News

21 September 2020


Bishop’s messages

Seminarian posters and prayer cards will be available soon! Please place your order using this form no later than Sept. 25. Material will be distributed at the Priests’ Institute in October. Please contact the Vocation Office if you have any questions.



Planning for uncertainty
Sept. 25, 10 am – noon

Parishes are facing another unpredictable catechetical year. Most DREs and youth ministry leaders have developed some sort of “Plan A,” but we know our plans are fragile and subject to the whims of the ongoing pandemic. We must be prepared to pivot and re-plan when our realities change. Join with ministry leaders across the diocese this Friday, Sept. 25, 10 am to noon, to explore how others are planning for the year ahead. John DeLaporte, director of Youth Ministry and Religious Ed, will moderate this virtual conversation in which a few parish approaches will be highlighted and our collective wisdom will help us to navigate the questions and challenges. Click here to register.  Download flyer with full details here.


Abiding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, the use of face masks upon entering the church, during the celebration of Mass except when in place in the pew, during the Communion procession, and upon leaving the church is required.  If social distancing cannot be maintained in the pew, then the wearing of face masks is obligatory even in the pew.


Marriage preparation during a pandemic


Stay-at-Home FertilityCare

FertilityCare Instruction continues to be offered by Zoom.  The Introductory Session is always complimentary.  This class is of interest for marriage preparation, infertility, medical applications from adolescence to menopause, regular or irregular cycles, breastfeeding and fertility appreciation for all ages. Contact FertilityCare Services of Columbia, Phyllis A. White, CFCE 816-550-8789 or FertilityCare.CoMo@gmail.com


Order envelopes and posters for Catholic Stewardship Appeal 2021

The Catholic Stewardship Appeal will kick off in October.  In preparation for this annual event, we are requesting parishes notify the Development Office with the quantities needed of in-pew English and Spanish envelopes.  Each parish will receive one “thermometer poster;” if you would like additional please let us know. Contact Carla McDaniel at cmcdaniel@diojeffcity.org or 573-635-9127.


If you intend to come to the Chancery office in person, you must have an appointment in advance with the person you intend to meet. Please note the Chancery will be screening all guests with a health questionnaire and temperature check. This is for the safety of all.


Share in bulletins, emails, social media, and websites

Please share the word about these great programs available through Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri:


Taize Prayer Sept. 30 in Lake Ozark

Taize Prayer will take place at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, 2411 Bagnell Dam Blvd, Lake Ozark, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 5-6 p.m.. You may enter through the front doors of the church. We kindly ask that you wear a mask. For more information, please contact the Music Office at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church at 573-365-2241.


Employment opportunities

St. Joseph in Fayette is hiring a part time DRE (Director of Religious Education) and community/campus outreach person.  This person will be responsible to run our PSR, confirmation, and adult education programs. You will also need to have the skills to develop our electronic footprint (web page and social media), with a special focus on Central Methodist University students.  All applicants must be Catholic and in good standing with the church.  This position is 20 hours a week with starting pay $13.50 to $15.00 an hour, depending on qualifications. Contact Fr. Bill Peckman  573-338-0061.


Two administrative assistant positions are available at the Chancery and there are several openings in our Catholic schools. Please promote these openings.


Parishes are asked to use this form to send any updates of their parishioners: address changes, marriages, divorces, death, etc.


  • As of April 27, the Chancery is no longer using PO Box 104900.  Please address all correspondence to the street address 2207 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO 65109.  The Post Office will forward mail from the PO box to the street address for up to one year, but the forwarding process will slow your delivery. Please begin using the street address immediately.
  • Parishes are asked to publish in their bulletins the need for relief parents at St. Nicholas Academy. You can find the listing here.
  • Please consider posting this helpful information for your parishioners on how to identify email and text scams.
  • In the interest of time and accuracy, The Catholic Missourian has moved to a simple online process for submitting events for the Things to Do page. To have an event considered for publication in Things to Do and in the diocesan online events calendar, go to diojeffcity.org/event-listing and follow the directions. The process is straightforward and user-friendly. Events submitted for display advertising will be automatically included in Things to Do, as will items that have been previously submitted.

Preventing text and email scams

A scam has hit many parishes across the United States, as well as other faith communities. The Federal Trade Commission provided information on this scam in July 2019. The email or text purports to be from a person the target knows, such as one’s pastor, a parish staff member, the bishop or someone else from the Church. If the target responds to the fake email or text, the sender will follow up with a request for some sort of monetary assistance, often for gift cards, Google Play cards or iTune cards. Please read our post to learn how to prevent yourself or parishioners from falling prey to this scam.


Please feel free to disseminate the information in the “Monday Morning Memo” to a broader audience, such as parishioners and school families! Is there someone else who should receive this Weekly Memo? Please encourage them to sign up here