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Spiritual notes: Saturate Altoona set for June

The sixth annual Saturate Altoona will be held all four Sunday nights in June at Heritage Plaza in downtown Altoona. From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. there will be blessing booths by area churches and ministries giving out food and refreshments. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a worship service with music, testimonies, prayer and a message by pastors or ministry leaders in the 814 area. A prayer tent will be staffed each evening for anyone wanting someone to pray for them. The theme for this year’s Saturate Altoona event is “On Mission With Jesus - by living a win/build/equip/multiply/send ...

Spiritual notes

Yard, bake sale Altoona Restoration Church of God, 911 N. Third Street, Altoona, will hold its annual spring yard sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23. This yard sale is by donation. There will be clothes, household items, furniture, toys and more. There will also be a bake sale with various items for purchase. Blueberry orders accepted The Mission Central HUB is hosting a blueberry fundraiser to help with rent, utilities and kit supplies. The cost is $35 for 10 pounds, about 13.5 pints. The blueberries are picked up 24 hours prior to delivery from New Jersey. The HUB has ...

Holy Name hosts former mafia boss

A notorious 1980s mobster turned motivational speaker is coming to Holy Name Catholic Church at 7:30 p.m. May 4 to speak about his conversion to Christianity. Known as the Prince of the Mafia, Michael Franzese, 74, was involved in a scheme to defraud the government out of gasoline taxes made in Manhattan, where his crew pocketed nine cents per gallon. Franzese pocketed up to $8 million per week from the arrangement. Fortune Magazine ranked Franzese as number 18 on its list of “Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses” in 1986, while Vanity Fair listed Franzese as one of the ...

Spiritual notes

Pancake breakfast served St. John’s Reformed Church, 906 Maple Ave., Hollidaysburg will serve its Spring pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25. The all-you-can-eat breakfast will feature pancakes, bacon, sausage, orange juice and coffee or tea. Tickets available at the door and are $8 for adults; $4 for children ages 3-12; and free to children under age 3. Food pantry available The food pantry at Twenty-eighth Street Church of the Brethren, 28th Street and Union Avenue, is available for those in need. Distribution will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Friday, April ...

Pope revives Holy Thursday foot-washing of priests

ROME — Pope Leo XIV washed the feet of 12 priests in the traditional Holy Thursday ritual, restoring a tradition his predecessor had broken by including laypeople and non-Christians in ceremonies at prisons, juvenile detention halls and centers for asylum-seekers. The priests included 11 ...

Spiritual Notes

Diocese sets Bishop’s schedule The following is the schedule for Bishop Mark Bartchak. - Good Friday – Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 1 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona. - Holy Saturday – Easter Vigil at 8 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona. - Easter Sunday – Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection at 11 a.m. at St. John Gualbert Cathedral in Johnstown (Broadcast live on WATM ABC 23). Lenten lunch, service A Hollidaysburg community Lenten Lunch and service, sponsored by the Hollidaysburg Area Ministerium, will be held ...