The St. Martha’s Knights of Columbus Council 10006 completed another year’s worth of keeping the Grand River Avenue stretch of Michigan Highway M-43 between Cornel Road and Van Atta Road clean and litter free as part of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Adopt-A-Highway program.  Knights gathered outside of St. Martha’s church on Saturday mornings in the Spring (April 23, 2022), Summary (July 16, 2022), and Fall (October 1, 2022) for coffee, donuts, and to pick up litter and other debris that had collected along the roadside within this stretch of highway.  During each event, knights and family members gathered for a short social time during which they watched an MDOT safety video prior to working alongside the highway.  Total time for these events was approximately one hour, including the tailgate safety meeting.  Thank you to all who participated, many of which are not included in the few photos we have of this past year’s events.

The 2023 dates for Adopt-A-Highway cleanup events were recently released by MDOT.  Please mark your calendars for April 22, July 15, September 30 for this year’s Adopt-A-Highway cleanup events.  These are easy events that do not require large time commitments from Knights and family members that choose to help out.  We hope to see you there to help keep the Grand River Avenue stretch of Michigan Highway M-43 in front of the church as beautiful and litter free as possible.

On any given Saturday, while most of Mid-Michigan is just starting their day, a group of men meet at St Martha Parish. An ordinary group to the casual observer, these men are offering prayers for healing. For anyone. For any reason. Their experiences with the group attest to the power of prayer in our lives, especially group prayer directed towards a specific cause. They also speak to the sense of inner peace that they experience as a result of this practice, and how it deepens their sense of connection to God. If you want to experience what these men have come to realize as an integral part of their faith lives, please accept this invitation to join them on Saturday mornings at 7:30am in the Bride's Room at St Martha Church in Okemos.

For more information please call Mike Siminski (517) 505-0270

On December 10, 2022, The St. Martha’s Knights of Columbus, Council 1006, and St. Martha’s Council of Catholic Women (CCW) worked together in bringing back the children’s Christmas party after a two-year absence due to Covid! While the turnout wasn’t as strong as in previous years, the event was a huge success! We estimate there were about 30 – 35 children from both inside and outside of the parish. This year, we changed up the gift giving.  Instead of getting a gift from St Nicholas (Santa), the kids brought a gift to give to Santa an put it under the tree.  Gifts were distributed to local children in need.  St. Nicholas joined after dinner to tell a story about his life and the kids were able to get pictures and tell him what they would like for Christmas. St. Nicholas then gave the kids a small holy family figurine that they can display in their room to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

We would like to extend a special thank you to Deacon Carl, Soraya Nowland, Doug Hunter, Lauren VanSteel, Kyle Leeman, Don Morgan, and Jasenka Piljac for their help in planning and setting up the event. A special thank you goes out to Rich Balor (Please check spelling) for doing a wonderful job filling in as St. Nicholas. We would also like to thank the CCW, Knights of Columbus, Okemos Chick-fil-A and Costco for their contributions. We greatly appreciate their support in bringing the Christmas cheer to our youth.

Our patroness St. Martha is smiling to know that we are firing up a Greeter program again.  More than ever, we will be rewarded in the coming year and beyond for ensuring everyone who comes to Mass experiences the famous St. Martha hospitality from their very first impression.

The main elements of the Greeter program are as follows:

1. We will have two individuals or two couples (so from 2 to 4 people) at each of the North and South entrances for each Mass.  Up to 32 total slots to fill each weekend.
2. There will be specifically assigned individuals to each Mass and each door.
3. The Greeters will have a name tag and/or badge.
4. The Greeters will be in place beginning 15 minutes before Mass.
5. The same Greeters will be in place from after communion until 15 minutes following Mass.
6. There will be a dress code of sorts: Sportcoats or better for the men; the women probably don’t need one, but we’ll come up with something if needed.

Read more: A Welcoming Atmosphere at St Martha