28 August 2026

Celebrating St. Monica & St. Augustine This Week

This week, the Church celebrated two feast days that go hand in hand — St. Monica (August 27) and her son, St. Augustine (August 28). Their story together is one of the most powerful examples of persistent, faithful prayer in the whole of Christian history.

St. Monica
Monica spent decades praying for her son's conversion. Augustine, brilliant but restless, spent his young adulthood chasing worldly success and philosophies that led him further from the faith his mother had raised him in. Monica never stopped praying — through his years of searching, through her own grief and heartbreak, through what must have felt, at times, like a lost cause. One bishop, tired of her pleading on Augustine's behalf, is said to have told her: "It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." She's the patron saint of mothers, wives, and all who wait faithfully for the conversion of someone they love.

St. Augustine
Augustine eventually did convert — dramatically, and largely through his mother's prayers and the preaching of St. Ambrose. He went on to become Bishop of Hippo and one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history, writing the Confessions (one of the first honest spiritual memoirs ever written) and City of God. His most famous line still gets quoted today: our hearts are restless until they rest in God. He's proof that no one is too far gone, and no story of searching is wasted.

A Prayer for This Week

God of Monica and Augustine, you turned years of tears into a lifetime of faith. Teach us Monica's patience — to keep praying for those we love, even when the answer is slow in coming.

Teach us Augustine's honesty — to bring you our whole, restless selves, and to let ourselves be changed. Saints Monica and Augustine, mother and son, seekers and finders, pray for us.

Amen.

If your child has done the Idaho football summer reading log to bring it to the office so Mrs. Quesnell can get it turned it. Each student who turns in a reading log gets free ticket to a football game.

Our hallways are better with your faces in them — help us build a wall that celebrates the whole St. Mary's family.

• Email your photo to office@stmarysmoscow.org
• Photo size: no larger than 8" x 11"
• We'll hang each one up as it comes in, so our community keeps growing right there on the wall!

🐺 Pledge Sheets is Linked Below — Let's Run Wild!

It's almost time to kick off the 2026 Sister Inky's Jog-a-Thon! Pledge sheets will come home with students next week, and every dollar raised goes straight back into your child's classroom — new curriculum, updated technology, and the tools that make a first-class Catholic education possible.

Getting started is easy:

• Watch for your child's pledge sheet to come home next week.
• Start collecting pledges from friends, family, and neighbors — per-lap or flat-rate, and don't be afraid to get creative with who you ask (grandparents, neighbors, and coworkers count too!).
• Each student's goal: a minimum of $200 in pledges.
• The sooner you start, the more chances you'll have to earn tickets for the Jog Shop prize raffle — the first shop is Friday, September 25.

Questions about pledges or getting started? Reach out to Krista and Greg Shisler:
📧 fundraisers@stmarysmoscow.org | 📞 Krista: 406-600-1747 or Greg: 406-600-3136

Child Care Sign-Up

Need child care for Friday September 4 ? We'd love to help make sure every family has what they need — here's how easy it is to get signed up:

1. Call or email the office - office@stmarysmoscow.org
2. Sign up at drop-off one morning next week.

📅 Deadline: Wednesday, September 2 — don't wait, spots fill up fast!

A reminder - all 2nd grade parents should have received an email from Erin Clemm, St. Mary's Parish, Director of Religious Education. It offered details on preparing your child for their First Sacraments.

They will need to attend Catechism classes beginning 9/13 at the Parish Hall 10-10:45am.

The fees for this class will be waived for those attending St. Mary's School.

Families need to follow the link below to register your child for First Sacraments class and feel free to register your other children to attend classes as well.

Registration Link: First Sacraments Religious Ed

If you have questions email Erin Clemm: religioused.smpm@gmail.com

Thank you.

Tuesday mornings starting Sept. 1 at 7:30am We will be gathering in the cafeteria as a school community to pray the Rosary before school. Please come join us as you arrive. It only takes about 20 minutes and you can be off to work by 8am and the students will still get a morning recess after the rosary. This is for EVERYONE, all students, parents, families, parishioners and teachers, Catholic or not. We have rosaries and prayer cards for you to borrow if needed. What a great way to start our day together in prayer every Tuesday morning at 7:30am

Starting September 2 at 8:00 AM will be meeting in the prayer room for our first meeting.

Our goal is to connect with other parents at school by praying together for our kids, their teachers, and the school. We meet for 30-45 minutes and would love to have you join us as we lift our community up in prayer. Children who are not in school are welcome.

Contact Kellie Stigge (208-301-2100) or Becky Couch (208-301-8104).

I am excited to work with Dr. Marie to extend the invitation to join the Junior Whitepine Basketball League. This is open to 1st & 2nd Grade students; this is a co-ed league open to boys and girls.

Please follow the link below to register. $25/ player for registration fees, players receive a shirt to wear for their games. Fees are due to the school office by 9/25.

Practices will be at the St. Mary's School gym and games will be at various locations (Genesee, Troy, Deary, Juliaetta or Kendrick) and hopefully some at St. Mary's too.

Games are on Saturdays, typically in the morning.

Practices will begin the second week of October, games will begin at the end of October and the season will conclude the second week of December. Games will not be scheduled on the weekend before or after Thanksgiving.

Please reach out with any question AND if you are interested in coaching this team please let me know.

Volunteering at St. Mary's? Here's What You Need to Know

Every hour you give — a booth, a Saturday with a paintbrush, an ongoing role — builds the community our kids call home. Here's where we could use your hands this season.

ONGOING ROLES

• Auction Decorating Lead — Bring a creative eye to this fall's auction, as much or as little as you'd like. → fundraising@stmarysmoscow.org
• Archivist — Flexible, meaningful role helping preserve our school's history. → Dr. B, mbordeleau@stmarysmoscow.org
• Help Us Think Through Volunteering — Grab coffee with Dr. Bordeleau to help shape a simple, sustainable volunteer approach. No commitment required. → mbordeleau@stmarysmoscow.org