Keep Austin Holy E-newsletter Saint Mary Cathedral Volunteer Ministries April 2007 Issue 4 Monthly Prayer That we might follow the example of our Lord in loving and serving one another. This month s Poll What is your greatest challenge as a St. Mary s volunteer? 1.) Balancing ministry and family 2.) Interpersonal relationships 3.) Acceptance as a leader 4.) Finding private time 5.) Having appropriate training / mentors 6.) Maintaining spiritual health 7.) Other Submit your answers to jjones@saintmaryscathedral.org or call 476-6182 Ext. 12. April Ministry Happenings Sunday, April 1, 11 a.m. Sally Robb: The Theology of the Body: Discovering God s Beautiful Intention for Our Sexuality The Adult CFF class features Sally delving into John Paul II s Theology of the Body and what it means for us. Keep Austin Holy during Holy Week This is the holiest week of our liturgical year. Let s do our part to Keep Austin Holy by taking the time to prepare ourselves for Jesus resurrection by partaking in some of the beautiful liturgies that Saint Mary Cathedral will be celebrating this week: April 5, Holy Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Mass of the Lord s Supper April 6, Good Friday 12 p.m. Stations of the Cross 2 p.m. Celebration of the Lord s Passion April 7, Holy Saturday, 8 p.m. Easter Vigil Mass April 8, Easter Sunday Regular Mass times May you all have a very blessed Holy Week. Volunteers invited to attend Gospel of Luke Seminar Praying, Pastoring and Preaching out of Luke s Church and Gospel The Diocese of Austin invites all church volunteers to a seminar for clergy and lay leaders / volunteers on April 28 in
Sunday, April 15, 11 a.m. Joseph White: Guiding Our Children in Love and Truth: Child Behavior Management for Catholic Parents The Adult CFF class features Joseph explaining to parents the specifics of Catholic parenting. Monday, April 16 Wednesday, April 18, 3 p.m. Picture Directory Photo Sessions Bishops Hall Parishioners interested in having their family picture included in the Cathedral Directory should sign up for time slots in Bishops Hall. Friday, April 20, 7 p.m. Natural Family Planning Class Curious about what the Church teaches about Natural Family Planning? Attend the two hour class and find out! Please contact Barb or Dan Jaloway at 331-9065 or dan.jaloway@sbcglobal.net for more info. Friday, April 20, 8 p.m. Taize Service Cathedral Join Austin-area Christians for this ecumenical candlelight prayer service consisting of contemplative prayer with the music from Taizé, Scripture readings and silent prayer. For more information, see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taiz e-austin. Saturday, April 21, 11 a.m. Gabriel Project Training If you ve ever thought about serving women involved in crisis pregnancies, the Gabriel Project is for you! Register for the training by calling Anne Marie Hansen at 423-0822. Saturday, April 21, 5:30 p.m. Volunteer Appreciation Mass and Reception Cathedral, Donahue Center All Cathedral volunteers will be recognized at the 5:30 p.m. Appreciation Mass and honored at the Corn Hill. The workshop is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Holy Trinity Parish Activity Center, and the cost, which includes lunch, is $20. Fr. Ray Kemp of the Woodstock Theological Center and Fr. John Donahue, S.J., a New Testament professor at Loyola College in Baltimore, will present. Please register by sending your name, address, parish, phone and e-mail address to barbarabudde@austindiocese.org by April 21. Checks may be made payable to the Diocese of Austin. RSVP deadline for Volunteer Appreciation Mass and Reception April 6 If you and your family plan on attending the Volunteer Appreciation Mass and Reception on April 21, don t forget to RSVP by Friday (April 6)! You can do this by responding to the Evite you ve been sent, via phone at 476-6182 Ext. 12 or via e-mail at jjones@saintmaryscathedral.org. The evening of appreciation will include Mass, dinner, live music and a Chinese Raffle all free for our volunteers and their families! 26 volunteers needed for VBS Wa--hoo! This year Vacation Bible School will be riding through the Wild West June 18-22! VBS is looking for adults who are interested in presenting the Word of God through drama, singing, acting, art, decorating and/or sharing! We need LOTS of volunteers on the range! If you are interested in volunteering or would like to register your child, please contact Mariangela Cavazos at 476-4801 or mcavazos@saintmaryscathedral.org. Volunteer Spotlight Brian Trinque Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, Knights of Columbus, Nursery, Parish office volunteer Parishioner since spring 2006 Economics professor, University of Texas What is your favorite thing about volunteering at St. Mary s? As a volunteer, I set aside "my" agenda and seek to support others. What do you get out of it?
party following in Donahue Center. Bring your families and enjoy dinner, live music and free prizes. All FREE. RSVP by contacting Jen in the church office at 476-6182 or jjones@saintmaryscathedral.org. Sunday, April 22, 11 a.m. Kelley Coblentz-Bautch: How to Read the Bible With Our Children The Adult CFF class features Kelley showing us as parents, Godparents, teachers and anyone interacting with kids how to read the Bible to the young people we serve. Tuesday, April 24 Thursday, April 26, 3 p.m. Picture Directory Photo Sessions Bishops Hall Parishioners interested in having their family picture included in the Cathedral Directory should sign up for time slots in Bishops Hall. Wednesday, April 25, 6:30 p.m. Ministry Leaders Meeting Donahue Center If you have a leadership role at St. Mary s, you are invited In order to keep up with what s going on in the different ministries, the ministry leaders meet as a group once a quarter. This is a time for sharing upcoming events and activities, brainstorming with the other ministries and looking at ways we can better work together as leaders in our community. Sunday, April 29, 11 a.m. Ed Shirley: St. Catherine of Siena Mystic, Stigmatist, Doctor of the Church The Adult CFF class features Ed discussing the life of this powerful saint and what we can learn from her. Breakfast Schedule April 1 Catholic Daughters Association April 8 Easter: No breakfast April 15 Senior Adult Ministry April 22 Each minute I spend as a volunteer is a minute of "real life," healing from the self-absorbed and oblivious routine I so easily slip into. What was one of your most rewarding experiences as a St. Mary s volunteer? It's hard to pick a single event or aspect. As a Knight, I get to work with a bunch of men whose talent and dedication are amazing and infectious. Whenever I'm at the Cathedral, whether for Mass or some other activity, I am convinced by those around me that God is at work Keeping Austin Holy. Why does volunteering matter? It begins with stewardship. I am given a bunch of molecules for a period of time. God invites me to lay down my life. As I fulfill my responsibilities to pay the bills, mow the lawn, etc., I can feel rather removed from God's will. To volunteer is to follow Jesus in consciously submitting to God by serving others. Being a volunteer teaches me what it takes and what it means, in very practical terms, to be a Christian. Volunteering teaches me how to serve my students at UT and my family at home and to see everyone I meet as beloved of God. What are your other interests? Hiking, reading, cooking. What advice would you give to a parishioner new to volunteering? Celebrate. Being the Body of Christ is not just a metaphor of belonging to a group. God chooses to accomplish His purposes on earth through us flesh and blood and imperfect humans. Each of us can choose particular ministries and modes of participation in the Body of Christ, but, as Christians, we're already volunteers -- people who have given our lives to Christ. Keep Austin Holy needs your help in identifying outstanding volunteers. We recognize volunteers monthly in our Volunteer Spotlight. Please contact the director of volunteer ministry to nominate an outstanding volunteer. Volunteer Tips How to know when NOT to volunteer Volunteering is an important and essential contribution from all members of society to help others, ourselves and to keep life running smoothly. But it's possible to overextend yourself
Cathedral School of St. Mary April 29 Knights of Columbus Protecting God s Children Workshops April 21, 1 4 p.m. St. John Vianney Parish Molding a servant s heart Deliver fresh-baked cookies to city workers this month. Collect goods for a food bank. Bring flowers to work and share them with co-workers. Get with your ministry to make floral arrangements for senior centers, nursing homes, hospitals, police stations or homebound parishioners. Adopt a student who needs a friend, checking in periodically to see how things are going. Need a speaker? To invite the director of volunteer ministry to speak to your ministry, religious ed class, young adult group, Knights council, Bible study or just about anything else, call the Cathedral office at 476-6182 Ext. 12 or just e-mail me at jjones@saintmaryscathedral.org. and experience burnout. This article is not intended to discourage you from volunteering. Rather, it is about exploring those occasions when there exist very good reasons for not offering your volunteer services or when, at the very least, you need to vary your volunteer offer. Stop offering to volunteer if you do not have the time. If you cannot devote the necessary time, don't say that you can. You create problems for other volunteers when you cease turning up or rarely turn up. It is also disruptive to have your absences occur at key moments when you said you'd do something but were unable to follow through. It's better not to offer at all than to let someone down. Say "no" if you are already overcommitted to volunteering. If you are already on a parent's board and making cookies for each bake sale and helping adults to learn English in addition to working full-time, you may be starting to spread yourself too thin. Do not feel obliged to take on more, even if somebody asks. Volunteer overload is not good for you, your family or your work colleagues and it certainly isn't good for the ministry that can't rely on your attendance because you're overbooked. You may explain to the asking ministry why you cannot extend yourself at the time and remind them that you are open to volunteering in the future when your current obligations have been met. However, you do not owe any explanation whatsoever. You can simply say "I am not available." Avoid volunteer activities for which you don't have the temperament. Don't join the Beautification Committee if you don t like gardening. Don't volunteer for the youth group if you don t relate well to high schoolers. Don't audition for the Schola Cantorum if you don t like to sing. Let others take the roles that you're not suited for. Hunt around for roles better suited to you. Or tell the volunteer organization what your skills are and let them find a position better suited to your aptitude and interests. It's far more helpful to devote a few hours to doing something that you can do well rather than volunteering many hours towards something you're not suited for. Be careful of taking on volunteer work that is "close to home." This means to take care that your personal issues and feelings don't spill over into the volunteer work in a way that impacts negatively upon you. If you have been abused
yourself and you have decided to help others who are abused, be fully certain that you have worked through the issues that are likely to be raised in your role as a volunteer. You don't want to break down when confronted with an issue that is still very raw for you. This is not to say that you shouldn't find catharsis in facing the issues head-on through volunteering, but it does mean that you must feel strong enough in yourself to cope with the feelings as they are presented back at you from someone else suffering them. Good ministry leaders will talk this through with you at the beginning. Be aware that there are certain stages in your life when volunteering is not a good option for you. Although temporary, there are certain times in your life when your volunteer activities will need to step down and take a backseat to your own life. These times include: death of a family member; exam time; birth of a baby; illness (see below); and moving. Each of these activities rate highly and you are well within your rights to put all your efforts into seeing yourself and your family through the temporary disruption. In time, you will have recovered or moved on from the hard part and be ready to return to helping others. This is about knowing when to let others help you for a short time! On the other hand, volunteering can sometimes be the only reality you have to hang onto to provide you with stability, such as when you're going through a divorce or you've lost your job. Carefully weigh up your personal physical and emotional demands as compared to what energy you may have remaining to expend on others; be honest before overdoing things. You'll be a better volunteer if you take time out to strengthen yourself first. Avoid volunteering for something just because a friend is volunteering. You must care about the volunteering that you take up; a reason such as, "my friend is doing it; so I should also," is unsound. By all means, join with a friend if both of you truly are keen on the work involved, but if you only do it for your friend's sake, you may end up resenting the volunteer work and perhaps even your friend. Tell an over-enthusiastic friend that you support him or her but that your volunteer efforts are being placed elsewhere. Don't be bullied, coerced or co-opted into volunteering. It is not unusual to be elected at a meeting that you do not attend or to be pushed along by a crowd unwilling itself to
take on a position that a ministry needs filled. If you are present at such a vote, vocalize strongly your refusal. State clearly that you are too busy, too unwell, too overcommitted, etc. to take on this position at this point in time. If it happens in your absence, send a gently worded letter refusing the position to the board, setting out brief reasons why you do not accept the nomination. Or simply say you do not accept. You must want to undertake the volunteer work; otherwise you may damage your self-esteem, time management and other commitments. Question authorities who seek to over-rely on volunteers. If you feel that a ministry is asking too much of volunteers, speak up and say that this work ought to be performed by paid persons. There can be a tendency to rely too much on the goodwill of people. In particular, women are subjected to inordinate pressure to take on more volunteer work than they feel able to cope with. Exercise your letterwriting or phoning skills and ask that paid employment be considered or additional financing provided to ease the pressure off of overworked volunteers. Find other ways to help out that do not sap your time/ energy/ finances/ goodwill. If you really want to volunteer but you can't, think of other ways to help out. If you have money but no time, donate the money. If you have no money, but have the time, donate your time. If you have neither, donate your messages of goodwill and support. Be creative. Even writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper to tell of the good deeds being done by others is a great volunteer exercise often overlooked by many. Thoughtfulness, praise and encouragement for those who are volunteering is the most important contribution of all. Don't risk your safety. If you feel unsafe, consult the person in charge and let them know. For example, if you are asked to venture into an unfamiliar part of town late at night and alone, ask to have someone go with you. Trust your instincts. If you are denied any of the safety precautions you requested, you are within your rights to leave. Excerpted from WikiHow, The How-To Manual That Anyone Can Write or Edit Ministries Wish List AIDS Ministry: members to participate on CARE
teams, which adopt AIDS and cancer patients Altar Society: volunteers needed to clean the church the second and fourth Saturdays of each month Beautification Ministry: members, ideas on beautifying the Cathedral grounds Cathedral School of St. Mary: support of school fund raisers buy HOPE cards available after Sunday Masses Catholic Scripture Study: PA system, come hear speakers every Thursday at 7 p.m. in Bishops Hall Christian Faith Formation: Vacation Bible School volunteers, Spanish-speaking catechists Evangelization Committee: members to reach out to new parishioners and residential area surrounding Cathedral Interfaith Hospitality Network: soaps, shampoos, toothpaste; volunteers to cook meals, wash blankets and stay overnight with transitional families at Central Presbyterian one night every four months Jail Ministry: volunteers to work in teams to start Bible studies / Rosary groups in local prisons Mary s Hands: volunteers to adopt homebound parishioners and visit once a month Nursery: babysitters for Sunday Masses Pro-Life Activities Committee: members to work on committees to focus on the pro-life effort educationally and legislatively Rosary Leaders: substitute Rosary leaders before daily Masses Spanish Choir: musicians, instruments St. Vincent de Paul Society: bilingual volunteers to meet with clients, couples to make home visits Volunteer Appreciation: soda / juice donations for Appreciation Party bring donations to church office or Bishops Hall Young Professionals Group: team of young adults in their 20s to reach out to young adults in the parish Youth Group: musicians
Closing So let s pray that we may take our Easter joy out into the world, using our time, talent and treasure to proclaim that Christ is truly risen and working among us still. And let us continue to pray for all those who are touched by our faithful stewardship, may they know the love of Jesus through the time, talent and treasure that we share. Quote of the Day We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give. -- Winston Churchill If you know anyone who would like to receive Keep Austin Holy, simply e-mail the director of volunteer ministry with the necessary contact info and one word: SUBSCRIBE. If you would like to no longer receive the newsletter, simply e-mail with one word, UNSUBSCRIBE.