Focus on Follow Up. Follow Up Who needs it anyway. What s New in Houston ACTS H O U S T O N A C T S M I S S I O N D I D Y O U K N O W...

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1 H O U S T O N A C T S M I S S I O N D I D Y O U K N O W... We are looking for volunteers to help out with Follow Up activities. Houston ACTS has held over 500 retreats since ACTS came to Houston! We will come to your parish ACTS Core Team meeting csitton@aol.com for more information I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Adoration 2 and Prayer Theology 3 Community 4 Focus on Follow Up V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 1 Follow Up Who needs it anyway. We all need follow up. We need the constant reminder that despite our faults and shortcomings we are not alone. We need the community to support us through our hardships and rejoice with us in our times of joy. The human spirit is weak and prone to sin and despair despite the living presence of Christ inside of each of us. However, when we join together we become an interwoven network allowing God s grace to strengthen even the weakest link. 1Corrinthians 12:25-26, tells us God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Forming a strong knit follow up community in your parish will enable each of your ACTS brothers and sisters to take part in that network. Together they can form life long bonds that can save a life, feed the hungry, reach the downtrodden and heal the sick. Together they can hold each other accountable and become the true Christian commu- F E B R U A R Y nity described in ACTS 2:42-47: All who believed were together and had all things in common... Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. We are called to be Fishers of Men...let us go forth and spread the Good News through active Follow Up programs. Service 5 Contact Info 6 What s New in Houston ACTS Upcoming Events Retreats!! Did you know that Houston will have held over 500 ACTS retreats since ACTS came to Houston? Retreats/Training/Events Check out our upcoming activities on page 6 for the latest information on upcoming retreats, training and follow up events. Calling all Volunteers!! Houston ACTS is always looking for volunteers to assist in various ways. If you re interested in getting involved please contact Cindy at csitton@aol.com to let us know how you can help! What s New With You? We want to hear from you...what s new at your parish in the ACTS community? We would like to spotlight various parishes and their follow up activities...contact Cindy at csitton@aol.com

2 P A G E 2 Adoration and Prayer Activities... Adoration is a time when we can come before our Lord in silence to express our gratitude, pray for others or ourselves. It is a time of quiet reflection where we can receive a hug from Jesus who already knows all our joys and sorrows. This is a great option for those who prefer a more reflective way to pray. Options for Adoration activities might include a monthly adoration gathering with the ACTS community at your parish. Spend time with Our Lord in Adoration and Prayer... Encourage adoration during your ACTS retreats if you don t already offer that. If your parish has perpetual adoration, consider having a sign up for hours and include a group hour option that might include a rosary or other group devotional. St. Martha s in Kingwood has a monthly ARISE gathering that involves Mass, Reflection and Adoration for more information contact Kevin McGee ksmckeetx@gmail.com Linda Robison offers a program that allows retreatants to process the experiences of the ACTS retreat and develop skills and practices for identifying, exploring, unpacking, reliving and savoring personal experiences with God and sharing them in several ways. For more information Lfrobison@comcast.net Letting the Spirit Lead...Semi-annual Dinner/Mass with Father Don Nesti that serves as gathering, worship, meal and mini-retreat for St. John Vianney ACTS ministry. Contact Diane Ache for more information dianeache@gmail.com. F O C U S O N F O L L O W U P

3 V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 1 Community Gatherings P A G E 3 The Community is the heart of your parish. Parishioners are the hands and feet of Christ. In order for them to be most effective, the bonds and spiritual basis must be supported and strengthened. Ways to support and strengthen your ACTS Community can be within your parish, deanery or within the Archdiocese. Some ideas include: Parish Picnics/Bazaars Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper Men's/Women's groups Married Couple ministries Lenten Fish Fry (or Crawfish) Periodic Mass and Dinner gatherings Parish anniversary celebrations Wine and Singing Concerts Speaker engagements Coffee shop gatherings either onsite or at a local coffee house. Sister to Sister...St. Bartholomew has a women s group called Sister to Sister, where women meet in small church communities to pray, socialize, support each other, etc. For more information please contact Ruth Henning at Henningruth@aol.com Fishers of Men...St. Jerome s has a men s group called Fishers of Men. The goal of the group is to establish small prayer/fellowship groups to strengthen men inwardly so that they become godly men who make a difference in their homes, parishes, workplaces and communities. For more information go to or contact kathy2315@sbcglobal.net Teams of Our Lady Married couples small faith communities like Teams of Our Lady which focuses on building marital spirituality. See: TeamsofOurLady.org or contact: easttexregiontool@gmail.com for more information.

4 P A G E 4 Theology... In addition to fostering the bonds of Community, we have a moral obligation to understand our faith. The third tenant of ACTS focuses on just that. Make sure your ACTS Community has a strong theological base. Some examples include: Spend time with Our Lord in Adoration and Prayer... Bible Study- Men s/women s /combined Theology on the Vine (St. Cyril) Prayer breakfast-monthly/weekly Study the Catechism RENEW Theology on Tap is a registered, national program of outreach to and collaboration with young adult Catholics in pursuit of spiritual growth. For more information see Hearts Afire is an experiential Day of Prayer to expose people to the ancient prayer practice of the Church designed to turn hearts to God. For more information contact Dcn Ed Kleinguetl - EMKleinguetl@aol.com So Dad, What Makes a Man? 10 week course for men. Walking tour of male spirituality. See for more details That Man is You (TMIY) Men s and Women s groups) an organization of lay Catholics dedicated to the renewal of marriage and family life. For more information contact Nick LaRocca at nlarocca@svdp-edu.org F O C U S O N F O L L O W U P

5 V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 1 P A G E 5 Service... As Christians and Catholics we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in our world. Help your ACTS Community fulfill their calling through options such as these: CCE Teachers RCIA Catechist Youth Ministry Parish grounds work St. Vincent de Paul Society Habitat for Humanity Houston Food Bank Tutoring students Crisis pregnancy center Serve at soup kitchen or similar community event Ask us how to bring service to large community gatherings.

6 Houston ACTS Mission 1127 Eldridge Parkway PMB # Houston Texas For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God's will, to be what God wants us to be. Thomas Merton Phone: Upcoming Events Feb 20-23, 2014 Our Lady of Lourdes - Hitchcock - Women's ACTS Retreat in English Feb 20-23, 2014 St. Ignatius - Spring - Men's ACTS Retreat in English Feb 20-23, 2014 Mary Queen - Friendswood - Women's ACTS Retreat in English Feb 27 - Mar 2, 2014 St. Jerome - Houston - Women's ACTS Retreat in Spanish Mar 6-9, 2014 St. John the Baptist - Alvin - Men's ACTS Retreat in Spanish Mar 13-16, 2014 St. Jerome - Houston - Teen ACTS Retreat Mar 13-16, 2014 St. Ambrose - Houston - Women's ACTS Retreat in Spanish Mar 20-23, 2014 Bluebonnet ACTS Community - Men's ACTS Retreat in English Mar 20-23, 2014 St. Anthony of Padua - The Woodlands - Women's ACTS Retreat in English Mar 20-23, 2014 St. Bartholomew the Apostle - Katy - Women's ACTS Retreat in English Mar 20-23, 2014 St. Joseph -Baytown - Women's ACTS Retreat in English Mar 27-30, 2014 St. Martha - Kingwood - Women's ACTS Retreat in English Mar 27-30, 2014 St. Bernadette - Houston - Men's ACTS Retreat in English Leadership Traing 3/8/2014 St. Martha-Kingwood Teen ACTS Training 3/8/2014 St Jerome-Houston Spanish Leadership Training 3/15/2014 St Jerome Spiritual Companion 6 week training, contact Mary Pierson mgpierson2606@yahoo.com March 29th : Women s Day of Prayer at Duchene Academy contact Cindy for more information. Summer 2014: Town Hall coming soon...keep an eye out for more information. July 2014: Men/Women s Day of Prayer coming in July at Prince of Peace...more details to follow