February Holy Father's Prayer Intention for February -

Transcription

1 Saint Elizabeth Parish Religious Education Preparation PREP (CCD) Mrs. Mary Spieker Director of Religious Education St. Elizabeth s Parish web site: February 2017 Holy Father's Prayer Intention for February - Comfort for the Afflicted. That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities. In his annual message to communicators around the world, Pope Francis again condemned the tendency for media to focus on the bad news, saying journalists, while being accurate, must also offer a message of hope. We have to break the vicious circle of anxiety and stem the spiral of fear resulting from a constant focus on bad news, such as war, terrorism, scandal and other human failures, the Pope said in his message for the World Day of Social Communications. It was published Jan. 24 to mark the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers, journalists and the Catholic press. The actual day of communications will be celebrated May 28, and will focus on the theme of the Pope s message: Fear not, for I am with you: Communicating Hope and Trust in our Time. In his message, the Pope said steering clear of bad news has nothing to do with spreading misinformation that would ignore the tragedy of human suffering, and neither does in involve a naive optimism blind to the scandal of evil. Rather, I propose that all of us work at overcoming that feeling of growing discontent and resignation that can at times generate apathy, fear or the idea that evil has no limits, he said.

2 Lent begins on Ash Wednesday March 1, St. Elizabeth Mass times are at 9:00 AM, 12:15 PM & 7:00 PM Operation Rice Bowl Children s Donation Boxes The children of St. Elizabeth Parish will be asked once again to collect donations for Operation Rice Bowl. Our children in Pre-K through 8 th grade will be given small donation boxes once Lent begins. Please return all boxes by Monday, April 3. All donations will be sent directly to Catholic Relief Services to help fund their efforts of bringing food and drink to our hungry world. When you give to CRS (Catholic Relief Services) Rice Bowl: 25 percent of your donations go to hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in your own community. 75 percent of your donations support CRS s humanitarian relief programs in 100 countries worldwide. ($10 provides a family with 2 weeks of food) We thank you for supporting this important ministry. SACRAMENTAL UPDATE REMINDER Children preparing for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist should attend Liturgy of the Word on Sunday, February 26 at the 9:45 AM Mass. First Reconciliation We congratulate the following children who have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Wednesday evening, January 25. Please continue to pray for them and for their families as they begin preparation for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Anya Bogucki Tanner Buchmoyer Kerigan Dreisbach Brogan Emery Kendra Fogel Aiden Johnson Aidan Jones-Santee Abigail Kneller Ava Kneller Jenna Le Justin Marquez Gianna Miller Nha-Quyen Nguyen Amerina Raub Jadhira Rivera Brady Tomko Trey Wagner

3 Confirmation Students preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation: Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on Thursday, March 4:30 P.M. with Father John Pendzick (Delegatus) at St. Elizabeth Parish - Confirmation Interviews are scheduled for Monday, February 13. Service hours must be completed at this time. CONFIRMATION PRACTICES: Confirmation practice for all candidates is Thursday, February 23 at 6:00 PM in church Practice will last approximately 45 minutes to an hour. All parents are asked to come into church to pick-up their children. Candidates will be given their Confirmation robe at this time. PLEASE NOTE: The Sacrament of Reconciliation is being offered every Saturday at St. Elizabeth Church from 3:30 4:15 PM as well as before each weekend Mass. Confession will bring your child into the state of grace needed to receive Confirmation. Sponsors are also encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at a suitable time before the Confirmation ceremony. A Second Confirmation Practice A Second Confirmation practice for candidates and their sponsors is planned for Sunday, February 26 immediately following the 11:30 AM Mass at Saint Elizabeth. Candidates are expected to attend the 11:30 AM Mass and sit up front in their assigned seats. Sponsors may sit anywhere in the church and will be given their assigned seats for Confirmation during the practice. Immediately following Mass we will have a light lunch in the parish hall. Sponsors are invited to join us at this time. We will then gather in the church for our final practice. This will last until approximately 2:00 PM. CONFIRMATION CELEBRATION VOLLEYBALL & PIZZA PARTY MONDAY, APRIL 3 Where: St. Elizabeth Parish Hall Who: 8 th grade PREP & St. E s School Students Food: All you can eat pizza & drinks Time: 6:15 PM 7:30 PM

4 You worked hard to prepare for Confirmation this year, so now is the time to kick back and share the Spirit with your classmates and friends. Are you up for the challenge! Hope to see you there! ATTENDANCE Parents are responsible to make certain that their child does makeup work if they have exceeded our three-absent per year policy. I will only notify you of how many make-up assignments are necessary, your choices of assignments, and when they are due. I am sorry if you find this an addition burden, but in all fairness this has been the policy at St. Elizabeth s PREP and all are reminded each year of this policy. Without some kind of accountability, our policy and program would become meaningless. All parents with students over the three-absent limit will be receiving a note via by March 8. Then it is in your hands to carry out the assignment in a Christian spirit. If you have any questions or can offer a substitute makeup opportunity such as service hours, please contact me directly. Prayer Services Planned! Many thanks to our 6 th grade class for the beautiful Pro-Life Mass they hosted on January 30. Our 5 th grade PREP class will soon begin to plan for our St. Joseph Feast Day Prayer Service to be held on Monday, March 20. All parents and families are welcome and urged to attend and pray with us! Monday, March 20 St. Joseph Feast Day Prayer Service Planned by 5 th grade PREP Monday, April 24 PREP Closing Mass All are welcome to attend! For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 Homework Please check to make sure your child has completed the homework assignment given each week. In most cases, homework is given weekly with an added reminder. Our PREP teachers work very hard preparing lessons and challenging our students to complete work and come to class ready to share. Together, we can train our children to know, understand, and value our faith through our own words and examples.

5 We will have our annual Cookies and Milk fundraiser this Monday, February 6 to benefit the Hunger Initiative s Snack Pack Pals at the Whitehall-Coplay School District & St. Elizabeth Regional School. These packs help to feed children who do not have a permanent home or reliable food source over the long holiday weekends. The cost is only $2.00 for two cookies and a cup of milk or water; however, we gladly except extra donations for this important cause! (If your child has a food allergy, please send in an alternative snack.) Thanks for your support! Mark Monday, March 21 on your calendar to come help with the Community Meal for the Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative hosted at St. Elizabeth s Parish Hall from 4 6 PM. Presidents Day There is no class on Monday, February 20, because of the holiday. Enjoy your long weekend! Inclement Weather In case of inclement weather, please watch for an announcement of cancellation for St. Elizabeth PREP Classes, Whitehall, on WFMZ. I will try to get the message announced as soon as possible. Rule of Thumb: If the Whitehall-Coplay School District has cancelled classes or has an early dismissal, we will not have class. WFMZ TV Note: Schedule delay or closing information will be listed on our website and not on Channel 69 (except for extreme weekend weather conditions).

6 February Birthdays Happy Birthday to: Olivia, Aaron, Lennon, Madison, Miss Kayla Mosser, Mrs. Kelly Smith & Mrs. Spieker. Guardian Angel Prayer Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Happy Valentines Day! I ll be thinking and praying for all of you. Mrs. Mary Spieker Director of Religious Education Did you misplace or need an extra copy of our monthly newsletter? You can find it on our parish web site at:

7 The Origin of St. Valentine The origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Other historians hold that St. Valentine was a temple priest jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom. CLASS SCHEDULE SAINT ELIZABETH PARISH PREP (CCD) PARISH RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM FEBRUARY 6 Monday Class 6:00 7:30 PM MCA (HCA) Cookies & Milk Fundraiser- $2.00 pp 13 Monday Class 6:00 7:30 PM (Adoration) (Assembly 7-8 from 6:10 7PM Generation Life) ($50 donation) 20 Monday NO CLASS Presidents Day Holiday 27 Monday Class 6:00 7:30 PM MARCH 1 Wednesday Ash Wednesday Mass 7:00 PM 2 Wednesday Confirmation at St. Elizabeth s 4:30 PM 6 Monday Class 6:00 7:30 PM 13 Monday Class - Traditional Stations of the Cross 6:00 7:30 PM (Adoration) 20 Monday Class 6:00 7:30 PM St. Joseph Prayer Service (6:15 6:45) Hosted by 5 th Grade 27 Monday Class - Confessions during class for grades 2-8 6:00 7:30 PM Respectfully, Mrs. Mary Spieker, DRE