St. Mary Church December 25, 2016 The Nativity of the Lord

Transcription

1 St. Mary Church December 25, 2016 The Nativity of the Lord PO BOX 67 IRELAND, IN PHONE: (812) FA X : ( ) St Mary Church Rev. Gary Kaiser, Pastor.gkaiser@evdio.org Rev. Simon Natha, Associate Pastor snatha@evdio.org Deacon John Huether...jhuether@evdio.org Dianne Gogel, Secretary, Ext. 21 dgogel@evdio.org Sherri Hartley, Secretary, Ext. 22 chartley@evdio.org Stan Heim, Property Manager, Ext. 36 sheim@evdio.org Martha Schmitt, PCL, Ext. 45 mjschmitt@evdio.org Ann Nagy, Music Director, Ext 25 anagy@evdio.org Charlene Sermersheim, Music Annette Witte, Cleaning Parish Contacts Bereavement Meals, Sherri Hartley Church Decorations, Janet Schitter Finance Council, Audrey Wehr Ireland K of C, Grand Knight, Chris Weisman Ireland K of C Building Rental - Allen Reckelhoff Parish Nursing, Deb Brescher Parish Council, Pat Stemle Prayer Line, Bev Himsel St Anne s Society, President, Helen Vonderheide Director of St John Bosco Youth Ministry Angie Greulich Precious Blood Church Rev. Gary Kaiser, Pastor Office Ext. 128.Rectory...Ext. 650 Rev. Simon Natha, Associate Pastor Office...Ext Rectory..Ext 650 St. Mary s Mission Statement: St. Mary Church is a community of faith united in Eucharist and committed to seeking God through prayer; sharing our gifts of time, talent and treasure; providing formation and education for children and adults; responding to the needs of people by sharing our faith and resources. We are dedicated to living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Parish Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm Website:

2 St. Mary Church Mass Schedule Saturday 5:30pm Sunday 7:00am & 9:15am No Monday Mass Thursday and Friday at 7:30am Wednesday at 6:00pm No Saturday Mass Sacrament of Reconciliation at St. Mary Church Saturday 4:30-5:20pm; 1/2 hour before weekday Masses Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 1/2 hour before weekday Masses Anointing of the Sick: Notify the parish office if there is a need for Father Gary or Father Simon to administer Anointing of the Sick. Sacrament of Baptism: The joy of having children is fully realized in their Baptism within the faith community. Call the Parish Office regarding Baptism appointments. First time parents, please stop by and pick up a baptism video. Sacrament of Marriage: Parishioners who wish to be married at St. Mary Church are asked to contact the parish office six months prior to setting a date. This will provide time for prayer, preparation and paperwork. Homebound Parishioners: Communion calls are made on Monday mornings to parishioners homes. Call the parish office if you would like a visit from our Eucharistic Minister. Gift Bearers: If you would like to carry up the gifts during Mass, please let the Ushers know. Readings for the Week of December 25, 2016 Sunday: Vigil: Is 62:1-5/Ps 89/Acts 13:16-17, 22-25/Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25 Night: Is 9:1-6/Ps 96/Ti 2:11-14/Lk 2:1-14 Dawn: Is 62:11-12/Ps 97/Ti 3:4-7/Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10/Ps 98/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14 Monday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59/Ps 31/Mt 10:17-22 Tuesday: 1 Jn 1:1-4/Ps 97/Jn 20:1a, 2-8 Wednesday: 1 Jn 1:5--2:2/Ps 124/Mt 2:13-18 Thursday: 1 Jn 2:3-11/Ps 96/Lk 2:22-35 Friday: Mass Intentions Christmas Eve Sat-Dec 24 4:30 pm Members of St. Mary Parish 7:00 pm Leroy Witte Christmas Day Sun-Dec 25 7:00 am Esther Weidenbenner 9:15 am Allen Brescher Mon-Dec 26 7:30 am No Mass Wed-Dec 28 6:00 pm Dick Leinenbach Family Thurs-Dec 29 7:30 am Raymond Stenftenagel Family Fri-Dec 30 7:30 am Riley Pitstick Sat-Dec 31 8:00 am No Mass New Year s Eve Sat-Dec 31 5:30 pm Lee Goeppner & Adam Seger New Year s Day Sun-Jan 1 7:00 am Arthur Mathies 9:15 am Members of St. Mary Parish Sir 3:2-6, or Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17/Ps 128/Mt 2:13-15, Saturday: 1 Jn 2:18-21/Ps 96/Jn 1:1-18 Next Sunday: Nm 6:22-27/Ps 67/Gal 4:4-7/Lk 2:16-21 January Area Events 17: Tap Into Theology at the Jasper K of C. 28: The HOOT at the KlubHaus 61. Doors open at 5:30pm with dinner at 6:30pm. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, January 4. If you have auction items you would like to donate please contact Krista Seger krista.seger@gmail.com or Audrey Seger audrey.seger@gmail.com Irish Sweepstake Winner for December 18 Congratulations to our $ winner, Audrey Wehr Don t forget to pick up your 2017 Sweepstakes tickets in the back of church. Precious Blood Church - Mass Schedule Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday at 8:00am Saturday - 4:00pm Sunday - 8:00am & 10:30am

3 Greetings: Christmas is a special time for us. It is a time to recognize the love and goodness of God; a time to know that Christ has come among us; a time to remember that God now shares the same joys and sorrows that we do; a time to rejoice in the hope of eternal life that Jesus brings to each of us. We pray that all of you have the opportunity to spend time with your loved ones and let them know you love them. Always know that we love you at our linked parishes of Precious Blood and St. Mary. As we reflect upon the new life Christ brought into our world, emotions of joy and gratitude well up within. We are so thankful to all who make our sanctuaries look beautiful. We also thank those who share their gift of music to make our liturgies so delightful. We appreciate all those who share their talent in the various ministries in which they assist. Once the Nativity scenes are set up; we ask all of you to take a few moments and reflect upon the Nativity and the image of our Lord. May Christ bring peace into your lives through-out Thank you for all the kindness, support, encouragement and generosity you have shown to our linked parishes of Precious Blood and St Mary during All of you certainly help make our parishes to be the vibrant parishes they are today. We hope that this Christmas will be the most joyous you have known. May the newborn Christ Child bless you, your families and friends and your homes. Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to all, Fr. Gary and Fr. Simon Are you paying too much tax?? The St. Mary s Capital Campaign Committee will be gearing up to begin fundraising efforts for our new church early next year, but you can make a tax deductible charitable contribution to the St. Mary Building Fund this year. Make your donation at the parish office before the end of the year. Help us get a jump start on our building fund and reduce your income tax for St. John Bosco Catholic Youth Ministry is a collaborative effort between Holy Family Parish, Precious Blood Parish, St. Joseph Parish and St. Mary Parish and is for middle and high school teens. We are located at 214 West 13th Street in Jasper. Please use the link below for details. Contact Angie Greulich at agreulich@evdio.org or call / if you have any questions. Upcoming Bosco Events: High School Youth Nights are every Sunday from 6:00-8:00pm (Not on Christmas or New Year s weekend). Every last Tuesday of the month we go to Azura for a bagel breakfast and prayer before school. All High school students are welcome No #FeedMeWednesdays during the month of December. We will start up again in January at the Bosco House. Reminder - We serve dinner for high school from 5:30-6:30pm on Wednesdays. Spots are filling up for Catholic Heart Work Camp 2017! We are heading to Knoxville, TN June $100 deposit to hold your spot. Register asap. High School Sophomores/Juniors/Seniors are invited to go to One Bread, One Cup July 6-10 at St. Meinrad. We have vey limited spots. This is a liturgical conference that empowers youth who are interested in the Mass to learn more about it and grow in their own participation of it. $100 deposit reserves your spot. January 8: Youth Night at Precious Blood for the Teen/Family Mass with supper and fun following. January 29: Middle School Event - High School will be leaders! Engaged Encounter is a weekend experience with other engaged couples that affords time alone together to plan for sacramental marriage. Trained facilitators will lead the program on February 11 and 12, April 29 and 30 or September 17 and 18 at the Sarto Retreat Center. For marriage preparation resources, more information, or to register, call Catholic Charities at or visit engaged-encounter.html. Father Gary encourages all engaged couples to attend one of these weekends before getting married. DECEMBER 25, THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD "She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Today we celebrate that the prophetic dream of St. Joseph was fulfilled! Jesus is born! A Savior has come to deliver us--emmanuel, "God is with us." Christmas is a feast of fulfillment, a holiday of deep and enduring happiness not only because God became man and was born of a woman, but because along with his Incarnation, God brought us freedom. Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who sets us free from the misery of our own sins. This is the ultimate gift of Christmas Day. We exchange gifts today as a sign of our love for one another to be sure, but also as a concrete, visible way to celebrate the gift that we have first received from God. We are free people! We are not slaves but rather the children of God whose priceless inheritance is to dwell in his kingdom for all eternity. On this most festive day of the year, we are invited to exult in this fact and spare little effort or expense to show our gratitude and joy. We only must be careful not to reduce our celebrating today to something less glorious, something less meaningful, or less profound. This is no mere secular holiday. This is not just a ritual of family gatherings, elaborate evergreen trees and sumptuous meals. Christmas is a holy day and as Christians it is our day in a most definite and undeniable way. The treats and trimmings are all signs that remind us of what lies ahead for those who accept the real gift of Jesus Christ: an unending banquet of eternal delights and divine gifts that will never fail to satisfy. Yes, Christmas is a little taste of heaven, the perfect gift that lies in wait for those who love the Lord.

4 This Week s Parish Events Saturday [12/24] Christmas Eve: Christmas Eve Masses will be celebrated at 4:30pm and 7:00pm. Sunday [12/25] Christmas Day: Christmas Day Masses will be celebrated at 7:00am and 9:15am. Upcoming Parish Events January 21 & 22: St. Meinrad Weekend here at our parish. February 6: St. Anne Meeting February 18-20: TEC here at St. Mary. February 26: St. Mary Confirmation April 6: St. Anne/Red Cross Blood Drive 1:00-6:00pm. April 29 & 30: St. Mary 1st Communion July 22-24: TEC here at St. Mary. September 10: St. Mary Church Picnic Monday [12/26]: No Mass will be celebrated today. Parish Office will be closed. Quilting at 5:00pm in the Rectory Basement. Servants of the Holy Spirit at 7:00pm in the Library. Ireland K of C Meeting and 20/20 Draw at 8:00pm. Tuesday [12/27]: No Choir Rehearsal today. Wednesday [12/28]: Rosary at 11:30am in the church. All are welcome. Quilting noon to 4:00pm in the rectory basement. Mass will be celebrated at 6:00pm. St Anne s Sewing Room opens at 6:00pm in the Rectory basement. No Religion Classes - enjoy Christmas Break. Classes will resume on January 4. Thursday [12/29]: Mass will be celebrated at 7:30am. Friday [12/30]: Mass will be celebrated at 7:30am. Parish Office Closed Saturday [12/31] New Year s Eve: No morning Rosary and Mass today. New Year s Eve Mass will be celebrated at 5:30pm. Sunday [01/01] New Year s Day: New Year s Day Masses will be celebrated at 7:00am and 9:15am. Thank You to everyone who came to the Breakfast with Santa and the Cookie/Candy Walk. We had a great turnout at both. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make these two events such a huge success - without your help this would not be possible. Including our Christmas Basket raffle, we raised over $1700. This money will be go to the building fund. Thanks again for all who came and to those who gave of their time. Vocation Chalice - A different family each week takes home the Vocation Chalice and a binder containing prayers and vocation stories of priests, religious, deacons and seminarians to pray for vocations. Call Martha at , ext 45 for more info or to sign up. The following family is already on the schedule: December 24 & 25 - Steve and Renee Williams Family. Thank you to everyone who has participated in the traveling vocation chalice. Our diocese is in need of some good young men to become priests. We have a great group of seminarians as well as current priests who need our prayers and support. More volunteers are needed. Please consider praying for our religious. Great way for you and your family to pray daily. The Ireland Volunteer Fire Department is looking for volunteers to join the department. Volunteers must be between the ages of 21 and 35 and be willing to become a First Responder. For more information call Scott Schnell at or talk to any Ireland Volunteer Fireman. Back Row L to R: Matt Fleck, Ray Lechner, Allen Reckelhoff, Tony Bryan, Terry Nicholson Front Row L to R: Brian Seibert, John Wilz, Jesse Bachman, Chris Weisman The Ireland K of C has recently received recognition at both the State and Supreme levels of the Knights of Columbus for their Teddy Bear Project! In April, the Ireland K of C received the Youth Service Award for the entire State of Indiana at the annual K of C Convention in Indianapolis. Also, in the past week, Ireland Council #5581 won 3rd place for the International Youth Service Program Award. This includes 17,000 K of C Councils Internationally!! This project was started in 2013 and provides Teddy Bears to children. The Teddy Bears have been distributed locally thru Memorial Hospital, urgent care facilities, Crisis Connection, local law enforcement, and Dubois County Family Services. Project to date, Council #5582 has delivered over $11,000 in Teddy Bears. Thank you to all our sponsors and participants who made this possible. If you would like to make a donation to this great cause, you can send a check payable to Ireland K of C Teddy Bear Fund, P O Box 136, Ireland, IN The Ireland K of C is open to any Catholic male over the age of 18. For more information on becoming a Knight, contact Grand Knight, Chris Weisman at

5 Liturgical Ministers for December 31 & January 1 Servers: 5:30 pm Cody Scherle - Cheyenne Scherle 7:00 am Riley Merder - Amia Kempf 9:15 am Hannah Schwenk - Jasmine Mehringer Extraordinary Ministers: 5:30 pm Audrey Wehr - Linda Rasche - Jesse Bachman Ruth Small - Marlene Goeppner 7:00 am Elizabeth Kempf - Helen Giesler - Julie Hopf Melinda Weidenbenner - Donna Renner 9:15 am Larry Goeppner - Carla Durcholz - Eugene Hopf Julie Truesdale - Diana Mehringer Lectors: 5:30 pm Martha Schmitt 7:00 am LeRay Durcholz 9:15 am Karen Schwenk Lectors Website: (Year A) Ushers: 5:30 pm Mark & Diane Brescher 7:00 am Matt & Bridget Fleck 9:15 am P J & Jill Peter Sunday School: 9:15 am No Sunday School - Sunday School will resume January 8 Thank You!! This bulletin is furnished to the Parish without charge. The advertisements that appear completely defray all publishing costs with which the church would otherwise be burdened. Please patronize these sponsors as a thank you for their kind generosity. Open hour in the Divine Providence Eucharistic Adoration Chapel 1st & 3rd Monday 1:00am - 2:00am (If you would like just one of these Monday s, please call or ) 1st & 5th Wednesday 4:00am - 5:00am (Co-Adorers are needed for these hours) If you can fill this time slot, contact or dp@adorationmanager.com. Please spend an hour with Jesus. Tickets for Holy Trinity Catholic School s the Hoot Go on sale Wednesday, January 4 from 7:00-9:00am in the St. Joseph Parish Center The Hoot will be held on January 28 at KlubHaus 61 in Jasper. Doors open at 5:30pm, dinner at 6:30pm Tickets will be sold on first come first served basis Tickets are $30 each. All tickets must be paid for by cash or check at time of purchase. Checks can be made payable to Holy Trinity Catholic School The Hoot will have tables of 14 and 16. A maximum of 16 tickets may be purchased by one individual The Hoot is an all adult evening of food, fun and fellowship. The evening includes dinner, music, cash bar and lively auctions for oneof-a-kind and priceless items. All proceeds benefit Holy Trinity Catholic School. For updates, visit The Hoot for Holy Trinity Catholic School on Facebook. We look forward to seeing you at the Hoot! Pope Francis December Intentions Universal Intention - End to Child-Soldiers: That the scandal of child-soldiers may be eliminated the world over Evangelization Intention - Europe: That the peoples of Europe may rediscover the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Gospel which gives joy and hope to life.