As a couple, Mark and Lyn Strieker have developed a sort of motto: We

Transcription

1 Saint Peter CATHOLIC CHURCH Inside 2 Save the Date for the 6th Annual Parish Picnic 3 Stewardship: A Positive Way to Live 4 Meet Deacon Jeff Wolf 6 Do Small Things With Great Love Anticipating the Canonization of Mother Teresa 7 Expansion Brings Safety Measures to Parish School August 2016 Surround Yourself With Who You Want To Be St. Peter s Mark and Lyn Strieker As a couple, Mark and Lyn Strieker have developed a sort of motto: We can t go wrong in giving. They first met as young first-grade students at St. Peter s School and have always held to the faith as a vital part of their lives and their relationships with others. Surround yourself with who you want to be, Lyn says. Relationship with God grows through prayer and community, through being active in the parish with other stewards. Lyn and Mark were raised in families who value involvement in parish life and who faithfully attend St. Peter s. They were both given a Catholic educational experience from grade school through high school at Quincy Notre Dame. Lyn and I both had positive examples with the legacy of our parents, Mark says. They instilled in us that service is a valuable mission in life. After college, Lyn and Mark were married at St. Peter s and lived in the St. Louis area for six years. Yet,when the opportunity arose, they returned to Quincy in We located a home in St. Peter s parish boundaries to return to our roots, Mark says. Our three daughters have experienced the Catholic education base through St. Peter s and Quincy Notre Dame like Lyn and I did. Together, Mark and Lyn look for active ways to grow along their faith journeys through opportunities offered at St. Peter s. They have both been involved with Cursillo and Teens Encounter Christ, also known as TEC, and serve as regular adorers at the Adoration Chapel. continued on back cover Lyn and Mark Strieker St. Peter Parish is a Catholic community of faith bringing the light of Christ to all by serving others

2 Saturday, August 27, :00 pm 12:00 am after 4:00 pm Mass St. Peter Catholic Church Save the date for 6th Annual St. Peter Parish Picnic 2600 Maine Street Quincy, IL Behind the Church MAIN RAFFLE $4,500 in cash prizes 50/50, Silent Auction & Basket Raffle Live Entertainment Beer (Bud, Coors & Miller), Spirit Knob Winery, Soda, & more Food: Pork Tenderloin, Pulled Pork, Hamburgers, Brats, Hot Dogs, Onion Rings, & more Snacks: Nachos, Cotton Candy, Funnel Cake Fries, Shaved Ice, Walking Tacos, Popcorn & more Games for all ages: Poker, TP Toss, Ring Toss, Connect Four, Pop Capsule and Kids Zone 2 8:00-12:00 Plan to join us!

3 August 2016 A Letter from Our Pastor Dear Parishioners, Stewardship: A Positive Way to Live There is something about the month of August that is glorious. Summer is still in full force the lazy, hazy days are upon us, and some still have vacations on the horizon. And, yet, we can also see the end of this wonderful season drawing closer our vacations may already be over, and we may be sadly anticipating the end of this relaxing time, with back-to-school and a return to the busyness of life just around the corner. We are at that point in the year when things are coming to an end and things are beginning all at once. However, isn t that the way it always is? The Russian playwright and short-story writer Anton Chekhov once said, People don t notice whether it is winter or summer when they are happy. There is certainly truth to that statement. You might say it is a stewardship statement. I am sure you are wondering how to make the connection between Chekhov s quote and stewardship, but the connection is found quite simply in the word happy. I once heard someone say in a presentation about stewardship that people who live stewardship as a way of life are almost always happy. There is a reason for that. Stewardship is a positive way to live. It means feeling grateful and centering your thoughts on gratitude. In other words, your focus is on the good things in life, not the bad. That does not mean you have perfect health or that all is ideal in your family, that you always sleep well at night, or that you enjoy everything that happens to you or around you. However, it does mean that when the good happens, you thank God. You recognize that good and are filled with feelings of joy and gratitude. You and I know people like that, don t we? We know people who always seem filled with joy, regardless of what may be happening to them or around them personally. To me, these kinds of people are stewardship people the kind of people we all need to strive to be. No doubt, you have heard that living a life of stewardship means living with an attitude of gratitude. That is not easy, for you or for me. Let us vow to try to be like that nonetheless. As we watch our summer season dwindle away and the busier time of year begins again, let us concentrate on how God has blessed us. If we do that, I truly believe that we can be those people Chekhov described. If we are happy, it will not matter what time of year it is. I am grateful for you, your support, your prayers, and most of all your presence in my life. Thank you and God bless you. Sincerely in Christ, Rev. Msgr. Leo J. Enlow Pastor Stewardship is a positive way to live. It means feeling grateful and centering your thoughts on gratitude. In other words, your focus is on the good things in life, not the bad. That does not mean you have perfect health or that all is ideal in your family, that you always sleep well at night, or that you enjoy everything that happens to you or around you. 3

4 St. Peter Catholic Church Meet Deaco It s only been a little over a month since his diaconate ordination, and Deacon Jeff Wolf is still getting used to people calling him deacon. After five years of study and preparation, and five years of papers and homework, this was something he has wanted for a long time. But it s a new title, with a new role, in his first assignment. There is a lot to get used to. By now, many of you have come to know our new deacon. Many of us have heard him give a homily. Some of you have introduced yourselves after Mass or sat next to him at meetings. Some of you have even had him over for dinner. But to know Deacon Jeff is to also know his vocation story, which is all the more remarkable considering he wasn t even raised in the Catholic faith. I was raised as a Methodist, Deacon Jeff says. But growing up, our neighborhood had several Catholic families and, as children, we all played together. We never talked about religion, but they would mention not eating meat on Fridays or would have to go in to pray the rosary. So I was always curious. Later, my brother who is 17 years older had a sister-in-law who was a novice but decided not to take her final vows, and as a Methodist I asked her a lot of questions. It seems that God was dropping Catholic breadcrumbs for Deacon Jeff to follow. For example, while he was attending Wentworth Military Academy & College in Lexington, Mo., his roommate happened to be Catholic. Then, because church attendance was required, and because he didn t have a car and had to find a church that was nearby, he began to attend a Catholic one. After regularly attending Mass, Deacon Jeff eventually expressed his desire to convert. The pastor there was a Jesuit, and when I told him I was interested in becoming a Catholic he gave me some rosary beads along with a booklet, which he told me to memorize, Deacon Jeff says. So, I memorized the Sorrowful Mysteries. When I went back to him he tested me, and then he told me to memorize all of the mysteries. Which I did. So I began to meet with him, and when I returned home to Quincy I continued to work with a priest and finally converted. Deacon Jeff Wolf (right) with Bishop Paprocki at the diaconate ordination this past June Deacon Jeff Wolf with his fellow deacons. Out of 35 who had attended the first information session, only 11 were eventually ordained. Deacon Jeff embraced his new faith so much so that he even considered the priesthood while he was still in college but he eventually decided to continue with his education after which he began his military career. He also met and married Gina, and with two children (Amber and Joshua), family obligations, and a military career that took them all the way to Nurnberg, Germany, life was busy. 4

5 August 2016 n Jeff Wolf In 1992, Deacon Jeff and Gina realized that they wanted to be near their aging parents, so Deacon Jeff got out of the military and in 1994 they moved back to Quincy. For 17 years they were the long-term care providers of both sets of parents (as well as an aunt who lived in Louisiana, Mo.), during which they also worked, raised their family, and attended Blessed Sacrament parish. Then, in 2007 Deacon Jeff witnessed a newlyordained deacon, Terry Ellerman, assisting at Mass, and everything changed. In watching Terry Ellerman I had so many conflicting emotions, Deacon Jeff recalls. At first, I went back to the time I had contemplated the priesthood, but then I was confused. I truly didn t have any real understanding of the role of a deacon. What did he do to be able to serve on the altar? Was he trained? Was he chosen? It was only after I sorted through those emotions and started to look into the diaconate as a vocation that I began to discern if this was God s will for me. What many may not realize is that studying to become a permanent deacon is very involved, and when an aspirant also has a family it s not a decision that can be made alone. The program requires both commitment and time five years of academic study (from August to June), monthly classes which meet over the course of a weekend, papers, retreats and homework, all of which must be balanced with work and family obligations. But together, Deacon Jeff and Gina made this decision like they make all others with prayer. We don t make decisions without prayer, Deacon Jeff says. I continuously ask God to guide me through everything. So, although it was a huge commitment, with prayer we reached a decision to move forward and Gina attended all but four classes with me. It wasn t easy. Originally there were 35 individuals who attended the information session, 22 who went through the psychiatric Deacon Jeff Wolf with his wife, Gina, and son, Joshua evaluation, 17 who initially enrolled, and 11 who were eventually ordained. This past June, Deacon Jeff was ordained a permanent deacon. And because he once wondered the same thing, he s quick to explain that a deacon s role is to assist and serve the priest in the liturgical and pastoral care of the parish such as by teaching baptism and marriage prep classes, performing baptisms, presiding over funerals, assisting at the altar, and proclaiming the Gospel. Deacon Jeff has a particular passion for education teaching parents how to teach the faith to their children or explaining the meanings behind everything we do during Mass and hopes to find ways to work in these areas. Ultimately, as children of God we are all called to a vocation, whether it s to married life, single life, or religious life. Nurtured in prayer, a vocation is God calling us to his banquet table of unending grace and love as we allow him to work in our lives. And while Deacon Jeff is still getting used to being called deacon, he knows the word come from the Greek meaning to serve, and he is more than ready to begin. At first, I went back to the time I had contemplated the priesthood, but then I was confused. I truly didn t have any real understanding of the role of a deacon It was only after I sorted through those emotions and started to look into the diaconate as a vocation that I began to discern if this was God s will for me. Deacon Jeff Wolf 5

6 St. Peter Catholic Church Do Small Things With Great Love Anticipating the Canonization of Mother Teresa In the dark final years of the Cold War, a small woman standing at barely five feet tall offered a living counternarrative to the inhibiting fear undergirding our daily lives and our foreign affairs. Instead of living in fear, Mother Teresa acted out of love. Instead of withdrawing and isolating herself, she gave tirelessly to others. Many of us harbor a personal connection to this saint, for we lived during the height of the media coverage of Mother Teresa s work and her friendships with Pope St. John Paul II and the beloved Princess Diana. Long before she received the name Mother Teresa and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, the crossroads of the Balkans. The youngest of three children, Mother Teresa was raised predominately by her mother after her father s death, when she was about 8 years old. Dranafile (Drana) Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa s mother, undoubtedly became a strong influence on her daughter s vocation, since Drana herself was a devout Catholic and known for her prayer life and her charity. Agnes attended a Catholic primary school and, following the example of her mother, became active in their parish and sang in Sacred Heart s choir. As a young person, Agnes enjoyed reading the lives of the saints while immersing herself in the stories of these holy men and women, Agnes first felt the stirring call to become a missionary. At the age of 18, Agnes traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to join the Sisters of Loreto. She became Sr. Mary Teresa, named after St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and began to learn English within a few months of arriving in Ireland, she left for India. In India Sr. Mary Teresa lived at the Loreto Entally community in Calcutta where she served as an educator and taught at St. Mary s School. After her final profession, she became Mother Teresa and, a few years later, began serving as the school s principal. On an ordinary day, Mother Teresa received an extraordinary call. While on a train ride to her annual retreat, Mother Teresa felt what she would describe as Jesus thirst for souls. Soon, Jesus called her to found the Missionaries of Charity, an order devoted to serving the poorest of the poor. The order formally began on Oct. 7, 1950, and has grown from one woman tending the sick and dying in the streets of Calcutta to over 4,500 religious sisters helping the poor in over 130 countries around the world. Additionally, the order grew to include the Missionaries of Charity Brothers, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. Though externally Mother Teresa joyfully and indefatigably served the poor for nearly 50 years, during the majority of this time, she experienced a dark night of the soul, an extensive period of not feeling God s presence or hearing His voice. Other saints, notably St. John of the Cross, similarly experienced a dark night of the soul. Despite this spiritual struggle, Mother Teresa continued her work joyfully throughout her sickness and until her death on Sept. 5, St. Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa in Fittingly, this year, a pontiff who has underscored the importance of social justice will celebrate her canonization. On Sept. 4, 2016, Pope Francis will canonize Mother Teresa, the Saint of the Gutters, at the Vatican in the last months of this Jubilee Year of Mercy. A 20th century saint, Mother Teresa offers us an example of ceaseless prayer and selfless service. She is a modern model of sainthood that we can emulate in our daily lives starting with how we serve and treat the other members of our family, our faith community and all those with whom we interact on a daily basis. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Pray for Us! 6

7 August 2016 Expansion Brings Safety Measures to Parish School As the sun set on the school year at St. Peter School, all was not quiet on the school grounds. That s because those grounds have been abuzz with the sounds of bulldozers, hammers, and saws, as the school has been transformed to a better, safer St. Peter over summer break. Principal Cindy Venvertloh says a small expansion will fill in a former walkway between the main school building and the gym. As she explains, the changes will increase security at the school and add some convenient features along the way. When you walk into our school as it was, you got buzzed in and ended up in a hallway. Now when you come in, the school office will be right there in front of you, Mrs. Venvertloh says. Because of the location, it will make our building more secure. Rather than seeing visitors through a small camera, we ll be able to see what s going on right in front of us and that s a lot safer. A book room that can also be used as a conference space is also planned for this area. Mrs. Venvertloh says the success of the Writers/Readers Workshop program has created a need for a separate space to house the trade books the program has acquired over the past year. Board members and faculty will also be able to use the book room for meetings. With the addition of the book room, the first grade classroom will be moved while the current second grade classroom will become the library. Mrs. Venvertloh says teachers for both grades are excited to be getting brand new rooms in the process. More changes will include a soundproofed room that can be used by students with special needs, whether it is a student who requires quiet for testing or could benefit from silence while completing a specific lesson. It s exciting, Mrs. Venvertloh says. As education continues along its path, there are so many students with special and unique needs and this will allow us to reach out to them. Finally, the cafeteria will gain new flooring and a covered walkway will remain from the front of the building to the back, keeping Kindergarten families dry on blustery days. All renovations are expected to be completed in time for the back to school Mass on August 18th. For more information on the expansion project, contact the school office at Workers are seen in the beginning stages of removing old windows from the main St. Peter School building. Construction began at the end of the school year on an expansion project that will connect the main building to the gym Drywall, fans, construction dust, and ladders have moved into St. Peter School just as the students have moved out for the summer. The new expansion is expected to make the school safer by creating better sight lines between the administration and visitors. Up and over! A pump truck uses a special extension arm to pour concrete into the newly expanded area within St. Peter School. 7

8 St. Peter Catholic Church 2600 Maine Street Quincy, Illinois Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 105, Quincy, IL Return Service Requested Mass & Reconciliation Schedule Sunday Masses Saturday: 5 p.m., Sunday: 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Weekday Masses Mon-Sat: 8:00 a.m., except for Wednesdays during the school year: 8:30 a.m. Reconciliation Saturday: 7:30-7:50 a.m., 3:30-4:30 p.m. or by appointment St. Peter s Mark and Lyn Strieker continued from front cover Mark enjoys serving as an usher and as an active member in the men s group, and Lyn serves as a Eucharistic Minister, a member of a women s Bible study and a HAFOC (Hands and Feet of Christ) adult leader. She has also been involved at the school with fundraising and as a room mother. These opportunities to get involved have changed and grown over time, Mark says. It is cool to see St. Peter s grow more active in stewardship. For me, it has led to more friendships with the Men s Group and to other activities in the parish and outside the parish. Faith and stewardship are values that Lyn and Mark hoped to pass along to their daughters Kailyn, Ashley and Sydney. They have developed a strong faith base in their lives, Lyn says. It makes us very proud to see them share their talents with others. Our daughters have been involved with TEC, HAFOC and community service. Through giving back to the faith community in different ways, the Striekers have found that their own faith lives have grown. Lyn notices that even small actions have a rippling effect on others. It goes back to believing that you can make a difference, Lyn says. Some days, it may just be through small interactions with family, co-workers and friends. For Mark, stewardship has augmented his faith journey through what he describes as a two-step process. I have to recognize that I am not in control but have the faith and strength to follow God and become a better person, Mark says. The second step is to project my faith and love to others. Over the years, Mark and Lyn have endeavored to live out the mantra we can t go wrong in giving, and they are grateful for the faith community of generous stewards that surround them and inspire them at St. Peter s. I find that the more involved I get, the more I want to do, Lyn says. God equips us for the tasks He puts before us. We just have to step out of our comfort zone and trust Him. These opportunities to get involved have changed and grown over time. It is cool to see St. Peter s grow more active in stewardship. For me, it has led to more friendships with the Men s Group and to other activities in the parish and outside the parish. Mark Strieker