|
06-04-00 ALL THINGS CONSIDERED WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR GOD'S SAKE Over the last few weeks, you have heard your fellow parishioners describe the different Ministry Teams that are a part of our parish life. Next weekend we will celebrate Pentecost Sunday. We will hear St. Paul remind us that "there are different gifts, but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone." (I Cor 12) Now I ask that you consider your own gifts and talents; your present time commitments and limitations; and possibilities for ministry. Please give all of these prayerful consideration, listen to the Holy Spirit. Next weekend, representatives of the different Ministry Teams will in the Gathering Area to answer your questions and to help sign you up for one of the several teams you have been reading and hearing about. Please consider sharing your gifts and talents with the larger community. Thanks! MARY'S GARDEN Our Gardening Angels have begun working on two new flower beds on our parish grounds. They will soon join a couple of other flower beds which have special significance for us here at Mary Magdalen. Mary's Garden will be across from the main entrance to our building. The center will have a statue of the Blessed Mother which will be surrounded by a "Biblical herb garden". Our MOMS Group will be filling the center of the garden with plants mentioned in the Bible. The flower bed surrounding it will be plants which have been donated from other people's gardens. The plan is to create a quiet, prayerful setting where flowers will bloom from the spring through the fall. The island directly in front of the main entrance to our building is filled with the flowers which were used to decorate around the altar & ambo for First Communion. Now these plants grow near the entrance as a sign of our hope that our young people will continue to grow in Christ. Some of you may not be aware that the roses around the Shrine of the Fire near the entrance to the building are planted in memory of Joanne Lintzenich. Joanne & her husband, Pete, were very active in planning the new building and even donated the shrine. Just days after we opened the building, Joanne was killed in a car accident and her ashes are buried under the roses. The Shrine of the Cross near the entrance to our property also has special significance. Not only does it commemorate Mary Magdalen, who stood at the foot of the cross; but the shrine is another place where the cremains of other parishioners are buried. Sometime this summer we will be getting a stone as a marker to commemorate all whose ashes are buried at the foot of the cross. While our grounds continue to improve under the gentle care of so many "green thumbs", I thought you might like to know some of the special significance of these areas. Fr. Dave Howell Celebrating Liturgy Sunday, June 4 - Ascension of the Lord Monday, June 5 - Boniface, bp. Martyr Tuesday, June 6 Wednesday, June 7 Thursday, June 8 Friday, June 9 Saturday, June 10 Sunday, June 11 - Pentecost Sunday Monday, June 5-St. Boniface, bishop, martyr Bishop and apostle to Germany was martyred together with 52 companions. Born around the year 673 at Wessex, England, he received his education at the monastery in Exeter and entered the Benedictine abbey at Nursling. He obtained the commission to preach the gospel in Germany from Pope Gregory II, who changed his name from Winfrid to Boniface. Because of his success as a missionary, he was ordained a bishop and given jurisdiction over all of Germany. The next pope gave him Bavaria as a new mission territory and named him archbishop. While administering the Confirmation on a group of converts, he was murdered by a hostile band. Please pray that the sick will respond to God's healing will, especially: Fr. Gil Rahrig, Joddi Metcalf, Vincent Kramer, Bob & Edith Waldeck, Mike Moran, David Even, Ed Rigley, Betty Blaszak, Susan Blakeley, Lauren, Mike, Barry Karas, Genevieve Rupp, Sylvia Walzeak, Jason, Linda Nagle, Judy, Jerry Schmidt, Al, Lou Lawrence, Thomas Payne, Joan & John Becker, Danielle Snowgold, Evelyn, Bud Newberry, Bishop Povish, Rosalie Fradette, John Sweeney, Roe, John Pepa, Margaret Resconich, Rose Kumler, Orville Pelfrey, Joanna Bloese, Maureen, Russ Gardner, Susan, Raynald Raymond, Al & Ann Polcyn, Pete, Norman Moon, Cornelius Smits, Matt Even, Ellen Colombo, Emerson Brown, Adeline Smith, Larry Cecil, Karen, Laurie Deirlein, Jeanette Wood, and Donovan. Ministers of Prayer Schedule Sun., June 4 Duke Davis Gifts from God Fiscal Year runs from July 1,1999-June 30,2000 DSA Of our 800 families, we have received responses from 195. Our total now stands at $38,584 which is 59% of our parish goal of $64,818. Thank you for your support. The Finance Council Dates to Remember Monday, June 5 Tuesday, June 6 Wednesday, June 7 Thursday, June 8 Friday, June 9 Saturday, June 10 Religious Education We are planning a dynamic Religious Education program for next year. Registration will be held the week of June 26 from 9:30-3:30 and 6:30-8:00 in the office. The schedule for next year includes the Family Program on Sundays; Wednesday from 4:30-5:45 or Wednesday from 6:30-7:45; Thursday from 6:30-7:45. We need catechists, aides, traffic coordinators and people to assist in the program. In my many years of experience, I can honestly say that we do have a dynamic program! Please register and think about volunteering in the program. Sister Maryetta Baptisms During the month of April, we celebrated the sacrament of Baptism with Abby Lynn Zielinski, daughter of Steve and Laurie Zielinski; Alexander Daniel Hiob, son of Daniel and Teresa Hiob; Alexis Lee Arthur, daughter of Fred and Lisa Arthur; Jack Thomas Callaghan, son of Thomas and Margaret Callaghan; James John Connor, Jr., son of James and Pamela Connor; Mia Marisol McMullen, daughter of Thomas and Virginia McMullen; and Aziza Gabrielle Zebari, daughter of Adam and Jennifer Zebari. We congratulate their parents and godparents and offer them our prayers and support, as they accompany them on their journeys of faith. Properties Team PROPERTIES TEAM oversees the maintenance and repair of all our buildings and grounds, depending on the assistance of volunteers. The buildings include, our multipurpose building, the rectory, large barn, stable and duplex. Our 20 acres of grass, trees, shrubs, etc. are maintained by volunteers from the parish, organized by our team. We also arrange contracts for major projects that require professional services. Individuals from the team volunteer to be project leaders for various projects and head up individual groups of volunteers. The properties team meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:30pm. Workdays are usually scheduled on Saturdays. We ask that all members of the parish watch for sign-up sheets for projects and help as they are able. If you are willing to help with planning and organization, we invite you to join our team. This is a one-year commitment. Youth Group Tom and I would like to congratulate all the seniors graduating this year. What an exciting time in your lives! We wish the best for all of you. It is our prayer that you will always keep God in your lives, for you will be faced with many challenges in the near future. Approaching these challenges with a strong faith will make you a better person. We know that God is with us always through everything we encounter, good and bad. We wish you all the best. The annual Cedar Pointe trip is just around the corner. We will be traveling south to Sandusky, Ohio on Wednesday, June 21. There is a sign up sheet in the gathering space. Please take the time to sign up. I will need to know the number of people going because we will be traveling with St. Pat's church by bus, and spaces need to be reserved. Paper work will need to be turned in by June 11. The cost is $50, which includes your ticket for Cedar Pointe, transportation, videos on the bus, and a continental breakfast. Our next meeting is scheduled for June 11. I know this is graduation for some, but for most it is the beginning of finals week. We will be having a study session for anyone who wants to come. Please note the following change of date for our annual summer picnic from June 25 to Friday, June 23, from 5-8pm. M.U.D. NEWS Make a note in your calendars for Saturday, June 24. I have set the date aside for our first annual car wash! It will be held at Walters Appliance on Grand River from 10am to 2pm. Following will be a potluck at the Magon's home. A sign up sheet is out in the gathering area. The Magon's pool will be open for us to use. It is recommended that you bring a sack lunch should you be the hungry type, since we will be working during lunch time. Margaret Callaghan E-TEAM One of the most challenging things that we can be faced with is trying to share our faith, either privately or publicly. Members of the E-Team attempt to meet this challenge as individuals and as part of our parish community. They are constantly trying to find new ways to inform, invite and include others in our parish life. Hopefully this year we will have the time and opportunity to begin designing pamphlets and brochures that point out some of the programs and services we have available. If you would like to help us meet this challenge please consider joining us on the E-Team. For more information call Marilyn at the office, 229-8624. x off ON THE JOURNEY Is It Still A Sin? I can remember the first Ascension Thursday after Jerry became Catholic in 1987. We had decided to go to 9:00 Mass together, and we arrived early to avoid the crowd. We waited prayerfully--the crowd never appeared. In a stage whisper we could hear an elderly couple several pews ahead of us making the same assessment. "It mustn't be a sin anymore." Now, thirteen years later, there seem to be even more areas in our Catholic faith that seem gray. They are traditions or beliefs that seemed quite concrete as we were growing up, but now we may have begun to question their existence due to changes or lack of current dialogue on certain subjects. Occasionally, the phone will ring here in the office and the caller either identified or anonymous will voice a very practical question: "Is it still a sin?" It is my hope in the next couple of months to cover some of the more recent issues. If you have a question you would like answered in this column, either call me or drop me a line (an envelope under the office door will do.) If I don't know the answer, I have shelves of books to put into use or if all else fails, I'll go next door and ask Father. So let's go back to the beginning: Is it a sin to miss a Holy Day of Obligation? Or better still, do we still have Holy Days of Obligation? The answer is yes, we do still have Holy Days; they vary from country to country, and more recently, the days for their celebration have been adjusted. This year for instance, Ascension "Thursday" will be observed on Sunday, June 4, instead of June 1st in the United States. The lack of priests available to celebrate Liturgy with us has given rise to our need to reschedule Holy Days when they fall on a weekend or even close to one. Attendance at Holy Day liturgies is still on "the books". It is only with grave reasons that we are exempt. In such circumstances, the Church recommends spending some time in prayer, either personally or as a family. One of the most memorable experiences I had with one of my children stemmed from a Sunday morning when we were marooned at a cottage with a disabled car. My teen-age son thought he was going to get a "pass" on keeping holy the Sabbath until I pulled out my Bible with a Sunday calendar in the back and began reading the scripture passages for the day. He and I had one of our best conversations over those readings and what they meant to us. While we both missed having shared in the Eucharist, we kept the spirit of the day and grew closer to God and one another - something that shouldn't have to be mandated but looked forward to eagerly. Yours on the journey, Marilyn FOR YOUR GOOD HEALTH - June is National Sight Saving Month: Ultraviolet Awareness & Home Eye Safety. In addition to causing skin cancer, exposure to ultraviolet can burn delicate eye tissue and raise the risk for developing cataracts and cancer of the eye. Wearing sunglasses with adequate UV protection can help eliminate this risk. For your good health...reduce sun exposure! Blood Pressure Screening will be offered the weekend of June 17 after all three Masses. Please join us for information re Skin Cancer detection and prevention. Snell Foundation Safety Helmets will be available for pick up after the Masses the weekends of June 17 and 24. Congratulations for choosing to reduce your risk of head and brain injury! Livingston County 50+ Catholics Mass and 10th annual picnic Thursday, July 20, 2000 at Holy Spirit Park & Pavilion in Hamburg, beginning with Mass at 11am, and ending at 3pm. No reservations necessary. For more information call Betty Polaske, 810-227-5370. LIVINGSTON COUNTY CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES presents the following: Pre-marriage Workshop-Building Healthy Relationships A two-week workshop to learn some new and enhance your existing communication skills before the big day will be presented Thursday evenings, June 8 and 15, 2000 from 7-9 p.m. in Howell. Couples Communication- a Seminar for Married Couples A two-week workshop offering suggestions on how to enhance your communication skills and revive marriage. This program will be offered on Thursday evenings, June 22 and 29, 2000 from 7-9 p.m. in Howell. JUBILEE JOY Fr. Larry Delaney from St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt returns to St. John the Baptist-Howell to discuss Jubilee Joy on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. Please join us as we hear why the Millennium is a year of celebration. Call Mary Pat at 810-632-5647 for further information. |
Vision Statement | Sacraments | Ministries | Weekly Bulletins
Parish Staff | Religious Education | Miscellanous Information | Special Events
