The 43st Annual MCS Benefit Auction is on Friday, October 23, in the St. Thomas More Parish Commons.  This year’s theme is “Cowboy Up Cardinals”  The doors open at 6:00 p.m. for Social Hour.  Buffet will begin at 7:00 p.m.  Live Auction will begin at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available online for purchase (https://mcscowboyup.auctria.events/).  We hope you can join us for this wonderful event supporting our school!

Masses for All Saints’ Day will be held on Saturday, October 31 at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 1 at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This day is a holy day of obligation.

“Halloween is the eve of Hallowmass, better known as All Saints’ Day.  Hallowmass celebrates God’s harvesting into heaven the faithful of every age, culture, and walk of life.  It is a day of glorious rejoicing.  Saints are people who, by their joyful service, have extended the love of God to others.  The Roman martyrology—the list of the saints officially recognized as such by the church—contains over ten thousand names.  And those are only the saints whose names we remember!  All Saints’ Day also remembers those holy people whom no one but God any longer knows.  The reading for the day from the Book of Revelation describes ‘a great multitude that no one could count.’” (Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications; Text by Mary Ellen Hynes and David Philippart.)

Memorial Masses for the Deceased will be held during all Masses the weekend of October 31 and November 1.  Those who have died and had funeral services conducted within our parish this past year will be honored with the lighting of a candle by a member of the family, a friend, a neighbor, or a parishioner.

Join us on All Souls Day, Monday, November 2 at 5:45 p.m. as we pray for all those who have died. Our parish will honor those who are inurned in the Memorial Walls (columbarium) with a brief prayer service in the church followed by a procession with candles to the Memorial Walls. Families and friends of those who are inurned are invited to participate in placing a candle in front of the niche of their loved ones. A  reception will be held following in Room A.

The Outreach Committee is sponsoring a Coat Drive for USD #383 FIT CLOSET during the month of October.  We are requesting coats suitable for children Pre-K through 12th grade.  Please no coats that need to be dry cleaned!  There is a bin to collect coats in the Gathering Area of the church.

This year’s “Go Make A Difference” Parish Service Day will be Saturday, November 14. The day will start with Prayer and Team Introductions at 8:00 a.m. at STM. Jobs will be completed in the morning and afternoon, with lunch provided. After 4:30 Mass, there will be a soup supper and fellowship in the STM Utopia Hall. Register Online on Jotform. Watch the STM Parish Bulletin, and website for more information.

Click Here to Register 

In a world marked by immense suffering, the migration situation stands out as a pressing global issue. The Vatican sponsored World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) is an opportunity for the global church and the Catholic faithful to engage in prayer, reflection, and action on behalf of those who are forced to flee their homes. National Migration Week (NMW) is a uniquely US-based celebration that builds on the ideas promoted in WDMR, all be it applied according to an American context. In 2026 we celebrate National Migration Week September 21-27 and WDMR September 27.

As Catholics, we are commanded by Jesus (MT 25) to provide support and care for the most vulnerable among us, including the naked, the hungry, the imprisoned, and the stranger. Through this outreach we are called to accompany migrants at all stages of their journey: from the point of origin, through transit, and to their destination. 

More information can be found on the USCCB website.

Welcome to a new addition from our Diocese of Salina Communications Team! This newsletter is simply a way to keep you informed about some of the happenings in the diocese.

From the Diocese...

October 2026

September 2026

August 2026 (Not Published)

July 2026

June 2026

May 2026

April 2026

March 2026

February 2026

January 2026

December 2025

November 2025

October 2025

September 2025

August 2025

July 2025

June 2025

Want to learn some new recipes? Fr. Frank has got you covered! Join our pastor and well known chef, Fr. Frank Coady along with special guests as they test out some of Fr. Frank's favorite recipes.

Videos

Enjoy this article on St. Thomas More's altarpiece, written by the artist herself, Barbara Waterman-Peters. This altarpiece was installed in 2023 during the renovation of the church.

The Altarpiece

We invite all parishioners to share their time and talents with their faith-community in order to build up the Body of Christ. Thus, we encourage you to fill out our Stewardship Form to mark those areas in which you are interested in serving or participating. Current ministers are encouraged to contact the parish office with any contact information updates or to be removed from a ministry or group.

Stewardship Form

Fr. Don Zimmerman recounts his 473 mile journey on the famous

Camino Francés (French Way), starting in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France

and ending at the tomb of St. James the Apostle in

the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.

Updates

Current Principal Balance: Loan is Paid In Full

Loan Amount: $888,153.33

OUR LOAN IS PAID IN FULL!!!

Retiring the Debt

We have paid off our debt!  We sent the last payment to the diocese this month.  The debt was down to $106,000.  We had $150,000 left of the Covid money that we received a couple of years ago, so the finance council voted to use that money to retire the debt completely.

Thanks to all who generously contributed to this milestone.  A number of you had continued your campaign pledges for an extra year to help whittle down the principle on our loan.  Others made a donation whenever they could.  That helped us make our monthly payments without having to dip into the General Fund.

So, what is the Covid money?  Some time ago, the diocese informed us that we might be eligible for money to reimburse us for salary expenses during the pandemic.  The government wanted to keep people working during that time.  We applied, and received $162,000.  The finance council decided to set that aside in order to fill the gap whenever we were unable to make our full monthly payments on the loan.  We only had to dip into it twice, so we still had much of it left.  That is what we used to make the final payment on the loan.

Our original loan was $888,000.  As the capital campaign pledges were fulfilled, a large portion of that was paid back.  Thanks to your generosity, the rest was paid off in record time, saving us considerable money in interest.  Congratulations to all.

We urge you to consider continuing to give, even though the debt is paid.  You can transfer those gifts to the Capital Reserve account.  That account takes care of the various emergencies that come up with maintenance of the parish campus.  As our buildings age, we are facing regular expenses, such as replacement of equipment that ages out, grounds maintenance, etc.

Renovation & Loan Details

In the Fall of 2023 St Thomas More Parish borrowed approximately $889,000 from the Diocese of Salina at an interest rate of 4.25%.  This 10-year loan is being used to pay the construction costs on the renovation of our church.  If paid in equal monthly payments over those ten years, the interest alone was projected to be over $182,000.

The parish asked parishioners to make pledges to pay off the loan in a Capital Campaign called “Legacy of Faith”, or LofF for short.  Most pledges were set up over 3 years from mid-2023 to mid-2025 and have now been fulfilled.  Although the loan has not yet been paid off, we are making good progress with many parishioners generously continuing to make donations to the Capital Campaign fund. The current loan balance as of 1/15/2026 is $138,895.60.

Please prayerfully consider a gift to our renovation costs or extending your campaign pledge.  The sooner the parish can pay off the loan, the less interest we will have to pay.  If you would like to make a gift at this time, you may use the link below or send a check with the memo “Campaign LofF”

Thank you for your generous support for our parish’s mission and future.

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