Saint Cecilia. Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. 1 July Fresco, 4th Century AD Catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Rome

Transcription

1 Saint Cecilia P A R I S H Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 July 2012 Fresco, 4th Century AD Catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Rome

2 prayer for religious freedom Almighty God, Father of all nations, for freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal. 5:1). We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty, the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; by your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness, and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, forever and ever. St. Thomas More Patron of Religious Freedom Amen. The Vatican Synod declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that in matters religious no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs. Nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether privately or publically, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits. The Synod further declares that the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person, as this dignity is known through the revealed Word of God and by reason itself. This right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed. Thus it is to become a civil right. Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae), no. 2 December 7, 1965

3 our community news Ministers of the Liturgy Saturday 5:00 p.m. Rev. Peter Grover, OMV, celebrant Laura Tomczik, lector Sunday 8:00 a.m. Rev. Thomas Gariepy, CSC, celebrant Daniel Hart, lector Sunday 9:30 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Victoria Maria Klyce, Nikko Mendoza, & Rosaria Salerno, lectors special intention Sunday, July 1 11:15 a.m. Patrick O Connell, Memorial weekday Mass Mass is celebrated each week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 8:00. Sunday 11:15 a.m. Rev. John Unni, celebrant Letitia Howland, Zachary Fehst, & Nicole Benevenia, lectors today s readings Wisdom 1:13 15; 2: Corinthians 8:7, 9, Mark 5:21 43 next sunday s Readings Ezekiel 2:2 5 2 Corinthians 12:7 10 Mark 6:1 6 Little girl, I say to you, arise! 3

4 Prayers & Occasions Our Sick Please pray for all our sick and for those who are in need of our prayer, especially Josephine Parker, John Saulenas, K. Champoux, Patricia Hoggard, Jennifer Serpico, Christine St. Pierre, Jessica Coviello, Harold Williamson, Jessica Rivieccio, Earl Chilcote, Colonel Robert C. Tashjian, Kim Murray, Heather LoRe, Rudy Kikel, Herbert Simmons, Peggy Furey, Janice Mascia, Pamela D Ambra, Sue Lucas, Suki Coughlin, Roberta Keenan, Bridget Spence, Annette Kulas, Sam Gowan, Rhea Richard, Pil-Yun Son, Mary Yanez, Larry Buckley, M. Frances Driscoll, Ed Langlais, Bob McLaughlin, Steven Whitkens, Diana Slaton, Leo Garcia, Joe Ford, Danny Cotter, Natalia Chilcote, Amy Sweetland, Jim Keyes, Michael Zawikowski, Cheryl Proctor, Patricia Macdonald, Elvera Dowsky, Frank Ackley, Fred Haslee, Lorraine Haslee, Robert Menson, Paul Flaherty, William Louttit, Lucie Kelly, Bro. Adam Zielonka, O.C.S.O., Amy Duarte, Karen & Rick, Phyllis Porras, Jim Linderman, Mark Amerault, Sr. Nuala Cotter, R.A., Kristen DeFranco Martinez, Michele Crowley Tippens, Sara Lima Santos, Joseph Driscoll, Pete Huttlinger, Anthony Simboli, Lisa Caputo, Edward Gill, Darlene McLendon, Jeanne Tibbs, Debbie Pace, Deidre Sullivan, Roosevelt Brown, Mary O Donnell, Ginny L Abbe, Steve Chamberlain, Matt Penchuk, Carrie Penchuk, Christy Cosgrove, Jacques Romberger, John Scaife, Maureen Sullivan, Alyce Haley, Joe Capizzi, David Walsh, Joe Huenke, Kaylin Marcotte, Avito Pacifici, Charlotte Egan, James Noone, Keith Plaster, Frederick Flather, David & Paula Fillion, Fred Maglero, Sarah Sweeney, Susan Shea, Bill Croke, Ettore Bergamaschi, Ryan Delaney, Manuela Almeida, Ilda Almeida, Joe Farrell, Ethan D Amato, Sophie Gagnon, Earl Meyers, Kathleen A. Meehan, James Ditomassi, Anne Frenette Handly, Jan Igras, Cheryl Sabin, Trish Mullen, Thomas Corrigan, Fernando Luis Riganti, Frank DeMare, & Carmela Franchi. Baptisms At this morning s nine-thirty liturgy we celebrate baptism for Carson Matthew, son of Brian and Liz Schwab and at the eleven-fifteen for Bowman Michael, son of Jeff and Barbara Fultz. The Christian community welcomes you with great joy, Carson and Bowman! Pray for Religious Freedom Pray that religious freedom, our nation s first and most cherished liberty, will be defended strongly by our political leaders and all citizens this Independence Day. Independence Day Each year, the Fourth of July gives us the opportunity not only to delight in summer s beauty, but to give thanks to God for freedom and prosperity in a beautiful and diverse nation. We pray for peace and for safe homecoming for soldiers, solace for their families, and healing for those wounded in mind and body. We pray also for the safety of all who will be traveling this week. Happy Fourth of July! Summer Prayers For the safety of travelers, for rest and renewal for vacationers, and for a summer filled with joy and delight, reunions with dear friends, and encounters with beautiful places, we pray! Richard is Away Richard Clark is in Salt Lake City participating in the Sacred Music Colloquium, the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world. The colloquium provides opportunities for learning, singing, listening, and interacting with the best minds and musicians in the Catholic world today. In Richard s absence, we are grateful to have Pen Macdonald, Diana Reddick, and Joe Houley leading the assembly in song. 4

5 a request from catholic charities fortnight for freedom & town hall meeting with Cardinal seán Please participate in the U.S. Bishops Fortnight for Freedom by praying the religious freedom prayer found on the inside front cover of the bulletin and by watching the recording of Cardinal Seán s town hall meeting on CatholicTV (Saturday, June 30 at 8:00 p.m. and Wednesday, July 4 at noon) or at CatholicTV.org. The Fortnight for Freedom runs from June 21 to July 4. Let us treasure and defend religious freedom this Independence Day! Please see BostonCatholic.org/ Freedom for more information. Sunset Point Camp, located in Hull, serves as a dream vacation for 300 children each summer. The camp was a donation to Catholic Charities in 1918 by the Knights of Columbus. The goal of the camp has always been to provide a free vacation for at-risk, low-income children from the Greater Boston area, without regard for their race, nationality, or religious affiliation. The programs at Sunset Point Camp are designed around building life skills, including teamwork, leadership, self-discipline, self-esteem, sportsmanship, and good health. Many of the children live with the harsh realities of poverty, violence, and homelessness, and a host of other challenges, but for one week in the summer, these children are given the opportunity just to be children, enjoy the fresh sea air, and simply have fun. Sunset Point Camp is supervised by our friends at Catholic Charities Yawkey Center in Dorchester. They have mentioned to us that they always need donations of sunscreen for the kids at the camp. So the next time you re at CVS or Walgreen s or your local supermarket, please consider picking up an extra tube of sunscreen and dropping it in the plastic bin identified for this purpose in the narthex. We have been told the higher the SPF number, the better. Thank you for your help! foreign student looking to stay with parish family We have received a request that a seventeen year old high school student from Madrid is looking for a family to host him during July and August (or a portion of this time). He does not have much money but can help contribute toward food and other costs. If you are a family who is interested in more information about this, please contact Scott MacDonald (smacdonald@stceciliaboston. org). staying IN TOUCH If you are moving, or have changed your phone or e mail address, please be sure to update your contact information with the parish office. You can simply Mark Donohoe at mdonohoe@stceciliaparish.org. Thank you. 5

6 drivers needed Each month parishioners have the opportunity to pick up donated meat, dairy products, and produce from a South Shore supermarket and baked goods from Whole Foods and deliver this food to Catholic Charities Haitian Multi-Service Center in Dorchester along with the packaged food items donated at Saint Cecilia. This vital ministry takes place on Sunday mornings at seven-thirty and can be completed in time to attend the ninethirty parish Mass. We need four cars each time we deliver to Catholic Charities. Here are our upcoming dates: July 1 July 15 July 29 If you have a car and are interested in volunteering, please contact Mark Lippolt at mlippolt@hammondre.com. done time? Please join us for our Monday Night Gatherings. Men and women who have been incarcerated are invited to join this group which is designed to provide participants with a sense of welcome and support. The meetings are held from six to eight o clock in the Parish Pastoral Center (Saint Cecilia Street entrance) and begin with a group that provides an opportunity for individuals to talk about their personal experiences, insights, and issues in a safe environment. A simple meal is shared after the group. It s fine to just come, but if you would like additional information (or if you are interested in helping to host this group), please contact Peg Newman (peg_newman@msn.com; ) or Tom Ash (whatevertp@gmail.com; ). come to the dominican republic! Kononia, the 20s & 30s Saint Cecilia group, is organizing a group of volunteers to travel to the Dominican Republic to work with underserved Haitians. This trip is open to all parishioners and friends of parishioners. The trip would have both a medical and a construction team, and group members can participate in one or both teams. You don t need to speak Spanish or even be medical/construction professionals; you simply need the desire to help others! We will travel to remote villages on the outskirts of La Romana, which are miles and miles from access to health care, education, running water, and electricity and are in need of assistance. If you are willing to volunteer for the trip, or if you d like to help in other ways (e.g., fundraising), please join us next Sunday, July 1, after the eleven-fifteen liturgy. For further information, please contact Christine at cmshaughnessy.1@ gmail.com. We hope to see you next Sunday! YNIA DISCOUNT CARDS After the nine thirty and eleven-fifteen liturgies, there will be $20 discount cards for sale in the narthex. These discount cards are valid until March 30, 2013 and offer discountes at ten different local establishments, including Mida, Bruegger s, Boloco, and Ben & Jerry s. It won t take long before you make back your $20 outlay and you ll be helping the youth of the parish. Thanks for your support. 6

7 10 Things churches can learn from the apple store By GUY KAWASAKI with Introduction by DAVID J. LOSE What follows below is a post from Guy Kawasaki who was for many years a chief evangelist for all things Apple and who continues to write about excellence in design, marketing, innovation, and retail. In this piece he summarizes some key insights from a book about the phenomenal retail success of the Apple store. As I was reading Guy s post, I couldn t help but think about how many of these same insights might apply to the ways we think about church. So I ll place the whole of the original post below so that you can read Guy s insights. But I ll also comment (in italic) after each section, offering a translation intended to suggest how we might apply this to our congregational lives. They won t always be a perfect fit like any translation, there are always some things that get lost. Still, I found it a helpful exercise and hope you do, too. One brief note before getting started: some of us may be uncomfortable using the language of retail stores to describe the church, par-ticularly if we start referring to those who come to church as customers. That s a fair concern. Church is not one more place to exercise our habits for consumption, and worship isn t meant to be just another shopping experience. At the same time, both retail stores and churches care about the people who walk in their doors and should give attention to the kind of experience they want those people to have. So noting that the two aren t the same, we still might learn from one to help us do the other more faithfully. 10 Things You Can Learn From the Apple Store by GUY KAWASAKI My friend, Carmine Gallo, has written a book called The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. The Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America, generating an average of $5,600 per square foot and attracting more than 20,000 visitors a week. (Article continues on page 8) 7

8 (Continued from page 7) In the decade since Steve Jobs and former head of retail, Ron Johnson, decided to reimagine the retail experience, the Apple Store not only reimagined and reinvented retail, it blew up the model entirely and started from scratch. In his research for The Apple Experience, Carmine discovered ten things that the Apple Store can teach any business in any industry to be more successful: 1. Stop selling stuff. When Steve Jobs first started the Apple Store he did not ask the question, How will we grow our market share from 5 to 10 percent? Instead he asked, How do we enrich people s lives? Think about your vision. If you were to examine the business model for most brands and retailers and develop a vision around it, the vision would be to sell more stuff. A vision based on selling stuff isn t very inspiring and leads to a very different experience than the Apple Retail Store created. Translation: Stop worrying about membership and about whether people will join the church s equivalent of selling stuff. Instead, ask people why they re here, why they ve come, what they re looking for, and how this congregation can aid them in their walk with God. 2. Enrich lives. The vision behind the Apple Store is enrich lives, the first two words on a walletsized credo card employees are encouraged to carry. When you enrich lives magical things start to happen. For example, enriching lives convinced Apple to have a non-commissioned sales floor where employees feel comfortable spending as much time with a customer as the customer desires. Enriching lives led Apple to build play areas (the family room ) where kids could see, touch and play on computers. Enriching lives led to the creation of a Genius Bar where trained experts are focused on rebuilding relationships as much as fixing problems. Translation: Strengthen faith. Set your congregation the vision of imagining that every aspect of their life worship, education, facilities, newsletter, and all the rest is intended to help people strengthen their faith and grow in their lives as disciples. What would it mean if before each action, decision, or vote you asked the question, How will this help strengthen the faith of the people who come here? 3. Hire for smiles. The soul of the Apple Store is in its people. They are hired, trained, motivated and taught to create magical and memorable moments for their customers. The Apple Store values a magnetic personality as much, if not more so, than technical proficiency. The Apple Store cares less about what you know than it cares about how much you love people. Translation: Statistics show that visitors to churches make up their minds within the first two minutes whether they ll be back (way before they hear the sermon!). The most important factor? Whether they feel welcome and believe people are genuinely glad they re there. Not everyone has the gift of hospitality of making someone feel incredibly welcome but lots of people do. Find these people, name their gift (not everyone realizes they have this gift), and get them out front on Sunday morning to welcome everyone who walks in the door. 4. Celebrate diversity. Mohawks, tattoos, piercings are all acceptable among Apple Store employees. Apple hires people who reflect the diversity of their customers. Since they are more interested in how passionate you are, your hairstyle doesn t matter. Early in the Apple Store history, they also learned that former teachers make the best salespeople because they ask a lot of questions. It s not uncommon to find former teachers, engineers, and artists at an Apple Store. Apple doesn t look for someone who fits a mold. Translation: Just how welcoming can we be? Really. Have we created a place where our kids and their friends feel welcome even if they re dressing differently than when we were young? Have we created a place where neighbors who may look different, or have different levels of education, or dress differently feel welcome? Look around your congregation this Sunday does everyone look the same? Then maybe we need to 8

9 work harder at making room for all kinds of different people to find their place in our congregation. 5. Unleash inner genius. Teach your customers something they never knew they could do before, and they ll reward you with their loyalty. For example, the Apple Store offers a unique program to help people understand and enjoy their computers: One to One. The $99 one-year membership program is available with the purchase of a Mac. Apple Store instructors called creatives offer personalized instruction inside the Apple Store. Customers can learn just about anything: basics about the Mac operating system; how to design a website; enjoying, sharing, and editing photos or movies; creating a presentation; and much more. The One to One program was created to help build customers for life. It was designed on the premise that the more you understand a product, the more you enjoy it, and the more likely you are to build a long-term relationship with the company. Instructors are trained to provide guidance and instruction, but also to inspire customers, giving them the tools to make them more creative than they ever imagined. Translation: Everyone in your congregation has something of value to offer your congregation. (Now, say this 5x!) Moreover, there is no single factor that contributes more powerfully to someone feeling connected to an organization than feeling that his or her gifts are appreciated and will be used. So when something needs to get done at the church, don t call any of the first 3 people that come to mind. Call the 4th, 5th, or 6th person, because they can do it too, and, moreover, they need to have their gifts put to use. Imagine if the church was a place where everyone from our youth to our retirees felt that their creative gifts were not just valued but were vital to the health of the congregation. 6. Empower employees. I spent one hour talking to an Apple Store specialist about kids, golf, and my business. We spent about ten minutes talking about the product (a MacBook Air). I asked the employee whether he would be reprimanded for spending so much time with one customer. Not at all, he replied. If you have a great experience, that s all that matters. Apple has a non-commissioned sales floor for a reason employees are not pressured to make a sale. Instead they are empowered to do what they believe is the right thing to do. Translation: If it matters, don t let the pastors do it! Really. How else will our people be equipped and empowered to read the Bible with confidence, to connect their faith to their daily lives, and to share their faith with others if the only persons who ever do these kinds of things are the pastors. We learn by doing, so if it matters, invite everyone to do it! (Okay, so pastors can do some of this too, but if it matters, don t let them be the only ones who do it!) 7. Sell the benefit. Apple Store specialists are taught to sell the benefit behind products and to customize those benefits for the customer. For example, I walked to the ipad table with my two young daughters and told the specialist I was considering my first ipad. In a brilliant move, the specialist focused on my two daughters, the secondary customer who can influence a purchase. He let the girls play on separate devices. On one device he played the movie, Tangled, and on the other device he brought up a Disney Princess coloring app. My girls were thrilled and, in one memorable moment, my 6-year-old turned me to and said, I love this store! It s easy to see why. Instead of touting speeds and feeds, the specialist taught us how the device could improve our lives. Translation: Practice talking about what we love about this congregation. Many of us may feel uncomfortable with the word evangelism, having had too many encounters with someone who wanted to know if we knew where we d go after dying. But can t we practice talking about what we really enjoy about this congregation, about why we come out on Sunday mornings, about what we receive from our community of faith. If we practice this in church, it may be easier to share (Article continues on page 10) 9

10 (Continued from page 9) outside of church and won t, I promise you, feel like we re stuffing our religion down someone else s face. 8. Follow the steps of service. The Apple Store teaches its employees to follow five steps in each and every interaction. These are called the Apple five steps of service. They are outlined by the acronym A-P-P-L-E. They are: Approach with a customized, warm greeting. Probe politely to understand the customer s needs. Present a solution the customer can take home today. Listen for and address unresolved questions. End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return. Translation: Take hospitality seriously. Invite folks to practice welcoming people at church. And then practice inviting people to church. If it s sincere, and if you always respect the persons with whom you are in conversation, this is does not have to be manipulative. But practice is important because we re not used to doing this (whether or not you choose an acronym is up to you). 9. Create multisensory experiences. The brain loves multi-sensory experiences. In other words, people enjoy being able to see, touch, and play with products. Walk into an Apple Store upon opening and you ll see all the notebook computer screens perfectly positioned slightly beyond 90- degree angles. The position of the computer lets you see the screen (which is on and loaded with content) but forces you to touch the computer in order to adjust it. Every device in the store is working and connected to the Internet. Spend as much time as you d like playing with the products nobody will kick you out. Creatives who give One-to-One workshops do not touch the computer without asking for permission. They want you to do it. The sense of touch helps create an emotional connection with a product. (lest we forget) actual, physical flesh-and-blood people around us. Let s keep worship simple, clean, and richly multi-sensorial, inviting a faith that goes deeper than our brains to reach the whole person. 10. Appeal to the buying brain. Clutter forces the brain to consume energy. Create uncluttered environments instead. The Apple Store is spacious, clean, well-lit, and uncluttered. Cables are hidden from view and no posters are placed on the iconic glass entrances. Computer screens are cleaned constantly. Keep the environment clean, open, and uncluttered. Translation: What are we doing in our meetings, in Sunday School, in worship that we don t need to do? How can our space and our activities be simplified? Another question to ask before each decision: Is there a simpler way to do this? The three pillars of enchantment are likability, trustworthiness, and quality. Apple s engineers take care of quality, and the Apple Store experience personifies likability and trustworthiness. I ve never left an Apple store without being enchanted in fact, I seldom leave the Apple Store on University Avenue in Palo Alto without being enchanted and buying something too! Resisting Carmine s book, like resisting an Apple Store, is futile, so just [do yourself a favor and read it]. Translation: Are you kidding church is the original multi-sensorial experience so let s reclaim that. We ve got music, and words, and images, and bread and wine, and stained-glass windows, and 10