since our first visit in October. He said that we taught him how to give, and the love of Jesus thru our loving on him in his time of desperation. As he was telling me all this, inside I was glorifying God and thanking him for the blessing of showing me an affirmation of seeing Him with new eyes just as I prayed for. OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD! Our Outreach center is a tiny little place with a powerful punch. We rarely get to hear of the miracles that take place to the people we serve after they walk out the door, and then this comes to us and we consider it as “Miracle of the Rosary.”

Church of Saint Mary Newsletter

Why do a Year of Service? The Year of Service is a Church of Saint Mary tradition to observe each year one of the four pillars of stewardship. The four pillars of hospitality, prayer, service, and formation are components of a healthy church - and a healthy Christian. As a Catholic community, the Church of Saint Mary takes a year to thoroughly explore each pillar.

The parish stewardship council sponsors a kickoff weekend, a Christmas gift for each parishioner, and a number of activities every year to support the overall theme.

What identifies a steward? Safeguarding material and human resources and using them responsibly are one answer; so is generous giving of time, talent, and treasure. But being a Christian steward means more. As Christian stewards, we receive God's gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.

Isn’t stewardship all about money? Hardly. Stewardship is the grateful response of a disciple of Jesus. When we limit our notion of stewardship to just doing things or giving of our time and treasure we fall short on our commitment to stewardship - diluting our response to chunks of time or amounts of money. More than anything Jesus invites us to follow Him, to take the next step, and grow in relationship with Him.


churchofsaintmary.com

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Fall 2019

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID TULSA, OK

Church of Saint Mary

PERMIT NO. 162

1347 E. 49th Pl. Tulsa, OK 74105

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