Entries for September 2022

ANNUNZIATA PARISH LISTENING SESSIONS

Please choose either Tuesday, October 25 from 6-8 p.m. OR Thursday, October 27 from 6-8 p.m. to participate in a listening session for our Parish. Basically, the program will have a pre-recorded message from Archbishop Rozanski and one from Father Chris Martin, the Vicar for

Strategic Planning for the Archdiocese, with an overview of the process called “All Things New”. Next on the agenda will be a planning area overview. There are 15 of these areas, and Annunziata is in Area 6. Next, multiple DRAFT MODEL options will be considered.

Please understand that a Model is an option as to how parishes in our planning area could be structured. The Models are “unfinished” because they need your insight and feedback. We need the input of the parishioners of

Annunziata so that a recommendation can be presented to the Archbishop.

To register go to: allthingsnew.archstl.org

To obtain the Parish Workbook with pertinent data about the Archdiocese, our local planning area, and our specific Church of the Annunziata go to: allthingsnew.archstl.org

Should you have any difficulties registering for our Listening Session, please contact the Rectory at 314-993-4422 during regular office hours.

RESPECT LIFE MONTH and THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY

To pray the rosary daily during this month of October offers the opportunity to intercede through our Blessed Mother to protect all human life. The essence of our identity is that we are created in God’s image and likeness and are loved unconditionally! Nothing can diminish the priceless worth of any human life. Every person is cherished.

God calls each of us to be messengers of Christ’s love, treating one another as sacred and chosen by God. In doing so, we can help build a culture that respects all human life. Every person is needed to create a community that guards and protects the unborn, the elderly, the infirm, and the challenged.

Read More >

Dear Parishioners,

In our parish bulletin last week I shared with you a new stage in our Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Process: Listening Sessions. If you did not see it, please go to our parish website annunziata.org to view it.

Annunziata Parishioners are encouraged to sign up for either Tuesday, October 25 from 6-8 p.m. OR Thursday, October 27 from 6-8 p.m. at https://allthingsnew.archstl.org/ The Listening Sessions will take place here at the Parish. Once you have registered, please go to and review Annunziata Parish Workbook.

Should you have any difficulties registering for a Listening Session, please contact the Parish Office at 314-993-4422 during regular office hours.

All Things New Parish Listening Sessions

A number of questions being asked, along with the responses from our Office of Strategic Planning, are below in the FAQ’s. Please take the time to look them over in preparation for the Listening Session you will attend.

Listening Sessions FAQ’s

What are the listening sessions and how do I attend one at my parish?

The Archdiocese of St. Louis will host over 350 Listening Sessions throughout our 178 parishes between October 8th & November 19th, 2022. Parishioners are invited to register for their parish’s listening session beginning mid-September at https://allthingsnew/archstl.org/ Parishioners must register in order to attend a Listening Session. Registration will close once the designated room’s seating capacity is reached. There will not be additional opportunities for Listening Sessions other than the ones scheduled for each parish. Each Listening Session will be facilitated by volunteer parishioners from a different parish. These trained facilitators will share pre-recorded messages from Archbishop Rozanski and Fr. Chris Martin, Vicar for Strategic Planning, with an overview of All Things New, a planning area overview and multiple DRAFT model options to consider for the respective planning area. A brief time will be allowed for small group discussion and facilitated large group feedback.

How can I prepare for a listening session?

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has created Parish Workbooks as a supplementary resource to help parishioners prepare for the Listening Sessions. The workbooks are meant to equip pastors and parishioners with data about the Archdiocese of St. Louis, their local planning area, and their specific parish. The data contained in the Parish Workbook was created by the Pastoral Planning Committee and validated by Pastors and Key Parish Leaders over the past several months. The workbooks incorporate data gathered over the past twenty years from parishes across the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese is releasing the Parish Workbooks for each of our 178 parishes several weeks in advance of the Listening Sessions so parishioners have adequate time to review the information and fully inform themselves in preparation for their parish’s scheduled Listening Sessions. Each Parish Workbook is posted for anyone to view on allthingsnew.archstl.org

What if I cannot attend a listening session?

After the final Listening Session in each planning area, the Archdiocese will make public the content presented at all the parish’s Listening Sessions in that planning area and will offer an additional opportunity for parishioners to provide open-ended feedback through an online survey. The survey will remain open until December 31, 2022. Parishioner feedback to the models is critical, as it will be used to help shape the future of the Archdiocese.

If I cannot make a listening session at my own parish, can I go to another parish’s listening session?

Each Listening Session will have information unique to the parish hosting it and the planning area in which it is located, so it is best to go to your parish’s Listening Session.

Do I have to go to both listening sessions if my parish has two listening sessions?

The same information is presented at both Listening Sessions at the same parish, so you are invited to attend one of them.

What is a planning area?

A Planning Area is a number of parishes and schools in a geographic region which will be considered together to develop proposed structural options for the future. There are 15 Planning Areas in the Archdiocese.

What is a model?

A Model is an option as to how parishes in your Planning Area could be structured. The Models are “unfinished” because they need parishioner and community insight and feedback. The purpose of the Listening Sessions is to gather input on these proposed options so that a recommendation can be presented to Archbishop Rozanski for his discernment.

Will I find out if my parish is going to close at the listening sessions?

No. You will be presented with different DRAFT models for your planning area which may show merger options. No decisions will be made about specific closures or mergers until after all the Listening Sessions and additional feedback opportunities.

Please continue to pray for the gift of true discernment so that we may continue to do the Will of God in all things.

Read More >

I received this important message from our Archdiocesan Office of Strategic Planning that I wanted to share with you:

Thanks to all of you who have participated in the All Things New surveys and provided data and feedback over the past few months. The information has been enlightening, educational and fruitful as we continue to ask ourselves what our parishes, ministries and institutions need to look like in order to effectively share our Catholic faith in a way that is suitable and sustainable for our children and generations to come.

The next step in this multi-year process is to hear more robustly from you, our parishioners, about our parish. The Archdiocese of St. Louis will host over 350 listening sessions throughout our 178 parishes between October 8—November 19, 2022.

Annunziata Parish will have two listening sessions: Tuesday, October 25 from 6-8 pm and Thursday, Oct 27 from 6-8 pm. (Please note that Parishioners only need to come to one Listening Session, as the information presented at both will be the same.) You are invited to register for the Annunziata Listening Session at: https://allthingsnew.archstl.org/. It is necessary to be a registered parishioner of Annunziata to attend one of our Listening Sessions. Registration will close once the designated room’s seating capacity is reached. There will not be additional opportunities for Listening Sessions other than the ones scheduled for each parish.

Each listening session, including ours, will be facilitated by volunteer parishioners from a different parish. These trained facilitators will share pre-recorded messages from Archbishop Rozanski and Fr. Chris Martin, Vicar for Strategic Planning, with an overview of All Things New, a planning area overview and multiple DRAFT model options to consider for our respective planning area. A brief time will be allowed for small group discussion and facilitated large group feedback.

The goals of the listening sessions are to engage as many of you as possible in understanding the current state of our parish and diocese and to solicit feedback from as many of you as possible about the DRAFT models options for their planning area.

After the final listening session in each planning area, the Archdiocese of St. Louis will make public the content presented at all the Parish Listening Sessions in that planning area and will offer an additional opportunity for parishioners to provide open-ended feedback through an online survey. The survey will remain open until December 31, 2022. Parishioner feedback to the models is critical, as it will be used to help shape the future of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

In order for you to be fully prepared with accurate information before our parish listening sessions, you will receive access to our Parish Workbook. The Archdiocese of St. Louis has created Parish Workbooks as a supplementary resource to help us prepare for the listening sessions. The workbooks are meant to equip us with data about the Archdiocese of St. Louis, our local planning area, and our specific parish. Our Parish Workbook is posted on allthingsnew.archstl.org/ for anyone to view. You can access the Annunziata Workbook on the Listening Session page beneath Fr. Martin’s video. We are in Planning Area #6.

Please continue to pray for the gift of true discernment so that we may continue to do the Will of God in all things.

Read More >

Keep Holy the Lord's Day

With the opening of our Parish School of Religion on this Sunday, it is a great time to pray in thanksgiving to God for the gift of our Catholic Faith and for the special people God has chosen to share it with us! First and foremost, thank you God for our great parents, the first and most important teachers of their children in the ways of the Faith. Thank you God for all those who assist parents in this great privilege and responsibility, especially our P.S.R. Teachers and Staff.

As Catholics, we believe the Mass is the heart of our Faith. We rightly refer to the Sunday Eucharist as the source and summit of our Catholic Life. The other Sacraments, our private prayer and devotion, and the good works that flow from our faith are all essentially connected and oriented to the Eucharist. The truth that we proclaim is that Jesus, the risen Son of God, is really present in the Eucharist. Jesus gives Himself to us in the New Covenant as our spiritual food and drink. Our participation in the Mass acknowledges and seals our right relationship with God and with the community. And it is the best thing we can do for ourselves.

When we say that we have “missed” Mass on Sunday, we only acknowledge part of the truth. We have actually chosen to do something else instead, something that is not the right worship of God. Even without intending it, we have placed a false god at the head of the week’s activities and responsibilities. A serious disorder results in the life-giving covenant that God is offering us in the sacrifice of Jesus.

We know that some particular circumstances may prevent us from coming to Mass or excuse us from the obligation. You may need to care for a sick family member. There may be an unexpected change in a work schedule. Anyone who is ill should stay home. Because the pandemic is not fully contained, anyone who feels at risk for contracting or communicating the virus should not come to Mass. Do not be scrupulous; if you are anxious about this, you are excused for the foreseeable future.

Read More >

On this Labor Day weekend, we pay special tribute to the contributions and achievements of the Men and Women in our Nation who have made such a dramatic difference in the lives of others in our Country and throughout the world.

You are invited to join us for Mass on this Monday, September 5th, at 7 a.m.

The truth that by means of work, all human beings participate in the activity of God, our Creator, was given particular prominence by Jesus Christ. For Jesus not only proclaimed, but first and foremost fulfilled by His deeds the “gospel”, the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been entrusted to Him. Therefore this was also “the Gospel of work,” because He who proclaimed it was Himself a man of work, a craftsman like his foster father Joseph. If we do not find in his words a special command to work—but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work and life, at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: Jesus belongs to the “working world”, He has an appreciation and respect for human work. It can be said that He looks with love upon human work and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of man’s likeness with God, our Creator and Father.

Read More >