NCYC 2025 Registration is underway! The National Catholic Youth Conference is for high school students and adult chaperones and will take place November 20-23, 2025in Indianapolis. High school students from any school are welcome to attend NCYC! The trip is part of the metro Youth Ministry program offered through the Waterloo parishes. $200 deposits are due by January 30. Contact Annie Zeets: [email protected] with questions or visit waterloocatholics.org/ncyc for more info!

Because of the multiple fast-moving wildfires, fueled by high winds, whole neighborhoods were engulfed in Los Angeles County and people were killed, with more than 180,000 evacuation orders. Your donation today will help recovery. Visit Catholic Charities website at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org to make an emergency donation to help provide resources.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. (ONLINE). This preparation program is for first-time parents in the Waterloo parishes who are planning to baptize an infant or young child in the near future. Parents should be registered members of a parish and may either register at the class or coordinate registration soon. To register for the baptism class, CLICK ON THIS ARTICLE. To register with Blessed Sacrament Parish, please contact Maggie in the office: [email protected] or 319-233-6179.

Blessed Sacrament is accepting donations for our upcoming March Garage Sale. To make arrangements for drop off, please call Margaret Klein at 319-429-1907.

Blessed Sacrament Parish Life is opening up the Parish Center for our Family Open Gym Night on FRIDAY, JANUARY 24th FROM 6:30PM - 8:00PM! Parents feed your kids dinner before coming but then bring them over to the Parish Center and let them enjoy some free play until their hearts are content or until 8:30 PM (whichever comes first). This is a great opportunity for the kids in our Parish to get to know each other and for parents to enjoy chatting with other parents. There will be more open gyms to come over these winter months.

Judy Bullis, our new Pastoral Minister serving, in part, our Homebound & Sick Ministry, is in need of some winter help for taking Communion to our parishioners in need at Allen Hospital. This is done once a week and, if you can help out in this way, please contact Judy in the office at 319-233-6179 or email: [email protected].

In early January, when Fr. Tony Kruse leaves for his 2-month sabbatical, we will be pleased to welcome Fr. Anthony Onyekwelu to Blessed Sacrament. He will cover sacramental duties for Fr. Tony Kruse while he is away from January 5 to March 4, 2025. Originally from the Awaka Diocese in Nigeria, Fr. Anthony was ordained in 1993 and spent ten years in the U.S. from 2001 to 2011. During that time, he served as a hospital chaplain while earning a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and a Ph.D. in Religious Education from Fordham University in New York. He also became a naturalized U.S. citizen during his time here. Since 2011, Fr. Anthony has worked in high schools and served as a pastor and chaplain back home in Nigeria. His bishop has granted him a year-long sabbatical in 2025, during which he will serve at various parishes within our Archdiocese. We are fortunate to have him assist our parish during this time. While in Iowa, Fr. Anthony is particularly eager to gain insights into faith formation, youth programs, healing Masses, and Eucharistic Adoration. He has three brothers and two sisters, all of whom live in Nigeria, and he is a proud uncle to 20 nieces and nephews. An avid music lover, Fr. Anthony has previously served as a choirmaster and enjoys reading spiritual literature. While Fr. Tony Kruse is gone on sabbatical for two months, all contacts about parish needs should be directed to Maggie England in our parish office. She will then coordinate needed sacraments/pastoral care with Fr. Anthony and direct other questions to the parish staff, Pastoral Council, and the Finance Council. While he is substituting at our parish, Fr. Anthony will be attending some parish meetings and events as part of his own continuing learning, but he will not be leading administrative efforts for the parish. Please JOIN US in warmly welcoming Fr. Anthony to Blessed Sacrament Parish!

I will continue to celebrate the scheduled daily Mass (except in cases of a funeral), even if school is cancelled. However, with that being said, parking lots and sidewalks may not be cleared in time for daily Mass. Please use caution, stay safe, or even stay home. Mass will still be live streamed. If out of necessity the daily Mass needs to be cancelled due to weather, we will try to publish a notice of cancellation through KWWL and KCRG TV stations.

The Adult Confirmation preparation program will take place on Saturdays, January 18 & 25 from 9:00 am - 11:00 am in the New Life Center at St. Edward Parish. Catholic adults 19 years or older who have been baptized, catechized, and are actively participating in the spiritual and sacramental life of the Church are welcome. Those who participate will be prepared to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with Archbishop Zinkula in March. Pre-registration required. Learn more and register at: https://waterloocatholics.org/adult-confirmation

Tuesday, Nov. 12. 6:15-7:30pm. Parish Hall. St. Edward Parish, Waterloo. Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation hosts this opportunity for Catholic adults and young adults who want to be inspired in their practice of the Catholic faith. This month's speaker is Fr. Greg Lambert, the new Associate Pastor at St. Edward and Spiritual Director at Columbus High School. Open to the public. No pre-registration. Invite a family member, friend or colleague who might appreciate this opportunity. Learn more at: waterloocatholics.org/catholic-witness-hour

The Knights of Columbus Council #700 is sponsoring "Coffee with the Knights" in the Parish Center immediately following the 8:00 am Mass on Wednesday, November 20 (around 8:30ish). Breakfast pizza, coffee and water will be provided and ALL KIGHTS and PARISHIONERS are invited! Following the breakfast, Council #700 will conduct their regular business meeting. Hope to see you there!

Each week at Blessed Sacrament, there is an opportunity to receive healing prayer. Every Thursday we begin at 6:00 pm and we go until we are done. If no one outside of the prayer team is in the church by 8:00 pm, we do close for the night. Most weeks, Fr. Tony is also in thr confessional at 7:00 pm for those who are seeking the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

BIG NEWS! This year, the parishes will be doing Confirmation for youth in BOTH grades 10 and 11 (12th graders who also desire confirmation are welcome). Classes begin in November. Go to: waterloocatholics.org/hs-confirmation to register. Once you are registered, you will receive the class schedule via email as soon as it is available. Contact Annie Zeets with questions: [email protected] or call: 319-239-0163.

Parish Life is sponsoring its 2nd annual BINGO NIGHT on Saturday, October 13 @ 6:00 PM in the Parish Center. Parish Center doors open after the 4:30 PM Mass and games start at 6:00 PM. NO COST to play and this is open to school-ages children and older! Please bring an appetizer/dessert to share potluck style and bring your own beverage. What a great way to unwind after a busy garage sale season. So, dust off your BINGO skills and JOIN US for a night of fun! ALL ARE WELCOME!

The Alpha journey begins NEXT WEEK! The adventure kicks off Sunday evening, October 6, from 5:30pm - 7:00pm. It will then run every Sunday at that same time for 11 weeks. Have to miss a week or two? That's okay - still try it out! Registration forms are in the Gathering Space or sign up on our website. Questions? Contact Maggie England in the office: [email protected]; 319-233-6179.

Registration is now open for Wednesday night RE. Classes for K-8th Grade students begin September 18 and run from 6:20pm - 7:30 pm at Sacred Heart School. Registration can be done online at: https://waterloocatholics.org/reregistration or by calling Annie Zeets at 319-233-0744.

Join us for "Music on the Lawn" at Blessed sacrament! Saturday, July 13th at 6:00 PM on the lawn in front of the parish office/rectory. This event is being hosted by our newly formed Social Concerns Commitee and is their first "fund/friend" raiser! Come, listen to some good music, learn more about what our Social Concerns Committee is and what they hope to do in this next year to provide support to those in need in our local community. A good will offering will be asked, which will go towards paying for at least one of the musical acts that night, along with giving the Social Concerns Committee a little seed money for special needs that arise. Bring a lawn chair, a cooler for your drinks, and your own food or favorite snacks. This should be a great summer evening spent outdoors with your friends in faith listening to some good music by local musicians from here and around Northeast Iowa!

Join our new Seminarian Intern, Jacob Francois, for an 8-week study on the Story of Divine Mercy, St. John Paul II, and St. Faustina. Jacob studied in Krakow, Poland, for two years before studying at Mundelein Seminary. He will provide personal insights and testimony to Fr. Michael Gaitley's study entitled, "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told." Begins May 28th and will meet weekly on Tuesday evenings around 6:00pm (following 5:30 Mass). The last session will meet on July 30th. You can register for this study through our parish website or by signing up in the Gathering Space.