Finals Week is December 10-15. Hundreds of students will come to the St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center to study, to rest, and to recharge with food and beverages. If you like to bake or make a casserole-type dish, the college students would REALLY appreciate it! You can drop off your dish anytime at St. Stephen's starting December 7. Normal building hours are: 9AM - 10PM, Monday-Thursday, 9AM - 7PM on Saturday, and 9AM - 8PM on Sunday. Student Canter Phone is: 319-266-9863. Thanks for helping our students during their Finals Week!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCE. This online 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: m.england@dbqarch.org or 319-233-6179.

As many of you heard over the weekend at Mass, we are excited to announce that Archbishop Zinkula has granted our parish to be named a Eucharistic Pilgrimage Site for the Archdiocese of Dubuque for a special six-month period during this National Eucharistic Revival. Blessed Sacrament is the ONLY church in the diocese named for the Blessed Sacrament, so this is an honor, and it is very exciting for our parish! What this basically means is that for six months (26 weeks), starting with the First Monday of Advent, December 4, and ending with our Parish Feast Day (Corpus Christi) on Sunday, June 2, 2024, our Church will be open on an almost daily basis for pilgrims to visit from all over to spend time in our church and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. We will have the Eucharist exposed for adoration during these six months on Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 9:00pm and again on Saturday from 8:30am until just before the 4:30pm Mass. This is where your help is greatly needed! Would you be willing to take one hour a week to be a committed hourly adorer at Blessed Sacrament? Will you also be willing to take that same time every week, or every other week? Click on this article to view the schedule and call the Parish Office at 319-233-6179 and let us know what time slot you want and how often you'd like to be scheduled. We will add you to the schedule and you will get text reminders before each scheduled adoration hour.

FALALALALA!!! You are invited to an afternoon of Christmas Caroling, Saturday, December 9, 1PM - 2PM at Northcrest Specialty Care Center, 2001 Heath Street, Waterloo. Our Parish Life Committee, along with the musical help of Kathy Grete (head of Youth Choir), are back again for a second year of caroling to our parishioners and other residents of Northcrest. The residents really enjoyed having us last year, and we hope to have an even BIGGER GROUP this year! This event is perfect for families and anyone who wants to join in spreading some early Christmas Cheer to those who need it most! Get the date saved on your calenddar now and see you there!

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.

Our Parish Life Committee is inviting you to join us for a Blessed Sacrament Thanksgiving Feast with your Parish Family! SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12, SERVING TURKEY DINNER FROM 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM IN THE PARISH CENTER. TICKETS ARE $15 AT THE DOOR, and $13 IN ADVANCE. $50 CAP FOR FAMAILY OF 5 OR MORE. Many volunteers are needed to help in the kitchen and the dining room. Dessert donations will also be requested. VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP and EARLY TICKEET SALES will be available starting the weekend of October 28-29.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque needs your help to meet urgent needs in Northeast Iowa. We are experiencing an unprecedented year as the demand for our compassionate, quality services has grown along with skyrocketing costs to provide these services. We are in urgent need of your generosity. How do you live your discipleship to Christ? A gift to Catholic Charities is an easy way to do just that. It is an act of love that addresses the physical and material needs of others, particularly the poor and vulnerable, as Jesus has taught us. We need your help by October 31, 2023. If you have the ability or are called to do so, you can make your donation online at CatholicCharitiesDubuque.org/donate (CLICK ON THE LOGO) or call 563-588-0558, or mail your gift to Catholic Charities, 1229 Mt. Loretta Ave, Dubuque, IA 52003.

Would you like to join the Blessed Sacrament Team? We are looking for a part-time Pastoral Minister for Funeral and Bereavement. This position offers flexible hours, up to 20 hours a week. Training will be provided. Funeral & Bereavement Ministers share compassionate mercy with people at a very difficult time in their lives by assisting them and the Pastor in planning funerals for their loved ones and providing additional bereavement care to the deceased's family in the months following. If you have a desire to walk with grieving families during this time and have good organizational skills, this rewarding ministry could be the right fit for you! We have a wonderful team of volunteers in place ready to help you learn. Interested in applying? Contact Amy Johnston, Business Manager, in the office for more info at 319-233-6179 or email: a.johnston@dbqarch.org.

Next weekend (Sept 23/24) is our regularly scheduled Food Pantry collection in support of those in need who frequent St. Vincent de Paul for help. Food is, once again, needed, and there are blue bags in the Gathering Space to help. Here are the needs: Cereal, Soup, Saltine Crackers, Peanut Butter, Spaghetti, Spaghetti Sauce, Fruit Juice, Canned Diced Tomatoes, Chili Mix, V-8 Juice (for chili), Chili Beans, Stove Top Stuffing, Au Gratin Potatoes.

Join Deacon Chris this Fall for an Acts of the Apostles Study! The study begins on Tuesday, September 19th starting at 7:15 PM, following Eucharistic Adoration. This is a six-week course that will run Tuesday evenings at 7:15 pm and ending at 8:30 pm. If you've gone to Alpha, if you enjoy small-group discussions, then give this study a try - it's free and you've got nothing to lose. Questions? Contact Deacon Chris at: c.evans@dbqarch.org. To register, simply click on the image.

The team is currently being built, but we are excited to offer another Alpha Course at Blessed Sacrament. GET THE DATES SAVED NOW! Alpha will run on Wednesdays from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM starting October 4th. There are 10 session and one Saturday 1/2-day retreat. REGISTRATION INFO COMING SOON! Contact Maggie in the office if you are interested in participating or can help!

Last weekend, we bid farewell to our own Matthew Evans, who is starting classes this week at Loras College for seminarian formation. If you would like to stay in touch with Matthew by sending him a card or letter of support from time to time as he walks this journey, his address is: Matthew Evans, Vianney House, 1235 Mt. Loretta Ave., Dubuque, IA 52003.

A PILGRIMAGE WITH FR. TONY - GREECE & TURKEY, Sept 3-13, 2024. Explore the vibrant cities of Athens & 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! Cost: $5,500. Contact Eddie Abufarha at 800-687-0306.

Some of our liturgical ministries need more help, and all of us make up the Church, the Body of Christ. Please consider stepping forward to help as Altar Servers, Eucharistic Ministers, Greeters & Ushers, and Music Ministry (all ages). Training will be provided for all of them. Please contact Maggie in the Parish Office if you are willing to join any of these ministries.

Are you downsizing and have things to get rid of? Are you clearing household goods from an estate? Blessed Sacrament parishioners are offering Estate of Grace Sale Services for those willing to donate the proceeds back to Blessed Sacrament parish. At your location, we will set up for a sale, advertise the sale, staff the sale, and dispose of what remains after the sale. If you are interested in discussing or scheduling a sale with us, please call Margaret Klein at 319-429-1907.

Come work for the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Team! We are hiring a Director of School Age and Young Family Formation. This is a full-time ministry position serving the four Waterloo parishes. This person would be responsible for planning, integrating, overseeing, and evaluating parish religious education programs and sacramental preparation for children in grades K - 8. For more information or an application, please contact Becky McElroy at beckymcelroyff@gmail.com or call 319-233-0498.

Once again, we've unfortunately received reports of persons receiving fraudulent text messages and/or emails from persons posing as Fr. Tony. Please remember that Fr. Tony will never send a generic text message or email asking if you are available to manage a request or ask for a generic favor, or gift cards, or money or anything else through such communications. He will NEVER ask you to "be discreet" or immediately respond back by email or text message. If you ever receive a message like this, DO NOT RESPOND to the sender and delete the message or email. If ever in doubt, please contact the office. Please be careful!

Our Parish Feast Day of Corpus Christi is June 10-11! Please save the date and plan to attend Mass where we will have Eucharistic Adoration following Saturday's 4:30 pm Mass and before Sunday's 8:30 Mass. We will have a Eucharistic Procession following the 10:30 am Mass and then we round out our Parish Feast Day with a COOKOUT in the parking lot (weather permitting) or Parish Center. We will also use this time to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of our Parish, so PLEASE JOIN US!

Don't forget that St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry is still the FOURTH WEEKEND OF EACH MONTH! Items can also be dropped off any day of the week during regular office hours for the SVdP Food Pantry. Specific needs are: - Food: Peanut butter, cereal, soup, saltine crackers, mac 'n cheese, apple juice, canned fruit, Spaghetti O's, V-8 Juice (for chili, chili beans, diced tomatoes, and chili seasoning mix. - Household Items: Comet, bathroom cleaner, toilet cleaner, dish soap, shampoo, toothpaste & toothbrushes.