St. Mary & St. John Weekly Update!
August 22, 2025
The Saints Among Us: Three Months of Faith, Hope, and Love
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
Three months ago, on July 27, a tornado swept through our community, changing the landscape of Menasha and the lives of so many of our neighbors. In a matter of minutes, familiar places were damaged, trees that had stood for generations were gone, and both of our beautiful churches suffered significant damage.
And yet, amid the destruction, one image captured the hearts of our community.
The cross still stands.
Now, three months later, as we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, I find myself thinking about something else that has stood strong through it all: the faith of God's people.
On All Saints' Day, we celebrate the countless holy men and women who have gone before us. We remember familiar names like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. John Paul II. But we also celebrate those whom Pope Francis affectionately called the "saints next door"—ordinary people who quietly lived extraordinary lives of faith.
And I wonder how many glimpses of that everyday holiness we have witnessed right here in Menasha over these past three months.
We've seen neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers giving countless hours, people offering prayers, meals, encouragement, and sometimes simply a shoulder to lean on. We've witnessed generosity, compassion, perseverance, and love.
In today's Gospel, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes.
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted."
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
These aren't simply beautiful words to admire. They are an invitation to live differently. And over these past three months, we've seen them come alive in the people around us.
We still have a long road ahead. We rejoice that we are once again celebrating Mass in St. Mary, even as repairs continue. And our hearts ache that St. John the Baptist remains closed while engineers continue assessing the damage and preparations are made to protect the building through winter.
But something important has happened along the way.
We've been reminded that the Church is not simply the buildings we gather in. The Church is the people of God, united in Jesus Christ.
The saints understood that holiness doesn't mean life will be free from hardship. It means trusting that God is present even in the midst of it. It means choosing love when life becomes difficult, offering hope when others are discouraged, and continuing to believe when the road ahead seems uncertain.
In our second reading, St. John reminds us, "Beloved, we are God's children now."
Not someday. Not when everything is repaired. Not when life finally settles down.
Now.
And because we are God's children, we are all called to become saints.
Perhaps that's the greatest lesson of these past three months. Holiness isn't always found in grand gestures. Sometimes it's found in a helping hand, a whispered prayer, a generous heart, or someone who simply refuses to give up on another person.
As we celebrate All Saints' Day, let's thank God for the saints in heaven who pray for us, and for the everyday witnesses of holiness who walk among us.
Our steeples are being repaired. Our buildings are being restored. But through it all, God has been doing something beautiful in the hearts of His people.
Three months later, the cross still stands.
And so does our faith.
May we continue to grow together in holiness, hope, and love.
Deacon Don
AMDG — For the Greater Glory of God!
Since the tornado, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people asking one simple question:
“How can we help?”
There are many answers to that question. Pray for us. Worship with us. Help a neighbor. Support our restoration efforts.
But there is also one very simple way to help that doesn’t cost you anything extra: use Scrip.
Right now, our parishes are facing a difficult reality. While the needs created by the tornado continue to grow, our regular parish support has declined. With our churches temporarily closed and our parish family worshiping together at St. Patrick, we are also missing the loose collection offerings that normally help support the day-to-day mission of St. Mary and St. John.
That makes every opportunity to support our parishes especially important right now.
And Scrip is one of the easiest ways all of us can help.
When you purchase Scrip, you are simply buying gift cards for places where you already spend money—grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, retailers, and especially Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards and other home-improvement stores. You receive the full value of the gift card, while the retailer gives a percentage back to our parishes.
It costs you nothing extra.
Think about what is happening throughout our community right now.
People are repairing roofs. Replacing windows. Buying lumber, tools, paint and supplies. Families are replacing things that were damaged or lost in the storm.
Those purchases will be made anyway.
What if those same purchases could also help St. Mary and St. John recover?
A $50 gift card may not seem like much.
Neither does $100.
Neither does one trip to the hardware store or grocery store.
But multiply those purchases by hundreds of parishioners and friends of our parishes, week after week, and suddenly those little percentages become something much bigger.
Every little bit helps. And right now, we truly need every little bit.
The easiest way to stop by the Parish Office during the week. You can also purchase online using the RaiseRight App, where many gift cards can be purchased instantly as eGift cards right from your phone or computer.
And this Saturday, we will once again have a Scrip table before and after our 5:00 p.m. Mass at St. Patrick Church. If you have never used Scrip or RaiseRight before, please stop by. Our volunteers would be happy to help you get started.
Our beloved churches have been wounded, but our Church is very much alive.
We see it every time we gather for Mass. We see it in neighbors helping neighbors. We see it in volunteers giving countless hours. We see it in your prayers, your encouragement and your generosity.
Now we can see it in something as ordinary as buying groceries, filling the gas tank or making that next trip to the home-improvement store.
Before you make your next purchase, please think Scrip.
You were going to make the purchase anyway.
Why not let it help rebuild our parish family, too?
One gift card. One purchase. One small act at a time.
Together, it adds up.
Together, we make a difference.
And together, with God's help, St. Mary & St. John Strong will rise again.
Thank you for loving our parishes. Thank you for standing with us. And thank you for helping us rebuild.
Our three cemeteries are now open again for visiting. Please use prudence when visiting as we work to restore a few areas with downed branches still to a safe status; please refrain from visiting the particular areas with downed branches.
Sharing our Gifts
As with our family, we care deeply for our church and want to ensure that it will continue to flourish and grow long after we are gone. St. Mary & St. John Parishes are sustained by the generosity of our parishioners through time, talent, and treasure. We are sincerely grateful for kind remembrances in memorials, donations, and wills. Donations may be tax deductible. For all that you do Thank You!!
Bequests & Legacy Giving
Charitable gift planning is stewardship of our assets, just like our weekly offering. Please consider St. Mary and/or St. John the Baptist Parish in your estate planning.
The simplest planned gift to St. Mary and/or St. John the Baptist Parish is a bequest in your last will or testament or in your living trust. This demonstrates the obvious necessity to have a valid will or trust in order to accomplish your goal of leaving a legacy to the Church as your final act of stewardship.
Even if you choose to make an outright bequest to St. Mary and/or St. John the Baptist Parish, you may consider the parish as the beneficiary of a contingent bequest in the event all your other named beneficiaries no longer exist at the time of your death. This is sometimes referred to as a “clean up” provision. It ensures that your property is distributed according to your plan rather than the state law on estate distributions.
A tax planning point for bequests: To the extent possible, your bequest should be from assets referred to in the Internal Revenue Code as “income in respect of a decedent.” Some examples of these assets are U.S. savings bonds and retirement plans such as 401(k) plans and IRAs. Such gifts to St. Matthew are ideal because they are subject to income tax if received by a tax-paying beneficiary, such as a family member. However, since the Church like other charities, is tax-exempt, income tax can be avoided on bequests of these assets. Other assets, such as bank accounts, life insurance and corporate stocks and bonds, and real estate proper-ties which do not involve income tax shortcoming, are better assets to distribute to family members.
Bequests may take several different forms:
A bequest of a specific amount
“I give $$$ to ….”
A bequest of specific property:
“I give 100 shares of XYZ Corporation to….”
A bequest of a portion of the residue of your estate:
“I give 10 percent of the remaining property in my estate to….”
A bequest of the complete residue of your estate:
“I give all of the remaining property in my estate to.…”
If you are seriously considering a bequest or legacy contribution to St. Mary and/or St. John the Baptist Parish, contact your family attorney to see how you can best give to St. Mary and/or St. John the Baptist Parish
. Attorneys have information with respect to the documentation you will need.
IRA Giving
Age 70 ½? — Make a Tax-Free Charitable Gift through Your IRA!
Normally, a distribution from your IRA is taxed as ordinary income. However, federal tax legislation enacted in December 2015, allows you, if you are 70½ or older, to make a direct gift from your IRA to the Church through your parish, or other qualified charity without the distribution taxed as income to you. Unlike prior years, this legislation has no expiration date.
The IRA charitable rollover law may provide a very good charitable giving vehicle if you are age 70 ½ and take the standard deduction rather than itemize deductions on your tax return. The law may also allow you to avoid a tax increase on your Social Security benefits. Thus, your IRA could be considered a special fund for distributions to the Church and charities without the normal consequences of reporting additional taxable income.
The distribution must be from your IRA, not a 401(k) or other retirement plan. However, consult with your financial or tax advisor about the possibility of transferring funds from one of these other plans to establish an IRA, with the distribution to charity coming from the newly established IRA.
The IRA distribution must be a direct charitable gift and not a distribution to a donor-advised fund, a charitable remainder trust or for a charitable gift annuity. Distributions to charity cannot exceed $100,000 in a taxable year.
To take advantage of the IRA charitable rollover to support the Church, please review the following helpful tips on how to handle your charitable gift correctly:
- Contact your IRA custodian or representative before making a gift to arrange for the proper transfer of funds from your IRA directly to the Church and other qualified charities. The check or other payment issued from the IRA must be made payable to the charity.
- If you have elected to have income tax withheld from your normal IRA distributions, advise your IRA administrator not to withhold taxes from distributions to charity.
- Consult your tax advisor for the tax reporting of the special election described above.
While this topic is fresh on your mind, ask your attorney and financial advisor how to make the Church a beneficiary of your will or trust or your IRA.
For more information about how you and the Church can benefit from an IRA charitable rollover, contact the parish office at 920-725-7714.
These helpful tips are only for your information and are not to be considered as legal, tax or financial advice. You should consult with your legal, tax and financial advisors to implement the benefits of the IRA charitable rollover law and related matters.