Parish Office Evening & Sunday Hours. Giving Tree. Christmas Caroling

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1 Volume 11, Issue 12 December 2011 Parish Office Evening & Sunday Hours Second Wednesday of the Month from 6:30-8 PM AND Fourth Sunday of the month from AM Giving Tree The season of Advent is a time of preparation, waiting and hope. It is a time when family schedules are filled with meetings, programs, parties and annual obligations. Yet, this busiest time of year calls us to draw close to others and remember those in need and help wherever possible. In this spirit, we begin preparation of the 23rd annual Holy Name Giving Tree Project. Please help us make this project a success by taking tags from the Giving Tree following masses beginning on Saturday, November 26th. If you could please purchase one or two items listed on the tags and return them, gift wrapped with the tag on them, no later than Monday, December 12th. Donations of non-perishable food items are also being collected. Monetary donations are also welcome. The Giving Tree deliveries will be on Sunday, Dec. 18th. A BIG thank you to everyone who helped with the preparation of the tags for the Giving Tree, your hard work is truly appreciated. Volunteers are needed on Sunday, Dec. 18th beginning at 8:30 AM to set-up the gym, sort the food, pack, wrap and deliver the food and gifts. The Giving Tree is a great project for the whole family. We all have family traditions that fill our memories with fond and familiar, warm and wonderful good times shared with people we love. Consider making the Giving Tree project a new tradition for your family. Volunteers may call either Sue Smetana at (219) or Mary Kselman in the Parish Office at (219) Christmas Caroling Do you love to sing Christmas Carols? Come join the Holy Name Music Ministry on Christmas Eve at the 4 PM and/or Midnight Mass. Families welcome. Minimal time commitment. Contact Cindy Foreman for more information at: jbh4545@aol.com or call (219)

2 P a g e 2 Those who need our prayers. Bob & Lida Barney Betty Becker Parish Bill Office Bradtke Brett Branon Evening Hours Earl Broe Marcia Cepko Ray & Josephine Chmielewski Second Dorothy Collins Gwen Conley Mary Lou Deno Bob Eberle Margaret Engle Wednesday of the Month from 6:30 - Al 8 PM Furman Marie Govert Joe Guerrero Rosemary Sunday Hours Haberlin Karen Hathaway Fourth Laura Foreman Arnie Sunday Hermes of Bud the month & Rosalie from Hoffman AM Henry Huppenthal Kymmy Joseforsky Betty Keilman Mary Alyce King Deacon Ed Kozub Monica Kujawa Phil & Jo Manes Tom Manning Joy Marzynski Mary Jane & James Molnar Stanley Mudy Dan & Dodie Nolan Jeff Obarski Joe O Dea Robert O Donnell Andrew Rahaw Bob Reeves Mike & Carol Rowe Deacon Ed Schultz Bill & Evie Shanks Eric Sprehe Gerry Thiel Bernard Toole Joan Torrence Mary Lynn Urbanski Ursula Urbanski Ed Wachter Mary Williams Matthew Yakubik Cathy Zajac Bob Zerby We Pray for our Troops Parishioners of Holy Name Parish community pray weekly at our liturgy for those who serve in the armed forces and are in combat in Afghanistan and elsewhere throughout the world. As we pray for their safety, we pray in earnest for an end to this war and all wars. Staff Sergeant, Michael Wendlinger is the son of Gary and Ramona Wendlinger. Michael has been a member of the United States Air Force since 2006 and is currently stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Vacaville, CA. Michael served one tour in Afghanistan in He currently works for the Department of Defense Civilian as a mechanic on the C-17. Michael plans to continue his education and make a lifelong career of the Air Force. Michael is currently engaged and plans to marry fiancé, Kelsey Genheimer, in Fall of Captain, Jill Sliger is the daughter-in-law of Gary and Ramona Wendlinger. Jill is a C-17 Instructor Pilot in the United States Air Force. She is currently stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Vacaville, CA. Jill enlisted in the service in 1995, where she met Husband Brian Sliger in basic training. In 2002, Jill graduated from Flight School and officially became a Military Pilot. Since then Brian and Jill Sliger have resided in Vacaville, CA and have recently welcomed the birth of their first child, Alyssa Rose Sliger. A1C Justin P. Sprehe, son of Diane & Carl Sprehe, is currently in training; while is wife Jacqueline and their two boys Christopher(6) and Greysin (2) are currently residing in Hebron, IN. Once Justin has completed training he and his family will be stationed at McChord AFB near Tacoma, WA. A1C Justin Sprehe graduated from the United States Air Force Basic Military Training in Lackland, TX on August 25, Justin is a Loadmaster on the C-17 Globemaster; a job that will allow him to travel all over the world. Upon graduating Basic Military Training, Justin began the Basic Loadmaster Course. He graduated, with his wings, on October 21, Once Justin has completed all the required courses he will be at Altus AFB in OK. Keys for Cancer The Lions Clubs of Indiana still collect old keys for salvage. Money generated from scrap goes to a Lions state project called Cancer Control in Indianapolis. Look around your basement or garage and put those unused keys to good use. Look for a coffee can in the vestibule of church to deposit your keys.

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4 Page 4 From our Youth Minister ~ Dana Trudeau Greetings and Happy Advent! As Advent begins, it is important to take note of the changes that are occurring. First, it is the start of the new liturgical year. During this particular year, some of the new Mass translations are changing. But fear not! Change does not need to be feared. Change can be a welcome and a good thing. Change makes life more meaningful and purposeful. In my last newsletter, I promised to tell the story of how I met my wife, which is a story of great change indeed. But I did not shrink in fear away from change; I embraced change, and that is how my native-new York self-found its way to Indiana. During my sophomore year of college, I studied abroad in a tiny town in Austria, called Gaming. The first day at the old monastery-turned-into-campus, I walked into the lobby, not knowing my life would change forever. It was there in the lobby of this old monastery that I met up with a few friends. As I greeted my friends with hugs, I saw another girl standing there too. I welcomed her to Austria with a hug too - the girl who would become my best friend and then my wife. In that lobby, my life changed forever. Eight months later, I proposed to that girl and we then began to plan our life together. Planning our life together meant that I would move to Northwest Indiana, another very big change for me. Katie and I began to teach CCD at St. Michael's in Schererville, and on May 22, 2010 I married my best friend. A year later I began working here. So, it is safe to say that my life has constantly been changing. And now, I am pleased to announce the latest change in my life: KATIE AND I ARE EXPECTING OUR FIRST BORN BABY IN MAY!!!! We are thrilled and so blessed by God for this gift of life! Praise God! Now as our lives change, note that there is one thing that does not or will not change: the Eucharist- the Source and Summit of our Faith. As members of the Body of Christ, we go to Mass to receive this Eucharist. It is the source of righteousness that feeds us on our pilgrimage towards our summit- eternal union with our Creator, our Savior, and our Sanctifier. We leave mass each week after being present with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as well as receiving Him in order to have our moment of union with Him-a taste of Heaven. We are obligated to take that piece of heaven out to the world. So as our lives change, we hold on to the UNCHANGING. We are the body of Christ in this world and carry Him within us as temples of God (2 Cor 6:16) to the crevices of this world that seek our God, who is love (1 John 4:8). I, as the youth minister, have been given an opportunity to focus my mission towards the youth of the world. I have found that the Lifehouse is an instrument in this mission. The Lifehouse is a home that is dedicated to the teens as a place of opportunity to build relationships with each other and with Christ as well as growing in deeper knowledge of our faith. It is a piece of the parish just as the parish is a piece of the universal church. It, too, sees its fair share of change. The Lifehouse sees faces come and faces go (as they head off to college); it changes from a place for comfort, a place for learning, a place for sharing, and even a place to gain strength and encouragement. During this Advent season, a time of preparation for receiving Christ in this world, let us be reminded of His presence within us. We don t need to wait for Christmas to be jolly. We can fa la la all year long! We should always be preparing for Christ s second coming by reflecting on our lives and making the changes we need. However, one of my joys of being Catholic is celebrating each of the seasons together as one body. So life is full of change, but remember, whatever happens or no matter how scary change may seem, we can always turn to the One who will never change, the One who will always love us. Peace be with us this Advent season, Dana Trudeau

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6 P a g e 6 Saint Nicholas Feast Day December 6th Saint Nicholas was a historic 4th-century saint and the Greek Bishop of Myra. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him and, thus, became the model for the modern Santa Claus. The historical Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered among Catholic and Orthodox Christians. He is also honored by various Anglican and Lutheran churches. Saint Nicholas was born a Greek in Asia Minor during the third century He was the only son of wealthy Christian parents and was very religious from an early age. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he was raised by his uncle also named Nicholas who was the Bishop of Patara, Turkey. The Bishop educated the young Nicholas as a reader, and later as presbyter (priest). Nicholas also briefly served at a monastery named Holy Sion, which had been founded by his uncle. Throughout his life, Saint Nicholas used his inherited wealth to help the poor and needy. Today, Saint Nicholas is celebrated as a great gift-giver in many countries. Saint Nicholas Day is usually celebrated on December 6 th, but really begins the night of December 5 th when children set out a shoe, a plate, or a stocking for St. Nicholas to fill when he comes to visit during the night. The American Santa Claus, as well as the Anglo-Canadian and British Father Christmas, also derive from the tradition of St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas is also unique in that most of his bones have been preserved in one location: his grave crypt in the Archdiocese of Bari, Italy. In the years after his death, his tomb was said to give off a sweet smell and to weep a mysterious liquid called manna which, it was said, would cure those who touched it. In 1954, because of renovations being done in the crypt, the tomb was opened and St Nicholas bones were exhumed. The bones were then placed inside an urn where they remained exposed for the public to see and venerate for three years. It was observed that the bones "perspired" a certain kind of fluid. In fact, when the bones were removed from the urn so that they could be re-interred in the tomb, the linen sheet holding them was found to be soaking wet. This linen cloth has been preserved and is still kept by the Archdiocese of Bari. At the end of construction on the crypt in 1957, the bones were reinterred in the tomb and they have continued to weep manna to this day. From 1980 onwards the manna is formally extracted every May 9 in the presence of the delegate of the Pope, the Archbishop of Bari, an Orthodox Bishop, Civil Authorities, the Clergy and Faithful. At the end of the celebration of the Eucharist, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Bishops bless the crystal vial containing the freshly extracted precious liquid. The annual output of pure "santa manna" is approximately 50 ml. Volunteers Needed A great BIG Thank You to Deacon Paul Krilich of Krilich Construction Inc. for all of the concrete work donated to the parish. Deacon Paul replaced the sidewalk and entrance to the school and part of the sidewalk and the ramp up to the elevator at church. Thank you again Deacon Paul. Volunteers needed to count and process the Sunday Offering Collections. If interested contact Dick Kutchek at for more details.

7 P a g e 7 Holy Name Parish Invites you to celebrate Las Posadas December 16-23, :30 PM each evening in Holy Name Gym Las Posadas is the Pre-Christmas Celebration depicting Mary and Joseph seeking lodging before the birth of Christ. The traditional posadas or house-hunting celebration of Mary and Joseph expresses the desire for the Holy Family to find a place in our homes and hearts. It is precisely because we are deeply interested in providing a place for Jesus that this celebration has grown in popularity among many faith communities. Lenten Penance Services All at 7 PM Monday, December 12 Our Lady of Consolation, Merrillville Tuesday, December 13 St. Michael s, Schererville St. James, Highland Thursday, December 15 St. Edward s, Lowell Monday, December 19 St. Mary s, Crown Point Tuesday, December 20 Holy Name, Cedar Lake Here at Holy Name Parish we will be celebrating Las Posadas beginning on December 16, Each evening we will gather at the Holy Name Gym. There we will pray, sing and feast. Each evening will be hosted by various families of the parish who will open the doors to the Holy Family and to the many visitors who will journey with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This is a wonderful opportunity to pray with each other as well as share table Holy Name Church Christmas Schedule Christmas Eve Masses at 4 PM and Midnight Christmas Day Masses at 7 AM, 9 AM & 11 AM

8 Page 8 Generations of Faith As you celebrate the coming Christmas Season... Ministry of Hospitality Volunteers Needed In keeping with our theme for December Generations of Faith of the Preferential Option for the Poor, please try to purchase Christmas gifts that are kind to the workers who make them and the environment we depend on to produce and manufacture them. Some suggestions of socially and environmentally friendly gifts: Gaiam, Global Girlfriend, Vibrant Faith Ministries, REI (products made from post consumer materials), Crate and Barrel (post consumer packaging) and if you want to make a donation to a worthy cause in someone's name consider Heifer International. And when you are doing your holiday shopping, remember to bring your own shopping bags and keep the plastic bags out of our landfills. Wrap your gifts in recycled gift bags or other earth friendly methods. Have a wonderful holiday! The Generations of Faith Staff What to do with those DVD's on the new Roman Missal When you are finished viewing your DVD's from the diocese on the new Roman Missal, please bring them back to Holy Name and we will recycle them. DVD's are not friendly to landfills. We will have a box in the back of church for you to drop them into. Confirmation Please keep our Confirmandi in your prayers as they participate in the NET retreat on December 7th from 4:00-9:00 PM. All of the students in the Confirmation program will be a part of the retreat offered by a group of young adults that travel across the United States ministering to youth. As Holy Name continues to grow and expand its membership and ministries we are experiencing a need for more volunteers to help with our Ministry of Hospitality. Ministers of Hospitality promote fellowship within our community by helping to plan, prepare and serve light meals and refreshments as needed for various parish events and ministries. Volunteer opportunities include: Fellowship following the Ecumenical Service hosted by Holy Name in January Refreshments for RCIA faith sharing sessions Refreshments for Grief/Loss Support Group meetings Fall Ministry Formation Workshop luncheon New Parishioners Dinner Coffee and Doughnut events This ministry is a good option for individuals who are seeking a way to be involved in the parish but cannot commit to monthly meetings. For more information, contact Nan Onest at For information and updates about the Revised Roman Missal Visit our website at Become a fan on Facebook.

9 Page 9 Planning to Marry? The Diocese requires that couples planning to marry in the church begin their preparation at least six months in advance. Couples must contact Fr. Ed for more information and to get started. Movie Night in the Gym Break out the lawn chairs, beach blankets, and coolers for an indoor "drive-in" movie event! Families are invited to an exclusive screening of the motion picture, The Mighty Macs, on Tuesday, December 27th at 6:00 PM at Holy Name Gym in Cedar Lake. Watch the film trailer at Cost is $10 per family. Please bring your own lawn chairs, snacks and beverages. Folding chairs will also be available. Little ones can bring quiet toys such as crayons, books, and handheld games (with mute buttons) to be used in the Kiddie Korner. Purchase tickets in advance at the SJE parish or narthex office. Contact Julie Zasada with questions at x263 or cfi@stjohnparish.org. Goodie Packages for College Students We would like the parish to keep in touch with our young college students as they work through these long days of classes and possibly some stress and bouts of homesickness. After all, there is nothing like receiving a goodie package from home that makes you feel loved. To get the program going, we need the names and addresses of our college students. You can them to Diane Jostes cl-chamber@sbcglobal.net or drop them into the collection basket. Next, we are asking anyone who would like to be a part of the project to drop off any of the items listed below and put them in a box labeled College Goodies which is located in the back of church. While we will try to keep things healthy, sometimes there is nothing like a little junk food binge when you are studying late into the night. After much discussion, the following items seem to be popular: Granola Bars, Rice Krispie Treats, nuts, Trail Mix, fruit snacks, dried fruit, Slim Jims, Beef Jerky, Sunflower Seeds, Graham Crackers, gum, popcorn, oatmeal to go, fruit cups, raisins and craisins, instant noodles, Cocoa, Swedish Fish, Licorice, dehydrated soups, small bags of packaged cookies and any candy that will not melt while it is being shipped. A special card will go with each package telling the student how much they are missed and also that we are keeping them in our prayers. Questions, or ideas, call Diane at Thank you. Ministry Schedule The new ministry schedule will be available December 7th. It will be for the months of January, February and March Thank you for your service to the parish.

10 Page 10 Grief Support Group Meetings The Community of the Holy Name of Jesus in collaboration with St. John the Evangelist will be offering monthly support group meetings. December dates: Holy Name December 7 & 21 from 6:30-8 PM in the rectory. St. John the Evangelist December 12 from 7-9 PM at the Lifehouse. For more information please contact: Nan Onest (Holy Name) at or nan.onest@comcast.net Deacon Bill Sayre (St. John the Evangelist) at or bsayre@stjohnparish.org Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 St. Vincent de Paul News We are all focused on the economy and its impact on our lives. Staggering unemployment, record home foreclosures, lives turned upside down. Difficult decisions made under great stress, are made every day by those living in poverty in this country and across the world. If you have food in the house, clothes on your back, and a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world s population. Some are not as fortunate. St. Vincent de Paul tries to make a difference by bringing hope into the lives of others. Since we last reported, through your gifts, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was able to serve 20 families providing $225 in food, $75 for utilities, $50 for gas, and $385 for housing. Thank You! As we prepare for this year's Giving Tree, we need your help. During the next couple of weeks, if you could donate non-perishable food items, it would be greatly appreciated. All food items received will be given to the families we assist during our Christmas Giving Tree project. Do you know someone or family that may need assistance? Please have them call and leave a message. Someone from St. Vincent de Paul will contact them. The Bible Old and New Testament A New Year s Resolution: I will spend 10 minutes each day reading a section of the New Testament so that by December 31 st I will have read the entire New Testament. Wow! What an amazing resolution! If that resolution seems like it might fit your spiritual needs then join us here at Holy Name in making that a reality. The parish will be offering a book to help you with your 10 minute read of the New Testament. Each month there will be an opportunity to gather with those who are reading their New Testament to see how it s going. Should any questions arise from your reading of the New Testament Fr. Sergius at these monthly gatherings to address those questions. Let s make this New Year s Resolution for January 1, 2012 and support each other. If you are interested in purchasing the book, please stop in the Parish Office to place your order. The cost of My Daily Catholic Bible; New Testament is $ All orders must be in to the office by December 18, Happy New Year!

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12 Giving Tree 2011 Volunteers are needed on Sunday, December 18th beginning at 8:30 a.m. to sort, pack, wrap and deliver the food and gifts. The Giving Tree is a great project for the whole family. We all have family traditions that fill our memories with fond and familiar, warm and wonderful good times shared with people we love. Consider making the Giving Tree project a new tradition for your family. Holy Name Catholic Church W. 133rd Avenue Cedar Lake, IN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID CEDAR LAKE, IN PERMIT NO. 19 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED