Special Masses & Celebrations. New Bingo Volunteers Needed. Vacation Bible School. Website Over 9000 Visits!

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1 Parish Council Members Pastor: Fr. Piotr Machnacki SAC President: Elizabeth Ingle Members: Becky Dmitrienko Marilynne Feeney Greg Frost Eva Huschilt Judy Kerr Koni Klaming Ed McIntosh Anne McKellar Tony Maruna Teresa Milton Laura Moniz Mary Scott Alfie Scozzaro- Renon Rachel Trump Interesting in joining? Call the office! Annual meeting coming in June watch for news. Special Masses & Celebrations Teaching Mass: April 22 at 9:00 am Learn the significance of the steps & rituals in the Holy Mass Sacrament of First Holy Communion - Mass Times: Saturday April 28 at 5 pm, Sunday April 29 at 11:00 am Saturday May 5 at 5 pm, Sunday May 6 at 11:00 am Sacrament of Confirmation: Saturday June 2 nd 2:00 pm New Bingo Volunteers Needed Are you free on Friday mornings (every four to six weeks), and are quick on your feet with numbers? Join our dedicated and friendly team! Call the office or ascozzaro@hotmail.com Since the beginning of our Bingo program, the funds generated have made a significant impact on our general maintenance and repair projects and have funded a large portion of our major fundraising initiatives (Project Overhead and Roof Fund). Please consider joining our team. Vacation Bible School Learn about our faith in a fun, interactive, and educational experience! VBS is welcoming kids ages 4 10 years. Registration coming in May! To Volunteer, contact Michelle Schill michelle@fadzone.com or Lisa Jewer ljewer@sympatico.ca. Website Over 9000 Visits! CHECK IT OUT! 1

2 Jesus is truly Risen, Alleluia! Dear Parishioners, Easter greetings to all of you dear parishioners, and especially you who are in your homes, suffering with your illnesses. Thank you for such an intensive time of Lent and Easter: for your participation in our spiritual and pastoral activities. With the Risen Jesus Christ we are resurrecting in our St. Agnes church, to a new life, being more united to our Saviour and Redeemer. My word of congratulations to the children who are preparing for First Holy Communion, and to their parents. Congratulations to our young students who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation thank you for your decision to enter onto the responsible path of Christian life. Best wishes to everyone who, through Easter reconciliation and sacramental life, are closer and closer to the unique Truth who is Jesus Christ. We have successfully finished replacing the new roof! I thank you for your understanding and generosity. As many of you have been asking me, 'How was your pilgrimage to India?' I feel that every pilgrimage is an opportunity to listen to Jesus' voice, and to nourish ourselves through the Eucharist. India is a Hindu country, 98% are Hindu and only 20 million out of 1 billion 230 million people are Christians. Catholics are like a small drop in the ocean of Hindus. I visited New Delhi, Acra, Taj Mahal the pearl of Indian architecture, Calcutta the p oor city of Blessed Mother Teresa, and the national shrine dedicated to our Lady of Good Health in Vailankanni. India, according to my point of view, is a beautiful country, open for new evangelization. May God bless you, Father Piotr 2

3 A Message from our Parish Council President Happy Easter to all Parishioners & Friends of St. Agnes Parish. As we individually, and as a parish transition from our Lenten Journey into the renewal & growth of Easter, let us appreciate the purpose of the experience for its opportunity for transformation...or as I heard it put during a Lenten reflection,...may we strive to emerge better after the journey, than when we entered. As we move into springtime, the Sacramental Preparation Team is diligently preparing our students for First Holy Communion & Confirmation with these special celebrations coming up in April through June. Families, please visit the parish website regularly to stay on top of your schedules. ( under Faith Development ) The parish and the many groups & committees within, have been very, very busy over these past months with many services and activities. I wish to acknowledge the exceptional effort and dedication of the individuals who have steered a number of big events to great success under our dual vision & initiative of Community Building + Friendraising while Fundraising: The Christmas Bazaar & The Pasta Dinner under Fundraising Chair Alfie Scozzaro, in partnership with Marilynne Feeney & their teams, as well as The Children s Sale under Marina Maruna and her team along with our MISSION: POSSIBLE! Student Helpers. Our Education Cafe launched with a very educational and helpful program on Bullying delivered very effectively by Dina Guajardo thank you to Dina! Our St. Vincent de Paul, CWL & KofC continue to serve, reach out and care for the needs of our community with such dedication. Many more groups & individuals make up our Council & parish community and drive tremendous activity day after day - all deserve enormous thanks: our Liturgy Committee, School Representatives, Communications, Maintenance & Decorating crews and volunteers - the list as said, goes on and on and on...thank you everyone. It is the time of year for the annual presentation of the Financial Report. Our Finance Chairs Tony Maruna & Greg Frost have made exceptional progress analyzing our financial position and initiating steps for optimizing opportunities, increasing operating revenue, minimizing expenses and systematizing our internal financial processes. We are very fortunate and grateful for their use of their time and talents to serve our community. Please review their 2011 Report included in the April 15 th bulletin & in the vestibule. They welcome your questions & feedback at any time. Going forward, we are excited about the new opportunities & adventures ahead. Parish Council strives to create meaningful improvements & helpful change. Our Council year will draw to a close in June, prompting an opportunity for nominations & renewals of positions. We will be announcing a parish social during our annual meeting to wrap our year. Please think about lending your input to our council & help shape the future of our parish. 3

4 In closing, thank you again to all individuals, groups & especially to the dedicated members of our Parish Council. Thank you to Fr. Piotr for a beautiful spiritual journey through Lent, Holy Week & the Triduum Sacrum & the celebration of Easter. To you, our parishioners...our gratitude. It is you who form our community and your generosity which provides for the operation of our Church. Without your presence and support, there is really is no St. Agnes Parish, only a church building. It takes each and every one of us to grow this community and shape it into a thriving parish let s celebrate the journey, even with its zigs & zags, grateful for the gifts of our many blessings and experiences. Elizabeth Ingle, President & Chair, Parish Council MISSION: POSSIBLE! Updates First Annual Children s Sale A HUGE thank you goes to all those who happily pitched in and gave of their time, their backs (from lifting bags and boxes), their fingers (getting pricks from all the pins), and their reassuring smiles... We raised $ for the roof fund! Wow! Our students really shone! A special thanks to the many students from our parish schools who volunteered their time under the "MISSION: POSSIBLE!" initiative of contributing their time & talents to community service you all demonstrated such great leadership! A special thank you to Maureen Ross, who was able to arrange (graciously through Greta and Janet Podleski, a special quantity of the NEW Looneyspoons Cookbook available for sale at our event: a $34.95 retail value for just $15 ($10 for 2 or more). Half the proceeds from the sale of the books will go directly to the Parish. Thanks Maureen! Did you miss out? Contact Maureen or Marina through the parish office while supplies last! Wow! Our students really shone! A special thanks to the many students from our parish schools who volunteered their time under the "MISSION: POSSIBLE!" initiative of contributing their time & talents to community service you all demonstrated such great leadership! Some of the items that were not sold will be donated to Marillac Place, Canadian Food for Children and St. Vincent De Paul. Words cannot express my heartfelt thanks to everyone in the St. Agnes community for their part in making this fundraising event possible. I look forward to next year (so box up those unwanted items until the next sale)! Marina Maruna 4

5 Are You A Property Owner? Did you know property ownership transfers can unknowingly trigger default of your tax dollars from the Separate School Board to the Public Board? Recently, when making changes to a property registration, my family discovered a taxation situation which was rather alarming for Catholic school supporters and ratepayers. The Discovery The process of the transfer of property ownership commonly triggers a default of school support from the Separate Board to the Public Board unless you specifically designate your support. This may go undetected by you the owner and your legal firm if you don t express your wishes. The result of this lack of awareness &/or oversight is resulting in diversions of taxpayer funds away from the Separate Boards and the funding of our Catholic School System. This issue obviously has negative implications in terms of your funding desires and the appropriate support and potentially, the quality of Catholic education. How The Default Occurs Typically in the sale of a property from one owner to another, the legal process will capture & address the direction of taxes to the desired board, Separate or Public. What can occur, however, is that in scenarios such as the following, the system triggers a system default, established by the Provincial Government, so that taxes default to Public School Board Support when certain ownership changes occur. Example: (i) Adjustments or changes to ownership i.e. title change via succession planning steps, such as the establishment of trusts (ii) In the purchase of new property, the owner assumes that school support previously designated will remain as previously designated; school support does not follow you when you move, you must designate it with each move Recommended Action: Check status of your registered school support: Call MPAC: MPAC (6722) Call MPAC as above representatives are well informed to assist Visit See Assessment Act Section 16 re: School Support See Education Act Section Please share this information and assess your own situations so we may ensure that our intended support is actually reaching our Separate School Boards. Please note that our Finance Team at St. Agnes Church brought forward our awareness of this issue to the Diocese of Hamilton for their review. Thank you, Elizabeth Ingle, President, St. Agnes Parish Council Waterloo, ON 5

6 Immaculate Heart of Mary Rosary Making Guild Our mission is to make and distribute Military and Mission Rosaries. When invited into schools we lead the children in making Rosaries. This year, we have been invited into St. David, St. Mary, Resurrection and St. Benedict Secondary Schools as well as St. Luke Elementary School. Students in need of Community Service Hours are invited to join us making Rosaries to obtain their service hours. Once blessed and made the Military Rosaries are sent to Camp Borden, for the Chaplain to distribute. Last year we: Gave over 400 Mission Rosaries to St. Luke School. Provided St. Mary s General Hospital Chaplain with Rosaries to have on hand for patients and families wishing to pray. Rosaries have also gone to the Philippines, and Africa We operate through the generous donations, of our Parish Catholic Women s League, the Waterloo Knights of Columbus, from students, generous donors, and grants. Since there is always the need for Rosaries there will always be the need for funds. Members and funds are always welcome. Sincerely Marilynne Feeney, ihmrosayrmakers@rogers.com, All welcome as we meet Monday evenings in the St. Agnes Parish Centre We thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for the opportunity to make these Rosaries and know that it is through her guidance we will continue as long as needed. Coming Up:Strawberry Social Sunday June 24 th (after 9:00am & 11:00am Masses) Education Cafes, Parish Picnic, Multicultural Celebration, Soccer Sundays & more! 6