Celebrating 126 Years of Serving the communities of Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot, and Moore in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties
Local Churches
The St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is gearing up for a good time for a good cause this coming October 7th from 11 am to 11 pm. All proceeds from the annual Octoberfest will go toward the new replica prayer chapel this year. They are also excited to announce that the popular kid’s games and bingo is back this year as well as a great line up of live music.
Continue reading “St. Joseph’s Octoberfest…Kids games and bingo is back, exciting LIVE music lineup”
The Devine Chamber of Commerce invites you to participate in the Devine Cactus Festival Parade on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The Parade will being at 10 am and entries will need to be placed by 8:45 am for judging.
The Parade is the kickoff for the 62nd anniversary of the Devine Cactus Festival. The Cactus Festival is graciously hosted by the City of Devine and held each year in the downtown area in and around the Devine Community Center, American Momentum Bank, and many other local businesses. The Cactus Festival boasts a wide variety of live music on two entertainment stages, carnival, 65+ retail vendors, and 15+ food booths.
Go to the Chamber of Commerce website to download entry form. Completed forms are to be emailed to devinechamberofcommerce@gmail.com before October 20th.
The chapel will be approximately 32 ft wide by 59 feet long with ceiling at 22 feet, roughly about a third of the size of the old church.
The base of the cross at 30’6’’ high and the tip of the steeple close to 37 feet.
It will have 8 foot pews on each side inside and accommodate up to 100 people,”said Balderamma.
Mass will still be celebrated on the weekends in the current church as they have much larger attendance. Daily Mass will be in the new chapel when it is complete. Also smaller celebrations will take place in the chapel as well, like baptisms, some weddings, etc.
By KK Calame
Publisher
Exciting news in this week from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Devine announcing a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the long awaited replica Chapel of the historic 98 year old church building and steeple that was torn down August 1, 2020 due to safety concerns.
“After years of preparations, we are happy to announce the construction of our new chapel is set to begin. Join us for a ground breaking ceremony on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 10a.m.
Bishop Gary Janak will be here from the Archdiocese to give a blessing”, said Matthew Balderama, Building Committee Chairman, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Devine.
The new Chapel and plaza will be built where the old church once stood. It will be done in two phases, back to back. Phase one will be the construction of the chapel and Phase two will be the construction of the plaza behind the chapel.
The chapel was designed to try to replicate the old one as close as possible, but will be about one third the size of the original one. The design process began with parishioner Candace DeJesus and old photos sent in by parishioners were used as references so it can be replicated inside and out as much as possible..
Architect/planner/consultants is Morkovsky and Associates, Inc of San Antonio, Texas.
“The chapel will be approximately 32 ft wide by 59 feet long with ceiling at 22 feet. The base of the cross at 30’6’’ high and the tip of the steeple close to 37 feet, roughly about a third of the size of the old church. It will have 8 foot pews on each side inside and accommodate up to 100 people,”said Balderamma.
Mass will still be celebrated on the weekends in the current church as they have much larger attendance. Daily Mass will be in the new chapel when it is complete. Also smaller celebrations will take place in the chapel as well, like baptisms, some weddings, etc.
The new project is estimated to take 6 months to complete. Cost estimated to not exceed $900,000. “Currently we have 58% of the money needed, as required by the Archdiocese. Funds have been raised over the 12 years since it was condemned by private donation and events like the annual Octoberfest”, he said. “We will continue to take donations, and will take sponsorships for things like the pews, stained glass windows, statues, saints, and cross. And a decision is yet to be made as to whether the old bell will be used or a new one purchased. A nice sound system and electronic bell system will be in the chapel and sound off like it used to years ago every hour of the day and at mass times. The community will enjoy hearing those again across all over town, “ he said.
The Building Committee of St. Jospeh’s consists of : Don Dunford, Santiago Mendoza, Michael Perez, Laura Holder, Juan Billalobos, Jr., Candace DeJesus, Chairman Matthew Balderama, and Father Antonio Hernandez. Advisors are Ernie Morales, Lydia Benavidez, Todd Summers, and Melissa Rodriguez.
The Divine Savior Lutheran Church hosted its seventh annual Gift of Hope on November 12th. Audrey Jane Capps, a precious little four and ½ year old, was given the Gift of Hope this year. Audrey suffers from A-T an incurable illness. The condition is a genetic disorder known as Ataxia Telangiectasia. A-T affects the nervous system and other bodily systems.
Children with A-T typically have average intelligence but slow motor and verbal response; A-T over time affects difficulty walking, balance, hand coordination, involuntary jerking movements, muscle twitches, and disturbances in nerve function. Audrey is beginning to experience some of these symptoms. This type of response is where lifelong therapy will be a forever journey.
On December 5, Gift of Hope Chairman Robert Cappella, and Rev. Randall Wehmeyer, Pastor of Divine Savior Lutheran Church, presented Audrey and her parents (Josh and Brittany Capps) with this year’s Gift of Hope. Look at that beautiful smile of Audrey. (Baby brother Kenny was just as excited, as you can see.)
We thank all those who supported and contributed to this event. Without your help and the grace of God, we could not have done this. We extend a special thanks to some significant contributors this year: Devine Area Health and Hospice Resource (Hospice), Devine Acres Farms, Klem Family of San Antonio, Shullanberger Family of Hondo, Margaret McCloskey of Bigfoot, and Morales Feed Store of Devine.
We also extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to “Done Right Cookers” of Hondo for donating their time and expertise of cooking the meats and the beans served at our BBQ this year. Our special thanks also goes out to our meat suppliers: Schott’s Meat Market of Helotes and Kiolbassa Smoked Meats of San Antonio. Also, we thank “DJ Bobby G.” of San Antonio for providing music during the day of the BBQ & Silent Auction. Thanks to all of you who contributed wonderful items for the Silent Auction, those who bid and purchased items, and all who enjoyed a great BBQ meal. To God alone be the glory.
Save the date! We’ll have a Gift of Hope Golf Tournament for Audrey on April 29, 2023. We’ve already received several hole sponsorships. If you’d like to sign up to play in the tournament, contact the Devine Golf Course. We look forward to seeing you there! May God continue to bless Audrey and her family.
Mission Devine will be beginning it’s work week next week, and invite the community to offer support.
The work week will last from June 6th through the 11th. Everyone is invited through sponsorship, partnership, or volunteering your time in whatever way you can help. Any kind of support is appreciated
If interested, visit them at missiondevine.org or contact Patrick Bourcier at 830-931-1532 and help@missiondevine.org
