THE SHAMR St. Patrick Parish, Providence December 2012

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1 THE SHAMR CK St. Patrick Parish, Providence December 2012 Dear St. Patrick-Providence Parish Family, I give praise and thanks to almighty God for the gift of His Son, Jesus. Praise God! A couple weeks ago, I was arriving home late at night, the air was crisp, the moon was shining brilliantly and the stars were brightly seen in the clear blue sky. A tree was silhouetted in the moonlight. What a beautiful Kodak moment. I was caught up in the awe of it. What a creative and wonderful God we have. A God who gives hope and comfort to His people. A God who walks life with us. I needed that moment of refreshment, that moment of reflection, that moment of feeling God in my life. It happened so spontaneously, yet decisively. God revealing Himself to us in small everyday events. It had been very busy and hectic and I caught myself going and coming at the same time. We all experience these moments, in the midst of chaos-god comes to comfort. We are sorry that the November Shamrock was not published, but it was impossible since the editor decided to have a new knee installed and was out of commission for 6 weeks. The saying Absence makes the heart grow fonder was so true when Brenda returned. Fireworks were going off in the parish office and we stopped pulling our hair out. Yes, she s back!!!! Oh, she is doing better and we are glad for her. But Brenda was not too happy to return, because it was just in time for the requests for Otsego Christmas Baskets being phoned in. The phone was ringing off the receiver. There was no peace and quiet in the office and in two days, our faithful Brenda completed over 60 applications for help. Thank you Lord! Our thanksgiving service was very prayerful as Sue Sochacki with the aid of others reflectively called our attention to the table (altar) by presenting and setting the altar cloth, wine, hosts upon the altar and presenting three baskets of fresh homemade bread which all were given to take home for thanksgiving dinner after mass. A very nice touch for thanksgiving, thanks Sue and all involved. Advent is underway and it is quite obvious by the blue decorations. The liturgy committee has resurrected the O antiphon banners and under the guidance of Catherine, our musician, has creatively invited our singing of O Come, O Come Emanuel. This is a busy time for all of us, let us take a deep breath of fresh air, clear our minds and see God in our midst every day. Let us enjoy Advent and Christmas seasons. Don t work so hard that we take a sigh of relief on December 26 th and say Thank God it s over! But let us say Thank you God for the opportunity once again to see Your Divine Love! We are blessed and gifted. I pray that as we continue our Advent season and enter into the Christmas season that we see ourselves as God sees us-his very precious, precious children who have been blessed by God in many ways. May we use our time, talent and treasure to touch another s life with God s love within us. It takes only a phone call, a card, or even a visit to make a difference. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2013!!!!! Love, Peace & Prayers

2 Individual Opportunities for Reconciliation: St. Patrick-Providence: Saturday December 15 th 3:30p.m.- 4:10p.m. Thursday December 20 th 11am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm (until all are heard) Saturday December 22 nd 3:30p.m.- 4:10p.m. St. Louis-Custar Wednesday December 19 th 11am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm (until all are heard) Welcome to Joe, Heather, Logan and Morgan Periat to our parish. They are from the Weston area.. Also, welcome to Paul Bogner & Shawn Meinhardt (engaged) from the Bowling Green area. Laurie, Tom, Julie & Abbie Ryan have also joined our parish. They are in the Whitehouse area. Rachel White (daughter of Bev Liske) has joined our parish. She lives in the Grand Rapids area. Another family from McClure has joined our parish. They are Christopher, Cara, Breckin, Kendall and Hunter Diem. Welcome to all of you. Through the waters of Holy Baptism we welcome Nathan James Young, son of James and Vicki Young. He was baptized Oct. 28. On Nov. 4 Bennett Russell Westhoven was baptized. His parents are John & Amanda Westhoven. Also baptized was Breckin Chrissie Diem. Her parents are Chris and Cara Diem. She was baptized Nov. 11. Christ Renews His Parish March 2, 2013 All women of St. Patrick and St. Louis Church are invited to attend a Christ Renews His Parish weekend retreat. It is a wonderful way to enhance your Lenten Season. Please call to make a reservation or if you have at questions. You can call the parish office or Lucy McCready Please pray for the following housebound and sick: Patricia Cook Lucy McCready Bob Kingsley Ruth Hurd Margaret Mockenstrum Michelle Thomas Deborah Page Jason Henderson Larry Hertzfeld Mary Ann Kowalik Jan Ford Kristen Rosemary Biesiot Joe Boyle, Jr. Bob Hertzfeld Galvin Moore Marie Thomas Rita Biesiot Tonya Dominic Susan Stohl Merlin Pollock Shirley Kervin Evelyn Grzecki Pablo Ramirez Georgia Curtis Vicki East Donita Smith Susie Gilson Mark Munk Ed Bump Max Chamberlain Marcy Dick Greg Paul Tony Biesiot Steve Hertzfeld Kim Kempf Debbie Athanitis Susan Ammon Ruth Glick Archer Kumfer Jamee Bernthisel Corey Longenecker Bryan Kummerer Kaylee Mae Fish Karen Ellis Tom Auth David Tillman Cindy Mack Diane Heuerman Vi Troesken Bobbi Curtis Dorotha Foor Stacey Snyder Carter Bluhm Mary Beth Smith Brenda Michaels If there is anyone who needs to be removed from this list please call the parish office ( ). Christmas & New Year s Day Schedule Christmas Eve: 4:30 p.m. and 12:00 Midnight Christmas Day: 9:00 a.m. NewYear s Eve: Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m. New Year s Day: 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Thank you to all of you who had anything to do with changing the environment to Advent. It helps to reflect on the meaning of Advent.

3 Religious Education News The word Advent comes from the Latin word for coming. So what are we waiting for? In our commercial world that can mean Santa Claus, presents, Christmas Lights, etc. In religious education we like to focus on the true meaning of Advent.waiting for our Lord Jesus to come to earth. We wait in joyful expectation for the incarnation and also for the return of Christ at the end of time. As parents, how can you help keep the focus on Jesus? There are many visuals you can use in the house. An advent wreath, originated in Germany to symbolize the four weeks of waiting, or an advent calendar help the little ones to remember the true meaning of Christmas as they mark the days until the baby Jesus arrives. Putting up a Jesse Tree can help keep us focused as each ornament representing an ancestor of Jesus is put on the tree. Perhaps you could then read the story in the Bible (Noah, Abraham & Sarah, Joseph, etc) as a family. I tell the older students to add something into their daily routine for Advent. This can be a private time each day for prayer, making an effort to forgive a hurt or to be forgiven (reconciliation), or reaching out to the stranger or needy in an act of service. Recently, myself, two of our confirmation students and one of our teacher/parents accompanied members of our parish to the Helping Hands Soup Kitchen at St. Louis in east Toledo. I can honestly say that we got much more out of the experience than we gave simply serving food. Sometimes these Advent additions to our routine become habits, continuing on long after Christmas. Once again the children, grades K through 4 will be sharing a couple songs after communion at the early Christmas eve mass. They have been faithfully practicing each Sunday. I am grateful to teachers, Nancy Bump and Heather Johnson for coordinating this effort on Christmas eve. Whether or not your child has made the practices, they are invited to come up and sing. On behalf of all the religious education teachers and myself, we wish you a blessed Advent season and a Christmas that is filled with joy and peace! Parish office Closed The office will be closed Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 for the Christmas holiday. Messages may be left on the recorder. RELIGIOUS ED CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE All classes will be on break for Dec 23rd and 30th. Classes resume for K - 4 and on Jan. 6th Grades 5-9 begin again on Jan. 13th Children from grades K - 4 will be singing at the 4:30 pm Christmas Eve mass. Christmas Caroling to the Shut-Ins Thank you to all who participated in the Christmas Caroling to our shut-ins. There was over forty carolers that visited 12 different locations. It was a great event for everyone involved. Thank you to the Sunshine Committee for planning this event. All the great people who enjoyed caroling for the shutins. After the family sang some Christmas carols, five-yearold Jimmy said, Wasn t it good of the shepherds to put on clean clothes when they went to see baby Jesus? What do you mean? his father asked. Jimmy replied, Well, we just sang While Shepherds Washed Their Socks by Night. Reprinted with permission of The Joyful Noiseletter

4 PREPARE! CELEBRATE! REFLECT! The preparatory seasons Advent and Lent immediately precede the celebratory seasons respectively, Christmas-Epiphany and Easter which are followed by two periods of reflection called Ordinary Time. Advent reminds us that the world was left in darkness after sin entered the human condition. The season calls us first to wait for the birth of the Messiah, as promised in the scriptures. At another level, it also calls us to wait for the second coming of Christ at the end time. Advent requires spiritual preparation. During Advent, the church provides special scripture readings and calls us to the reform of our lives so we may recognize what these two comings of Christ really mean. The scriptures of Advent should be a primary resource for parents and grandparents to use with their children and grandchildren. While the secular world rushes ahead to be immersed in images of celebration during Advent, the church continues to be counter-cultural in not adopting celebratory images until the eve of Christmas. It holds up symbols of waiting, prayerful anticipation, darkness and Christian hope. Would you like to donate for Christmas flowers? This year we will be accepting donations in memory of/in honor of someone for the Christmas flowers. The price of the flowers is $ If you donate you may take one of the plants after Christmas. You can put the money and who it is in memory of in an envelope and mark it Christmas Flowers and put it in the offertory basket. Any amount of donation is acceptable. From the Otsego Christmas Basket Committee Thank you to everyone who donated food, warm clothes, coats, blankets, toys and monetary gifts. We are serving over 100 families. The families are very grateful to you for the food and gifts. May God bless you during this Christmas season Offertory Envelopes If you have had envelopes for 2012, the 2013 envelopes will be in the hall with your name on them. If you did not have one for 2012 and would like a box of envelopes please call the parish office

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8 ST. PATRICK CHURCH U.S. 24 WEST GRAND RAPIDS, OH Nonprofit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Grand Rapids, Ohio Permit No. 3 Zip Code Address Service Requested

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