As we approach the beginning of Lent this year, I want to highlight one of our great St. Clare Lenten traditions—the Monday Night Lent Series. On the Mondays of Lent (except Holy Week), we have a special Soup Dinner and Presentation following Mass, which is at 6:00 p.m., instead of 12 noon. The soup dinner and social time is 6:30-7:15 p.m. and the presentation goes until 8:30 p.m. One of the reasons we needed to expand our fellowship hall was that we could no longer (comfortably) fit everyone for these "soup and speaker" nights. With all our new parishioners joining over the last few years, I want to make sure everyone knows about this great opportunity.

This year, the theme of the series is the "Big Questions" that often keep people from faith. Some of you may be struggling with these questions yourselves, or you may have a spouse, children, other family members, friends, loved ones, or co-workers who say one or more of these issues is the reason they are not Catholic, Christian, or even religious. These presentations should help us grow in our own faith as well as give us some answers to graciously share with others. A full schedule for the series, including the topics and presenters for each night, is in this bulletin, but I want to highlight our first speaker on Monday, Feb. 27— Bishop McGovern, who will be presenting "How can we say that Christianity/Catholicism is the right religion?"

I also want to thank the various ministries and parishioners who "sponsor" each night by providing the food and working in the kitchen. We could not do this without them. Also, each night, we practice the Lenten discipline of almsgiving by taking up a collection (cash or check) for a ministry, event, or organization that serves or cares for those in need.

Finally, we provide free, onsite babysitting from 6:45 to 8:45 pm for parents who wish to attend but need childcare. If you need help paying for babysitting at home instead, please contact Matt Flynn (mattflynn@stclarechurch.org) about a babysitting reimbursement.

I look forward to seeing how soon we can fill our new fellowship hall!

Peace and Blessings,
Fr. Jim Deiters