St. Mary of the Falls

With Father Wally’s upcoming retirement, the Clergy Personnel Board will assist the diocesan bishop by making recommendations to the bishop for clergy assignments.  The Board is interested in feedback from the parish community at large and invites you to participate by responding to the survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JY77BGV

Eternal rest grant unto them:

Mary A. Gutheil, sister of parishioner Virginia Siebert

Letter from Bishop Perez (June 24, 2019)

Father Ryan's follow-up to our February 25, 2019 meeting: "Fertilizer and Flowers"

Letter from Bishop Perez (Oct. 26, 2018)

Diocese of Cleveland Questions and Answers regarding the clergy sexual abuse scandal (November 2018)

Watch and share Bishop Robert Barron's  video here: http://bit.ly/2wADHHo

http://stmaryofthefalls.com/parish-calendar

HERE ARE A FEW DATES
YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAVE!

August 22 ~ First Day of School

August 27 ~ RCIA 2019-20 Begins

September 1 ~ Donut Sunday

September 15 ~ The Bible Timeline Bible Study Begins 

Normal Office Hours

Directions
25615 Bagley Road
Olmsted Falls, OH 44138
(440) 235-2222

Oremus is the invitation to pray. 
To join the Oremus prayer team or to submit prayer requests, contact Gretchen Ratcliff at 440.655.2385 or gratcliff35@gmail.com, or drop your intention in the box on the table in the parking lot vestibule! 

No intention is too small or great for our God!

Enrolling with online giving via Faith Direct will provide the church with consistent support and simplify your giving without the wasteful envelopes. 

Signing up is easy!  Visit www.faithdirect.net and use our church code: OH445. 

Thank you for your continued support of our parish family! 

 
We, St. Mary of the Falls, are a spirit-led people who pledge themselves to continued growth as a Eucharistic community centered in Word and Worship.  

We dedicate ourselves to witness and openness to the unknown of God's will, to molding ourselves into a family of God - a parish all can truly call home.  
 

One more day, God's way!

Fr. Wally




 

Fr. Wally will retire effective January 1, 2020
If you were at Mass the weekend of June 30 then you know that Fr. Wally’s official retirement date has been set.

Please pray for Fr. Wally, his family, and the people of St. Mary of the Falls, as he prepares for his new life in retirement.  Let us thank God for the grace, honor and support he has offered us for the past twelve years.  And pray, as well, for wisdom for Bishop Perez as he discerns over the appointment of our next pastor.  One more day, God’s way, right?

Recently, an email that appeared to be from Fr. Wally was sent out by hackers.

If you receive an email from Fr. Wally (or any friend), asking for help, think twice before you reply. Well-meaning church congregations are being duped out of money after receiving an email from their pastor requesting help. If you reply, you'll be asked to buy iTunes Gift Cards for a parishioner with cancer. Some parishioners, because they are very generous people, might think the email asking for money really is from Fr. Wally (or other friend).

Unfortunately, the iTunes Gift Card scam is a common ruse. Once the scammers get the code on the back of the card they’re gone. The FBI reportedly receives more than 800 complaints a day about this scam — and people lost more than $1.3 billion in 2016 to the iTunes Gift Card scam. The reason scammers ask for iTunes Gift Cards rather than cash is the codes are hard to trace — and once they have the code they can resell the card to get money.

Until they find a way to stop the iTunes Gift Card scam, we just need to use caution when dealing with people online. Never take someone at their word - before you act on the request, call your friend to see if they really are in need.

There were three very important clues in the scam email that went out last week:

1. Neither Fr. Wally nor any member of the parish staff will ever reach out to you personally via email to ask for money. 
2. Fr. Wally’s correct email addresses are FrWally@stmaryofthefalls.com or frwallysmof@hotmail.com.  Any other email address using his name is bogus. 
3. Fr. Wally’s sign-off is “One more day, God’s way!” — the scammer used “peace & blessings.” 

While we're on the subject, phishing emails are one of the most common online threats, so it is important to be aware of the tell-tale signs and know what to do when you encounter them. Here are five ways to spot phishing attacks:

1. The email asks you to confirm personal information. When an authentic-looking email makes requests that you wouldn’t normally expect, like personal information or banking credentials, it’s often a strong giveaway that it’s not from a trusted source after all. Do not reply or click any links. Instead, contact the sender or organization directly. Do not use any communication method provided in the suspicious email.                                                           
2. The web and email addresses do not look genuine. Take a moment to examine the email address. You may find that it’s a bogus variation intended to appear authentic ‒ for example: @mail.airbnb.work as opposed to @Airbnb.com. Malicious links can also be concealed with the body of email text, often alongside genuine ones. Before clicking on links, hover over and inspect each one first.                                                                                
3. It’s poorly written. It is amazing how often you can spot a phishing email simply by the poor language or spelling used in the body of the message. Check for spelling and grammatical mistakes, as well as strange turns of phrase. An email that is riddled with mistakes is likely a phish.                                                                                                                                      
4. There’s a suspicious attachment. Attachments can contain a malicious URL or trojan, leading to the installation of a virus or malware on your PC or network. Even if you think an attachment is genuine, it’s good practice to always scan it first using antivirus software.           
5. The message is designed to make you panic. An email may claim that your account may have been compromised and the only way to verify it is to enter your login details. Alternatively, the email might state that your account will be closed if you do not act immediately. Ensure that you take the time to really think about whether an email is asking something reasonable of you. If you’re unsure, contact the company through other methods.

Being cautious with emails is your best defense. When in doubt, throw it out! Even if you know the source, if something looks suspicious, delete it.

And finally, it's a good idea to regularly change your email password.

We hope this email is helpful ~ be safe and remember . . .

One more day, God's way!

Thanks to the generosity of 497 parishioners at St. Mary of the Falls, we have exceeded our parish goal of $83,685 for the 2019 Annual Appeal. 

Currently, our total raised is 113.63% of our goal but that does not mean the Appeal is over. 

Every day, Catholic Charities sees an increase in requests for services and programs that are proven to transform lives.  The need continues and we hope your support will also continue. Together, we can make a difference. 

For more information and for ways to give https://www.catholiccommunity.org/2019-appeal a visit! 
 

Beginning on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 28, all churches in the Diocese of  Cleveland have changed the Communion Rite posture to reflect the original policy, first established in 2003. 

We now remain standing after the Lamb of God, throughout the singing of the Communion Hymn, until the end of the distribution of Holy Communion.  Once the last person has received Holy Communion and the Communion Hymn ends, we may sit or kneel for private prayer.

Please see the following bulletin inserts:

• Communion Posture Letter to the Faithful from Bishop Perez

• What is Liturgy?

• Postures and Gestures

• Communion Rite

For more information, including documentation, visit the Office for Worship website, www.dioceseofcleveland.org/worship.

Did you know that Fr. Wally recently celebrated his 50^th Anniversary, his Golden Jubilee as a priest?  What a wonderful accomplishment!  Normally, a Jubilee of this magnitude warrants a great celebration, and Fr. Wally’s was certainly no different.  A large dinner was planned, with invitations going out to close friends, family, colleagues with whom he has ministered over these past 50 years, and of course certain parishioners and staff with whom he is now working closely.  Certainly a large dinner is a wonderful occasion to share memories, and celebrate his wide-ranging 50-year parish and diocesan ministry.  But how to pay for such an extravaganza?  Enter the wonderful parishioners of St. Mary of the Falls.  When a call went out about the need, within just four days, anonymous pledges were made and fulfilled that covered the entire cost.  In the end, there was absolutely no cost to the parish for the dinner or anything connected with the dinner.  Further, literally dozens of volunteers pitched in to set up and tear down 32 tables and 180 chairs; others pitched in to set up the center pieces and fold napkins and lay out the utensils; still others helped to make salads and plate the catered food; while others served the food, filled water and wine glasses, bussed the tables, and then stayed behind to wash and dry dishes.  In all, more than three dozen people, organized and directed by our very own school cafeteria manager, Kelly Shepard, were involved to make the event one that Fr. Wally will not soon forget!  Well done, people!!

What a statement this makes about how our people feel about our Pastor, and their willingness to respond in ways that are simply above and beyond the norm.  THANK YOU to all of you who made the Jubilee weekend so wonderful.  While we will honor your requests to remain anonymous, we can and we will express our gratitude for your time and your talent and your treasure in a public way.  We so very much appreciate what all of you did for the Jubilee weekend, and what literally hundreds of our parishioners continue to do every day to live the Gospel message through the examples of their lives. 

This parish is so very blessed, and I am reminded of that reality every time I see things like this happen.  May God bless you all! 

Deacon Rich Mueller