Parent Connection SWCS NEWS Dear SWCS Family, Advent is upon us! This time of year is filled with hope and anticipation as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus! Advent reminds us of the reality of Jesus Christ and that He has come and He is present in our world and lives. The birth of Jesus reveals His human side and is an example of how we should live our own lives, as His followers here on earth, until He comes again. In celebration of the coming of Jesus, SWCS would like to invite you and your families to sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful talents and voices of your children. Our annual school-wide Christmas program, entitled My Favorite Things, will take place Tuesday, December 11th in the North Gym at St. Wendelin Catholic School. Thanks be to God for all your prayers, support, and countless acts of mercy to make our school feel like family. We could not do it without you! In addition to the Christmas program on December 11th, we hope to see everyone at the Fine Arts Booster Cookie Walk on December 16th and at Mass! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in your faith, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit you may be in hope. Romans 15:13 Blessings to you in this beautiful time of Advent, SWCS Staff Dear Families, I want to take this opportunity to briefly bring you up-to-date on what has been happening since our November 12th Parish Meeting regarding our school. Most importantly, we have continued to pray in earnest about our school and what God wants us to do with this ministry. We believe we must ask God what to do. I was pleased that members of the Diocese Finance Office and Schools Office attended our November 12th meeting. They heard first-hand of our situation. Since that time the "work" of the leadership team has been passed on to leadership in the Diocese. They are studying our findings. We have been in constant communication with the Senior Director for Catholic Education, Mr. Matt Daniels, and Mrs. Katie Sliwinski in the Schools Office. We also have had our Diocesan Auditor, Mr. Dave Reed, checking all our numbers, making sure are financials are accurate. The Diocesan team asked for a week or two to study our findings. Conversations with Pastoral Council and Finance Council have also occurred. At this time, we have not found a viable option for long term sustainability. I have shared our situation with Bishop Thomas. I have forwarded him our documents as well. He has asked us to be in conversation with Matt, Katie and Dave to further explore possible options. We know that a decision will have to be made soon. What can you do? Keep praying for leadership here in the parish and at the Diocese for wisdom and right judgement. Pray for our students, parents, faculty and staff. No matter what happens we trust that God's will be done. God bless, Rev. Todd Dominique December 6, 2018 COMING SOON Friday, December 7 Mid-Quarter Immaculate Conception Vigil Mass @ 6:30 PM (Church) Saturday, December 8 Immaculate Conception Mass @ 9:00 AM (Church) Sunday, December 9 Fellowship Sunday (4) After Masses (Parish Hall) Tuesday, December 11 K-8 Christmas Program @ 6:30 PM (North Gym) Wednesday, December 12 K-8 Mass @ 9:00 AM (Church) Thursday, December 13 Shirley Popcorn Delivery (SWCS) Sunday, December 16 FAB Cookie Walk After Masses (Parish Hall) JHSWYM Elephant Exchange @ 7:00 PM (Youth) Monday, December 17 First Vespers for Dedication Anniv. @ 7:00 PM (Church) Tuesday, December 18 Lauds for Dedication Anniv. @ 9:00 AM (Church) Mass for Dedication Anniv. @ 6:30 PM (Church) Reception to Follow Mass Wednesday, December 19 K-8 Mass @ 9:00 AM (Church) Thursday, December 20 Day of Grace @ 10:00 AM- 6:00 PM (Confessional) December 21-January 4 NO SCHOOL December 24-December 28 PARISH OFFICE CLOSED Monday, December 24 Mass @ 4:00 PM (Church) Mass @ 6:30 PM (Church) Tuesday, December 25 Mass @ 12:00 AM (Church) Mass @ 10:00 AM (Church)
NEED TO KNOW Fellowship Sunday: December 9th Parents and students in grade 4 will host Fellowship Sunday on December 9th after all Masses. Please stop by for doughnuts, coffee and juice. K-8 Christmas Program: December 11th All are invited to the K-8 Christmas program, entitled My Favorite Things, on Tuesday, December 11th at 6:30 PM in the North Gym at St. Wendelin Catholic School. #GivingTuesday Thank You A sincere THANK YOU to all who supported #GivingTuesday 2018. Our St. Wendelin community, alumni and friends came together on one day of giving and generously donated a total of $34,205 to benefit St. Wendelin Catholic School. The $7 million in matching dollars was met very quickly by the global Facebook community. How fast did it run out? The answer is: somewhere between 1-5 minutes! Unfortunately, this year, we did not receive any Facebook matching dollars. Facebook & #GivingTuesday 2018 Facts: Over $380 million raised online in the US Over 4 million people donated on Facebook Over 150 countries around the world participated If you missed #GivingTuesday this year, don t worry! You can still make your end-of-year, tax-deductible donation before December 31st by contacting Jeannette Lee at 419-435-6692 x415 or development@stwendelin.org. Thank you! Children & Youth Christmas Choir A special choir is forming to sing for the 4:00 PM Christmas Eve Mass on Monday, December 24th! All children and youth in grades 1-12 from our parish family are invited to join this special choir. Practices are being held each Wednesday until Christmas from 5:45-6:30 PM in the choir room at St. Wendelin Catholic Church. Please attend as many of the four practices as possible. Contact Anthony Gallina (anthony.gallina@stwendelin.org) with questions. St. Wendelin Pick Three Tickets On Sale Now St. Wendelin PICK 3 is our newest fundraising game with 20 chances to win! To play, match your ticket s lucky 3 numbers to the Ohio Lottery s evening Pick 3 numbers in February 2019. You could win $50 to $250, and each time you win a check will be mailed to you. Each ticket is just $10 and can be purchased in the Parish Office, after Sunday Masses or from staff members. With so many chances to win, the 1,000 tickets are sure to sell fast! If you re interested in helping to sell tickets to your family, friends, and coworkers, please contact Tami Honse (419-435-6692 x307) today! Important Sacramental Dates Reconciliation: All families are invited to support second-grade students as they celebrate their First Reconciliation on Wednesday, January 23rd at 6:30 PM at St. Wendelin Catholic Church. A small reception will follow in the Parish Hall. First Eucharist Enrollment: All second graders who will be celebrating the Sacrament of First Eucharist in May will participate in First Eucharist Enrollment on Sunday, February 3rd at 10:00 AM Mass at St. Wendelin Catholic Church. First Eucharist Meeting: A meeting for parents/students preparing for First Eucharist will take place on Wednesday, February 27th at 6:45 PM in the SWCS Cafeteria. Confirmation: A Confirmation Retreat will be held for eighth graders and sponsors on Saturday, February 23rd. On Sunday, February 24th, eighth graders will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation with Msgr. Marvin Borger at St. Wendelin Catholic Church. Page 2 St. Wendelin Catholic School 2018-2019
DID YOU KNOW? Giving Thanks In preparation for Thanksgiving, SWCS students and staff discussed what they are most thankful for during Family Group time. They wrote notes to the people in their lives they are most thankful for and added them to the Gratitude Jar. The entire school community then gathered in the gym to give thanks to God by reading aloud the items in the Gratitude Jar. A collage was created to show what are most thankful for this Thanksgiving season. It s featured on page 6. Saints in the Making St. Wendelin Catholic School students in grades 6-8 visited residents at Good Shepherd Home dressed as Saints. Each student took turns telling the Saints stories. ADVENTures in Advent Children ages 4-5 were invited to attend a very special ADVENTure on December 3rd with kindergarten teacher Mrs. Linda Shetzer. Each child learned the true meaning of Advent and Christmas. Children left with mangers, hay and a special gift to be opened Christmas morning. Advent Retreat Students in grades K-8 at St. Wendelin Catholic School participated in an all-day Advent Retreat on December 5th. After attending Mass, students traveled from station to station in their Family Groups. Stations included decorating cookies for the elderly, creating life-size Advent candles with handwritten notes/prayers about hope, faith, joy and peace, singing O Come O Come Emmanuel, and more. THINK WIN-WIN The Leader in Me Parent Guide Think Win-Win is the belief that everyone can win. It s not me or you it is both of us. It is a belief that there are enough good things for everyone; it is an abundant way of thinking. Think Win-Win is being happy for others when good things happen to them. As a parent, not everything is negotiable, but if you go into discussions with your child, with a win-win mindset, you ll find a lot less resistance. Activities... 1. Play a game with your child(ren) that has a definite winner. Explain how competition is okay when you play a game, but it is not okay in relationships. Discuss how tense it would be in your home if every situation had to have a winner. A better way to think is win-win. This means we think of solutions that we can all feel good about when there is a problem. The more we Think Win-Win, the fewer problems there will be. You may want to display a chart listing the days of the week. When someone is caught thinking win-win, he or she gets to write his or her name on the chart for that day. 2. Encourage win-win solutions to sibling disputes. Don t always be the mediator; let them work out a solution and be sure to be lavish children with praise when they do. 3. Say you are sorry when you yell, overreact, or accidentally blame one of your children for something he or she didn t do. Modeling this behavior will set expectations for how your child should behave. 4. Set clear expectations with your children about chores, curfew, grades, car privileges, etc. It s hard for you both to win if you are playing by different rules. 5. Think of an ongoing conflict you tend to have with your child (homework, cleaning his or her room, feeding the dog, putting gas in the car) and then discuss a win-win solution to the conflict. Write down the solution and then remind each other of it the next time the situation arises. 6. Remember not to compare your children in front of each other. 7. Think about your relationship with your child. Is it generally win-win? If not, how is that affecting your family life? Page 4 St. Wendelin Catholic School 2018-2019
YOU RE INVITED! December 18th marks 25 years since the dedication of our beautiful church. Join us as we celebrate this special occasion as a parish community with prayer, Mass and fellowship! MONDAY, DECEMBER 17TH First Vespers 7:00 PM (Church) TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18TH Lauds (Morning Prayer) 9:00 AM (Church) Mass 6:30 PM (Church) Reception to Follow in the Parish Hall PARISH NEWS Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception: Holy Day As we experienced last year with the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas being back-to-back holy days, we have a similar situation this year with the Immaculate Conception and the Second Sunday of Advent. The Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast of the United States and it is always a holy day regardless of the day on which it falls. This year, it falls on Saturday, December 8th. By the Code of Canon Law, all Catholics need to fulfill the obligations for Saturday (Immaculate Conception) and Sunday (Second Sunday of Advent). Masses for Immaculate Conception here at St. Wendelin will be on Friday, December 7th at 6:30 PM and Saturday, December 8th at 9:00 AM. Masses for the Second Sunday of Advent will be our normal weekend schedule beginning with the 4:30pm Mass on December 8th. Please feel free to contact Anthony Gallina or Fr. Todd if you have any questions. Christmas Memorial Flowers All are invited to offer memorial donations for Christmas flowers in order to decorate the Church more beautifully. This is an excellent way to remember a loved one. If you wish to take part in this, please place your memorial gift in an envelope and mark for whom your gift is in memory. You may place your envelope in the collection basket at Mass or drop it off at the School/Parish Office. A list of names will then be published in the Christmas bulletin. All of the memorial gifts will go to enhance our worship space. Please have memorial gifts in by Monday, December 10th. Please contact the Parish Office (419-435-6692) with questions. Thank you for your continued support for the beauty of the Church. Rite Of Christian Initiation Of Adults (RCIA) & Children St. Wendelin offers an opportunity to come together in a small group to learn more about our faith. Sessions focus on the teachings and experience of Church and prepare individuals to celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. There are separate sections for youth. You are welcome to participate with your questions, insights and faith story in a warm, accepting setting. Please contact Shellie Gabel (419-435-6681; shellie.gabel@stwendelin.org) for details. Ring the Bell for Salvation Army The Salvation Army of Fostoria has asked St. Wendelin to ring the bell at Kroger (9:00 AM-9:00 PM) and Superior Credit Union (9:00 AM- 5:00 PM) on Friday, December 14th. This is a major source of funding for the good works they do. If you would like to sign up, please call or stop by the Parish Office (419-435-6692). Page 6 St. Wendelin Catholic School 2018-2019