Please read the reports from Dick Neves on his role in Prison Ministry by clicking here.

The Virginia Tech Choirs put on a Holiday Concert for the Parish and the Community. The link to the concert is provided for your listening pleasure. (Submitted by VT Student - Conner White Productions)

The Soil Judging Team in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences earned first place at the Southeast Region Soil Judging Contest on Oct. 5 and qualified for the upcoming National Soil Judging Championship in April 2024. This also marks the team's sixth win in the last 12 regional contests. For the contest, teams were tasked with describing four soil pits, following extensive practice on three college farms near Morgantown, West Virginia. Under the guidance of John M. Galbraith, professor of soil science, the Soil Judging Team assessed diverse soil types, including floodplains, footslopes, and uplands. “I am very proud of this team and the way they represented Virginia Tech at the contest by their citizenship and their performance,” Galbraith said. The team included students Delia Alcorn, Grace Bartlett, Clara Betts, Carmen Curry, Danielle Davies, Liz Eroshenko, Sam Herrin, Gracie Litsinger, Joe Paterson, Rachel Parmele, Matthew Smith, and Will Ubben. Virginia Tech has previous victories in both virtual and on-site national contests. The upcoming National Soil Judging Championship in Ames, Iowa, will mark 24 consecutive years that the team has qualified for the national contest.

St. Mary’s will resume offering Holy Communion under both species, the Precious Body and the Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, beginning at all Masses July 2, 2023, the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Deacon Mike Ellerbrock dedicated and blessed the high tunnel (the greenhouse gardening building located near the Rectory) on Sunday, June 11th at 10:30AM. John Galbraith gave a tour of the facility and answered questions about tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. The high tunnel was built by the Glean Team and was dedicated to late parishioner Kevin Hartley, who planned a vegetable garden as his Eagle Scout project.

In Haiti, factories close, school feedings are on hold and hunger is about to get worse. Miami Herald By Jacqueline Charles October 10, 2022

Thank you to everyone who helped make our annual parish picnic a huge success! It was a beautiful day with food, fun and fellowship for all! A special thank you to the Knights of Columbus for grilling, Marie Castillo for coordinating the kitchen helpers, and her son, Peyton for calling Bingo, McCoy Funeral Home for loaning their tents, Vintage Cellars for donating the wine, John DeLuca & Pepsi for donating the non-alcoholic beverages, the Church Ladies for coordinating the 50/50 raffle, Judith, Avi & Beni Liberman for working the beverage station and Mary Arnold for coordinating ice cream. Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who helped with set-up, food serving side dish/desert donations and clean-up!

The Parish Picnic has been moved to Sunday, September 18, 2022 after the 11:30am Mass. The Parish will be providing hamburgers and hot dogs, being cooked by the Knights of Columbus, and parishioners are to bring side dishes and desserts. Contact Teri Wysocki at [email protected] to volunteer to help at the picnic.

The St. Mary's Ministry fair will take place in the parish hall on August 27-28 after each mass. Come and visit the ministries offered at St. Mary's to see what they are doing and to sign up and join. All the ministries are in need of new people to provide food to poor, comfort to those in need and to beautify the parish from flowers to the grounds. All are welcome.