The Catholic Church in the United States celebrates National Vocation Awareness Week November 7-13. The purpose of this week is to pray that all members of the Church will be open to God’s plan in their lives.

Any young man in the Diocese of Toledo who is considering a call to the diocesan priesthood can contact Fr. Dave, 419-782-7121, or Fr. Philip Smith, 419-244-6711 ext. 4945, for guidance and support. Many resources are also available on the website of the Office for Diocesan Priestly Vocations: http://toledopriesthood.org.

We will hold our annual Memorial Mass on November 4 at 6:30 pm. We will present the crosses hanging in our Memorial box to the families of the deceased. All are welcome to attend and support these families.

Heavenly Father, the beauty and dignity of human life was the crowning of your creation. You further ennobled that life when your Son became one with us in his incarnation. Help us to realize the sacredness of human life and to respect it from the moment of conception until the last moment at death. Give us courage to speak with truth and love and with conviction in defense of life. Help us to extend the gentle hand of mercy and forgiveness to those who do not reverence your gift of life. To all, grant pardon for the times we have failed to be grateful for your precious gift of life or to respect it in others. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Support Our Priests’ Retirement: Our priests have given their lives in service to us and our parish, and we are most grateful! Please offer your gratitude for those who faithfully served the Diocese of Toledo by donating to the Perpetuate The Gift Appeal.

Priesthood Sunday seeks to reaffirm the priesthood of Jesus Christ and its central place in the life of the Church. This day also specifically honors priests, without whom the Holy Sacraments could not be conferred, for a single day out of the 365 days of the year during which they tirelessly serve their parishes.

Celebrate and thank Fr. Dave today!

Second Hour will be starting at the end of the month. If you are a family with children, you should have received a mailing that has all the information needed to register your saint(s) in the making. If you are a family with children, please take a copy of the mailing available at the church entrances, as well as updating your information with the parish. We are still looking for additional catechists to volunteer their time and give back to our Catholic community. Whether you are available every Wednesday night, or only a couple of Wednesdays a month, we would love to have you with us.

At all the Masses this weekend, we will be celebrating the 125^th anniversary of the dedication of St. John’s Church with a reception following in the Parish Life Center. Hope to see you there.

Thank you for your witness to the Sacrament of Marriage. The Diocese of Toledo will honor you and other couples celebrating 25, 40, 50, 60 and 60-plus years of marriage at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Daniel E. Thomas on Sunday, October 24, at 3:00 pm, at Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd, Toledo. To register, visit www.toledoanniversarymass.org. Every registering couple is guaranteed an anniversary certificate. Questions? Please contact Alice Jacobs at 419-214-4978 or ajacobs@toledodiocese.org.

Deadline is October 8.

The next Baptism class is scheduled for September 12 at 11:30 am in the St. Luke room. Parents who have not had a child baptized at St. John’s and plan to do so, need to attend this class. We also encourage expectant parents to attend before your child is born. Call the Parish office at 419-782-7121 to register. The third Sunday of the month is Baptism Sunday at 11:30 am. Contact the Parish office to make arrangements.