Parish Life is sponsoring its 2nd annual BINGO NIGHT on Saturday, October 13 @ 6:00 PM in the Parish Center. Parish Center doors open after the 4:30 PM Mass and games start at 6:00 PM. NO COST to play and this is open to school-ages children and older! Please bring an appetizer/dessert to share potluck style and bring your own beverage. What a great way to unwind after a busy garage sale season. So, dust off your BINGO skills and JOIN US for a night of fun! ALL ARE WELCOME!

The Knights of Columbus Council #700 is sponsoring "Coffee with the Knights" in the Parish Center immediately following the 8:00 am Mass on Wednesday, October 16 (around 8:30ish). Donuts, coffee and water will be provided and ALL KIGHTS and PARISHIONERS are invited! Following donuts and coffee, Council #700 will conduct their regular business meeting. Hope to see you there!

Blessed Sacrament Parish is seeking a full-time staff position (36-40 hrs/wk; paid hourly) to provide pastoral and spiritual care for our homebound and sick ministry and our funeral bereavement ministry. This person will primarily coordinate volunteer spiritual companions for our sick/homebound ministry; will visit hospitals; coordinate and plan funerals; and provide follow-up bereavement ministry. If you are interested in this role, please contact Fr, Tony at 319-233-6179. A full job description is available by clicking on this article.

The Alpha journey begins NEXT WEEK! The adventure kicks off Sunday evening, October 6, from 5:30pm - 7:00pm. It will then run every Sunday at that same time for 11 weeks. Have to miss a week or two? That's okay - still try it out! Registration forms are in the Gathering Space or sign up on our website. Questions? Contact Maggie England in the office: [email protected]; 319-233-6179.

SATURDAY, October 12: 9:30am - 11:30am. LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCE. This preparation program is for first-time parents in the Waterloo parishes who are planning to baptize an infant or young child in the near future. Parents should be registered members of a parish and may either register at the class or coordinate registration soon. To register for the baptism class, CLICK ON THIS ARTICLE. To register with Blessed Sacrament Parish, please contact Maggie in the office: [email protected] or 319-233-6179.

The Catholic Charities Waterloo Office has relocated. They have moved out of the New Life Center at St, Edward and are now located at: 3835 W. 9th Street, Waterloo, IA 50702. The new phone number is: 319-340-4303.

Our Fall Garage Sale is FAST APPROACHING! Sale Dates: Oct 10 (9am - 5pm); Oct 11 (9am - 5pm); and Oct 12 (9am - 11am). We need lots of help in receiving donations & setting up in the days leading up to the sale, and then working the sale itself. To volunteer to help, simply click on this article.

This year we will be doing confirmation for youth in grades 10 and 11. The confirmation class schedule is still being determined, but classes will most likely start sometime in October. Go to: waterloocatholics.org/hs-confirmation to register. Once you are registered, you will receive the class schedule via email as soon as it is available. Contact Annie Zeets with questions: [email protected] or call: 319-239-0163.

Registration is now open for Wednesday night RE. Classes for K-8th Grade students begin September 18 and run from 6:20pm - 7:30 pm at Sacred Heart School. Registration can be done online at: https://waterloocatholics.org/reregistration or by calling Annie Zeets at 319-233-0744.

Join us for "Music on the Lawn" at Blessed sacrament! Saturday, July 13th at 6:00 PM on the lawn in front of the parish office/rectory. This event is being hosted by our newly formed Social Concerns Commitee and is their first "fund/friend" raiser! Come, listen to some good music, learn more about what our Social Concerns Committee is and what they hope to do in this next year to provide support to those in need in our local community. A good will offering will be asked, which will go towards paying for at least one of the musical acts that night, along with giving the Social Concerns Committee a little seed money for special needs that arise. Bring a lawn chair, a cooler for your drinks, and your own food or favorite snacks. This should be a great summer evening spent outdoors with your friends in faith listening to some good music by local musicians from here and around Northeast Iowa!

Join our new Seminarian Intern, Jacob Francois, for an 8-week study on the Story of Divine Mercy, St. John Paul II, and St. Faustina. Jacob studied in Krakow, Poland, for two years before studying at Mundelein Seminary. He will provide personal insights and testimony to Fr. Michael Gaitley's study entitled, "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told." Begins May 28th and will meet weekly on Tuesday evenings around 6:00pm (following 5:30 Mass). The last session will meet on July 30th. You can register for this study through our parish website or by signing up in the Gathering Space.

Join us in giving our new Summer Seminarian Intern Jacob Francois a warm Blessed Sacrament welcome! Jacob is a native of Cedar Rapids and comes from a large Catholic family. He is the oldest of 6 kids and graduated from Xavier High School in 2016. He studied theology and philosophy at Loras & Benedictine College where he graduated in 2019. Jacob has had previous experience teaching as the department head of theology at Don Bosco in Gilbertville and as the director of youth and young adult ministry at St. Patrick's in Cedar Rapids. Jacob received a master's and a licentiate degree in Krakow, Poland where he studied theology and philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. John Paul II in 2022. Jacob is now a theologian studying at Mundelein Seminary for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. His hobbies include hiking, skiing, fishing, canoeing, coffee, and traveling.

SEPTEMBER 3 - 13, 2024: Explore the vibrant cities of Athens and Corinth, where St. Paul wrote some of his most powerful letters that continue to inspire and guide us today. Cruise to the enchanting city of Ephesus in Turkey, where tradition holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary spent her last days on earth. Step onto the sacred grounds of Patmos, where the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelations, and walk in the very footsteps of St. Paul and his disciples as they traveled to Greece to share the Good News! $5,500 Package includes: 11 days / 9 nights; 4-star hotels (rated by standards of country); double occupancy; 2 meals per day; Admission to all sites; Air Condition/WiFi on buses; Catholic tour guide; All gratuities. There is still space to fill on this trip. To guarantee the $5,500 price, you need to REGISTER BY JUNE 6! Contact Eddie Abufarha at 800-867-0306 to learn more.

Calling all those Green Thumbs out there who are interested in helping feed the needy in the Cedar Valley. Our Blessed Sacrament raised garden beds have helped the Queen of Peace kitchen reach out to our local community to help provide a meal every Tuesday night. We have provided the kitchen with homegrown vegetables for the last four years! We need people like yourself, willing to sacrifice a little time with the watering, the weeding, and the harvesting of these wonderful vegetables. Please contact Deacon Mike Knipp at 319-610-3202. We look to plant by Monday, May 13th.

Please consider being a part of our newly formed Social Concerns Committee! We are a group that is focused on outreach in our local community. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, June 4, at 6L:00 pm in Putz Hall. Just come and see what we are up to. I think you will see what a fun and heartfelt experience it can be to help those around us who only need to feel that others care. Fort questions, please call Deacon Mike Knipp at 319-610-3202.

This year we have two elected Pastoral Council positions opening up and we have wo candidates willing to serve in this capacity. Next weekend, we will have an election and might note that we have one candidate for each of the available positions. This means we will have an election by acclamation at each Mass rather than a paper ballot vote.

Are you interested in joining a bus trip to the National Eucharistic Congress NEXT year? Waterloo Catholic Parishes are considering sponsoring a bus to the Congress, which will be held July 17-21, 2024 in Indianapolis, but we need to know if a sufficient number of people are interested. Participation is limited to 50 persons and priority will be given to members of the Waterloo parishes prior to January 1, 2024. To learn more, simply CLICK on this article.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the Eucharistic Pilgrimage Event at Blessed Sacrament Church at 1:00 pm on Sunday, April 21, 2024. All are welcome! The event will include: 1:00 pm: Reconciliation & Eucharistic Adoration 2:00 pm: Celebration of Holy Mass 3:00 pm: Thanksgiving Eucharistic Adoration The afternoon will conclude with a social and light refreshments. More information can be found at www.dbqarch.org/eucharistic-pilgrimage. Seating is limited for this free event.

Our Stewardship Committee is hosting a Parishioner Appreciation Breakfast on Sunday, April 28th from 8:00 AM to Noon in the Parish Center. This is one small way in which we can show our appreciation and thank you for your participation and support of our Parish Community. The Men’s Group will be preparing scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes. Breakfast desserts, coffee and juice will be provided. All are invited to attend and it’s FREE! Come One...Come All!!! Enjoy Breakfast on us!