Saint Paul. Knights of Columbus. There are many organizations and groups affiliated with the Catholic Church, but few. Our Strong Right Arm

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1 Saint Paul MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Our Strong Right Arm Knights of Columbus There are many organizations and groups affiliated with the Catholic Church, but few like the Knights of Columbus. As a fraternal organization of Catholic men, the Knights of Columbus has always had strong ties to the Church, says John Dickinson, Grand Knight of Pensacola Knights of Columbus Council 778. At all levels, from the local councils to the Supreme Council, the organization has the volunteer power, communications abilities and organization to help strengthen the Church while offering members and their families opportunities to grow in the faith. Through the sponsoring of Church-related activities, the members of the Knights of Columbus continue to show that they are the strong right arm of the Church. Council 778 of the Knights of Columbus is the fourth oldest council in Florida. It was established in 1903 with 47 charter members from local parishes. In 2012, almost a century later, Council 778 officially moved to St. Paul Parish with more than 200 members in an effort to establish new councils at multiple parishes in the area. The strategy to start more councils is working nicely, John says. Membership is on the rise and pastors enjoy the support that a Knights of Columbus council brings to a parish. Today, there are councils at most of the parishes in the Pensacola area. At our parish, the Knights of Columbus give their support through a number of events, activities and charities. They support the youth with events like their Essay Contest, Free-Throw Contest, Spelling Bee and Altar Server of the Year. The council s other annual activities include Keep Christ in Christmas, Our Lady of Guadalupe icon and Immaculate Conception icon. continued on page 2

2 Knights of Columbus continued from cover The Knights also support charities at the national, state and local levels. On the national level, they give their support to the Special Olympics, National Disaster Relief, Coats for Kids, Global Wheelchair Mission and more. Locally, the Knights work with ARC Gateway, Alpha Center, St. Paul Youth, and they also give vocation scholarships for seminarians. Through their service, the Knights of Columbus help build up our parish community. Service is what we are called to do, and serving others sets a good example for others to follow, John says. The Knights themselves are also blessed by their involvement. Membership in the Knights of Columbus provides men with many opportunities to grow in their faith, as well as a large group of peers to help foster that growth. Joining the Knights has been yet another of the Lord s many blessings in my life, John says. I have been surrounded by many men from various parishes committed to supporting the Church. The Knights help me keep my faith at the center of my life. There are many temptations, and the Knights keep me focused on discipleship. Catholic men from all local parishes are welcome to join the Knights of Columbus Council 778. For more information, please call John Dickinson at Saint At all levels, from the local councils to the Supreme Council, the organization has the volunteer power, communications abilities and organization to help strengthen the Church while offering members and their families opportunities to grow in the faith. John Dickinson, Grand Knight of Pensacola Knights of Columbus Council 778

3 A Letter From Our Pastor Thanking God for Who and What We Are Dear Parishioners, It is July, and with Independence Day upon us, I think of what a blessing it is to live in this country, and I also think of the many Catholics who contributed to what our country was, is, and in many ways continues to be. These men and women were people of stewardship stewards of their country, but also stewards of their Church. Perhaps the most prominent Catholic family in the early days of what was called the New World, and what became the United States, was the Carroll family. I recall learning early on that there was one Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll. Charles first cousin, Daniel Carroll, was a member of the Second Continental Congress, and Daniel s brother, John Carroll, became the first Bishop in 1787 of what was the Diocese of Baltimore, which initially made up all 13 colonies. What is most remarkable about the Carrolls is that they never compromised their Catholic faith. In spite of opposition and even laws that prevented them from voting or participating fully in some aspects of the colonies, they maintained their faith and stood as examples of what it meant to be Catholic. On the day Charles Carroll signed the Declaration, it was against the law for a Catholic Paul to vote or to hold public office in his 3 native Maryland. Carroll, a shrewd businessman, was one of the major contributors to the financing of the revolution. These are examples of stewardship to all of us as we reflect on what a blessing it is to be an American. It has been said many times that stewardship is an attitude of gratitude. If we fully appreciate what it means to be a U.S. citizen, we need to be grateful to God for the opportunities afforded us. Every day is a time to consider the many gifts God has given us, and in particular during this patriotic month, we need to thank the Lord for the gift of this country. As summer descends upon us, I think of a slower pace, picnics in the park, and resting under the shade of a tree. It is a great time for us to reflect on the Lord and our relationship with Him. In a sense, God provides us with the same shade and protection as that tree. We need to set aside time each day to talk with God, to thank Him, and to renew our efforts to be good stewards of all our gifts. Summer is also a time for many to vacation, to relax and enjoy the better weather and the many sights and experiences all around us. For families, children are home more. What a great occasion to increase our prayer lives. All of us, especially families, should vow to put family prayer into our lives, especially as part of a summer outing or a summer vacation. During his papacy more than 20 years ago, St. John Paul II wrote a letter to families. In it he said, Prayer needs to become a regular habit in the daily life of each family. Prayer is thanksgiving, praise of God, asking for forgiveness. Stewardship calls us to lives of prayer. Thank God for who and what we are. I bear in mind those words written by Irving Berlin, God bless America. Thank God for the U.S.A. And I thank God that I am your pastor. I am blessed in a multitude of ways. Sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. Doug Halsema Pastor

4 THE TRAITS OF THE CHRISTIAN STEWARD Each day, we strive to live stewardship in our lives, recognizing our roles as God s co-workers in His creative, redemptive and sanctifying work. But in our quest to live as disciples of Christ, many obstacles often arise. One of the most prevalent roadblocks in living stewardship is understanding the traits that make up a good Christian steward. Surely, it would be much more convenient if we had some sort of stewardship profiler who could lay out the necessary steps to becoming a good steward, like on one of those television crime dramas. Unfortunately, it more often feels like living stewardship is a lifelong journey that we will never fully comprehend. Fortunately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops pastoral letter on stewardship, Stewardship: A Disciple s Response, gives some insight into the characteristics that make up a good Christian steward. It may not have the powers of a stewardship profiler or mentalist, but it certainly gives us some tangible things to think about. The Christian steward should display some of the following traits: INSIGHT Before the disciples could live what we know as the stewardship way of life, they needed a flash of insight, or a certain way of 1view- ing the world and their relationship to it in a fresh light. This divine grandeur, more than anything else, is often what sets people on the path to Christian stewardship (Stewardship: A Disciple s Response, 39). JOY Christian stewards are often presented with difficult obstacles, but they should remain joyful in the face of challenges to their lives of stewardship. Like Paul, the good steward is 4able to say, I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy all the more because of all our affliction (2 Cor. 7:4). Only by serving with a joyful spirit will stewards fully reap the rewards of their service, both in this life and the next. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS Stewards are fully conscious of their 2account- ability in sharing of their time, talent and treasure. As caretakers of the gifts that God has given them, they have the opportunity and responsibility to use them to their fullest potential to spread God s Kingdom on Earth (40). GENEROSITY Christian stewards are generous out of love as well as duty. They should display 3a desire to share with and care for others based on the sacramental graces they have received. And they are also cognizant of the many warnings that the New Testament presents to those who fail in charity and authentic love (40). Saint Indeed, living as a Christian steward is a lifelong journey with many ups and downs along the way. But if we strive to consciously incorporate each of these characteristics into our giving of time, talent and treasure, we will find that the profile of a good Christian steward will become much clearer with each experience of service. 4

5 A Look Back on Spring Events at St. Paul This past spring was certainly a busy and active time for our St. Paul community, but especially so for our eighth-grade students, as they prepared for their graduation in May. This past April, members of our community worked to beautify our parish grounds during Landscaping Day. In addition, the Fraternus Accolade Ceremony took place here at St. Paul. Paul 5

6 St. Christopher St. Joseph of Cupertino St. Brendan the Navigator St. Adjutor of Vernon Summertime Saints School is out, and summer is now in full swing. The days are longer, warmer and filled with plenty of fun summertime activities. This summer, as we take family vacations, get together for barbecues, spend time by the pool, and enjoy all of the usual summertime activities, we can also take the time to reflect on some of the saints who are associated with the summer. Family vacations are perhaps the most iconic of all summertime activities. Although there is no patron saint of vacations, there are a number of saints associated with traveling. One of the most popular is St. Christopher. According to his story, St. Christopher was an extremely tall and strong man who served Christ by helping people cross an especially dangerous river. That is why many people wear St. Christopher medals while traveling to ask for his blessing and protection. For those of us who are taking road trips this summer, there is St. Frances of Rome, the patron saint of cars and drivers. While St. Frances died well before cars were invented, her story says that her guardian angel went ahead of her when she traveled at night and lit the road with a lantern to keep St. Frances safe. There are also saints we can look to when traveling by plane. St. Joseph of Cupertino was a Franciscan friar who is said to have frequently and miraculously levitated off the ground during intense prayer sessions. Because of this levitation, he is recognized as the patron saint of air travelers. St. Therese of Lisieux is also associated with aviators and flying. If you are going on a cruise this summer, you can ask for the intercession of St. Brendan the Navigator, an Irish monk who founded the Clonfert monastery and monastic school, and is the patron saint of mariners and sailors. He and his brothers sailed the Atlantic Ocean and evangelized on a number of islands, and may have even reached the Americas. Another favorite summer activity is swimming. Whether you choose a pool, a river, a lake or the ocean, seek the intercession of St. Adjutor of Vernon, a knight who was captured in the First Crusade. His captors tried to force him to give up his faith, but St. Adjutor escaped by swimming to his freedom. For this reason, he is the patron saint against drowning, drowning victims, sailors and swimmers. The summer is also a time of amusement and enjoyment. One of the biggest national celebrations of the summer is the Fourth of July. For this type of summertime activity, we look to Saint St. Barbara, the patron saint of fireworks. There are also a number of saints with feast days during the summer. The feast day of St. Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, is celebrated on July 26. July 31 is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is also associated with stewardship. These are just two of the many saints whose feasts we celebrate this summer. No matter what kinds of activities we choose to do during the summertime, let us remember to honor the saints who have gone before us, and give their intercession for us as we walk through our own journeys of faith. 6

7 If you have been a St. Paul parishioner over the past five years, you have probably heard of rounding. Simply, rounding is a proactive and systematic way to communicate with parishioners through periodic face-toface or telephone conversations, get a handle on potential issues before they occur, solicit parishioner opinions, and to build positive relationships throughout the parish. Our experience has shown that rounding leads to many positive outcomes, including increased parishioner satisfaction and retention, quicker action on issues within the parish, and increased levels of parishioner engagement. In fact, rounding has helped to build our parish s Grand Mean for Engagement from 3.42 in November 2009 to 3.87 in October This is ROUNDING MINISTRY Helping to Grow a Welcoming Parish and Engaged Parishioners Our parishioner engagement level now ranks in the top 25 percent of Catholic parishes nationwide! Rounding builds community, gives parishioners a role in the parish decisionmaking process and helps to meet the special needs of parishioners by asking questions such as, What is working well in the parish? Is there anyone who deserves recognition or thanks for the good work they are doing? How can we make our parish life more vibrant and engaging? and How can we improve your worship experience? As part of our Welcoming Ministry, we not only assign mentors to new parish members to help them assimilate as quickly as possible into our parish family, but we also round on them within the first six months of their registration. Rounding questions for new parish members include What do you think is working well in our parish? Do you feel that our parish regularly offers you the opportunity to do what you do best? How can our parish better meet your spiritual needs? What ideas for improvement might you suggest? and Is there someone you know we should invite to our parish? The word rounding has historically been used in health care organizations. Just as rounding i.e. making rounds is done by doctors and nurses in a health care setting to gather critical and often time-sensitive information concerning a patient s physical health in order to prevent possible complications or further deterioration in health, rounding is used in the parish setting in much the same way: to gather information from parishioners to help determine the parish s spiritual health and be proactive in maintaining or improving that spiritual health. Many parish leaders have done some sort of rounding for years in conversations with their parishioners, but not in the same proactive, systematic and structured way that has proven to be so effective in health care organizations. To be most effective and result in lasting outcomes, rounding must be intentional, periodic and meaningful communication, asking key questions, getting feedback, and then reporting back accomplishments and answers resulting from that feedback. In the past, we have provided that feedback with our periodic Flag Reports. The Rounding Ministry consists of individuals, called Paul a very significant increase. 7 continued on back cover

8 Saint Paul 3131 Hyde Park Road Pensacola, FL (850) Non Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit #420 Pensacola, FL Address Service Requested Rounding Ministry continued from page 7 rounders who collect information from fellow parishioners through rounding conversations, and then enter that information into an online survey form. The right personality and critical thinking skills are prerequisites for any rounder. We are always in need of additional rounders. Presently, we are focusing our rounding efforts on new parishioners in support of our parish s thematic goal of making St. Paul Parish the most hospitable parish that anyone coming through our doors has ever attended. If you would like to be part of our Rounding Ministry please contact our parish office at , ext Rounders all agree that these conversations with fellow parishioners are personally a very positive and rewarding experience, while at the same time helping to grow a welcoming parish and engaged parishioners! Our experience has shown that rounding leads to many positive outcomes, including increased parishioner satisfaction and retention, quicker action on issues within the parish, and increased levels of parishioner engagement. Liturgy Schedule Saturday Vigil: 4:30 p.m. Sunday: 9:00, 11:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. Daily Mass: Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Confessions: Saturdays, 9:00 a.m., 3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m., most Sundays during 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. Mass, 1st Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m., and by appointment Eucharistic Adoration: Thursday 9:00 a.m. until Friday 7:30 a.m.