From Our Pastor

Welcome!

Dear Friends of St. Andrew's,

From the founding of our Parish in 1958, we have grown and developed with Sierra Vista - as partners in building up this great community we call home.

Over the decades, we sought to be active participants in every aspect of community life. We believe that serving the common good and making this city a place where people come first, where the least and most easily-overlooked are served and cared for, and where the quality of life is enhanced for all our fellow citizens, is an essential witness to our faith.

We hope our parish church is a place where all experience the Presence of God and the welcome of God's People. We pray that its beauty will speak a wordless invitation to those who are seeking, those who are wearied by life's burdens and those who are drawn to lift their hearts in prayer.

We thank God for giving us this opportunity to extend His blessings and to share our church and campus facilities with the Sierra Vista community.

The pulse of St. Andrew's is reflected through our ministries and individual parishoner efforts. I hope to highlight these achievements and bring focus to upcoming events in the article following this message.

Yours because His,

Fr. Greg Adolf
Pastor

Bienvenido

Estimados amigos de San Andrés,

Desde la fundación de nuestra Parroquia en 1958, hemos crecido y nos hemos desarrollado junto con Sierra Vista construyendo esta gran comunidad la cual llamamos nuestra casa.

A través de las décadas hemos tratado de participar activamente en todos los aspectos, dentro de nuestra comunidad. Creemos que un testigo esencial de nuestra fe es el servir al bien común y el hacer de esta ciudad un lugar para quienes lo más importante es su gente, donde los más necesitados y los más olvidados son servidos y cuidados, y donde la calidad de vida es mejorada para todos nuestros ciudadanos.

Deseamos que nuestra parroquia sea un lugar donde todos puedan sentir la Presencia de Dios y se sientan bienvenidos como hijos de Él. Rogamos que su belleza les haga una invitación silenciosa a aquellos quienes están en busca de Dios, a aquellos quienes se encuentran abrumados por los problemas de la vida, y a aquellos quienes han sido llamados a levantar sus almas en oración.

Agradecemos a Dios por darnos esta oportunidad de extender sus bendiciones y de compartir nuestra iglesia y nuestras facilidades con la comunidad de Sierra Vista.

El servicio de San Andrés está reflejado en nuestros ministerios y los esfuerzos individuales de nuestros parroquianos. Espero que podamos realzar estos logros y llevar enfoque a futuros eventos los cuales mencionamos en el artículo debajo de este mensaje.

Suyo en Cristo,

Padre Greg Adolf

Pastor

Did You Know...?

. . . That every year at their annual meeting Catholic Community Services of the Diocese of Tucson recognizes various volunteer groups and individuals that support CCS -- with their "Above and Beyond" Award?

This year, CCS will be honoring our Tom Felix for the work he does to support Forgach House (Domestic Crisis Shelter) AND our Bishop Salpointe Council of the Knights of Columbus for all that they do all the time to support Forgach House. We are very proud of our Knights and Grand Knight Tom Felix – and their heart for Community! A Mission Update from Ecuador: We received a very nice thank you from Bishop Bertram Wick-Enzler of the missionary Diocese of Santo Domingo de los Colorados in the Esmeraldas Region of Ecuador. In 2013 Fr. Abraham Guerrero, a native of Ecuador and one of our wonderful International Priests serving our Diocese, approached us regarding possible assistance for this very poor Missionary Diocese.

Fr. Guerrero had learned of the ‘reputation’ of St. Andrew’s (and several of our parishioner families) in supporting overseas missions. As you know, a portion of our “Building Our Church Fund” is used to provide needed funds for mission partners around the globe.

Part of the criterion for granting such funds is having an ‘agent’ personally known to us and a system of reporting back expenditures of funds to the Parish/Finance Council.

Beginning in 2013, a grant of $5,000 ($2500 in parish funds, matched by a parishioner’s charitable foundation) was approved and the check made out to Fr. Guerrero to be hand carried to Ecuador.

Over these 11 years, we have received from the Bishop of Santo Domingo, a letter/receipt detailing (often with photographs) the various projects which they were able to fund from our grant. The exchange rate is roughly 10-to-1, and so our $5,000 grant turns into $50,000 in purchasing power!

In 2019 Fr. Marco Basulto, who was Parochial Vicar at St. Andrew’s, accompanied Fr. Guerrero to the “outback” of Ecuador, and brought back first-hand reports and photos of the work being done, and the huge gratitude of our sisters and brothers there!

These reports, in Spanish, from our Mission Partners in Ecuador, speak of the wonderful work being done in a desperately poor part of our hemisphere – because we are CATHOLIC – Universal – in our Mission! Our next big Mission Project will be to complete the St. Francis de Sales grade school classrooms in Kabwe, Zambia, where our Fr. Amal Sebastiar served before coming to our Diocese. This will be a ‘joint mission’ project with St. Patrick’s, Bisbee (where Fr. Amal is currently stationed), Our Lady of the Mountains (where Fr. Amal frequently assists), and St. Andrew’s/Good Shepherd! Each Parish will raise $10,000 over the next few months to complete this mission school, staffed by the Fransalian Fathers (the Community of Fr. Amal and Fr. Gus Therappel!) Whether in our own neighborhood, the jungles of South America, or Africa – we are sharing the love of God in Christ and making a real difference in the lives of many, many people!

Recent Events

Fr. Greg will be officially installed as a monsignor by Bishop Weisenburger this Sunday, Sept. 8 at the 10 AM Mass. You're invited!

Upcoming Events

You are invited!

More Upcoming Events...

2nd and 3rd graders meet Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. 4th-8th grader First Communion classes begin Sept. 15. Email Genevieve at [email protected] if you missed registering your child!

"This is where we're led....this is where we're fed."

Mass Times

Sundays

8:00 AM

10:00 AM

12:00 Noon (Spanish)

5:00 PM

Mon - Fri Daily Mass

9:00 AM

12:05 PM

Saturday

9:00 AM

5:00 PM (Vigil)

6:30 PM at Good Shepherd Mission (Whetstone)

Masses on Holy Days of Obligation are usually 9 AM, 12 Noon, and 7 PM (bilingual)

+ Reconciliation +

Weekdays: 8:30-8:55 AM – before the Mass
Saturdays: 8:30-8:55 AM and 3:30-4:55 PM
Sundays: 7:30 – 7:55 AM and 4:30-4:45 PM

Anytime by appointment

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Weekly Bible Studies are in Madonna Hall. Please join us for study and discussion of the Word in a relaxed setting!

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This Week's Soul Food

“Precisely because Mary is with God and in God, she is very close to each one of us. While she lived on this earth she could only be close to a few people. Being ‘in God,” Who is actually within all of us, Mary shares in this ‘closeness of God. She knows our hearts, can hear our prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness. She always listens to us, and being the Mother of the Son, participates in the power of the Son and in His goodness. We can all entrust the whole of our lives to this Mother.”

// Pope Benedict XVI (1917-2022)

This Week's Catholic Quiz

This week’s Question: “Why does the Priest (and Deacon) kiss the altar at the beginning and at the end of Mass?”

The Answer to Last Week’s Question: “Why does the Priest break off a small piece of the Host and drop it in the chalice?”

The small particle symbolizes us – the Faithful – in Christ! Baptized into Christ, we become members of His Body. Our lives are immersed in Christ, commingled with Him. The words which the Priest speaks quietly during this action are: “By the mystery of this water in wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.” In the ancient Church there was also the practice of the deacons bringing a small portion of the Host consecrated by the Bishop to local churches, to signify unity with the Bishop and one another in Holy Communion. The particle was dropped into the chalice, much as now, but with that added meaning.

(If you would like to be as smart as the “Quiz Master” – pick up a copy of the Catholic Source Book – available in the Parish Office, for only $25.00!)