October 11, 2020

Dear Ladies of TASTE,

This past week's talk (Our Lady: Queen of the Rosary) seemed to be a perfect follow-up to the one the week before (Fatima for Our Times).  Fr. Maurice Akwa shared his personal devotion to Mary and gave such practical reasons to pray the Rosary either individually or communally.  We were blessed that he also shared a copy of his speaker notes since they were complete with the history and meaning of the Rosary, Marian prayers, and a warning as described in the 3rd and Final Secret of Fatima.

For those of you who are doing the fast, we hope you remembered that Fr. Swink said that we can break our fast on Sunday.  As some of those who gave up sweets and chips, looking forward to Sunday gave us perseverance to get through the rest of the week!  If you have not started the Fast for our Country, it's not too late to start now! We are suggesting that each woman select at least 1 item from each category from this LINK.  We wanted to allow each woman to personalize her fast for two reasons:  1) only she knows what she “CAN” do, given her state in life and 2) only she knows what she “SHOULD” do, given what is truly a sacrifice.

THIS WEEK AT TASTE: 

  • NEW TALK — We welcome back one of our regular and often requested speakers Bill Keimig.  His talk, titled “Fostering Holiness in Children will be live streamed and can be watched together with your TASTE sisters at the Keesler Center or in the comfort of your home.  At the end of the talk, we will be taking questions from those who come to watch it in person.    Access this zoom session via this LINK with the password: TASTE2020   The Zoom meeting invitation is attached for further options and complete instructions.
  • LOCATION & TIME —  TASTE meets in St. Mary’s Parish Center (Keesler) at 800 Main Street, 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 Bill Keimig will begin speaking at 10:30. Announcements will be given after he speaks.
  • PRIEST ADOPTION PROGRAM  One of the missions of TASTE is to "ENCOURAGE priests in their ministry through prayer, sacrifice and generous assistance in building up the Body of Christ."   Please sign up for our Spiritual Adoption of Priests so that we can unite in this mission to be Spiritual Mothers of our Priests.  We have approximately 50 names of priests who need our prayers. There will be a sign-up list in the Keesler Center.  For those who aren't attending in person, please contact Jennifer Dougherty at jadougherty802@gmail.com or 240-522-1596.

TASTE SMALL GROUPS: 

  • THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION — We will reflect on Fr. Maurice Akwa's  talk.  Audio of his talk, Speaker Notes, Reflection Questions, and other resources for this talk are included HERE.
  • GENERAL INFORMATION
    • For those planning to attend small group, you can use this LINK to always access materials to prepare for small group each week.
    • If you have not yet participated, but would like to, please make sure you have the Zoom app installed on your phone, tablet or computer.  LINK  See attached notes.
  • Please feel free to drop in to any of the virtual small groups (Zoom) that best meet your schedule.  Zoom small groups will last for 30 minutes:
    • 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 with the password: TASTE2020 The Zoom meeting invitation is attached for further options and complete instructions.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  • The movie, FATIMA, is currently in theaters and also on TV on-Demand.  To find out more about the movie. click HERE. To find out where it is playing, click HERE.

SPECIAL REMINDERS

  • 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
  • PRAYER REQUESTS —  Please continue to keep our TASTE sisters in your prayers. Please continue to keep Gini Linsenmeyer, Helen Martin, and Kate Christianson in your prayers. Please also pray for a successful surgery for Katylee McInerney on Wednesday.

CONTINUED REMINDERS: 

  • NAME TAGS  If you are a returning member and can bring your name tag from last year, it will be much appreciated.
  • SUPPORT THE HUNGRY — The St. Mary’s food pantry is sharing the Keesler Center with us on Thursday mornings.  This is a great opportunity to bring non-perishable foods and help them meet the needs of those in the Laurel community. They have an on-going need for diapers (any size) and baby wipes, and have asked TASTE to support them in that need. They would be very grateful for your donations. See regular NEEDS
  • 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.
Blessings
Carolyn, Joy, Michele and Karen
Jesus, I trust in You!

This Week

Each Week, we post a bulletin that contains:

  • LAST WEEK’S TALK — Summary Sheet and Questions from last week’s speaker to support small group discussion
  • UPCOMING TALK / SPEAKER — Reminder of the topic for this week’s talk and short bio of the speaker.
  • UPCOMING EVENTS — Upcoming Catholic events in the local area.
  • SPECIAL REMINDERS — Prayer Requests, Monthly brown bag lunch, Special offers to move excess inventory (e.g., books and bags)

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