A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust December 9, nd Sunday of Advent

Transcription

1 It is the purpose of St. John Neumann Parish, a gathered people, to act in word, sacrament, witness and service toward all, in gratitude to God our Father, through Jesus Christ our Brother with the Holy Spirit, as our Guide. A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust December 9, nd Sunday of Advent 2230 Rochester Rd. Pittsburgh, PA Mass Schedule Saturday: 9:00 AM & 5:30 PM (Vigil) Sunday: 8:00, 9:30, 11:30 AM & 5:30 PM Weekdays: (M, T, TH, F): 9:00 AM Weds. 6:30 PM Holy Days: 7:00 PM (Vigil), 9:00 AM, 7:00 PM Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:30-10:00 AM Saturday or by appointment Sacrament of Baptism Celebrated on the last Sunday of every month or during Mass by appointment only. Parents are to attend Baptism preparation classes; for class information please call the Rel. Ed. Office. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults We welcome those who are interested in becoming Roman Catholic Christians, through a program of formation and prayer. Contact the Parish Office for more information. Sacrament of Matrimony Contact the Parish Office at least six months prior to wedding date. Marriage preparation is required. Parish Membership New parishioners are always welcome! Please call the Parish Office so we may welcome you into our community. YOUTH MINISTRY FALL RETREAT 2230 Rochester Road, Pittsburgh, PA (412)

2 THE WEEK AHEAD CALENDAR Sunday, Dec. 9 3:00 PM St. Barnabas Christmas Concert 6:30 PM Ad Altare dei I & II Monday, Dec. 10 4:30 PM RCIC 7:00 PM SJN Penance Service Tuesday, Dec. 11 9:30 AM Centering Prayer 2:00 PM Women s Guild at Vincentian Home 2:00 PM Appalachia Stock Stuffing 6:00 PM Christmas Caroling at Verland Wednesday, Dec. 12 8:15 AM Community Food Bank 9:00 AM World Vision Thursday, Dec. 13 9:45 AM Scripture Study 7:00 PM Social Justice Friday, Dec. 14 4:00 PM Stuffing of treat bags Saturday, Dec. 15 9:00 AM World Vision for Teens 9:30 AM RCIA 1:00 PM Bingo at Vincentian Regency READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Is 35:1-10; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 5:17-26 Tuesday: Is 40:1-11; Ps 96:1-3, 10ac, 11-13; Mt 18:12-14 Wednesday: Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Lk 1:39-47 Thursday: Is 41:13-20; Ps 145:1, 9-13ab; Mt 11:11-15 Friday: Is 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-4, 6; Mt 11:16-19 Saturday: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps 80: 2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19; Mt 17:9a, Sunday: Zep 3:14-18a; Is 12:2-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18 WEEKLY COLLECTION Dec. 2 Operating $6, Building Fd. 7, Parish Share 4, X-mas flowers 1, Wreath sales 1, Hurricane Sandy 1, Bread for Africa Advent Materials Misc $23, MASS INTENTIONS Saturday, Dec. 8, Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary 9:00 AM Pat Ofman (Paul Lang) 5:30 PM Bob Osterrieder (Hodnik Family) Sunday, Dec. 9, SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8:00 AM For the People of SJN Parish 9:30 AM Tom O Lare (Family) 11:30 AM Herman Morter (Renew Group) 5:30 PM Carl Gigler (Family) Monday, Dec. 10 9:00 AM Nancy Frankart (Paul Lang) Tuesday, Dec. 11 9:00 AM Edith Caruso (Goldnetz Family) Wednesday, Dec. 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe 6:30 PM Florence Jenkins (Family) Thursday, Dec. 13, St. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr 9:00 AM Sr. Christine & Sr. Fides (Beverly) Friday, Dec. 14, St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church 9:00 AM Vince Showalter (Family) Saturday, Dec. 15 9:00 AM Carl Balucha (Susan & Tom Tutchko) 5:30 PM Peggy Pappert (Birthday lunch ladies) Sunday, Dec. 16, THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8:00 AM Individuals on the SJN Prayer List 9:30 AM William Reinhart (Bunco Group) 11:30 AM Ann Shuckrow (Carole & Mark Shepard) 5:30 PM For the People of SJN Parish EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS Sat. Dec. 15-5:30 PM L. Emark, N. Dempsey, D. & M. Dewey, T. Hart, L. Juhascik, B. Schuler Sun. Dec. 16-8:00 AM A. Guzzetti, N. Stephens, E. Deutsch, K. Deken, K. Miller, M. Kohler, H. Barcaskey 9:30 AM - B. Smith, M. & C. Shepard, K. Magdic, F. Greco, I. & J. Parks 11:30 AM - R. Caruso, R. & J. Powers, B. Chufo, D. Schwartz, A. Betancourt, R. Full LECTORS Sat. Dec. 15 5:30 PM J. Schuler, V. Furst Sun. Dec. 16 8:00 AM D. Chappel, P. Lang 9:30 AM G. Jezerc, M. Matera 11:30 AM A. Shuckrow, J. Full ALTAR SERVERS Sat. Dec. 15 5:30 PM Kocent Family Sun. Dec. 16 8:00 AM L. & E Swartz, B. Neidhardt 9 :30 AM Schweiger Family 11:30 AM G. & S. Cottone, P. Mallampalli

3 PARISH NEWS ST. BARNABAS CHRISTMAS CONCERT Celebrate the season TODAY, SUNDAY, DEC. 9 AT 3 PM, with this magnificent concert, featuring arrangements on traditional Christmas carols for full choir, piano, organ, saxophone, and much more. Led by St. Barnabas Pennies for Patients Committee chairperson Kristi Festa and pianist/organist Daniel Ficarri, this concert benefits the Pennies for Patients campaign, a drive to collect 3 million pennies to support the patients of St. Barnabas Health System. Reception to immediately follow in Bovard Hall. ADVENT PENANCE SERVICE ST. JOHN NEUMANN - DECEMBER 10 STS. JOHN & PAUL - DECEMBER 18 ST. ALEXIS - DECEMBER 19 ST. ALPHONSUS - DECEMBER 20 ALL PENANCE SERVICES BEGIN AT 7 PM SJN PARISHIONERS are welcome to attend any of the above Penance Services. The parish priests of these parishes participate in all of the Services. DECORATING THE CHURCH So many homes are decorated for Christmas now. But in the church we keep Advent in focus until Dec 23 - the Fourth Sunday! Can you plan to help us on that Sunday to prepare the church for Christmas? We need many hands to move things into place. BUT before that hectic Sunday, we need people who could straighten out the artificial trees and check the lights, etc. If you can help, please call Barb Stokes to say when you are available. The trees are waiting in Bovard Hall for you! HELP NEEDED We re looking for families who are interested in helping with a service project. Every year from the Halloween candy we collect, we make treat bags to give to the children from the Giving Tree. We re looking to make the treat bags on Friday, December 14th at 4:00 pm. How about gathering up your family & we ll meet in Bovard Hall. It shouldn't take long - the more hands the better! Call Joyce to sign up or just come X 12 THANK YOU The Respect Life Committee would like to thank everyone who participated in the Pancake Breakfast. Our special thanks go to Mark Matera for his great pancakes. The March for Life will be held on Friday January 25 th not the 21 st as previously shown. Anyone interested in attending the March for Life please contact Denise Schaults at at your earliest convenience. SHARING TREE TODAY, Dec. 9, at all Masses, we will be taking up a collection for all the recipients on the sharing tree. Thanks to your generosity, all the tags are gone from the tree - the money will be used for food vouches for the families. The collection box will be in the back of the church. All gifts must be brought to the church by Sunday, Dec no later than 12:30 pm. The sorting & bundling of gifts will begin immediately following the 11:30 Mass. We can use all the help we can get for this process. Please plan to stay & help us! SJN CHRISTMAS COLLECTION If you would like your Christmas Offering directed to either Debt Reduction or Parish Share, please note such on your envelope or check, and we will direct your contribution that way. Also, contributions to the Children / Youth Christmas are credited against our diocesan Parish Share obligation so please do not forget this second Christmas collection. We thank you for your continued generosity to St. John Neumann parish. WINDCHIMES Did you see them? Outside the front doors of the church we now have beautiful chimes to call us to worship and prayer. Thanks to Bill and Rita Romig for installing them. Bells are the symbol encouraged by the church to call us to this Year of Faith. Now ours can be heard too. The Pope wants this to be a time to rediscover the beauty and richness of our church history. Bells have been part of it for centuries throughout the world. They call us to "an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord" according to the Holy Father. Listen to their gentle music and let them lead us into a deeper relationship with Jesus through prayer and service this Advent season. CALENDARS Please pick up a Catholic calendar for your home. It is a good way to remember the special saints and feasts that the church celebrates throughout the year. Many liturgical resources are still available and can be found on the shelves in the lobby. SPIRITUAL ADVENT RESOURCES We begin the Second Week of Advent today. You still have plenty of time to prepare for Christmas with the Lord. Our lobby table has many good booklets and children's activities to help you keep the season holy. All of these materials help us keep our eyes on the Lord and our hearts open for the Lord to be born in us. Maybe your college kids or grandkids would appreciate something. MASS REQUESTS If you have requested a Mass for a particular Sunday and would like to carry the Eucharistic gifts to the Altar, please contact an usher before Mass.

4 YEAR OF FAITH One of the aims of this special Year of Faith is to rediscover how much God loves us and to prepare to respond to that love. The Pope urges us to share this love with the world. He writes that "what the world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord." One of his suggestions is to read and study the life of a saint. The saints lives are examples of what the Holy Father calls the "power and beauty of the faith." Look at the saint of the day and find out more about him or her. St. Lucy (Dec 13) and St. John of the Cross (Dec 14) are two that we remember this week in addition to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec 12. During this Year of Faith we pray to follow their example on this journey of God's love. To fully prepare for the journey we always need to look for ways we can reconcile ourselves with the Lord's goodness. The sacrament is available every Saturday after 9 am Mass and especially celebrated in community tomorrow, Monday, at our Penance service. Prepare the Way of the Lord! CHRISTMAS SCRIPTURE PAGEANT A group of 5th and 6th graders have been practicing an original play to proclaim the Christmas Scriptures. Lorenzo Pane has written the script to help us reflect on the story of the Incarnation through the eyes of Anna the Prophetess. It is a unique way of seeing! Come on Dec 19 to either the 4:30 or 6:30 pm Family Mass and witness the Gospel proclaimed in unique dramatic style. All are invited. Thanks to all who are helping this come to be! RELAX REFRESH REFLECT RECLAIM A Day of Retreat for Women will be offered at St. John Neumann on Saturday, January 19, 9:00AM to 4:00PM. The registration fee (Pay your AGE- up to $35!) Includes a continental breakfast, hot lunch, snacks and a gift or two. Watch the bulletin for Sign Up info. If you have any questions, please Linda Fetzer at mlfetzer1@verizon.net. Give YOURSELF a gift this Christmas. RETREAT/4 is for YOU! SERVING SCHEDULES Schedules for Christmas & New Year s are in the Sacristy for Altar Servers, Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors & Ushers. If you plan on being here for the Holidays, please stop in & volunteer for one of the Masses. We appreciate your time & help very much. WOMEN! Consider giving yourself a gift of peace. The Women s Retreat will be held at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center Jan No dinners to prepare, no house cleaning, no distractions...you get the message. Just let the Holy Spirit work within you. For information, call Sharon Wirtz at or the retreat center at SACRAMENTAL RCIA Please continue to prepare the SJN community to welcome our catechumens and candidates through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). These 4 adults and 6 children have expressed the desire to journey in faith with us. They have not yet made a formal committment and so are still looking for the example and love of this parish if they are to find a home here that will lead them to Christ. Every Saturday the adults meet and bimonthly the children meet (in addition to their ageappropriate sessions). Join in Advent prayer this holy season that we may be worthy to lead them in this direction. We are blessed to be chosen to bear Christ for them. Encourage them with hospitality and prayer. EDUCATION FAMILY MASS SCHEDULE Family Masses begin on Wednesday, December 19 at 4:30 and 6:30. A group of 5 th and 6 th graders will present a short Christmas pageant they wrote as part of both Masses on this date. Family Masses will resume in January. Regular Good Shepherd sessions in the atrium resume on February 6, FAMILY MASS ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES Attendance at one Family Mass each week during Intersession is part of the program for all Good Shepherd children. Children must attend with a parent or another adult. Children will sit with their family, NOT with their class. Parents will be asked to check off their child s name on an attendance sheet. FAMILY MASS LECTOR & SERVER TRAINING Any Good Shepherd child who is in 3 rd grade or higher can train to be a lector for the Family Masses; anyone in at least 4 th grade can train to be an altar server. Training is scheduled on December 18 from 7 8 pm in the church. Call ext. 12 to register. YOUTH MINISTRY HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH GROUP Join us for our last youth group in 2012! On Sunday, Dec 16th from 6:30-8:30 pm in Bovard Hall we will take a journey back through the Old Testament exploring the roots of our faith and the importance scripture has in living the Christian life. Our lives as we know it today are just a small part of the great story of Salvation History... come and see what this story has to offer! Also, Sunday, December 16th, is the last 5:30 Youth Mass at SJN. The 5:30 Youth Mass will pick up again at SSJP on January 13th.

5 Middle School Youth Group: Wednesday, Dec. 12th SJN Join us as we bring this semester of Youth Group to a close. Thus far, we have learned all about the three persons of the Trinity and the Paschal Mystery...but what is the one thing that we can do each and every day to come to know the Lord more fully? PRAY. That s right... pray. This is going to be an exciting evening focusing on the importance of praying each and everyday. It s going to be fun. You don't want to miss the last youth group of 2012! Tell your friends - we'll see you on the 12th! SOCIAL SOLOS will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at Carmody s. Please call Bob Lupi at if you plan to attend. VINCENTIAN HOLIDAY TEA Please join us on Tuesday, December 11 at 2:00 pm for a Holiday Tea at Vincentian Assisted Living. The residents set the table with their finest tablecloths and antique teapots and teacups and we provide the scrumptious home baked treats. The residents are looking forward our special event. Please join us and share your favorite homemade goodies. RSVP to Marlene at If unable to attend but would like to donate some treats, please call Marlene. WOMEN S GUILD CHRISTMAS DINNER All women of the parish are welcome to join us on Thursday, December 13 at 6:30 pm at Ziggy s Restaurant on Perry Highway for the Guild s annual Christmas dinner. Door prizes and optional $5.00 gift exchange. Please RSVP by Dec. 9th to Peggy at or her at fowler418@gmail.com. OVER 50 S PARTY Don t forget to mark your calendar for Monday, Dec. 17, at noon, for our annual Christmas Party. It will be a catered lunch with entertainment. Please drop your check off at the Over 50 slot in the Education Bldg. or mail to: Helen Barcaskey, 2615 Warrendale Bayne Rd., Baden, PA by Monday, Dec. 10 SAVE THE DATE - SAT. JANUARY 26 SJN S ANNUAL SNOWBALL DANCE WATCH THE BULLETIN FOR MORE INFO! OUTREACH VOLUNTEER AT GREATER PGH FOOD BANK Volunteer with SJN at the Greater Pgh. Community Food Bank on Wednesday, Dec. 12. You will be helping families and individuals at more than 350 food banks/agencies in 11 counties. Meet at the church's back doors at 8 AM; return approx 2:00 PM after lunch out together. Limit: 10 volunteers. Register at , ext. 12 by noon, Monday, Dec. 10. FAIR TRADE Don't miss some of the unique baskets and stuff made by craftsmen in Third World countries. They might be the meaningful gift that you're looking for this Christmas. Check out the shelves in the lobby. WORLD VISION VOLUNTEERS - Dec. 12 Make a positive difference in a needy person s life by going to the World Vision Int l Relief Agency warehouse near Sewickley. We will sort and pack new clothing and other items for shipment to crisis areas around the world. Please call ext. 12 to register. We leave SJN at 9:00 AM, and return to church by 12:15 PM. LAST CALL FOR CAROLERS Our Verland volunteers and their families are caroling at the Verland Foundation, Ohio Township this Tuesday, December 11 th. We will meet at Verland at 6:00 pm, form two or three groups and visit with the residents and their caregivers in the cottages. We ll sing some songs, offer our prayers and spread some holiday cheer. Contact Andrew James at ajames@stjohnneumannpgh.org if you would like to join us. It s a great beginning for the Christmas season. VINCENTIAN REGENCY BINGO St. John Neumann and Ss. John and Paul volunteers will host bingo at Vincentian Regency Nursing Home next Saturday, December 15th. We meet at 1 pm and are finished by 3 pm. Contact Andrew James if you would like to join us. KITCHEN SET NEEDED Perry Hilltop is in need of a kitchen table & chairs. If you have one to donate, please call Peggy at HOLIDAY TOURS AT ST. ANTHONY CHAPEL Special holiday tours will be given on Tuesdays in Dec. (11th & 18th) and on Jan. 8, followed by viewing the decorated Rectory dining room Tours begin at 1 PM - call for reservations. Donation is $10. Parish Office: Religious Education Office Reverend Albin McGinnis, Ext. 20 Pastor and Trust Administrator Pastor2@stjohnneumannpgh.org Barbara Stokes, Ext.13 Director for Rel. Education, Family and Sacramental Ministries Barbara Matera, Ext. 18 Director for Religious Education, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Josh Wattenbarger, Ext. 16 Director of Youth Ministry Connor Flanagan, Youth Minister, Ext. 14 Andrew James, Facilities Manager, Ext. 11 Larry Badaczewski, Pastoral Counselor, Ext. 56