Catholic CHurch. With Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent JOIN US FOR OUR "LENTEN EXPERIENCE WEEKEND" EVENT SET FOR MARCH 2-3 AFTER ALL MASSES

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1 Y R A U R B E F ST.peter Catholic CHurch Monthly Newsletter JOIN US FOR OUR "LENTEN EXPERIENCE WEEKEND" EVENT SET FOR MARCH 2-3 AFTER ALL MASSES With Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent on March 6, St. Peter s is once again offering the Lenten Experience Weekend so we may live according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: All are called to holiness: Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (2013). The Lenten Experience Weekend, in its 11 th year, is set for March 2 and 3 in Bishop Vasa Hall after all weekend Masses. Lenten materials will be available for all ages and stages of life, and these include daily readings, books, holy cards and children s materials. There is no cost for the materials, but a free will donation will help to keep the program running. Come downstairs after Mass and have coffee and donuts provided by the PCCW Circle-Martha and Mary, says Lynette McArdle, Religious Education Coordinator. It s kind of like a social time you can come downstairs, socialize and look at the materials. I ll have people with me if someone has questions. It s a great opportunity to do some fellowship time, too. The materials provided will help those who have been looking for materials to guide them through the journey of Lent that includes sacrifices and good practices. A wide variety of materials to help us experience a more meaningful Lent are available during the weekend before Ash Wednesday. Although there is no set charge for the materials, a freewill donation is helpful to enable the weekend to continue. There is a vast supply of items that can fit into your life, Lynette says. The materials are available to appeal to everyone. We also have different things for kids that are helpful. I think the best way to learn something is to teach it. If as a parent you help your child work through Lent, you help yourself. It s a great way to model for your child. Through her work, Lynette has found that, perhaps continued on page 2

2 St. peter CatholiC Church JOIN US FOR OUR "LENTEN EXPERIENCE WEEKEND" continued from front cover I like adding something to Lent. I ll read Scripture every day or have some dedicated prayer time. I like adding the spiritual habit. Lent shouldn t be looked at as you have to do something. It should a positive something in your life and a re-evaluation in your life. It s a wonderful time in the Church that s good for us. Lynette McArdle, Religious Education Coordinator due to Vatican II, many adults have experienced a gap in learning the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The basics have not been taught, and many are unaware of Church doctrine or what our faith teaches. I like to help provide materials to correct that, she says. Maybe people learned the material as a child and don t have an adult understanding of it. By making our Lenten journey more meaningful, we can help deepen our relationship with Christ. Lent is bringing your mind and heart back to Christ, Lynette says. Lent has tended to have a rote routine. Many times, we go through Lenten prayers automatically without being mindful of what we are praying. Hopefully, through meditation, which is something different, it will help you focus your mind back on Christ, Lynette says. Lent is our annual spiritual checkup. We can ask ourselves, What have we let slide? How can we get to good habits, again? Lent doesn t always mean giving up, but sometimes it is better to add a good practice or a better practice to our routine, she adds. Some ways to do so are prayer, through Mass, attending daily, on Ash Wednesday, and during the Triduum; attending Stations of the Cross; praying the Rosary; taking part in an hour of adoration each week. Lynette also suggests knowing and following the rules of fasting and abstinence during Lent as something that we willingly choose to do through our love of God. She suggests we can improve our knowledge of our faith by beginning the daily reading of Scripture or choosing a book or two from the Bible to study during Lent. Making a good confession is another good practice, as well as engaging in acts of generosity, such as almsgiving, volunteering or performing works of mercy. I like adding something to Lent, Lynette says. I ll read Scripture every day or have some dedicated prayer time. I like adding the spiritual habit. Lent shouldn t be looked at as you have to do something. It should a positive something in your life and a re-evaluation in your life. It s a wonderful time in the Church that s good for us. Questions about the Lenten Experience Weekend? Please contact Lynette McArdle at , or her at Lynette-Mcardle@cdolinc.net. 2

3 A Letter from Our Pastor CELEBRATING GOD S LOVE Dear Parishioners, What is the most widely observed saint s day in February the one that is kept even by those who aren t practicing Catholics? Undoubtedly, it would be St. Valentine s Day, Feb. 14. So who was St. Valentine? The saint we celebrate was a priest of Rome martyred in the late third century. But that doesn t explain how his feast came to be celebrated as the day for sending letters, cards and presents as expressions of romantic love. The truth is that the custom of sending tokens of love comes not from any direct connection with St. Valentine, but from the ancient belief that birds begin to pair off on Feb. 14. And if courtship in the natural world occurred then, it must be appropriate for humans, as well. The association between St. Valentine and love notes is a later development. Nevertheless, it s not wrong to connect the two. Love has many aspects, and our conception of it is richer if we keep more than one of them in mind. Martyrdom is the result of loving God more than our earthly life. St. Valentine was a martyr because of his love his love for Jesus Christ and the Church. If he had not loved God so much, he could have repudiated his Lord and saved his life. We, in turn, express our love by sending cards and gifts on St. Valentine s Day. But isn t that what stewardship as a way of life is, a little martyrdom? Not to push the image too far, but when we are faithful stewards, we give up a little portion of our lives out of our own love for Christ. Most Christians will not be called on to be martyrs, in the sense of forfeiting our physical lives for God. But we are called to give up some of our comforts, indulgences and riches because of our love for Him. So then, as you prepare to celebrate and share your love with your valentine this month, remember St. Valentine and his love for Christ. As well, keep in mind that God loves us, and return that love with your own toward Him. Loving God will be reflected in how you prioritize your use of the time, talent and treasure God has entrusted to you. As St. John wrote (1 Jn 4:19), We love because he first loved us. Happy St. Valentine s Day! Sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. Craig Doty, Pastor 3

4 St. peter CatholiC Church Parishioners Joyfully Respond to the Call to Service D The introduction to the 1992 U.S. Bishops Pastoral Letter on stewardship, Stewardship: A Disciple s Response, serves as a wonderful description of why stewardship is such an important part of living as an intentional disciple of Jesus: Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives. Disciples who practice stewardship recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of freedom, the source of all they have and are and will be. Throughout November and December, parishioners here at St. Peter were given a unique opportunity to answer the Gospel call to service by prayerfully responding to our first annual Stewardship Renewal. During that time, in addition to hearing various talks on stewardship from the pulpit, each individual or family in our parish received a catalog detailing the 45 ministries currently operating in our parish. Parishioners were then able to indicate on their commitment cards the time they wish to commit to prayer, the treasure they will share with the Church, and the ways in which they might best use their talents to serve God and His people. As the renewal process began wrapping up near the end of 2018, the results were already clear our parishioners have grown their commitment to living an active faith by leaps and bounds. Even before the very last of the cards had been turned in, members of St. Peter had already made over 1,600 ministry commitments! Stewardship Council Chairman John Kuchta is excited about what the results of our Stewardship Renewal will mean for our parish in Our Stewardship Council just formed last July, so this renewal was our maiden voyage, he says. And it was a very positive experience. We have a lot of people who have committed to doing additional things to support the parish. Our parish is a really strong, deeply committed group of people, but now I feel we can go deeper and wider, and build on our base of committed and active parishioners. To highlight just two of the more salient examples of a rejuvenated interest in stewardship, our Church Cleaning Ministry received a total of 71 commitments, and our newest ministry Church Greeters was successfully launched in mid-december. Now, our church has become even better equipped to welcome both parishioners and visitors alike to a warm, vibrant worship environment. The St. Peter Stewardship Council is overjoyed to see the growth in active stewardship brought about by our recent Stewardship Renewal! If you missed our renewal period and would like to get involved in a parish ministry, just visit the parish website at click on the Stewardship tab and you will be able to access an online ministry catalog and commitment card. Parishioners looking for more information are also free to contact John Kuchta at or Sue Ray in the parish office at

5 uring Our 2018 Stewardship Renewal Another way that our Stewardship Council is building upon the Hospitality Pillar of Stewardship is with the creation of a welcome packet that will go out to newly registered members of the parish. Through weekly bulletin write-ups and personal invitation, they also hope to encourage current parishioners to become even more involved in parish life. The more engaged people become in our ministries working toward the common goal of serving God s people the more connected they feel to their fellow parishioners and to the Church itself. I ve been able to get to know a number of parishioners who are equally committed to the Church, and I wouldn t have been able to get to know them without my involvement, John says. And it s typically people with shared values. You re committed and they re committed, so you have those values that deepen your relationships. As John points out, for those who decide to make stewardship a central part of life, the rewards are truly great. For me, the outcome of getting more involved in parish life has been the chance to come closer to God and deepen my faith, he says. It s always been a Catholic tenet to be committed to our fellow man and do unto others as we would want done unto us. It s all about doing things that are good for our parish, good for us, and good for the mission of the Church. DISCIPLESHIP 2018 COMMITMENT CARD My Offering of Time, Talent & Treasure First & Last Name THROUGH STEWARDSHIP St. peter CatholiC Church HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR 2018 STEWARDSHIP RENEWAL This month, we are happy to share with you some of the highlights of St. Peter s 2018 Stewardship Renewal. For this year s renewal, 49 percent of active parish households participated. There were 3,178 prayer commitments the Stewardship of Time from 90 percent of participating households. There were 1,975 ministry commitments the Stewardship of Talent from 81 percent of participating households. Of these, 499 were new commitments to ministries, while 1,476 were ministry re-commitments. There were 366 offertory commitments the Stewardship of Treasure from 80 percent of participating households, with the average pledge of $2,786. Phone Spouse: First & Last Name Spouse: Phone Spouse: We thank all those who made a commitment to live out the stewardship way of life here at St. Peter. And if you did not get the chance to return a commitment card as part of the 2018 Stewardship Renewal, we invite you to consider the many ways you might live out stewardship, sharing your gifts with God and our parish community! 5

6 St. peter CatholiC Church STEWARDSHIP Stewardship Hannah, the Good Steward What should we do when our prayers are answered? Is there anything left to do after we have sincerely thanked God for His favors? If God were a human peer, we would probably try to reciprocate by granting Him a favor in return. But the truth is that God cannot be made greater by anything that we do for Him. Instead, God receives our thanks and tells us to go and do likewise. That is, He tells us to share with others the good that He has bestowed on us. And in doing so, we are really sharing God Himself. That is the definition of stewardship! The Old Testament Book of Samuel contains one of the most poignant examples of stewardship in the entire Bible. The first chapter teaches us of an unhappy, barren woman named Hannah. Desperate in her barrenness, Hannah prays that God will give her a son, vowing that she will raise him to be a man of God. Imagine Hannah s elation when she was granted her prayer! When Samuel was born, her heart s desire had come true! Imagine further the pang of motherly sorrow, as Hannah kept her promise to God by taking Samuel at a young age to be the servant of Eli, the high priest. The Book of Samuel tells us that once Samuel became Eli s servant, Hannah saw her young son just once a year. Indeed, Hannah knew that Samuel was truly a gift from God an answered prayer. Hannah s response is that of the Good Steward with an attitude of both gratitude and sacrifice, she gave up her son to honor God. One imagines that Hannah probably struggled with this sacrifice during those first years. She probably did not know what God had in store for her son. Yet, through her faithfulness, God used him as a gift to an entire nation. Samuel would, in time, become one of the greatest prophets of Jewish history. Sometimes it is difficult to understand the sacrifices we make in the name of stewardship, while the results may just be impossible to miss! However, He asks that we continue to be faithful in either case. God has undoubtedly bestowed gifts on all of us at whatever the cost, we are to go and do likewise. 6

7 In Welcoming, Others OUR GREETER MINISTRY WITNESSES CHRIST Sometimes, all it takes to set the tone for the day is one simple interaction. Positive or negative, we have all experienced how the simple actions of those we encounter in public can affect us. One ministry wants to make sure the first interaction you experience at St. Peter is a happy and positive one. The Greeter Ministry is made up of parishioners of all ages who take pride in welcoming other parishioners and guests alike to each Mass. Sue Ray, who manages St. Peter s Stewardship initiatives, says being at the door to say hello each week is one of the easiest ways for parishioners to see the light of Christ in one another. A Mass Greeter serves as a bridge between people s lived experience and the Mass, she says. We are the first ambassador for our parish as people arrive, sometimes for the very first time. Whether the person is well known to you or a new face, a friendly greeting does much to convey the spirit of our Catholic belief in the Communion of Saints. In keeping with Matthew 25:35 I was a stranger and you welcomed me the mission of the Greeter Ministry is one of hospitality, making both parishioners and visitors feel welcome and comfortable as they gather for Mass. We see the presence of Christ in each person as they arrive, Sue says. Our parish has a history of being hospitable. This is how we build our faith community. As in any family, it is the sense of belonging and shared values that make us truly a family. And belonging leads to believing. When we experience a warm and genuine welcome, we become more open to give ourselves to God and each other. For those who serve, greeting can be a family affair or a chance to get to know new people. Since continued on back cover 7

8 St. peter CatholiC Church 4500 Duxhall Dr. Lincoln, NE MASS SCHEDULE: Saturday: 4:00 p.m. Sunday: 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. DAILY MASS Monday-Friday: 6:30 a.m., 8:15 a.m. Saturday: 8:15 a.m. CONFESSION: Monday-Friday: 6-6:15 a.m., 7:45-8:00 a.m. Saturday: 3-3:45 p.m. OUR GREETER MINISTRY continued from page 7 virtually anyone can give of their time by saying hello and shaking hands, Sue says the parish is hoping more school families will take advantage of the ministry as a work of faith in action that can be done together. We want to encourage school families because kids like to be greeted by one of their peers, she says. We want to create a more homelike atmosphere, and our parish family is what we re looking at when we re that ambassador at the front door. Parishioners and their families who are interested in serving with the Greeter Ministry are enthusiastically encouraged to get in touch with ministry leader Fred King at fredrking@aol.com.