Archdiocesan news briefs
Bridge Bread opens new location
Bridge Bread Bakery, a nonprofit social enterprise focused on restorative employment, opened its second location at 616 N. Skinker Blvd. in the Delmar Loop on Jan. 31.
Founded in 2011, Bridge Bread has provided employment, job training and housing assistance to people experiencing homelessness. The second location will allow the nonprofit to further support its bakers through instruction in advanced artisanal baking skills, management training and opportunities for wage growth.
The new location marks the return of a retail storefront for Bridge Bread, which stopped retail service at its Cherokee location during the pandemic. The Loop bakery will rely heavily on foot traffic, selling baked goods made fresh daily. Hours are Wednesday through Friday 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Bridge Bread also hosts consignment sales through churches and businesses; other programs include bread sales to be donated to organizations serving people in need and volunteer opportunities. For more information, visit bridgebread.org.
Nostra Aetate discussion
“Courage and Faith: Nostra Aetate at 60 and the Future of Catholic-Jewish Relations” will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at Emerson Auditorium in Knight Hall on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, 1195 Throop Dr. in St. Louis. Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski and Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs with the American Jewish Committee, in conversation with Father David Suwalsky, SJ, vice president of mission and identity at Saint Louis University, will discuss Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”), the historical 1965 document from the Second Vatican Council that called for deeper understanding of and mutual respect for all religions and paved the way for deeper Jewish-Catholic relationship building. To register, visit stlreview.com/46densz.
Celebrate Catholic Marriage Experience
The Celebrate Catholic Marriage Experience, an evening of fun and laughter for married couples to enrich their marriages, will take place Friday, Feb. 13, at St. Ann Church in Clover Bottom. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the program beginning at 7 p.m. Cost is $99 per couple and includes heavy appetizers, drinks and on-site child care. To RSVP, visit www.celebrate-catholic.com/ StAnnWashington.
Amendment 3 presentation
Kate Sickles of Freedom Principle MO will give a presentation on Amendment 3 at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at St. Bridget of Kildare (in the school cafeteria), 223 W. Union St. in Pacific. Sickles will explain more about Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit most abortions in Missouri and would repeal a 2024 voter-approved amendment which allows for abortions through fetal viability.
Pro-Life Mass and Rosary
The monthly Pro-Life Mass and Rosary hosted by the archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate (formerly the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants Mass and Rosary) will be celebrated at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Assumption Church, 4725 Mattis Road in south St. Louis County. The Rosary will be prayed before Mass. Prayers will be offered on behalf of women and men facing unplanned pregnancies and for a greater respect for all human life, especially the unborn child. The monthly Mass is celebrated at different churches around the archdiocese.
Parenting in a digital world
Sister Nancy Usselmann of the Daughters of St. Paul will give a presentation, “Parenting the Media: Raising Disciples in a Digital World,” from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Pauline Books &Media, 9804 Watson Road in Crestwood. Sister Nancy, director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies and author of “Media Fasting,” will invite parents to move from reacting to media to pastorally guiding their family’s digital life. She will give participants practical tools for setting healthy media boundaries and modeling virtue online. For more information, call (314) 965-3512.
Marriage Encounter weekend
The Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience offers married couples the tools needed to help their marriages grow and blossom more beautifully. The next encounter weekends will be held April 17-19 and June 12-14 in St. Peters. For more information or to apply, go to wwme.org, or call Terry and Eric Engholm at (314) 649-7317.
Eucharistic ministers needed
Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist are needed at to bring Communion to Catholic patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Saint Louis University Hospital. Since COVID, the number of volunteers has greatly decreased. Training will be provided. For more information, contact Deacon Mark Markowski at mmarkowski@sgmparish.org.
