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.
by By Karen Adams, Special to The Catholic Virginian / July 23, 2023
Each gathering begins with the display of the Eucharist and a blessing, followed by a song, brief silence, and the reading of a Scripture passage. Either Chris or Joanna Hitzelberger will offer a reflection. The younger children are then invited to draw a picture or write a note in response; the older ones may write in their journals. They pray a decade of the rosary in conclusion.
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.
When St. Mary's Parishioner, Stephen “Steve” Gerus receives his doctoral degree in sociology at Graduate School Commencement on Dec. 16, his family, including his grandchildren, will be in the stands at Cassell Coliseum to watch him. At 75, he will be one of four graduate students in Virginia Tech’s history to complete a Ph.D. at age 75 or older.
On December 2-3, 2022, the Glean Team will hold its 13th potato drop at the AGAPE Center in Christiansburg. They need volunteers to help sort/organize/inventory 40,000 pounds of potatoes for distribution to over 30 food banks and organizations in the New River Valley. It takes many hands to run this event so if you can give two or more hours of service to the those in need in our community and to all of SW Virginia, please sign up by clicking this article. The event will take place at the Agape Warehouse located at 501 Church Street, Christiansburg.
Thank you to the Knights of Columbus, Fr. Fox Council for the donation of a new wheelchair to St. Mary's. The chair will be stored in the Narthex and able to be used by parishioners to bring individuals into and out of the church from their vehicles. With the use of this chair, the parish has 3 other chairs in the church that can be borrowed to take care of family members at home. To borrow one of the chairs, please contact Teri Wysocki, [email protected]
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 Mother's Garden is a prayer location near the Gazebo in front of the Church. This garden was built and dedicated to Teresa Gabriel Cohill by the Cohill Family in memory of their mother and wife. This garden is for all St. Mary's Parishioners to sit and pray in a tranquil place. The garden was dedicated on Saturday, September 3, 2022 by Fr. John Asare and attended by family and friends. Please take the time to go sit and pray at the statue of Mary and enjoy the flowers that are surrounding her statue.
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.
Support Maureen Fuller, a recent engineering graduate of Virginia Tech. She married her husband Alex here at St. Mary's in July 2021 and now she is beginning a 3-year mission with EMI to serve low-resource communities and ministries in the US and around the world. Maureen will be working on water and sanitation engineering projects while sharing the joy of the Gospel, and she needs your help to sustain her mission! Donate or get involved: [email protected]