St. Joseph s Messenger

Transcription

1 St. Joseph s Messenger St. Joseph Church Rev. Daniel Kirby Deacon Sam Sullivan 1026 North 8th Avenue, Winterset, Iowa Office: Parish Hall Father: dkirby@saintjosephchurch.net Deacon: or stmnsully@gmail.com I came across this reflection on the holy season of Advent by my former Church history teacher, Cardinal Timothy Dolan. I think it helps us appreciate this important season of the Church and it also prepares us to celebrate the Birth of Our Lord. Come Lord Jesus. Father Daniel Kirby By Cardinal Timothy Dolan Who We re Waiting For One of the highlights of our bishops meetings comes at our morning of recollection. It s rather simple, but we, your bishops, observe that is probably the most effective part of our sessions. We gather before the Most Blessed Sacrament, in adoration before the Holy Eucharist, exposed in the monstrance. There we pray together morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, listen to a reflection on God s Holy Word by one of our brother bishops, and then sit or kneel for most of an hour in silent prayer until the time concludes with Benediction. (During the entire time, 10 or 12 priests are available for the Sacrament of Penance.) Two weeks ago, as the hundreds of bishops were in front of Jesus in the Eucharist in silent worship, I quietly got up to go to confession. As I passed one of the helpful hotel attendants, who had been with us all week to make sure that the sound and light were fine, and who I had gotten to know, he whispered to me, Cardinal Dolan, what are all of you bishops waiting for? What do you mean, Alex? I asked. Well, you re just all sitting there quiet, waiting none of you are talking or doing anything. Is something wrong? I smiled and tried to explain to him that, actually, we were doing something, praying, but that this was best done quietly, with all the action inside of us, in the heart and soul, invisible to all but the Lord. WAITING continued on page 5 IN THIS ISSUE Parish contacts... 2 Around the Diocese... 2 Religious Education... 3 St. Joseph s News... 4 Milestones... 7 Tidbits... 8 MASS SCHEDULE Saturday... 5 p.m. Sunday a.m. Monday... None Tuesday... 6 p.m. Wednesday... 8 a.m. Thursday... 8 a.m. Friday... 8 a.m. Reconcilliation Saturday...4-4:30 p.m. or by appointment 2013 For holiday mass and reconciliation schedules, please see page 4

2 Page 2 St. Joseph s Messenger Diocese News Food Pantry/Clothing Closet Volunteers Needed On average 400 people visit the food counter at Catholic Charities St. Mary Family Center each day. It is through the generosity and hard work of many dedicated volunteers that we are able to serve this number of people. We invite you to join the team of volunteers that makes this work possible. Volunteers are needed for an afternoon shift (noon-3:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday. Call Pat at to learn more. Vocation Information For young men and women discerning their call to priesthood or religious life, there are a number of upcoming opportunities to visit a seminary or religious community. Questions about these or registration information can be obtained through the diocesan office of vocations at or by contacting Lauren at lsteinkoenig@dmdiocese.org or through Facebook at Des Moines Diocese Office of Vocations. Pregnant and Need Compassionate Support? If you or someone you know is facing challenges associated with an unplanned pregnancy, A New Beginning at Catholic Charities is here for you. Learn more about our free pregnancy and adoption services by calling No Room at the Inn Events Dec. 6-8 Catholic Charities annual poverty and homelessness awareness events, No Room at the Inn, will be held Dec Join the event committee by calling or tradke@catholiccharitiesdm.org. Church office/bookkeeper: Vickie Williams office@saintjosephchurch.net or Newsletter: Mary Halstrum mhalstrum@gmail.com or Parish Hall Reservations: Church office Director of Religious Ed: Heather Honkomp hhonkomp@saintjosephchurch.net or Altar & Rosary: Margaret Schleuter Bulletin: Dave Sullivan office@saintjosephchurch.net Music Ministry: Teresa Kordick tekord@msn.com or Youth Ministry: Heather Honkomp hhonkomp@saintjosephchurch.net or Knights of Coumbus: Andy Couture Prayer Line: Rosemary Stuchel or Patricia Corkrean

3 Page 3 Religious Education Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Junior High and High School Upcoming December Dates 1- Advent Family Activity 7- Cookie Walk 8 - St. Nicholas Brunch 11- Penance Service - 7 pm 18 - JH & HS Caroling 23/25 - No Religious Ed 30/1 - No Religious Ed Advent Family Activity Join us after mass on Dec. 1 for a crafty activity in the Parish Hall C.R.I.S.P. Christmas4KIDS Program Our Youth Group is again sponsoring a family in Madison County through CRISP to help put smiles on faces this Christmas season. In the gathering space they have placed a tree with paper ornaments. The ornaments have the wishes of the children for Christmas gifts. If you are able to help, please purchase one of those gifts and return it under that tree with the ornament attached, gift receipt, and unwrapped. The Youth Group will gather and deliver to CRISP for delivery to the family. Thank you for your support. Cookie Walk The Cookie Walk will be organized by the catechetical area this year and held Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 to 11 a.m. We are in need of lots of homemade cookies! Buyers too! Cookies may be delivered Friday, Dec. 6. Contact Heather at or hhonkomp@saintjosephchurch.net if you can help or with any questions. Thank you. December 2013 First Reconciliation will be celebrated with 21 children on Dec. 15 and First Communion on April 7. They began their preparation in October. Please keep them in your prayers! Charlie Anker Kaeler Beebe Alissa Brownlee Elijah Cowman Marti Davis Miguel Guerrero Genaro Guiterrez Miranda Guiterrez Victoria Guiterrez Rachel Halstrum Paul King Jacob Knudson Jared Knudson Lucas Linde Tristan Melroy Sawyer Nelson Franklin Pastorino Michael Sents Carlos Vallejo Carli Venhaus Kade White JH & HS Caroling The junior high students will go caroling with the high school students on Dec. 18. They will meet at the Parish Hall at 6 p.m. Parents are welcome to join them. They will return to the parish hall for hot cocoa and cider. Students are welcome to bring goodies to share. St. Nicholas Brunch The brunch will be held after mass on Sunday, Dec. 8. Please bring something to share. High School youth will be serving! Penance Service All youth and parents are invited to participate. Fr. Dan will arrange for two additional priests to be here to assist. Benedictine Retreat Coming to Our Parish Last year our parish hosted the retreat team from Benedictine College for our Junior High and High School youth. It was such a success we are hosting again. Mark your calendars for Jan. 18. Benedictine will hold two separate retreats for the JH and HS youth on that day in our parish. More information to come. Please contact Heather with any questions at or hhonkomp@saintjosephchurch.net. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION continued on page 5

4 Page 4 St. Joseph s Messenger ChristmasMass Schedule Dec.24, 4 p.m., St. Joseph s Dec. 24, 6 p.m., St. Patrick s Dec. 25, Midnight, St. Joseph s Dec. 25, 9:30 a.m., St. Joseph s Holy Crop! It s time for the 9th-annual HOLY CROP fundraiser for St. Joseph! It is Jan. 11 (always the second Saturday in January) from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. $25 for a day of cropping, prizes and two meals. Send in your registration ASAP as we sold out last year. Send it to the church office with nonrefundable payment to St. Joseph. Volunteers and food donations will be needed. We will have a sign-up sheet in January for casseroles, desserts and soups. Thanks to all! Questions? Contact Mary Kordick at marykate2361@gmail.com or Music for Christmas We re looking for youngsters (school age) who would like to help with prelude music at the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve mass. If you have a piano recital Christmas piece (religious) that you would like to play, please let me know. Anyone middle school age and above are welcome to sing with the choir. Contact me if you would like to sign up, and I will give you practice time(s). The choir will also be providing music for Midnight Mass. Anyone eighth grade and above are welcome to join us. Again, please let me know so I can provide enough music. Also please contact me if you would like to join the flute choir for Midnight Mass. Contact Teresa Kordick, terkord@msn.com or , with any questions. St. Joseph s News Eucharistic Adoration What to do during adoration? There are no rules, it doe not matter, just do it. Don t bother with any concerns, fears, doubts or worries about what to do for an hour. Again, just do it. Ignore the good reasons you may have about why you can t fit one hour into your schedule. Yes, we are busy with work, helping others, taking care of children, heping the sick. The list goes on and on! But, if you could find one hour a week or every other week or even once a month to particpate in our Eucharistic Adoration, which is held every Tuesday beginning at 11 a.m. to sit and talk, pray, listen to our Lord. Save the Date for Trivia Night! Please save the date for Trivia Night on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2013, at 7 p.m. The theme is SPORTS! Start forming your teams now! Entry fees are $15/ person for first eight people at the table, $25 for extra ninth person. Limit of nine people at a table. And be sure to show your team spirit! The judges will be wearing referee shirts. Watch for the registration form and more information in the January newsletter. Questions? Contact Teresa at terkord@msn.com. Extended Hours for Sacrament of Reconciliation During the season of Advent St. Joseph s and St. Patrick s will have extended times for the sacrament of Reconciliation: Dec. 2, 5-7P.M. St. Patrick s Dec. 7, 4-4:30 P.M. St. Joseph s Dec. 11, 7 P.M. Penance Service Dec. 14, First Reconciliation 10 A.M. St. Joseph s Dec. 14, 4-4:30 P.M. St. Joseph s Dec. 16, 5-7 P.M. St. Patrick s Dec. 19, 5-7 P.M. St. Joseph s Dec. 21, First Reconciliation 10 A.M. St. Patrick s Dec. 21, 4-4:30 P.M. St. Joseph s Dec. 24, 7-9 A.M. St. Joseph s

5 Page 5 December 2013 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION continued from page 3 Snow Days If Winterset Public Schools are cancelled or dismissed early because of bad weather, catechesis is automatically cancelled. If the weather is poor but school is not cancelled, please use your best judgment and be safe! WAITING continued from page 1 And yes, Alex, we are waiting for Someone: we wait for Jesus to answer our prayers. What Alex observed about us bishops in prayer he could also claim about the next four weeks, because Sunday we begin Advent. Advent, of course, is our spiritual getting ready for Christmas. We try to squash into four weeks all the hoping, longing, preparing...all the waiting of the People of Israel, our older family members in the household of the faith. As we bishops were doing in front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we now, in Advent, wait for Jesus:... We wait for His grace and mercy, sure to come;... We wait for Him to answer our prayers, sure He will, but unsure when, where, or how;... We wait for reasons to explain suffering, struggle, and worries;... We wait for Him to call us to be with Him for all eternity. And, lest we forget, the Lord waits for us!... Jesus waits for us to open up to His grace and mercy;... Jesus waits for us to admit that, as a matter of fact, we do need a Savior!... Jesus waits for us to admit that He is the answer to the questions our lives of searching pose.... Jesus waits for our ultimate return to Him, for He has gone to prepare a place for us. My friend Alex couldn t figure it out. He had watched us bishops rushing around all week, busy with meetings, committees, projects, and talking. And then He sees us quiet, not a sound, not a hand raised to ask a question, no speakers, no reports. Something must be wrong, he worried. So he asks, What are you waiting for? Really, Alex, it s who we re waiting for... and He will come! In the waiting is the very arrival... And deep down inside, cradled in the soul, where no one but the One who counts can detect, is again an empty manger where the Son of God wants to be reborn. Christmas can do that. Come, Lord Jesus! A blessed Advent!

6 Page 6 St. Joseph s Messenger Library News Mike Pace to speak at the Library on Dec. 7, 10 a.m. Winterset s own Mike Pace, Iowa radio and TV personality, will present a program at the Library on Dec. 7, at 10 a.m. Pace spent part of his youth in Winterset, and again, he and his wife Gail made Winterset their home during their son s school years. He is a familiar face across Iowa, hosting the Iowa Realty Sunday Home Show for 30 years, and representing hundreds of companies on TV. Pace is blessed with all-round talent as an actor, writer, speaker, poet and musician. He will speak to us about his new book Dreams and Detours: Reflecting on the Souvenirs of a Lifetime. The library has the book, and Pace will also sell and sign copies at his presentation. Writer s Workshop, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. The Writer s Workshop, with leader Heather Clark, is held on the first Thursday each month. Bring some of your writing to share, and you will get to hear from other authors as well. It s a great opportunity for those who are putting out some new stories for publication or just for your own amusement. Preschool and Toddler Story-Times Toddlers, ages 0-2, bring your parents to the library for Toddler Tuesday, held year-round on Tuesdays, from 10:30 to approximately 11 a.m. Parents or care-givers are required to attend along with their toddlers. Preschool children, ages 3 and up, are always welcome at Story Time, held year-round on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 11 a.m. Our children s librarian, Ann Newbury, makes it fun and interesting, while kids meet new friends and learn to participate in a group setting. It is a great way to prepare for kindergarten. No registration is required, and the programs are free and open to the public. Book Discussion Group The Tuesday Morning Book Discussion Group meets on the first Tuesday each month at 10 a.m. Plan to attend on Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. you will have a chance to talk about whatever book you are currently reading, and hear others tell about what they are reading. Resource of the Week: Learning Express Library Need some new computer skills? Brushing up on your math or language skills? This is the place to find resources for all levels adults, high-schoolers, and 4th- through 8th-graders. Go to the library web page, ia.us, and select Learning Express Library from the menu on the left. Log in with your Winterset library card number. Then create your own account following the instructions on the page. The 13 Learning Centers offer practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, diagnostics, ebooks, and information you need to achieve the results you want at work, at school, and in life! There are entire Learning Centers dedicated to helping you get the job that s right for you, brushing up on your math and statistical skills, learning new software skills such as Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and others). Please call the library with any questions.

7 Page 7 Miguel Gutierrez... 1 Trevor Bond... 2 Elizabeth Nigg... 2 Christy Brittain... 3 Peggy Casper... 3 Michael Corkrean... 3 Cohen Hansen... 3 Julie Nelson... 3 Jean Pletchette... 4 Christopher Thompson... 4 Eduardo Garcia... 5 Angela Mortoza... 5 Jo Sitkiewicz... 5 Traci Lensing... 7 Kay Murphy... 7 Brenda Ochiltree... 7 Sarah Kirkland... 8 David Smith... 8 December Milestones Birthdays Patrick Corkrean Bill Venhaus Nicole Williams Maria Gutierrez Daniel Lawson Ava Lemon Roy Smith Gary Barker Talon Ridout Morgan Wickman Allyson Dombrowski Jenna Linde Darrin Cox Kim Algreen Randy Vandello Morgan Wagner Kaeler Beebe Jeffrey Dolton Madison Honkomp Blake Thompson John Watts Clara Snyder Abby Geoghegan Lindsey Moss Kenneth See Taylor Schlatter December 2013 Kacie Feldmann Austin Lang Caleb Moetsch Mary Linde Julie Morrison Jenna Wagner Dylan Wagner James Nigg Charles King Steve Palmer Therese Fath Paul Klimesh Rochelle Lopez Beverly Maxwell Grant Williams Bryce Buckalew Susan Doran Carol Peterson Baptisms Theodore Corkrean... 1 Wedding Anniversaries Sandy & Rick Hoenig... 6 Rita & Mike Drysdale Patricia & Gary Barker Jennifer & Matthew Castor Deana & Greg Armstrong Christine & Dan Faccin Peggy & Bob Casper... 30

8 ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH 1026 North 8th Avenue Winterset, Iowa STANDARD A U.S. Postage PAID Winterset, IA Permit No. 187 Return Service Requested TIDBITS Newsletters, bulletins and more online! Just a reminder that you can view this and past newsletters online. Check it out: Bulletins Liturgy ministry schedules Coffee and roll schedules Music ministry schedules Religious education schedules Check us out on Facebook at The deadline for the January newsletter is Thursday, Dec. 19.