What Do St. Ann Society Members Do?
We meet monthly from March to December on the second Monday at 6:00 pm in Fr. Marendt Hall, holding a short business meeting and enjoying fellowship time. Officers (President, Vice-President, and Secretary/Treasurer) are elected at the December meeting for one-year terms. All women who are members of St. Michael are considered to be St. Ann Society members and are welcome to attend anytime. There is a lot of work involved, but even more fun and fellowship!

Some Ways We Minister
We host all funeral meals. Fried chicken is purchased; members provide covered dishes, soft drinks, ice and paper goods. Donations from the families of the deceased usually covers the cost of the meat. Mary Rutherford very capably organized the meals for several years; Betty Perrine is now following in Mary's footsteps in this important ministry.

We take shifts to serve as greeters for deceased members' funeral home visitation as a final sign of respect and friendship. Pauline Thorn created and donated the beautiful St. Ann banner for displaying at the visitation.

We sponsor the bingo at Golden Living Center-Lincoln Hills. Sis Smith has been in charge of this worthy fellowship activity for some time, with several members assisting her.

We provide gifts and cards for our parishioners who are ill. Sis Smith also fulfills this duty faithfully with assistance from other members.

We take turns in cleaning Fr. Marendt Hall. We also supply the cleaning of altar cloths and vestments. Mildred Rutherford sees that these items are cared properly.

We make arrangements for the Easter and Christmas flowers for our church which honor the memories of deceased members. Mildred Rutherford has devoted countless hours, assisted by Opal Dixon, Ruth Ann Detzer, and Carla Hunter.

We arrange a one-day chartered bus trip in early December to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois. Ruth Ann Detzer and Carlena Jarboe have very capably organized this popular trip, which includes a tour of the Shrine and grounds, shopping at the Shrine Gift Shop, dinner at the Shrine, and touring the dazzling Way of Lights. Several people make this a regular part of their holiday celebrations. This trip, which is open to the public and enjoyed by friends from other churches and surrounding communities, mixes fundraising and fellowship at the holiest of seasons.

Some Ways We Share Fellowship
We host the Holy Thursday meal, providing meat, drinks and table service. Attendees provide covered dishes for fellowship prior to the Holy Thursday evening Mass.

We host a Mother/Daughter/Friend Brunch in May with small plants for each attendee. We have guests from our church family along with guest from out of town and from other churches. It is always a blessing to see friends and several generations enjoying delicious refreshments and fellowship in our beautiful Fr. Marendt Hall!

We supply the fried chicken and table service for the annual parish picnic in September, usually at the Cannelton American Legion. We decorate with fresh seasonal flowers, enjoy delicious covered dishes following the noon Mass, and share a relaxed fellowship time together (maybe even a card game or two!).

We host breakfasts following Mass for various events--RCIA participants, First Communion and Confirmation students, high school graduates, for example--for the entire parish to enjoy and celebrate.

Annual St. Michael Turkey Bingo
For many, many years, the St. Michael Turkey Bingo on the Sunday before Thanksgiving has been a defining community event, first at the Cannelton Gym and now at the Cannelton Community Center. The work for this project starts well in advance of the day of the bingo.

Members of St. Ann Society, namely Carlena Jarboe the last few years, and the Parish Council have spent many hours organizing the raffle, soliciting prizes, and handling the pickup and delivery of the items. After the raffle tickets are printed, St. Ann members sort, staple, and stuff them for distribution. Dates are scheduled for volunteers to sell tickets in addition to the Cannelton Heritage Festival. It takes several members working at several sale dates to make this raffle a success. 

The Parish Office prepares the bingo tickets and St. Ann members again count, sort, and stuff these. In addition, St. Ann Society pays the $50.00 deposit for the use of the Community Center and purchases the frozen turkeys given as bingo prizes.

Christmas Party
Our Christmas Party is hosted by the Officers with wonderful holiday refreshments and party favors, a $5.00 gift exchange, surprises, and best of all, a time to enjoy and celebrate the true Reason for the Season together! We are always seeking new ideas and extra hands to help with these projects for our parish, so please feel free to contact any member to join us.

Some Ways We Raise Funds
Members and friends of St. Michael Catholic Church submitted recipes for our cookbook, which is in its third printing. This project has been a very successful fundraiser for St. Ann Society and in turn for our church. Mary Lou Aldridge and Margaret Schank co-chaired this major project with enthusiasm and great organization. Our cookbooks have been holiday and wedding gifts for many recipients, some being sent out of state, with rave reviews!

We set up a booth at the Cannelton Dogwood Fest in April and at the Cannelton Heritage Fest in October to sell cookbooks, plants, commemorative items, and Turkey Bingo raffle tickets. These booths are a great way to showcase St. Michael Catholic Church as an important part of the community.

We hold some bake sales at Fr. Marendt Hall after Mass which are popular. In mid-2008 Jane Huber spearheaded a very successful "bakeless" bake sale which netted St. Ann Society cool cash without heating up the ovens.

We hold an annual silent auction with donated items by our members. Ruth Ann Detzer has done a tremendous job in organizing this successful fundraiser for the past three years. This takes all members' efforts in donating items, setting up displays, making the bid cards, buyers' cards, keeping track of the bids and settling up at the end of the auction. It is a lot of fun, though -- who knows what treasure you might find!