St. Columba ParishShort stories from parish life, posted every week or two. For dates and times, see the calendar; for this week's announcements, the bulletin.
Welcome Back Picnic this Sunday
September 14, 2026
The summer is over, the choir is back, and it is time to see everyone again. After the 11:00 AM Mass on Sunday, September 20, the front lawn becomes a picnic ground: burgers and veggie burgers from the Knights' grill, a bouncy castle, face painting, a bake table from the CWL and lawn games for all ages. Bring a chair or a blanket. Everything is free; donations go to the food pantry.
New to the parish? This is the easiest afternoon of the year to meet people. Look for the volunteers in green T-shirts — their job is to introduce you to someone.
Welcome, Fr. Joseph Nguyen
September 7, 2026
Fr. Joseph Nguyen joined us this month as associate pastor, following his ordination in May and a summer assignment downtown. Born in Mississauga to parents who arrived from Vietnam in 1985, he studied engineering at the University of Toronto before entering St. Augustine's Seminary. He will take a special interest in young adults, the Spanish-speaking community (he speaks Spanish well, having spent a pastoral year in Guatemala) and hospital visits. Fr. Joseph celebrates the Sunday 5:00 PM Mass most weeks; please introduce yourself.
ShareLife: a record year
September 1, 2026
Thanks to 412 donors, St. Columba raised $91,300 for ShareLife this year — 107 per cent of our goal and the most in the parish's history. Those gifts support Catholic Family Services, Covenant House, the Society of Sharing, refugee resettlement and the formation of seminarians, among more than forty agencies. Fr. Moreau will offer the 11:00 AM Mass on September 27 in thanksgiving for all who gave.
Hall elevator now in service
August 28, 2026
After two years of fundraising and four months of construction, the elevator connecting the church, the office and the parish hall is running. For the first time since the hall was built in 1968, every parish space is step-free. The project cost $284,000, including the new accessible washroom on the lower level; $220,000 came from parishioners' gifts to the Building Fund and the balance from an archdiocesan accessibility grant. A blessing of the elevator — and coffee in the hall afterwards — takes place after the 9:00 AM Mass on October 4. Thank you to everyone who gave, and to the Building Committee for a project delivered on time.
Forty teens, one weekend, no phones
August 18, 2026
Forty young people from EDGE and LIFE TEEN spent the weekend of August 14–16 at a retreat centre near Orangeville with Marcus Lee and eight adult leaders. The theme was "Called by Name"; the schedule included canoeing, a campfire Mass with Fr. Moreau, adoration under the stars and, memorably, a phone-free 48 hours. "I didn't think I'd survive," one Grade 10 participant wrote afterwards, "and then I didn't want to leave." Youth ministry resumes on Friday, September 18. Registration for the year is open on the youth ministry page.
Food pantry serves 90 families a week
August 5, 2026
Demand at the St. Vincent de Paul pantry has doubled in three years. Each Tuesday and Saturday morning, volunteers now pack groceries for about ninety households — seniors on fixed incomes, newcomer families and, increasingly, people who are working full time. The pantry's greatest needs are rice, cooking oil, canned fish, baby formula and diapers; the bins are at every church entrance, and financial gifts (which the Society uses to buy fresh food at wholesale prices) can be made through the giving page. The Thanksgiving food drive is October 10–11. How to help.
Earlier this year
- Anniversaries Mass honours 38 couples married 25, 40, 50 and 60 years
- Sixty-two children receive First Communion
- Bishop confirms 48 young people
- Spring concert raises $6,400 for the pantry
- Eleven adults baptized and received at the Easter Vigil
- Parish welcomes sponsored family from Eritrea