St. Leo’s Altar Society/Church

06/24/2026

St. Leo’s Catholic Church has served the Horton community for more than a century, standing as a place of worship, fellowship, and stability for generations. As our parish facilities age, several important capital improvements are needed to maintain a safe, welcoming, and functional environment for worship, fellowship, and ministry activities. These improvements are essential not only for the preservation of our church buildings, but also for strengthening the long-term vitality of our parish community.

Our Immediate Needs

• Parking Lot Resurfacing — After years of Kansas weather and daily use, the church parking lot has deteriorated, creating safety concerns for parishioners, visitors, and elderly members. A full resurfacing will provide a smooth, accessible, and long-lasting surface that reflects the care we have for our community.

• Gutter Replacement on the Center Building — The aging gutter system is no longer effectively directing water away from the structure. Replacing it now will prevent costly water damage, protect the building’s foundation, and preserve the spaces where our ministries, gatherings, and faith-formation programs take place.

Your generosity directly strengthens the mission of St. Leo’s. These improvements are not cosmetic—they are critical investments in the safety, longevity, and vitality of our parish campus.

• Protecting our historic parish ensures St. Leo’s remains a spiritual home for future generations.

• Improving accessibility allows all parishioners, especially seniors and families, to arrive safely and comfortably.

• Preserving ministry spaces supports the programs that nurture faith, service, and community life in Horton.

Your generosity allows the Altar Society to continue serving the parish with stewardship, care, and commitment while preserving the beauty and functionality of our church facilities.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration and continued support of St. Leo’s Catholic Church and Altar Society.

For generations, St. Leo's Catholic Church Altar Society has faithfully supported the spiritual life, traditions, and hospitality of our parish community. Through the dedication of volunteers and the generosity of parishioners and friends, the Altar Society continues its mission of caring for our church home and preserving it for future generations.

How the St. Leo's Altar Society supports the St. Leo's Catholic Church:

1. Volunteer Service

Members contribute hundreds of volunteer hours each year to sustain the daily life of the parish. Their service often includes:

• Caring for the church environment — cleaning, decorating, maintaining linens, candles, and sacred vessels.

• Supporting parish events — assisting with receptions, sacramental celebrations, and seasonal liturgies.

• Providing behind-the-scenes help — tasks that keep the parish running smoothly but often go unnoticed.

This work preserves the beauty and reverence of the worship space and lightens the load on parish staff.

2. Funeral Dinner Ministry

One of the most compassionate ministries of the Altar Society is preparing and serving funeral luncheons for grieving families. This includes:

• Preparing homemade dishes and desserts

• Setting up and decorating the parish hall

• Serving the meal with warmth and hospitality

• Cleaning up afterward so families can focus on remembering their loved one

This ministry embodies the parish’s commitment to comforting those who mourn and offering tangible support during difficult times.

3. Fundraising Efforts

The Altar Society organizes fundraisers that directly support parish needs. Common efforts include:

• Annual Fall Festival - this year we are hosting the Mikey Needleman Band for an evening of Christian music on November 7, 2026

• Holiday events

• Women's fellowship events

• Parish dinners or breakfasts

Funds raised typically go toward:

• Liturgical supplies (altar linens, candles, vestments)

• Church beautification projects

• Kitchen and hall improvements

• Support for parish ministries and outreach

These events also build community and invite parishioners to participate in shared stewardship.

WAYS TO GIVE
Online

GrowSouthBrown.com, beginning Tuesday, July 14 at 12:01 AM and ending Thursday, July 16 at 11:59 PM.

In Person

Horton Blue Building

July 14 - 16

4:30PM - 7:30 PM

Mail

South Brown County Community Foundation

P.O. Box 224, Horton, KS 66439.

Mailed donations must be postmarked by Tuesday, July 14 and must include a completed donation form. You may download the donation form from the above tab.

Every gift strengthens our communities and helps local nonprofits in their missions throughout South Brown County. Thank you for making a difference!

06/24/2026

To all our young people

An open love letter

Teenagers and young adults, we believe God is especially fond of you.
In a world that doesn’t always know what to do with you, God is crazy about you.
While others may roll their eyes at your choices, God sees you. And gets you.
Forgive us adults for expecting you to act like an adult when you aren’t one yet.
In a world that denies you the chance to be who you are, we claim you as ours.
As you’re wrestling with the pressure to achieve and perform as individuals, we call you part of us.
When you’ve blown it and think no one cares, we are trying to pay attention to you.
Forgive us for at times being too busy to extend our welcome mat to you.
We care for every single one of you.
The 23-year-old child of immigrants wrestling with sometimes clashing cultural identities.
The 18-year-old senior both eager and scared to move away from home.
The 14-year-old being offered drugs for the first time.
The 12-year-old still figuring out their combination lock for their new P.E. locker.
And everyone in between.
Every race and ethnicity.
And every socioeconomic status.
Suburban, urban, and rural.
Those who are currently part of a church.
As well as those who are far, far away.
Forgive us for seeming to play favorites instead of equally valuing Every. Single. One.
We believe our world needs you.
Your passion. Your empathy. Your drive to improve and create.
Forgive us for being preoccupied by our devices and ignoring you.
Forgive us for sometimes turning our backs toward you.
And asking too much from you.
Deep down we want to offer our best to you.
We couldn’t imagine our lives without you.

https://fulleryouthinstitute.org/podcast

06/24/2026

The Fuller Youth Institute turns research into practical resources to help make the church the best place for young people to grow. An innovative branch of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, FYI research has pioneered a new era of youth ministry practice and intergenerational discipleship, partnering with faculty from both of Fuller's graduate schools to create tools which will change the way the world sees young people.
Our early work explored urban youth worker support and resilience as well as short-term missions and service effectiveness. We then spent a decade researching why some young people walk away from God and church after high school while others stay connected, leading to the landmark Sticky Faith, a national movement of leaders and families coming together to equip young people for lifelong faith.
With the later support of $800,000 in grant funding and national collaboration with denominations and church experts, FYI launched the Churches Engaging Young People Project in 2013. Working to understand what helps churches reach and retain young people ages 15-29, FYI published its findings in Growing Young, a game-changing book for church leadership. This year, 130 churches across the US and internationally will commit to joining our Growing Young Cohorts—resulting in over 200,000 church members empowered and equipped to engage teenagers and young adults like never before.

Based on nearly 3,000 surveys and interviews with teens ages 13–17, this first-of-its-kind report explores how Gen Alpha is navigating identity, mental…

06/24/2026

06/23/2026

July Birthdays & Anniversary's

06/23/2026

July Monthly Calendar

06/11/2026

Meet our Totus Tuus Team!

Grades going into 1st-6th-
Mon., June 29-Fri., July 3, 2026 @9:00-3:00
Grades 7-12th-
Sun., June 28-Thurs., July 2, 2026@6:30-8:45 P.M.

06/09/2026

Please note several updates to our altar server seating and sanctuary arrangement. The Crucifer (cross bearer) will now sit on the same side as Father and assist with the Roman Missal, while the Candle Bearers will sit on the opposite side. We have also relocated both credence tables within the sanctuary (see Deacon Chuck's note below).

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we implement these changes! ✝️

06/09/2026

An Update

In 2026, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas launched a pastoral planning process called Renewal from the Heartland. The process began with a Lenten small group series called Beatitudes from the Heartland. The four-part series provided participants with an opportunity to reflect on the Scriptures and the writings of the Church fathers, particularly the documents of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis, and Pope Leo XIV, regarding baptized Catholics’ responsibilities within their parishes and other ecclesial communities.

The second phase of Renewal from the Heartland, Listening with the Heart, was held April 13-29 at 32 sites in the archdiocese. Sessions were held in two prisons and seven community centers and on four high school and college campuses and 17 parish sites (two parishes hosted multiple sessions). Synodal-style listening sessions of approximately 90 minutes each, offered in a prayerful setting, were used to gather people’s responses to two prompts:

Please share a story about your experience with the Church that has shaped you.
What is the Holy Spirit asking of us?
Approximately 1,000 individuals participated in the listening sessions, both in English and Spanish. The deaf community was offered a customized session as well. These responses were collected and compiled by 100 trained facilitators and the archdiocesan synodal team.

These responses were used to formulate survey questions for a public, online survey (available in both English and Spanish) being conducted June 1-22. Responses provided in the listening sessions and to the online survey will serve as the source material for the archdiocesan pastoral planning process, which will be initiated by Archbishop Shawn McKnight at a diocesan convocation for parish leaders on Sept. 12. The responses will also be segmented by deaneries, and customized reports and resources will be provided to each deanery for use by parishes and the deanery in pastoral planning.

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