To form disciples who joyfully live out the Mission of Jesus Christ in Bowie
April 19, 2020
WORSHIP
We hope you're planning on joining us
for Mass this weekend at
You can find us at spxbowie.online.church on
Saturday at 5 pm and
Sunday at 7:30 am / 9:00 am / 11:30 am
The worship aid for this Mass can be found HERE.
Make a 'Spiritual Communion'
In these cases where you are unable to attend Mass, the Church encourages us to make an act of “spiritual communion,” where we unite ourselves to God through prayer. It is a beautiful way to express to God our desire to be united with him when we are unable to complete that union in the reception of Holy Communion. Here's what you do:
- Gather with others in your household and begin a time of prayer with the sign of the cross.
- Take time to read and reflect upon the readings from Sunday Mass. You can find the readings for this Sunday, April 19, HERE.
- Share prayer intentions quietly or aloud.
- Pray the Lord’s Prayer.
- Pray 'An Act of Spiritual Communion by St. Alphonsus Liguori'
- My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
- My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
- Close with the sign of the cross.
If you can't join SPX online for Mass, you can also tune in to:
- A Mass filmed in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception airs every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on WDCW-50 and through free online streaming at adw.org/tvmass
- The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception livestreams Mass each Sunday at 12 pm. You can watch at nationalshrine.org/mass.
GIVE
Each week in the bulletin we provide our offertory income figure, which is currently down about 60% from pre-pandemic levels. As I shared with our parish in November, our giving levels were already down 10%-12% from previous years. This puts our parish in a precarious financial position... I want to apprise you of some efforts we have made to help strengthen our financial position... and how you can help.
Please see the PDF below for the full text of the Fr. Mike's letter.
Weekly Offertory Update
On April 12, Easter Sunday, we received $13,017.00
In comparison, Easter 2019 offertory was $19,823.00, a $6,806 difference.
On April 5 we received $6,106.00.
Our average weekly offertory has been $9,500.00 previously.
With the long-term economic and social impact of this situation, we encourage parishioners to please continue to financially give to make sure the parish can operate not just in these coming weeks, but in the months to follow. Our ability to offer activities and formation opportunities relies solely on the continued generosity of our parishioners. You can give in the following ways:
SPX needs your support now more than ever! Join those who are using Faith Direct for automated giving. Faith Direct offers a safe and secure way to donate to our parish in this time of uncertainty. There is no cost to you, and the program provides a great benefit to our parish. Use Faith Direct to make a one-time donation or set up recurring donations instead of using your offertory envelopes. Click HERE.
Mail your donations to the Rectory Office: St. Pius X Church, 3300 Moreland Place, Bowie MD 20715.
MESSAGE SERIES
It's scary out there... COVID-19, job insecurity, home learning with the kids... it feels like the world has turned upside down. How can we function in the new 'normal' with all this uncertainty? We don't have all the answers, but we believe that even in challenging times - times like right now - we can be unafraid because we have a God that has conquered even death. God is in control, He is with us, and He will see us through. The Resurrection brings us HOPE because we know that the battle is already won, that victory is assured.
Continue the experience at home by listening to or reading the messages again HERE.
You can also continue diving into Scripture with our Reading Plan for this series.
ALPHA
What is Alpha?
Alpha is an opportunity to explore life's big questions, in a friendly, open and informal environment. Alpha runs for 10 weeks, on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm via Zoom, starting on April 22.
Who is Alpha for?
Alpha is for everyone and anyone. The beauty of Alpha is that there are no questions that are too hostile, too silly or too simple. Alpha has no prerequisites whatsoever. We come together with one another as we are, free to be ourselves.
How do I find out more?
To get more information go to
spxbowie.org/alpha
SERVE
SOME Sandwich Ministry
Our Sandwich Ministry is an outgrowth of our parish's support of SOME, a soup kitchen in DC. This is a great way to help feed the hungry that can be done at home.
Sandwiches should be only meat and cheese, sealed in a baggie. They can be delivered to the coolers located in the school entranceway this Thursday, April 23rd between 8 am - 2 pm. Questions?
Contact Leo Green HERE.
SPX Online HOST Ministry
With the start of SPX Online and our ability to worship together at spxbowie.online.church, Facebook, and YouTube we are in need of people to serve as 'hosts' for each of our Masses. All you need is your computer and training is provided. Contact Katie Skerpon HERE if you're interested in serving - you can even be in your PJs!
Prayer Team Ministry
One of the best ways that we can support each other during this pandemic is through prayer. We have been receiving prayer requests via our online Masses, the form on our website and the calls going out to our members. These requests are passed on to those serving in our Prayer Team Ministry via a twice weekly email. They are asked to pray intentionally for each request throughout the week. Contact Katie Skerpon HERE if you're interested in serving in this way.
Help Contact Our Members
We've begun the process of making contact with all our members, particularly our elderly parishioners, to see if they have any practical or prayer needs at this time. If you'd be willing to help with these calls, please contact Suzanne Fanning HERE.
Helping Hands Ministry
This ministry is back up and running to assist members during this difficult time. In order to maintain the safety of those serving and those being served, at this time we're able to offer grocery delivery only.
- If you are in NEED of someone to deliver groceries to your house OR
- if you'd like to volunteer for this ministry (volunteers must be under the age of 60)
Call 301.262.2141 ex. 10 or email spxhelpinghands@gmail.com so that the coordinator can get you connected.
Sharing Pantry
The need for donations to our Sharing Pantry is growing amid this crisis. We always need: cereal, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti noodles, canned veggies, tuna fish, soup, canned fruit, boxed noodles or Mac N Cheese.
To meet this unique situation, we've set-up an easy way for you to donate:
- every Tuesday & Thursday you can place non-perishable food items in the coolers outside the SCHOOL ENTRANCE from 8 am - 2 pm.
SEND US YOUR PICTURES
We know how hard it is to not be able to physically gather for Mass.... we miss you too!
In an effort to remember all our members joined in prayer, each family's name has been printed and taped to one of our pews as a placeholder.... and names are great, but...
WE WANT YOUR FACES!
Each family is asked to send a picture to us so that we can print it out and replace your name card with that picture.
You can email your pictures to adults@spxbowie.org
OR
mail it to
SPX Rectory
3300 Moreland Place
Bowie, MD 20715
PRAY
OUR SICK:
Fr. Rich Colgan, C.S.P., George Ratte', John Lyons,
John Barrett, Susan Fritz
FAITHFUL DEPARTED:
Paul Dougherty, uncle of the Dennis Family
To add an immediate family member to the sick or deceased list, to our Armed Forces Prayer list, or for a Mass intention please contact the Rectory Office by clicking HERE.
Our apologies that these were not included in last week's bulletins:
Wed, 4/15: Mary Goggin +
Thurs, 4/16: Mary Goggin +
Fri, 4/17: Mary Goggin +
Sat, 4/18: Marcus Clavio +
Sun, 4/19: Jeanne Cullen +
Frederich Siegert +
Wed, 4/22: Mary Goggin +
Thurs, 4/23: Ruby Del Smallman +
Fri, 4/24: Jeanne Cullen +
Sat, 4/25: Gladys Boluda +
Sun, 4/26: Frederich Siegert +
Please be assured that Fr. Mike will be privately offering up Mass for those who requested an announced Mass. If you prefer to have your Mass intention rescheduled at a later date, please contact the parish secretary by clicking HERE.
To request a Mass intention, please contact the parish secretary by clicking HERE or calling the Parish Office.
St. Pius X Church
14720 Annapolis Road
Bowie, MD 20715
Rectory Office (mailing address)
3300 Moreland Place
Bowie, MD 20715
Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
301.262.2141
