September 20, 2020
Dear Ladies of TASTE,
We had a wonderful opening of 2020 with an inspiring talk by Fr. Larry. We were so pleased that almost 50 people were able to attend - and so grateful that we had an audio version for those who are to stay at home. God is good!
Fr. Larry is not only one of our favored speakers, he is also the Spiritual Director of our TASTE program. As such, he issues us a challenge. He would like us, as a group, to offer a corporate, 30-day fast for our country. It will begin on October 4th (feast of St. Francis of Assisi) and run through election day, November 3rd. Are you able and willing to participate? We hope to find a fast that we can all do together, but one that also allows for the individual needs of our members. If you have an idea, would you please share by responding to this email?
VERY IMPORTANT SCHEDULE CHANGE:
- This week's lecture has changed and will now be in person at the Keesler Center, so please join us!
THIS WEEK AT TASTE:
- NEW TALK -- We welcome, for the first time at TASTE, Fr. Virginus Osuagwu of Resurrection Parish in Burtonsville. Hs talk is, "Engaging the Mystery and Ministry of Angels for a Deeper Catholic Experience."With the feast days of the Angels coming next week (St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael on Tuesday 9/29 and Feast of the Guardian Angels on Friday 10/2), Fr. Virginus is sure to inspire and enlighten us about the Angels' key role in our salvation.
- NEW LOCATION & TIME -- St. Mary’s Parish Center (Keesler Center) at 800 St. Mary’s Place, Laurel, MD 20707. The Keesler Center is next door to Pallotti HS and has a parking lot in front. See LOCATION. Opening prayer will be at 10:15 and Fr. Virginus will begin speaking at 10:30. There will be NO SMALL GROUPS during class. Announcements will be given after Father speaks.
- RECONCILIATON-- Fr. Virginus will stay to hear confessions after his talk.
- NAME TAGS– If you are able, please bring your name tag from last year if you are a returning member.
- SUPPORT St. Mary’s food pantry -- They would be especially grateful for donations of diapers (any size) and baby wipes. They have an ongoing need for these items. The food pantry is sharing the Keesler Center with us on Thursdays so you can bring your donations to TASTE to drop off with them.
- DAILY MASS– If you plan to attend the 9:00 daily Mass at St. Mary of the Mills, please remember there will be about a 30-minute gap between the end of Mass and the beginning of TASTE. Guidelines for attending Mass at St. Mary of the Mills are attached.
- PUBLIC HEALTH -- If you have a fever, are not feeling well, or have been in contact with someone with known or suspected COVID, please stay home and listen to the lecture online.
- FACE MASKS – must be worn while inside the Keesler Center. Please bring your own.
TASTE SMALL GROUPS:
- We will begin the year meeting virtually via the Zoom application. If you want to participate in a small group, please make sure you have the Zoom app installed on your phone, tablet or computer. LINK See attached notes.
- Reflection Questions will not be given out after lecture. Please bring any notes you may have taken during the talk to aid the discussions in the Zoom small group.
- You will NOT be assigned to a small group; rather you may attend any of the virtual small groups that best meet your schedule. Zoom small groups will last for 30 minutes and started this week.
- The drop-in TASTE Zoom small groups are:
- MONDAYs from 10:00 - 10:30 facilitated by Maria Montgomery and Karen Schembari
- TUESDAYs from 3:00 - 3:30 facilitated by Jennifer Dougherty and Debbie Schmidt
- WEDNESDAYs from 11:00 - 11:30 facilitated by Mary Giesey and Lori Putman
- Access the meeting via this LINK. If you need the password, see the last email or CONTACT US and we will provide it to you. The Zoom meeting invitation is attached for further options and complete instructions.
TASTE Talks: As mentioned in our August 31st email, not all of the talks this first semester will be in person. Each week we will be sending you information about the upcoming lecture in an email (please remember to be in touch with TASTE sisters who you know do not have email). Additionally, you can keep track of the schedule and the mode of presentation via our website at Upcoming Weeks under Schedules – See LINK
Of Interest:
- Wonderful short podcasts for families at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-sprouts-daily-podcast-for-catholic-kids/id1406174660?i=1000490430551
- Maryland Catholic Women’s Conference “Made for Joy” on October 24th. More details at: https://marylandcatholicwomen.com/
Prayer Requests: TASTE sister, Gini Linsenmeyer continues to battle cancer and has had quite a time these last months. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. We also ask that you keep Helen Martin in prayer who had breast cancer surgery last Friday.
Looking forward to another fantastic year of TASTE!
In Christ,
Carolyn Horton, Joy Parker, Karen Giermek, & Michele Cardamone
Jesus, I Trust in You!