St. Elizabeth Parish 

March 13: Bishop Boyea grants dispensation for Mass obligation
March 17: Bishop Boyea cancels all public Masses until April 8
March 23: Michigan gives executive order for 3-week stay at home
March 27: All Masses have been canceled through April 13, 2020.
Don't lose hope! Stay involved despite COVID-19

Click here to view a selection of prayers to pray during this time of uncertainty as well as resources to stay involved in the faith while at home.

There are lots of resources available to stay involved with the liturgies to the best of our ability from home. Click here to see all the resources that are available, including live-streamed masses and free Magnificat access.

We encourage you to nourish your soul by attending the Weber Center's upcoming FREE virtual Holy Week Retreat, Monday, April 6, 2020, to Thursday, April 9, 2020. Holy Week is the ideal time to retreat from one's ordinary concerns and contemplate the powerful mystery of Jesus' passion. This event will be live-streamed at no cost, but online registration is required. Join us and invite others!

Dear Friends,

Welcome to my very first Friday Memo to you. I hope it finds you and your family well. It is good to be able to talk with you, especially given the tough times in which we now find ourselves. As we all know, tough times can either tempt us towards sadness and surrender or impel us towards greater fortitude and faith. Let me put that in a broader context.  

God does no evil; he is goodness itself and thus can be only a source of goodness. So, the question many may have is why does God allow evil to take place?  Why this pandemic?  Why all this isolation?  Why this death? The only reason that God allows evil is because he knows he can draw good from it.  

I only have to look at the Crucifix before me on my desk to be convinced of that. The Father in Heaven allowed this painful and shameful death of his Son on the Cross because he was going to draw the great good of the Resurrection from that death, not just for his Son but for all of us, "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it," (cf. John 1:5).  

And he knew that, as Jesus said, once the Son was lifted up, all would be drawn to him.  The very life of the Holy Spirit given to us is the fruit of that death and resurrection. So, God is allowing these evils in our time in order to draw good from them. And the greatest good is our salvation.  

If these times lead us to repent of sin, to turn to prayer, to invoke the Holy Spirit, to show charity toward one another, to be good examples to our family members and neighbors, to allow the faith in us to grow, to open our hearts to the hope which God desires to give us, then great good will be drawn from these times.   

It is then pretty clear that we must desire the same goodness that God desires for us in order for that goodness to take root in and be fruitful in our lives.  We know what God wants to come of all of this.  

Are we ready to work with God, to desire what he desires, to open our hearts and lives to the grace he is continuously pouring out upon us, and to be the daughters and sons he has called us to be?  If so, then there will be great fruit from this time.   Instead of a time of darkness, it will be seen as the time in the tomb of Jesus on Holy Saturday, awaiting the bright light of Easter Resurrection.  God bless all of you.

Assuring you of my prayers, I am sincerely yours in Christ, 

+ Earl
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. With many of you preparing to prayerfully participate in Sunday Mass from home, click here for a list of where and how you can watch Holy Mass from across the Diocese of Lansing. 

Download the St. Elizabeth Parish App!

The Department on Aging (Volunteer Drivers) services all of Lenawee County and transports within a 40-mile radius of Adrian.  This includes Toledo, Ann Arbor, Chelsea and Jackson.  Tecumseh has 3 or 4 volunteer drivers.  The drivers leave as early as 8:00 AM and must return by 4:30 PM.  To qualify for transportation, the rider must be at least 60 years of age and capable of getting in and out of the car unassisted.  To arrange a ride, call the Department on Aging (Volunteer Drivers) between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 PM. Monday through Friday at (517) 264-5280.  At least two weeks’ notice is required for transportation requests outside of Lenawee County and one week for inside the county.  Rides are arranged on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Once a reservation is made, the volunteer driver will call the rider directly to confirm the appointment and describe the vehicle.  On a monthly basis, the Department on Aging sends a mileage statement to the rider, which is not a bill, with a suggested donation amount.