blogtcs.com

Do you have a few hours to spare this weekend? Now that Lent is upon us, parishes may have more options than ever.

Lenten activities abound at parishes tonight. Other Catholic speakers, fundraisers are on deck this weekend. (courtesy of Our Lady of Joy Preschool/Kindergarten)

Check your local parish bulletin or just show up at a nearby Catholic church tonight or any Friday night before Easter. Chances are, you can enjoy a fish or soup supper and some prayer time, be it Taize Prayer with the Crosiers, Stations of the Cross or a parish mission.

There are also other engaging speakers and fundraisers to be mindful of this weekend. Here is some of what I found both in our Sunbeams section and in other online sources:

• Catholic school fundraiser at Tempe Applebee’s — If you find yourself in the Broadway/Rural area this weekend, stop by Applebee’s (dine-in or take out) and 10 percent of your bill will benefit nearby Our Lady of Mount Carmel School. Just tell your server you’re dining for OLMC. You can even pay your bill with Applebees’s scrip available at OLMC or select Catholic school Scrip offices.

• Anointing Mass — 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Helen Parish, 5510 W. Cholla St. in Glendale. Liturgy is for anyone who is ill, disabled or facing major surgery. Light refreshments served following Mass. Info: (623) 930-0018.

• Festival for Peace — It’s part of the Season for Nonviolence at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale. Representatives from various peace organizations will share ideas and information concerning peace. It’s from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. tomorrow.

• Settling the Pro-Life Debate: An Evening with Yvonne Florczak-Seeman — Check out our previous blogpost for full details.

• Prom Benefit — St. Patrick Parish in Scottsdale, along with the Welcome to America Project, is hosting the annual benefit dinner/dance tomorrow. Proceeds benefit WTAP which helps Arizona’s refugees re-establish their lives in the Valley. Learn more about a Scottsdale Catholic’s inspiration for founding the ministry in a 2009 profile piece.

• Hear what the retired director of the Vatican Observatory has to say Sunday at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Avondale. Call the parish at (623) 935-2151 for more information. Read a recent Q-and-A between the Jesuit astronomer and CNS.

• Looking to get married again? The Remarrying Couples Seminar, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, may be for you.

• Single Souls presents, “The Diaconate” tomorrow night at St. Joseph Parish in Phoenix. Potluck begins at 6 p.m. with Deacon Tom Phelan speaking at 7 p.m.  Info: call Dan (480) 941-5952.