DIOCESAN VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR

Transcription

1 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church 4101 Old Bethlehem Pike, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, He Is Risen What does it mean that Jesus is risen? It means that the love of God is stronger than evil and death itself; it means that the love of God can transform our lives and let those desert places in our hearts bloom. The love of God can do this! Pope Francis Easter Sunday, 2013 Loving God, how fitting that the Easter story opens in a garden in full bloom. A garden where the words, Do not be afraid! steady our hearts, take on fresh meaning. A garden that trumpets the message that sin and death will not have the last word. The tomb is empty. Jesus is alive. It is love that endures, now and forever. Alleluia! MASS SCHEDULE Saturday Evening Vigil: 5:00 p.m. Sunday Morning: 7:30 a.m.,10:00 a.m.,11:30 a.m. Monday Friday 8:15 a.m. Holy Days: Vigil: 6:30 p.m. Holy Day: 9:00 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. CONFESSIONS Every Saturday: 4:00-4:45 p.m. and by appointment. DIOCESAN VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR Wendy S. Krisak, M.A., NCC, LPC: Direct telephone: DIOCESAN SAFE ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR Sr. Meg Cole, S.S.J.: Telephone: x 2019

2 Monsignor Nevin Klinger J.C.L., M.A., Pastor Monsignor Robert Coll, Pastor Emeritus Fr. Benoy Joseph, in residence YOUR STEWARDSHIP IS THE SOURCE OF OUR GROWTH March 17-18, 2018: $15, Thank you for your support and generosity. The statement printed above expresses the gratitude felt in response to the generosity of the people of Assumption parish. For it is your weekly contributions that make much of what is done here possible. Thanks are extended to those who use envelopes and those who contribute through our Online Giving. Dear Parishioners, ALLELUIA! REJOICE! HE IS RISEN! May your heart sing with the joy of the Risen Lord on His Resurrection Feast. This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us be glad and rejoice. May the Risen Christ bless you and may His resurrection be a source of strength to you and your family. Have a Blessed and Joyous Easter! In Christ, Monsignor Klinger PARISH CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK Monday, April 2, :00 a.m. Bible Study Finnegan Room 6:30 p.m. Bible Study Finnegan Room 7:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl Group Fritz Room 7:00 p.m. Contemporary Ensb. Practice Church Tuesday, April 3, :00 p.m. Yarns of Love Finnegan Room 6:30 p.m. We The Living Group Finnegan Rm. Wednesday, April 4, :00 a.m. Bible Study Finnegan Room 6:00 p.m. PREP 7:00 p.m. RCIA Finnegan Room Thursday, April 5, :00 p.m. Book Discussion Fellowship Coll Rm 7:30 p.m. CODA meeting Fritz Room 8:00 p.m. Co-ed Adult Volleybl Hanlon Center Friday, April 6, :00 a.m. Top Gun Men s Group Finnegan Rm Saturday, April 7, :00 p.m. Confessions Church Sunday, April 8, :30 a.m. Adult Ed. Series Finnegan Room 8:30 a.m. PREP We will pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy after the 11:30 a.m. Mass next Sunday, April 8. Mark your calendars to attend. The Chaplet will start around 12:30 p.m. and last minutes. 7:30 a.m. Hospitality Ushers Needed Do you attend the 7:30 a.m. Mass? We re looking for a few more helpers one time per month at the 7:30 a.m. Mass. Please our Hospitality coordinator Jenny Sweterlitsch at ljsweter@rcn.com if you can help! Please come and say the Rosary this Thursday, April 12. We will say the rosary at 6:30 p.m. in the church. The Rosary is recited on the second Thursday evening of each month in the church. Come and place your intentions before the Blessed Mother. Mission Statement The Church of the Assumption B.V.M. is dedicated to becoming a community of disciples of Jesus Christ. As disciples we make Jesus Christ a living reality in the lives of the members of our parish family. By guiding and encouraging our people to discipleship through a heightened awareness of our Lord s presence in their lives, the parish community becomes a visible and active expression of the living Christ in our world today.

3 Assumption Parish Staff Parish Office: ext. 10 Rev. Msgr. Nevin Klinger J.C.L., M.A., Pastor Deacon Don Elliott - ext 18, Deacon Stu Herman - ext. 19 Saint Michael the Archangel School: Mrs. Colleen Weiss, Principal; Mrs. Erin Faust, Vice Principal Assumption Preschool, Mrs. Andrea Powell, Director: powellandrea725@gmail.com Christina Durback, DRE: Parish & St. Michael Middle School: Dr. Dennis Varley: Director of Music: dennis.varley@desales.edu Mary Williams/Parish Office x10, abvmrect@ptd.net Kate Varley Room Scheduling/Bulletin x11, abvmkate@ptd.net Adult Confirmation at the Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday: Bishop Schlert will celebrate the Noon Mass on Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 2018 at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena, Allentown, within which he will confirm adults of our Diocese. Those to be confirmed are those adults (eighteen years of age or older) who were baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, received their First Holy Communion, are catechized, but never confirmed. Please contact Monsignor Klinger at to discuss registration details. Easter Fellowship Book Discussion Everyone is invited to the Coll Room this Thursday, April 5th at 7:00 p.m. for an evening of Fellowship, Food and Fun! We ll be discussing the book, RESISTING HAPPINESS by Matthew Kelly. Please join us and let s discuss the book together as a parish family! If you are interested please contact Barb Paluszek at: (H) or paluszbj@airproducts.com. Hope you can attend! Save the date for Sunday, April 15 th after the 10am and 11:30am masses! Bring your appetite! The Guardians are having a bake sale. We are a group of our parish high school teens who do volunteer service work. Proceeds will be donated to buying food for meals that we prepare for the homeless people in the Lehigh Valley. We welcome any baked good donations (along with an ingredients list) to sell. Needed: If you would like to donate a baked good for the sale, please contact Melanie Sanchez-Jones at smzajones@yahoo.com. Culture of Encounter: Family Holy Hours Bring your whole family to encounter Christ! Stay for a few minutes or for the whole hour. Babies, toddlers, children, teens, young adults, and adults are all welcome! Prayer resources will be provided for both children and adults Have you ever been to a Holy Hour? Pick up a postcard on the window sills in church or at the parish office for the schedule, or visit encounter. The next local Holy Hour will be held on Sunday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Church in Easton. All are Welcome!

4 Mrs. Colleen Weiss, Principal Mrs. Erin Faust, Assistant Principal Nurturing Students. Challenging Minds. Inspiring Faith-Filled Leaders. Happy Easter from the administration, faculty, staff and students of St. Michael the Archangel School. God Bless each of you and your families this Easter season! PLAN FOR FALL 2018 Open enrollment has begun for the Fall 2018 school year. Contact the Advancement Office at x17. Are you an alumni from St. Michael the Archangel School? If so, visit our website and offer us your most updated contact information and Like St. Michael the Archangel Alumni FACEBOOK page and post pictures and reconnect with classmates. St. Michael FUNDARAISER: We will be holding our annual Night of Knights event next Saturday, April 7, 2018 at DeSales University. This year s celebration will include a Casino Night, as well as live and silent auctions. If you are interested in attending, contact Marianne Gano at mgano@st-mikes.com or RAFFLE TICKETS There will be a Raffle as part of Night of Knights Event sponsored by the Board of St. Michael the Archangel School for one full TUITION for one student of St. Michael the Archangel School OR half the value in CASH. Tickets are $20. Contact the Advancement office if interested in purchasing tickets. You do not have to be present to win! During this Easter season, we ask for prayers for our 40 First Communion candidates who will celebrate this Sacrament on April 14. Preparation of children and youth for the Sacraments is the responsibility of first their parents, then of the pastor and the entire parish community. Your prayerful remembrance is a significant contribution to our young people s preparation. Thank you. We congratulate our 64 parish teens who confirmed their faith and were strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation on March 20. We thank their catechists: Tanya Korpics, Christina Durback, Noelle Cybulski, Nancy O Keefe, Caren Richards, Lisa Niescier and teen aide Michael W. for their help in preparing our Confirmands for this Sacrament. Special thanks to Religious Ed office assistant Anne Chadwell-Slutz for all of her work behind the scenes that helped to make Confirmation 2018 a Spirit-filled celebration! From our newly confirmed parishioners: Thank you to all who assisted in our preparation for the celebration of our Confirmation on March 20. To our parents, our first teachers in faith, our sponsors, our PREP and St. Michael School administration and catechists, thank you for your sincere efforts to lead us in discovering the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To Bishop Schlert, thank you for leading us in a beautiful celebration of the Sacrament. To Monsignor Klinger, for leading us in our preparation and for your devoted leadership of our community. Father Buckley, Father Benoy, Deacon Don and Deacon Stu, thank you for assisting at our Confirmation liturgy and for your faithful service to God s people. Dr. Varley and choir members, thank you for helping us lift our minds and hearts to God in music and prayer during the Confirmation liturgy. May the God bless you all! Final PREP Sessions are Wednesdays, April 4, 11, and 18 and Sundays, April 8, 15, and 22 this year. We thank all who have faithfully brought their children to PREP sessions this year, and we offer special prayers of thanks for our catechists, aides, and office helpers, who provide an experience of a Catholic learning community for our children and youth.

5 Monday, April 2: Monday in Octave of Easter No Morning Mass Tuesday, April 3: Tuesday in Octave of Easter 8:15 a.m. Deceased members of the Reed Family Wed., April 4: Wednesday in Octave of Easter 8:15 a.m. Thomas & Mary Wagner Thurs., April 5: Thursday in Octave of Easter 8:15 a.m. Pat Gill Friday, April 6: Friday in Octave of Easter 8:15 a.m. Thomas Williams Saturday, April 7: Saturday in Octave of Easter No Morning Mass Vigil 5:00pm Marco Cera Sunday, April 8: 2nd Sunday of Easter 7:30 a.m. Living & Deceased Parishioners 10:00 a.m. Thomas Williams 11:30 a.m. Jimmy Thompson and Elizabeth Katona READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2a, 5, 7-11; Mt 28:8-15 Tuesday: Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5, 18-20, 22; Jn 20:11-18 Wednesday: Acts 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-4, 6-9; Lk 24:13-35 Thursday: Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:2ab, 5-9; Lk 24:35-48 Friday: Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2, 4, 22-27a; Jn 21:1-14 Saturday: Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118:1, 14-15ab, 16-21; Mk 16:9-15 Sunday: Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Jn 5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31 Please pray for the repose of the soul of Kathleen Filler who passed away. May the angels lead her into paradise, may the martyrs come to welcome her and lead her to the Holy City, the new and eternal Jerusalem. Remember, this program does not cost you anything. We receive 5% of every dollar sold. Try it, it s easy! We sell Gifts Cards in the parish office during weekly office hours and after the 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Masses on weekends. Weekly Sales: March 12-19: $2, Bible Study Groups at our church focus on The Old Testament and the Prophets. These Bible Study Groups meet at the following times: Monday mornings, 10:00-11:30 a.m. in the Finnegan Room Monday evenings, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Finnegan Room Wednesday mornings, 10:00-11:30 a.m. in the Finnegan Room Join anytime. If you are interested or have any questions, contact Larry Durback at x12 or ldurback@gmail.com. Summer Care & Camp Choose weekly options from June 11 August 6 Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. Noon $105. 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. $190. Contact Catherine Beck at cmbeck24@gmail.com for more information. A Protecting God s Children workshop will be held on Thurs., April 19, from 6 9 p.m. in the Coll Room. Please call or Julia Spehalski at or jspehalski@st-mikes.com to sign up. Registration is required. Please provide your name, phone number, and address. The Diocese of Allentown requires that this class be completed by all volunteers over the age of 18 prior to working with minors. This includes, but is not limited to volunteers for St. Michael the Archangel School, Preschool, PREP, CYO, Boy Scouts, Knights of Columbus, Youth Programs, etc.

6 Easter Sunday Today s Readings: Acts10:34a, 37 43; Ps 118:1 2, 16 17, 22 23; Col 3:1 4 or 1 Cor 5:6b 8; Jn 20:1 9 At Easter, the Church resumes singing Alleluia at Mass. Our Alleluia celebrates the central events of the Christian faith, and the central turning point of human history. The resurrection of Jesus first revealed the victory of Jesus on the cross. Jesus fulfilled God s promises to rescue Israel and all of humanity from the effects of sin and death. Easter reveals that God s new creation has now been launched, with Jesus resurrected body as its first demonstration. This new creation will be completed upon Jesus return, when heaven and earth are fully joined. Right now, in this new Reign of God in Jesus, the Holy Spirit empowers us to join God s project, to renew all of God s beloved creation. And Easter reminds us that wherever we are in life, in whatever difficulties or messes we find ourselves, God offers us a new beginning. Alleluia indeed! FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT Today s Gospel begins in darkness. Mary of Magdala comes to the tomb before dawn. She, then the two disciples, see the empty tomb, and are amazed and terrified. The passage stops before Jesus first appears, which allows us to pause and more fully notice their disorientation and confusion. John s Gospel has many images of the passage from darkness to light and from blindness to sight. When Jesus cured the blind man in John 9, and raised Lazarus in John 11, their transition to the light was gradual and difficult. The disciples, too, were often slow and resistant to understanding what Jesus was saying and doing, both before and after the Resurrection. THE LIGHT OF EASTER In the first reading, Peter boldly and clearly proclaims the good news of Jesus resurrection. Here it s important to observe that Peter, in the verses just before his speech, was profoundly disoriented by a vision. The vision, contrary to assumptions from his heritage, suggested that the Holy Spirit is inviting Gentiles, without obstacles, into the Jesus community. It began to dawn on Peter that the gospel is for everyone, without exception. The barriers between peoples were being blown open by the Spirit. Peter began to see a new and brighter world. Most of us, most of the time, try hard to protect ourselves from being disoriented. Our traditions and past experiences keep us grounded and secure. However, often we grow in maturity and insight precisely because we are knocked off balance. God disrupts us enough to open us to what God wishes to teach us. We move from blindness to sight when we are first disoriented by the light, let go of the comfortable darkness, and open our eyes to new insight. As we begin the Easter season, the light of Easter is indeed bright. Easter reveals a world of opportunities to care for others and an abundance of grace to guide and sustain us.

7 Parish Registration: Are you a registered parishioner? We are often asked to provide affidavits for baptismal and confirmation sponsors. We can only do this if a person is a registered, active, and supporting member in our parish. Would you like to register? Give us a call so we can better serve you. Contact the parish office at x10. Women Hearts Afire Be Who God Made You To Be Diocesan Women s Conference Saturday, May 5 at DeSales University Women of all ages are invited to learn how their lives can be transformed through a deeper understanding of their vital role in God s plan for creation. Presenters will challenge women to discover who God made them to be through topics of embracing the universal call to holiness in daily life and unveiling their unique vocation. Preregistration is required by calling x2021 or visiting womens-conference. The fee is $40. per person, $10. for high school students, $15. for college students. The conference includes 4 speakers, continental breakfast and lunch. The day will conclude with a Saturday evening Vigil Mass celebrated by Bishop Schlert. NEW PARISHIONERS Welcome! Our parish family invites all of its members to participate fully in our spiritual and social life. Please contact the parish office to register. BAPTISMS Baptisms are scheduled on the first, second AND third Sunday of each month immediately following the 11:30 a.m. Mass. Contact the parish office at x10 at least six weeks in advance. Parents must attend a Baptismal Preparation Class. WEDDINGS Couples must contact the pastor at least 6 months prior to the wedding. BULLETIN All copy must be received in writing two Fridays prior to the intended Sunday publication. We reserve the right to edit all copy. All inserts must be received at least two weeks in advance. PRAYER CHAIN Call Carol Herman at or her at prayer@ealvinc.com and give her your name and intention. She will contact other parishioners participating in our Prayer Chain on your behalf. PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL The Council welcomes any comments or suggestions by parishioners. Please contact Jeanine Faust at faust2@epix.net this month. Thank you for using Online Giving. Parishioners who use the service are pleased with how easy it is to set up and manage. If you have not yet signed up for Online Giving, then please consider this option. This is a perfect tool for anyone who shops online! By using Online Giving you are helping the parish to improve our operational efficiency. Go to our parish website at to get started today. PARISH MEMORIALS Following the death of a relative or friend, offerings may be made to the Church in loving memory of the deceased. The offerings may specify a particular request or placed in the Parish Memorial Endowment, The Parish Education Endowment, or the Health Ministry Endowment. Our website: