THE FIRST PENTECOST…The Feast of Pentecost, like so much of our Catholic tradition, was one of three great feasts on the Jewish calendar, which was to be celebrated with a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. To the Jewish people, it was the Feast of Ingathering or First Fruits, which was celebrated at the beginning of the spring harvest, the start of a long growing season. People would bring an offering of the first fruits of the harvest as a way of expressing their thanks for the bounty of land.

The Scriptures also call this celebration the Feast of Weeks because it comes seven weeks and a day after Passover; hence, the Greek name for the festival: Pentecost, which means fifty days.

By now you may have guessed the timing of the descent of the Holy Spirit was no coincidence. The Spirit promised by the Lord Jesus came on the Feast of the Ingathering. Thus the baptism of 5,000 who were "added to the Lord" that first Pentecost were the first fruits or results of the Holy Spirit among us.

CONGRATULATIONS To all of our graduating seniors! May the Holy Spirit lead you into a promising future!

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL After the fifth week of our annual Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA), I am please to tell you that we have exceeded our goal of $51,850! With gifts or pledges from 255 of our 885 households, the total DSA commitment is $54,854! If you have not yet made a pledge or gift to DSA, there is still time for you to join me in doing so.

ON THIS PENTECOST… In the ideal community, we would know each other well enough to be aware of each other’s gifts and talents. Pentecost would be a day on which we would recognize the gifts of the Holy Spirit within each other and invite each other to share them.

Because we are far from the ideal, we need to invite every person to look prayerfully within, to recognize their gifts and then step forward and volunteer to share these gifts with the community.

I know that this is difficult for some, but I invite you to trust the Spirit within and step forward in faith.

Fr. Dave Howell

Are you interested in praying with other women?

Do you need other women to share your journey of faith?

Have you felt that it might be great to get with other women and pray?

Do you need time alone with the Lord and time with Him and with others?

Are you interested in reading the Sunday scriptures?

If the answer to these questions is YES, please think about coming together and finding out how we can do this at Saint Mary Magdalen

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (810) 229-8624.

Sister Maryetta

As a result of the surveys from parents, catechists, and the Formation Team, it has been decided that religious education sessions will meet three times a month with the fourth week off (most months). The week off will allow for catechist planning and allow families the opportunity to have a night together to do a lesson at home. Class time will be increased by 15 minutes next year, so classes will run 1_ hrs. Kindergarten will remain during the 9&11am Liturgies. The Family Program will still meet 2 Sundays a month, and the 9&10 grade classes will run Sunday evenings from 5:30-7 pm.

Tom and I wish to congratulate all the graduating seniors! You have accomplished something great and you should be proud of yourselves. May God go with you into the future so the two of you can do great things!

This Tuesday evening from 7-8:30, I will be holding an adult meeting. I am looking for adults who would like to be a part of the youth programs. There are many ways to be involved. Be sure to bring your planning calendars.

Currently, I am looking for an adult chaperone to participate in our Young Neighbors in Action weeklong work camp in Chicago July 15-21. I am scheduled to go but I will also be six months pregnant. It is a wonderful, eye opening experience for all those who go so I encourage you to pray about your involvement with this program.

Our annual summer BBQ/pool party/bonfire will be Friday June 29 from 5-10pm at the Magon’s home. Contact me for further information.

M.U.D (6, 7 and 8 graders)

Any interested adult wanting to help with planning is encouraged to attend the June 5 meeting mentioned above.

Margaret Callaghan

Our next Retiree’s lunch is June 12 at 12:15 p.m. in the Adult Formation Room. It will be our last for this season. We will resume meeting in September with whatever program our June meeting produces. We are interested in your input, please bring your sack lunch and join us on the 12^th.

June 12 is also the beginning of our summer session of Scripture and Stitches. It will be focused on Celtic Spirituality / Celtic Quilting. A complete list of the saints and topics will be published in the June Visionary. Feel free to join us for the discussion on Celtic spirituality even if you don’t want to stay for the quilting, we meet at 10am in the Adult Formation Room.

On Monday evenings, Sr. Maryetta and I are facilitating an eight week program on grief entitled, "A New Day". If you or someone you know has recently lost someone close to them, please consider joining us in Holy Cross Chapel at 7:30 p.m. It’s not too late to join. Our next meeting is June 4, 2001.

Yours on the journey, Marilyn

Is Your Car Seat Installed Correctly? 80% Aren't!! Free Professional Safety Inspections On June 30, from 4-7 pm, and July 1, 2-4 pm, here at the church. Trained Safety Technicians are coming to conduct this safety "check-up" and teach us how to properly install our car seats and restrain our children!! They believe this is so important that they will send as many technicians as we need. Please sign-up in the Gathering Space so that we can plan a space for everyone. If this is not conducive to your schedule, AAA of Brighton will also have "check-ups" June 18th!

Catholic Men’s Movement meets Thursday, June 7. Dr. Roger Anderberg will speak on "Courageous Faith" and share highlights of the Steubenville Catholic Men’s Conference. Area Catholic men and their high school sons are invited at Spiritus Sanctus Academy. Evening begins with Mass at 7:30pm followed by talk and fellowship time. Call 734-930-4524 for more information.

Sponsor of the Week

K C Cookery

ULTREYA: Saturday June 9, 2001 at St. Mary’s-Adrian @ 8:30am in the downstairs chapel. For more information contact Steve Larsen (517) 524-7185 or Maria Jaimez 1-800-666-8852 ext. 2205.