Local News

St. Mary third-grader advances to national Hoop Shoot contest
Matt Sherman, a third grader at St. Mary Catholic School in Pinckney, recently qualified for the National Elks Hoop Shoot contest in the eight-to-nine-year-old boy’s age bracket.  Matt will compete in Springfield, Mass. on April 25 representing the Great Lakes Region. He will compete against 11 other boys.
Matt’s journey began when he competed at St. Mary Catholic School and won by shooting the best out of 10 free throws. He advanced to a county-wide competition in Howell and won by shooting 17 out of 25 free throws. At the district competition in Jackson, he advanced by shooting 18 out of 25 free throws and at the state competition in Midland, Matt won by shooting 22 free throws.
At the Great Lake Regional competition, which comprised Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, three boys tied with 23 free throws each.  The winner would be whoever shot the best out of five free throws.  Matt won with a perfect score!
“Matt has had a basketball, football, soccer ball or baseball in tow since he was three years old. He has an outside basketball hoop as well as a Nerf ESPN hoop in the house. He just loves to play all sports,” said his mom, Jackie. “We have always told Matt that this is about having fun and that is pretty much the motto we stick with.” (4/16/08)

Livingston County Catholic Social Services “Salute to the Stars”
The “Salute to the Stars” event on April 5 was again a success. The evening brought together more than 170 guests and supporters who enjoyed an evening of lively music by “4 Men and a Babe,” an exciting silent auction with more than 200 items, a delicious sit-down meal and glowing tributes to the four honorees.
  The four community “Stars” honored were: Merrill Lundgren, the “Bucket Man,” Lyla Spelbring, a past Livingston County Catholic Social Services volunteer and a board member; Fr. David Howell, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Church in Brighton and the 2008 Seeker of Justice award recipient, Chaplin Jim Proos. These individuals have made significant contributions to the Livingston community that will have a long-term impact on the quality of community life.
 Many individuals, organizations and businesses contributed to the evening’s success. They Included: Platinum Sponsors, Edward Loniewski DO, National City Bank, Old Oak Financial Inc. and Saint Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital; Gold Sponsors, Honorable Theresa Brennan, First Impression Print & Marketing and Ann Arbor Rehabilitation Center, Inc. 
  More than 150 businesses and individuals generously donated items and services for the silent auction. There was a grand selection of items which the attendees enjoyed bidding on throughout the evening.
  The staff members and parishioners of St. Patrick Catholic Church, for the second year in a row, did a fantastic job as hosts. They were a great help with all the details and preparations for the event and made everyone in attendance feel comfortable and welcome.
(Photo: From Left to Right: Merrill Lundgren, Lyla Spelbirng, Fr. David Howell and Jim Pross.) (4/16/08)

St. Mary School announces MEAP scores
St. Mary School in Pinckney announced the results of its seventh and eighth grade fall 2007 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests.
  The school’s students outperformed the average scores for students across the state of Michigan in each of nine categories. A larger percentage of St. Mary students met or exceeded test scores than students in neighboring school districts in all categories.
  “We’re very pleased with our students’ MEAP results,” said John Gilboe, school principal. “The scores are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our teachers. Our staff prides itself on challenging students to excel academically.”
  St. Mary School staff will be reviewing both individual and class results during the next few weeks to determine areas of strength and isolate items that need to be reinforced through lessons.
  St. Mary Catholic School is fully accredited by the Michigan Non-public School Accrediting Association (MNSAA) and is a member of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA).
No child, whose parents desire to enroll him or her in the school, shall be denied admission on the basis of religious affiliation, race or national origin.           
  St. Mary is hosting an open house April 24 at 7 p.m. Fall enrollment for kindergarten through eighth grade will begin April 28. For more information, please call the school, 734.878.5616 or visit our Web site, stmarypinckney.org/school. (4/16/08)

How parishes share
 When the word gets out that people are in need, parishioners at St. John the Baptist church in Howell are ready to help. In speaking with Mr. Don Wilson about the needs of people within our parish and city, ideas began to materialize. Mr. Wilson spoke to his Christian Service committee. The result was that Cindy Finelli took charge of the program the Giving Tree for Advent and Lent. Our needs for replenishing our food pantry with food and personal items became part of the Giving Tree, lovely Easter baskets for the children, games, toys and warm clothes for the children at Christmas.
 The experience of receiving all these items was very touching. The people who received these gifts were most grateful. God rewards a cup of water given in his name. How much more will God reward the generous parishioners at St. John the Baptist church. (4/10/08)

St. Joseph Parish, Dexter dedicates its new church
On Saturday, March 15, St. Joseph Parish in Dexter dedicated its new church facility on North Territorial Road. The parish's first church was built in 1840 at the corner of Dexter Townhall and Quigley Roads. That building burned down in 1854, and a new church was constructed in the Village of Dexter. The third church was built in 1872; the new church is the parish's fourth.The first pastor of Dexter was Father James L. Pulsers; the current pastor is Father Brendan Walsh.
Bishop Mengeling and many of the diocese's priests concelebrated the Mass dedicating the new buiding. This was Bishop Mengeling's final dedication as our bishop; on April 29, Bishop Boyea will become the new bishop of the Diocese of Lansing. (Photography by Christopher Burke) (Posted: 3/18/08)

Author visits Most Holy Trinity School
In celebration of “March is Reading Month,” author Lois Ann Snyder-Downing visited the student at Most Holy Trinity School in Fowler. She is the author of Grandpa’s Tooth – a True Michigan Mastodon Story. It is about how her father found a mastodon tooth in St. Johns in 1914. The fossil tooth is around 50,000 years old.
She had brought the tooth to school to help the students connect with history by examining it. Ms. Snyder-Downing’s enthusiasm was contagious and the children gained a new appreciation for Michigan history. (Posted: 3/18/08)

New Gathering Space at St. John blessed by bishop (WC 111) By Jan Rynearson
Dec. 2, a rite of blessing was given to the new gathering space at St. John the Evangelist Church in Fenton by Bishop Carl F. Mengeling. “Gathering Space is what it is, and that’s what we’re calling it,” said the pastor, Father David W. Harvey.
Following the ceremony, clergy and parishioners processed into the church for the lighting of the first candle in the Advent wreath and the opening prayer. Mass was concelebrated by the bishop, Fr. Harvey, Fr. Padamattummal, the associate pastor, Deacon Ron Kenney and Fr. Roy Horning, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine in Flushing. (Posted: 3/18/08)

Adrian Dominican Sisters
The weekend of March 13-16, the Adrian Dominican Sisters held their annual Sponsored Institution Conference at the ADS Motherhouse for 150 attendees from across the U.S. They ask their sponsored institutions to support ongoing efforts to promote the Mission and Vision of the Congregation … to create a culture which respects human dignity … and to advocate for justice and peace locally, nationally and globally.
The Adrian Dominican Sisters sponsor a variety of institutions in the U.S. In Michigan, they include St Joseph Academy, Siena Heights University and Weber Retreat and Conference Center.
The specifics of sponsorship vary with each institution, and might include corporate membership, sisters working in administrative positions or on boards, or financial assistance. To learn more please visit their Web site at www.adriandominicans.org. (3/18/08)

Lansing Catholic wins state basketball championships
For the first time in memory, two Catholic schools faced off for the Class B boys' basketball championships. Powers High School of Flint and Lansing Catholic went down to the wire, when LCC pulled out a win to become state champs. For more information, visit www.lcchs.org/ or www.lsj.com (Posted: 3/18/08)

Kiwanis Club of Lansing donates funds to Cristo Rey (WC 126) By John R. Castillo
Kiwanis Club of Lansing donated funds to Cristo Rey Community Center to upgrade its health clinic’s ultra sound machine. Its health care ultra sound machine was damaged beyond repair by the fire in Dec. 2006. The insurance proceeds only covered replacing the ultra sound with a black and white machine.
The generous donation from the Kiwanis Club of Lansing allowed the clinic to upgrade to a color Doppler machine, which has a sharper resolution than a black and white model.
Richard T. Skinner Jr., representing the Kiwanis Club stated, “The purpose of Kiwanis is to assist local charitable projects and it was a pleasure to help the individuals who are provided service by Cristo Rey Community Center. (Posted: 3/18/08)

St. Mary School collects over
4000 pounds of food
The students and staff of St. Mary Catholic School in Pinckney recently collected 4070 pounds of food in the school’s third annual food drive.
“That is an unbelievable amount of food and personal need items, like diapers and laundry soap,” said food drive organizer Lisa Wack, who oversees the church’s food pantry which benefited from the drive. The entire Pinckney community is served through the pantry. Prior to the food drive, the pantry was empty due to assisting over 150 people during the Christmas season. (Posted: 3/18/08)

St. Mary Preschoolers celebrate reading month with Mystery Reader Program
Preschoolers at St. Mary Catholic School are celebrating March is Reading Month with a Mystery Reader program.  Every day, students are surprised with a new friend or family member who reads their favorite book to the class.  “The students are so enthusiastic about the Mystery Reader program,” said teacher Lisa Abbott.  “It gets them excited about reading and exposes them to wonderful new books!”  Pictured above, student Zachary Rose’s cousin, Michael DiPonio, reads to the class. (Posted: 3/18/08)