President Eileen Foster opened the meeting at 1:30 with a warm welcome to all. Prior to the business meeting, the 30 ladies present enjoyed a “chat & chew” (meet and greet) , a time to connect with each other over delicious snacks provided by Tana Zemanek, Ramona Lalka, Elaine White, and Anne Boyd. Our snack table was set up by Connie Latuszek and Dorothy Kociba.

The ladies brought a huge assortment of school supplies to the meeting which will be donated to Floyd Elementary in Bullock Creek.

We welcomed new members Janelle White, Julie Silvis, Linda Wilson, Joyce Cushman, Carol Osier, Gail Schroeder, and Joanne Dana. We wished a happy September birthday to Mary Derr (2nd) Susie Rademacher (12th), Helen Singer (12th) , Wendy Shields (16th), Naomi Granum (22nd) and Angela Buske (26th). Secretary Elaine White didn’t read the minutes of our last business meeting which was in April. Instead, a few printed copies of the minutes were on all the tables. Minutes previously posted online.

Tana Zemanek, Treasurer, reported our current balance is $16,311.17. The ladies will vote at our November meeting as to what 10 charities will receive $1,000 each. We work together throughout the year to make money, and then we donate money to better our community. In 2022 we donated $1,000 to these 10 charities: Blessed Sacrament Emergency Fund, Global Compassion, Shelterhouse, Toni & Trish House, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Saginaw Emmaus House, Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehabilitation, Home to Stay, Wings of Mercy, and the Guatemalan Stove Project. Charities on the ballot last year but didn’t receive funding were Camp Fish Tales, Caregiving Network, Saginaw East Side Soup Kitchen, Emergency Food Pantry, and Tall in the Saddle. Tana asked the members what additional charities should be considered to receive money in 2023. Members suggested the Bridge Food Center, Gateway Family Urgent Care, and Phoenix Community Farms.

Signup sheets were passed around for Cider and Donuts workers on October 15th and 29th, Blanket Making Days on October 11th and 18th, and for bringing snacks to our next meeting.

Ramona L introduced our speaker Deb Plaver from The Bridge Food Center, a 501©3 nonprofit grocery store which is run entirely by volunteers. This grocery store provides opportunities for lower income families to choose and purchase high quality groceries at low costs by providing goods at wholesale prices marked up by 5 cents. This store is located at 1539 Washington St in Midland. The Bridge welcomes individual volunteers or teams for three hour shifts with an experienced supervisor. Please contact Deb Plaver to volunteer. The Bridge has purchased the former Save-A-Lot at 1826 S Saginaw Rd so that they can expand their offerings and offer extended hours. They hope to open at the new location in early 2024. Ramona presented Deb a small personal gift and a check for the Bridge Food Center.

The ladies then played a fun game with a partner and then introduced their partner to the members. Many new interesting things were learned about each of us. Elaine White closed the meeting with an inspirational reading called “Smile”. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, October 3rd at 1:30. Please come.

Respectfully submitted, Elaine White, Secretary

Ladies of Blessed Sacrament (LBS)

In the absence of President Eileen Foster, Anne Boyd opened the 7 pm evening meeting by welcoming the 21 members present including newcomers Rosemary Dubay, Chloe Gall, and Margie Hollingsworth.   Prayer intentions were received & a Hail Mary was said.

Happy April Birthday to Maria Quereizaeta (10^th), Chris Sharp (20^th), Eileen Foster (23^rd), Mary Stutelberg (23^rd), Fran Davis (30^th, and Jan Morrone (30^th).

Elaine White read the minutes of our March 7^th meeting.

Treasurer Tana Zemanek reported that our current balance is $6009.30.

Ramona Lalka invited everyone to our Spring Luncheon on Tuesday, May 2^nd at noon. MyMichigan gift shop will present a fashion show. Please bring a dish to pass and table service for you and your guests.  

Ramona also gave an update on our rummage sale which will be during the week of June 4^th -10^th. Our sale will be open to the public on Thursday, June 8th from 9-6 pm, Friday, June 9^th from 9 to 5 pm and   Saturday the 10^th from 9 to noon. Saturday is $3 a bag day or half price for anything that doesn’t fit in a bag. Ramona and Tana Zemanek, co-chairwomen, will use Perfect Potluck to solicit workers and a separate Perfect Potluck for food for the volunteers. As usual, we’ll need lots of volunteers for our largest fundraiser.

Board members contributed food for a large charcuterie board aka grazing table. Special thanks to Anne Boyd, Ramona Lalka, Connie Latuszek, and Dorothy Kociba for arranging our snack table.

Linda Graf introduced our guest speaker, Terri Stevenson. Terri’s topic was “Coping Skills for Emotional Management” or how to adjust to negative events in our life. Some of Terri’s tips were to just breathe as breathing calms the nervous system, to examine our self-talk, and to make sure we have evidence to support our thinking. We should avoid negative talk and concentrate on positive thinking. She also recommended we talk about our feelings to a trusted friend who is a good listener as this lowers cortisol levels in our bloodstream. Having a strong social support network is the key preventative in managing stress.  It’s important to nurture our spiritual life and to take care of our bodies by getting enough sleep and eating healthy foods. Terri gave us tips on effective communication and encouraged us to state our feelings and say what our needs are. We thank Terri for her wonderful presentation.

Please join us at our Spring Luncheon on Tuesday, May 2nd at noon.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine White, secretary 

In the absence of our president Eileen Foster, Anne Boyd opened the afternoon meeting by welcoming the 27 people in attendance. The total included newcomers Barb Wahn, Louise Fazio, Joanne Rajewski, Sue D’Alessandro, Wendy Shields, and Janet Yoder. Other guests were Tom Messinger and John Kawiecki. 

A Hail Mary was said. Prayer requests were offered by various ladies.

Today’s refreshments were provided by Connie Latuszek, Dorothy Kociba, Chris Sharp, Elaine White, Tana Zemanek, and Naomi Granum.

Secretary Elaine White read the minutes from our February 7^th meeting. Treasurer Tana Zemanek reported a current balance of $6007.71.  

Terri Stevenson will be the speaker at our April 11^th meeting at 7 pm. No afternoon meeting that day. Tana Z and Ramona Lalka will coordinate a charcuterie board for our refreshment table at this evening meeting.  

Rummage sale week will be June 4^th through 10^th. Watch the bulletin for more information and for a full list of items most desired and items that won’t be accepted. Tana Z and Ramona L are co-chairwomen. We will use Perfect Potluck for the first time to solicit volunteers to work various shifts and to provide food for the workers.

Maureen Pillepich introduced our speaker, Kelli Jankens, Injury Prevention Manager from MyMichigan Health. Her topic was “Think First to Prevent Falls”. Kelli said that 70-80% of trauma hospital admissions are from falls and that 80% of falls happen at home. Forty percent of traumatic brain injuries are due to falls. We can lower our risk of falling by removing tripping hazards from our homes, eliminating clutter and cords in our paths, removing slippery throw rugs, wearing closed back slippers, walking with our hands out of our pockets, and using adequate lighting. And if we should fall, it’s important to carry a phone at all times. We thank Kelli Jankens for her informative presentation.

Sue D’Alessandro and JoAnn Rajewski, MyMichigan gift shop volunteers, encouraged us to become a hospital volunteer. MyMichigan has over 220 volunteers at this time but more are always needed.   MyMichigan gift shop will present a fashion show at our May meeting.

Please join us at our Tuesday, April 11^th meeting at 7 pm. All are welcome.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine White

In the absence of our president Eileen Foster, Anne Boyd opened the meeting by welcoming the 21 members present including newcomer Christine Sharp. A Hail Mary was said for the prayer requests offered by various ladies.

Thank you to Connie Latuszek and Dorothy Kociba for the February Valentine themed refreshment table and to Anne Boyd, Karen Adamcik, and Dorothy Kociba for the refreshments. Chris Sharp, Elaine White, Naomi Granum, and Connie Latuszek volunteered to bring refreshments to our March 7^th meeting.

Secretary Elaine White read the 11/08/22 minutes of our last regular meeting.  

Treasurer Tana Zemanek reported a current balance of $5667.71. In December 2022 we gifted a total of $10,000 to ten different non-profit agencies. We have already purchased the fleece for our 2023 blanket making because fleece was 70% off in January.

Thank you notes were circulated from Father Robb and many of the non-profits to which we gifted $1,000 each in 2022.  

Anne Boyd encouraged everyone to come to our evening meeting on April 11^th with special guest speaker Terri Stevenson. Terri’s topic will be “Coping Skills for Emotional Management”.  There will be no afternoon meeting in April.

We wished a happy February birthday to Carol Landis, Diana Kosal, and Jan Natonski.  

Everyone is welcome to attend the monthly Luncheon Series for Women at the Midland Country Club. This is sponsored by Midland Christian Women’s Connection Affiliated with Stonecroft Ministries. The next lunch is Wednesday, March 8^th at 12 pm and the cost is $17. For more information, contact Carol Sweebe 989-631-4849 or cjsweebe@gmail.com.

Indira Oskvarek will be hosting a benefit dinner for Global Compassion on Saturday, March 4^th at Blessed Sacrament. She needs help prepping food on Friday, March 3^rd and serving and cleaning up on Saturday, March 4^th.  If you can help, please call Indira at 989-854-8584.

Ramona Lalka and Tana Zemanek are co-chairwomen of our June rummage sale. New this year is that items can be dropped off on Sunday, June 4th 1-4 pm. Donations accepted through Tuesday at 5 pm. Wednesday no donations, sort and price. Sale opens on Thursday, June 8^th at 9 am.  Saturday will be $3.00 bag day and 50% off all items that don’t fit in the bag.

Judy Kawiecki introduced our speaker, Patrick Regier, Business Manager of Blessed Sacrament. Patrick retired from Dow in 2015 and was hired by Blessed Sacrament the same year.  Patrick shared with the ladies the mission of our parish and how we work in our community putting our faith into action. Currently Blessed Sacrament earmarks 10% of each weekend’s collection for Christian Service Ministry which includes Christian Service Funding, Emergency Assistance, and Special Assistance. Patrick explained these three ministries. Each year the Christian Service Committee receives 45 to 55 grant applications. Our church pays out annual grants totally $125,000 with grants ranging from $800 to $5,000. Requests for Emergency Assistance come to our parish through 211, Social Service agencies, and from people in our community. We are only able to help each client once per year with a maximum grant of $125. Payment is never made directly to the client but to the person/entity to which money is owed. Most requests are for rent assistance. Blessed Sacrament also provides $25,000 per year in assistance for rent, utilities, and car repairs. Requests are handled by dedicated volunteers who after follow up with the client, determine the need and send claim payment requests to the parish bookkeeper. Ladies of Blessed Sacrament contributed $1,000 to Blessed Sacrament Emergency Assistance in 2022.

We are grateful to Patrick Regier for his financial expertise and for taking time to talk to our group.

Judy Kawiecki closed our meeting with an inspirational reading encouraging us to fill our lives with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, and love for others.  

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 7^th. Please join us and bring a friend to hear our speaker from My Michigan on “Think First to Prevent Falls”. 

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine White  

Ladies of Blessed Sacrament (LBS)  – Meeting Minutes – 10/04/2022

President Eileen Foster called the meeting to order at 1:30 and welcomed all present. An opening prayer was said.

Eileen announced that our April 11^th 2023 meeting will be an evening meeting to enable more ladies to attend as 1:30 in the afternoon may not be a good meeting time for many women.

Eileen thanked Joanne Tanner for making autumn floral arrangements for the tables in our social hall.

Elaine White, Alex Braley, and Aimee Kopiwoda provided snacks for the 24 ladies in attendance. Connie Latuszek and Dorothy Kociba provided the table arrangements. Joanne Tanner, Deb Rey, Isabel Viges, and Sharon Capriccioso signed up to bring snacks to our November meeting.

Secretary Elaine White read the minutes of our last meeting. Minutes were previously posted on parish website and on LBS FaceBook page.

Treasurer Tana Zemanek reported a treasury balance of $15,071.43. It was decided at our September meeting that we’ll gift $10,000 to various charities with emphasis on charities that provide help with basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. The board previously compiled a list of 23 charities.  The board then pared this list down to 15 charities. All those in attendance at our November meeting will vote on which of those 10 charities will get $1,000 each. Each person at the November meeting will get ten tickets. There will be 15 bags labeled with the name of each charity. Members can spread their votes around or place all tickets in the same bag. The charities selected are:

Blessed Sacrament Emergency Funds, Camp Fish Tales, Caregiving Network, East Side Soup Kitchen of Saginaw, Emmaus House of Saginaw, Global Compassion, Guatemalan Stove Project, Home to Stay (formally Midland Area Homes), Midland County Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehab (MCFOAR), Midland County Food Pantry Network (EFPN), Shelterhouse for Women & Children, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Tall in the Saddle, Toni & Trish House, and Wings of Mercy.

The LBS will have a cider and donuts fundraiser after both Sunday Masses on October 16^th and on November 13^th.  Money raised will be used to buy fleece for the blankets that we’ll be making for the homeless and disadvantaged in our community. Everyone is invited to our blanket making day on Wednesday, October 19^th from 8 am to 3 pm. You can come for the entire time period or just part of the time. A pizza lunch will be provided or you’re welcome to bring your own lunch. Additional workers are needed. Please contact Anne Boyd (989-415-4243) to sign up.

Judy Kawiecki introduced Anne Canvasser, volunteer coordinator for the Midland Center for the Arts (MCFTA).  Anne talked about the role of ushers at MCFTA. Training is provided. If you wish to volunteer, contact volunteer@midlandcenter.org or fill out an application on the MCFTA website at midlandcenter.org/volunteer.

Our next speaker was Pesi Kennett, outreach coordinator for Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network (EFPN). EFPN distributes over 17,000 items (food, cleaning supplies, personal care items) per month through their eight food pantries. Pesi explained the various programs of EFPN, one of which is the Backpack Buddies program which distributes a weekend supply of food to elementary children in Midland County who qualify for free or reduced price school lunches. Anyone who needs help with food can call 989-486-9393 and press “1”.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 8^th at 1:30. All are welcome!

President Eileen Foster called the meeting to order at 1:30. The ladies presented prayer intentions and a Hail Mary was said. Connie Latuszek, Dorothy Kociba, Agnes Brewer, Indira Oskvarek, Anne Boyd, and Elaine White provided refreshments for the 28 ladies in attendance. We welcomed these women attending for the first time: Mary Dorr, Stephanie Leibfritz, and Betsy O’Malley.

Elaine White read the secretary’s report from our February 1^st meeting.

Treasurer Tana Zemanek reported our current balance is $5057.55. We normally donate money to different charities at our May luncheon but since our rummage sale won’t be held until June 6^th-11^th, we won’t decide amount of donations to what charities until fall 2022.

Anne Boyd said there are still openings for the Lenten Retreat at Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, March 5^th from 9am – 2pm. You can register by calling the parish office at 989-835-6777.

Rummage Sale – June 6^th-11th – We still need more volunteers. Invite your family and friends to help if even for an hour or two. Donations accepted starting Monday, June 06^TH at 9 am. Set up and pricing will take place through Wednesday. Sale opens on Thursday, Friday is half price day, and Saturday until noon is bag day. All proceeds go to local charities. After our meeting, seven additional ladies signed up to help at the rummage sale.

Anne Boyd reported that the online tool, Perfect Potluck, is working great for recruiting food and workers for funeral lunches. At the last funeral lunch, we added four hot casserole dishes to our usual food requests. Casseroles were well received.

Indira Oskvarek from Global Compassion, Inc was our meeting’s speaker. Indira and her husband Ed founded Global Compassion, a non-profit, whose primary mission is to provide clean water to villages in India. Total donations received in 2021 were $335,409. A total of 71 bore wells were drilled in 2021 which provided water to 30,000 people. As many as 15,000 people in India benefitted from food packages delivered during the Covid Pandemic. For more information, visit www.globalcompassioninc.org to see what other assistance was provided with the $335,409 from the 2021 donations to Global Compassion. Only 2% of the amount raised went to administrative expenses. After Indira’s presentation, we presented her with an additional $161 for Global Compassion, Inc.

Our feature speaker was Betsy O’Malley, owner and instructor of Balanced Pilates & Wellness Boutique located at 810 & 818 E Ashman.  Betsy is a physical therapist and STOTT certified Pilate’s instructor.  There are many additional services offered at this business. For more information, go to www.balancedpilatesboutique.com.  Betsy is a member of Blessed Sacrament.

Personal care items that many women brought to the meeting were delivered after the meeting to North Midland Family Center.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 5^th at 1:30 pm. Please join us to hear Brian Rueger from “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” and Kelly Osborn from “Menu Manager”. If you are able, please bring twin bedding to donate to “Sleep in Heavenly Peace”.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine White

President Eileen Foster called the meeting to order at 1:30. Ramona Lalka, Anne Southworth, Connie Latuszek, & Dorothy Kociba provided snacks for the 19 ladies present at our meeting.

Donna St. John, director of Home to Stay (formerly Midland Area Homes) was our speaker. Donna told us that Blessed Sacrament was one of the original 10 churches that banded together in 1969 to address housing issues in our community. Home to Stay is the Housing Assessment and Resource Agency (HARA) for Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MISHDA). They help people connect with housing resources. MISHDA mandates eligibility criteria. MISHDA has federal funds available to help tenants facing hardships avoid eviction while also ensuring landlords can recoup owed rent through the Covid Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program. Home to stay received 800 applications for CERA grants. Home to Stay also has a home repair program where they assist homeowners with furnace and hot water repairs and with ramp builds. They have gotten out of the appliance repair business. Another agency, Pivot Point, will pick up used appliances. Home to Stay still picks up used furniture and redistributes to those in need. Donna said there is a housing shortage in Midland for all income brackets.

Eileen Foster thanked Linda Miles for making blankets from corners that we cut out from our blanket making sessions. These blankets are then donated to Care Giving Network.

Treasurer Tana Zemanek reported our current balance of $5729.57. Elaine White read the minutes from our November meeting.

Aimee Kopiwoda said Kathy & Dan Risch donated bins of yarn and crocheted items to the Assumption Stitch and Prayer group. We thank Kathy and Dan for their generosity.

Linda Graf reported on the Legacy Center’s second grade after school reading program where we provided snacks for 20 second grade students for two weeks in January.  Linda Graf and Anne Boyd are our current funeral lunch leaders. They have worked very hard to recruit new leaders. Women who have volunteered for funeral lunch leadership are Jill Kreusch, Cheryl Lane, Connie Messinger, and Stephanie Leibfritz. We have had 13 funeral lunches since July 26^th when we resumed lunches after a Covid pause.

Indira and Ed Oskvarek are hosting a Valentine dinner  on Sunday, February 6^th from 10 am to 2 pm at St. Brigid Church. Take outs will be available. The cost for the dinner is by donation to raise money for the residents of Mayfield KY who were affected by recent tornadoes. All are welcome.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 1^st at 1:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine White

On October 5th, over 30 of our Ladies gathered for our October Meeting to enjoy each other’s smiles and positive energy.  Our Guest Speaker was Trisha Fenby, Community Engagement and Quality Assurance for The Arnold Center, accompanied by Camille Gerace Nitschky, Founder and Executive Director of Children’s Grief Center for the Greater Bay Region. Both Trisha and Camille are certified in The Science of Well Being and brought to us great, thought provoking information on well-being through positive psychology.  We realized that the information we allow our minds to take in effects our thoughts and our thoughts effect how we feel and that prayer effects everything positively. Trisha shared several personal- responsibility coping skills to creatively quell stress and frustration.  The information was priceless and presented in a very comfortable, absorbing way.
We thank Trisha and Camille!!  Trisha suggested that our monetary gift be sent to The Children’s Grief Center.

Susie Rademacher, Isabel Viges, Judy Greene, Sharon Capriccioso, Dorothy Kociba and Maria Quereizaeta brought delicious snacks laid out on the Autumn-themed tabled decorated by Dorothy Kociba and Connie Latuszek.

Thank you all for attending to make this event great.  Hope to see even more of our Ladies and friends on November 2^nd.