No matter how long you’ve been away from the Catholic Church, it’s never too late to return.

Welcome Back ~ Welcome Home!

If you are a Catholic who has been away from the Church, know we are thinking about you. We are glad you are here and invite you to be an active part of us again.

If you would like more information on our Parish programs and ways you can get involved, please contact Tim Horst, Director of Faith Formation, at timhorst@stthomasgr.org or by calling the Parish Office at (616) 459-4662.

Suggested Reading

While You Were Gone: A Handbook for Returning Catholics, and Those Thinking About It by William J. Bausch. Twenty-Third Publications. 

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he find it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over tone sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  ~ Luke 15:1-10