Dear Parishioners,
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Forty days have passed since we celebrated the joyful feast of the Nativity of the Lord. (Click fore more)
We are happy to announce that St. Mary of the Rosary Parish’s Restoring Beauty Project is proceeding nicely. Thanks to the generosity of our parishioners, including several substantial donations and the invaluable contribution of Whit Baker's carpentry expertise and labor, 73% of the estimated costs for Phase 1 are now covered by your current pledges.
Dear Parishioners,
Happy New Year! We pray that 2025 is a special year of grace for everyone. Our goal as a parish is to help everyone to grow in their faith and love for the Lord.
This year is a special Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church, which happens every 25 years to give every generation a chance to experience this special time of grace and mercy in their life. The Jubilee Year 2025 is a Holy Year of Hope. (Click for more)
Dear Parishioners,
We kneel before the manger in adoration, let our first Christmas word be: thank you. Thank you, Gift of the Father, for coming to save us from our sins. Without you we do not even know how to be human, how to live our life in this world, how to live for love and live for heaven. (Click to continue...)
By Shirley Baker, Pastoral Council Chair - Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? - 1 Corinthians 3:16 (Click for more)
Dear Parishioners, today begins Advent, that beautiful season when we prepare our hearts to receive our Lord at his birth. One of my favorite hymns of Advent is “O Come; O Come Emmanuel”. Emmanuel is a good word for Advent and Christmas; it is a Hebrew word that shows up in the Prophet Isaiah which means “God is with us” and God will save and protect the House of David. The Messiah will come from the House of David. (Click for more....)
By Alexis Peters, Fundraising Committee Chair
Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the year - the anticipation of meeting our Lord in his most humble form at Christmas, the music, the colors. If you’re like me, you put more emphasis on meeting the Lord in extra prayer amidst the hustle and bustle of our everyday life. As a parish, we too are waiting in anticipation for the completion of the Restoring Beauty Project. Click for more...
As the days shorten, life in our parish grows richer. The autumn holidays bring a busy season of reconnecting with family and friends, offering a time to thank God for His grace in our lives. My brother and sister-in-law travel from Olympia every Thanksgiving to spend it with us, a cherished tradition. Just before Easter, my sister-in-law received a diagnosis of incurable brain cancer. We continue to pray for her healing, and I also pray to be a conduit of God’s love during her hardship. I am profoundly grateful for the support of our parish community, especially the Prayer Chain, which has strengthened my sense of fellowship and deepened my commitment to prayer.
By Shirley Baker, Pastoral Council Chair. As the days shorten, life in our parish grows richer. The autumn holidays bring a busy season of reconnecting with family and friends, offering a time to thank God for His grace in our lives. My brother and sister-in-law travel from Olympia every Thanksgiving to spend it with us, a cherished tradition. Just before Easter, my sister-in-law received a diagnosis of incurable brain cancer. We continue to pray for her healing, and I also pray to be a conduit of God’s love during her hardship. I am profoundly grateful for the support of our parish community, especially the Prayer Chain, which has strengthened my sense of fellowship and deepened my commitment to prayer..(Click to continue..)
Dear Parishioners,
I consider it one of the great blessings of my priesthood to have been assigned to me a priest from Malawi, Africa when I served as pastor in Edmonds, WA. His name was Fr. Dominic and we lived in the same Rectory and ministered together for three years. (click for more)
Dear Parishioners,
The leaves are almost off the trees and the first snow will be here soon, November begins this week. As nature goes to sleep we have two dates in November in which we mark those who have passed from this earth: Nov. 1, All Saints Day and Nov. 2, All Souls Day. (click for more)
Guest Letter by Alexis Peters, Restoring Beauty Committee Chair: I must say, our first parish Feast Day Banquet was a complete success! Thank you to everyone that attended as we celebrated our “One Parish.” It was a blessing to share our strategic pastoral plan with you all - we really want to see our parish develop souls fit for the Lord’s Heavenly banquet. (Click for more)
This weekend we are officially introducing our new parish as St. Mary of the Rosary Parish, as decreed by Bishop Thomas Daly of the Diocese of Spokane. The new decree outlines the reorganization of the parishes of: Holy Rosary Parish, Chewelah (St. Mary of the Rosary’s original name), Sacred Heart Parish, Springdale, Holy Ghost Parish, Valley, and The Church at Jump off Joe (St. Joseph’s). (click for more)
By Shirley Baker, Pastoral Council Chair
“Fellowship is the genuine recognition that the good of the other is my good because the other is mine and I am the other’s because by bonds of fellowship, friendship, [and] by bonds of communion, we become, in turn, more perfectly members of the body of Christ,” - Father Gregory Pine, 2023
Dear Parishioners,
About a week ago we received word from Bishop Thomas Daly of his decision to close Sacred Heart Church in Springdale within the next six months. As this summer season was coming to a close, I made the initial request to the bishop in August to consider how Sacred Heart hasn’t seen growth in attendance or activity in at least two years, averaging about 8-12 people each Sunday. That is just not enough to justify keeping this church location open nor is it sustainable. This was following a question I proposed one year ago to all our parishes, after outlining our current demographics, that stated, “Should we or can we keep all our locations open?”
Dear Parishioners,
We are approaching the month of October, the Month of the Rosary, and our Parish Feast Day (Our Lady of the Rosary - Oct. 7). The Rosary is as a gift from Mary, the Mother of God. The Rosary is a summary of the Gospel and has been a way for Christians to configure their lives to Christ for centuries. The 20 mysteries of the Rosary
By Shirley Bake, Pastoral Council Chair
Saint Mary of the Rosary Mission Statement: To welcome and accompany individuals and families, forming them into intentional disciples of Jesus Christ, faithful to the Gospel and teaching of the Church, who live and spread the power of the Eucharist and the joy of the Gospel in their homes, Church, and world.
This week is an important one as we give life to the 2025-2030 Pastoral Plan. I am so grateful to everyone who stopped and talked with me after mass last weekend to offer words of encouragement and engagement in the Parish Council’s vision for our future.
Dear Parishioners,
When our parish was named St. Mary of the Rosary well over a century ago, little did the people know then that we in the 21st century would still be praying the Rosary and hold it dear. I recently spoke to a parishioner who has taken up praying the Rosary daily. He says it has calmed him down and enhanced his spiritual life. The Rosary keeps Mary and Jesus close in a world that is so far from them and spiritual realities.
Dear Parishioners, it’s that time of year for the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) for the Diocese of Spokane. The appeal is to support the ministry of our diocese and Bishop in Eastern Washington. This year’s theme, Small Things with Great Love, invites us to consider the spiritual impact that gifts, even the smallest ones, can achieve if done with love. The patron saint of the ACA is one that’s meaningful to me, St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She says “May you use the gifts you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.”