July 15, 2018-15th Sunday in Ordinary Time ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH Parish Office 203 E. Main St., P.O. Box 730, Teutopolis, IL 62467-0730 Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9:00 am-4:30 pm Phone: (217) 857-6404 Fax: (217) 857-1031 Parish E-mail: stfrancischurch@mchsi.com Parish website: stfrancischurch.com Facebook: @stfrancischurchteutopolis Submit written bulletin notices by noon Monday. Diocesan website: www.dio.org Diocesan Child Abuse Reporting and Investigation Number (217) 321-1155 Parish Pastoral Team Fr. Joe Carlos, OFM, Pastor Fr. Ken Rosswog, OFM, Associate Pastor Fr. Thinh Tran, OFM, Associate Pastor Dan Williams, Director of Music Ministry Emilie Esker, Director of Discipleship Anita Broom, Bookkeeper Jane Miller, Part-time Secretary Ron Ruholl, Maintenance Religious Education: Dan Niemerg, Gr. Sch./Jr. Hi. CRE: 857-6477 Lisa Siemer, Youth Director & Sr. High CRE: 857-1500 Camille Neihls, Part-time Rel. Ed. Secretary: 857-6477 Parish Council Rich Niebrugge Karen Runde Cory Wermert Toby McMahon Donna Niemerg Mark Willenborg Scott Brumleve Jerry Runde, Jr. Tom Uthell 203 EAST MAIN ST., PO BOX 730, TEUTOPOLIS, IL 62467
St. Francis of Assisi Parish Teutopolis, Illinois page 2 From the Pastor Thank you to everyone, who pitched in for the success of our parish picnic last Sunday. Special appreciation goes to the Lord, who provided us with beautiful weather! When one considers the possibility of a downpour lasting all day long, we have much to be grateful for. Who won the grand prize? Logan Waldhoff is the lucky winner. Congratulations, Logan. How did we do financially? is the next question. It is obviously too early to determine the net, but when comparing the gross receipts of this year with last year, we are down. Last year we had $66,862, and this year we had $65,914. Here is another extremely close item: last year s hamburger stand gross was $5,420, while this year s stand was $5,460! Don t know what they did differently in the stuffed animal stand this year, but that was up over $400 compared with last year! We are off $1,500 on the raffle tickets, grossing $28,361 this year. Chicken dinners were down 47 meals. The booth captains would have the best information regarding the workers showing up. One man fell, missed a step, but he was not seriously injured. Again, thank you to all for pitching in for the success of the picnic. On the first of July I marked my second anniversary as your pastor. With the departures of Sr. Ann Vincent, Sr. Ann Pierre, Carlene Rauch, and now Lisa Siemer and her volunteer assistant, Karen Pruemer, we have lost 123 years experience! I find this incredible almost 25 years of dedicated service to God and the parish from each lady. Lisa Siemer is leaving soon, and like the other women I mentioned she will be sorely missed. God worked through Lisa and created a dynamic and successful youth ministry here at St. Francis. She and Karen have gone thousands of miles with Catholic Heart Work Camp missions; they have dedicated hours and hours of preparation for the trips and touched thousands of lives. Together they have planned the secondary religious education program for the parish and recruited teachers or catechists. They started the 55+ group and over the years arranged for Christmas presents to be secured and then delivered to thousands of people by way of the giving tree. When you see Lisa and Karen, give them a hug and a giant thank you for all they have done for the Lord and for you and your children. And you might want to wish Lisa and Marty a happy silver anniversary 10 July 1993 was quite a day! Where do we go from here? I try telling the Lord that this is His parish, not mine! God will provide the ministers for the different areas. It will all be accomplished in the Lord s time, not ours. Please read the insert in your bulletin, the results of the parish survey that was conducted recently. I think one immediate improvement we can do is add extra times for confessions, like early on a Tuesday and Thursday evening. That was a request in the survey. This will be in addition to every Saturday afternoon and Thursday afternoon before the First Friday. We will start this after I return from vacation. Dear St. Francis members and friends, May the Lord give you peace! Over five years ago when I moved to T-town to become a member of this spiritual family as the newly ordained priest, this is my first assignment. Wow, time is going by fast. Today some may say: I am not staying long enough for St. Francis or I hate to see you leaving but it is not a short period of time, I must say and it is also the vow of obedience, I must follow. T-town is my longest stay in any of the places of the Franciscans of the Sacred Province that I have been assigned so far and it is my favorite place. T-town is closest to my family than any other places beside St. Peter where I was stationed while going to the Theology School. I am so blessed for the last five years with St. Francis parish here. Preparing to move to Alaska, I have mixed feelings. I am excited about going to Alaska. At the same time I feel that I will miss T-town people. I will serve Athabaskan people in several bush villages along the Yukon River in the Fairbanks Diocese of Alaska my new spiritual family. I am mentally and spiritually there but physically not there yet. And I am sure that there will be a lot challenges, but also joys I will live with and serve the native people. Now I am realizing that I will miss you whom I have gotten to know for these years. I hope that my time and service at St. Francis has been blessings for you. Surely, you, St. Francis people, have been blessings to me for these years. I treasure you, and cherish those good moments and memories. I am so grateful to you. Thank you for welcoming me and thank you so much for your support, making me feel at home, your encouragement. I am so grateful to you. For many of you who feel that I have not been your source of blessings, I am sorry for failing you and your expectations that, instead of being a blessing for you, instead of laying stepping stones for you, I have been your stumbling blocks on your journey to holiness. I am sorry for my shortcomings. Please keep me in your prayers. I will keep you in my heart and prayers wherever I go. May the Lord bless you all and give you peace! Fr. Thinh, OFM
July 15, 2018-15th Sunday in Ordinary Time page 3 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Liturgy Schedule 15th Week in Ordinary Time July 16-22 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Mass at 6:30 am & 12:10 pm Mass at 6:30 & 8:00 am St. Camillus de Lellis Mass at 6:30 & 8:00 am Mass at 6:30 am & 12:10 pm St. Apollinaris Mass at 6:30 & 8:00 am St. Lawrence of Brindisi Mass at 8:00 am & 4:30 pm 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass at 6:30, 8:30, 10:30 am Confession Schedule Saturday, July 21-3:00-4:00 pm Liturgy of the Hours with Friars Monday-Friday -- 11:45 am & 4:45 pm Homebound Ministry Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Homebound for Sunday, July 22nd are Donna Spannagel 618-793-2000 and Mary Jane Koester 217-857-3697. Pray for the Sick Please remember in your prayers: Jack Hardiek, Lucille Worman, Devin Mette, Margaret Pruemer, Will Niccum, Joe Ruholl, Bill and Rosie Myers, Emily (Heuerman) McCabe, Lorraine Deters, Craig Lindvahl, Claude Brumleve, Scott Repking, Andrea Wernsing, Elizabeth Weidner, Paula Spencer, Jody Furlano, Mark Roedl, Elizabeth Waldhoff, Linus Willenborg, Norma Weber, Pat Poston, Cheryl Huber, Peyton Esker, Dorothy Gardewine, Martha Thoele, Michael Habing, Rose Walsh, Dennis Walk, Florence Koester, Connie Wessel, Marilyn (Fuesting) Brown, Brian Miller, Sidney Horn. Lisa (Vahling) Harter, Cole Wellbaum, Harold L. Meyer, Kyndal Dasenbrock. Stewardship of Treasure Sunday Total Fiscal 7/8/2018 Year 230 Adult envelopes $6,071.00 $438,305.32 Online giving $2,500.00 $29,298.00 Other $698.00 $43,777.07 TOTAL $9,269.00 $511,380.39 Assisi to Africa $522.00 $38,829.50 Parish Calendar Tuesday, July 17 Secular Franciscans meet, 6:00 pm St. Clare, 7:00 pm Church Guitar practice, 6:30 pm Wednesday, July 18 Rosary, 8:00 pm, chapel Friday, July 20 Rosary after 8:00 Mass Saturday, July 21 Confessions, 3:00-4:00 pm Mass Intentions Planning Marriage Tyson Schumacher and Lara Cox Saturday, July 21, 2018 1:00 pm The Rosary will be prayed following 8am Mass this Friday, July 20. We begin with our intentions and socialize and enjoy a snack afterwards. Everyone is welcome for any or all of the above. Please encourage your school-age children to join in! This will be the last meeting before school starts. St. Clare Rosary group prays on the 3 rd Friday of every month, year round. Monday, July 16, 6:30: Melvin Koester Monday, July 16, 12:10: Jane Waldhoff Tuesday, July 17, 6:30: AID Tuesday, July 17, 8:00: Jerry Niebrugge Family Wednesday, July 18, 6:30: Lawrence Will Wednesday, July 18, 8:00: Gerald (Jerry) Hawickhorst Thursday, July 19, 6:30: Jim Burford Thursday, July 19, 12:10: Christine Koester Friday, July 20, 6:30: Dale Carlos Friday, July 20, 8:00: Joe and Betty Runde Saturday, July 21, 8:00: Philip Wendt Saturday, July 21, 4:30: Wilbert Ruholl Sunday, July 22, 6:30: Rosemary Greuel Sunday, July 22, 8:30: Pro Populo Sunday, July 22, 10:30: Andrew Ruholl Protecting God s Children August 1, 2018, 6:30 pm St. Anthony s, Effingham. Call 347-7129 to register. August 2, 2018, 7:00 pm Sacred Heart, Effingham. Call 347-7177 to register. God Bless Those Serving our Country. Anthony Vahling, Jeremy Deters, Cody Bushue, Jared Apke
St. Francis of Assisi Parish Teutopolis, Illinois page 4 Religious Education News All Religion Teachers: The parish has received grant money from the diocese to help pay for you to attend the Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference. This conference will be held on September 30 and October 1, 2018 in Decatur. You can look at the DAEC Conference information online at dio.org/catechesis/daec. If you can go to conference for one day or both days, please let Dan Niemerg know by texting or calling at 217-821-0295 or 857-6477. The parish will send one registration form and check for all religion teachers that want to attend. RCIA Candidate Entering Church! In two short weeks, we will be receiving another person into full communion with the Catholic Church! After some months of learning about the Faith and prayerful discernment, Melissa Laue has decided to join the Catholic Church. She will make her Profession of Faith, be confirmed, and receive the Eucharist for the first time at St. Francis on July 29, 2018 during the 8:30 Mass. Below is an introduction to Melissa. Please keep her in your prayers as she prepares to enter the Church; and if you see her, welcome her and give some words of encouragement! Hello, I am Melissa Ann Laue, and I am 31 years old. I grew up on a farm in rural Beecher City and still currently live there until my wedding in October. I am marrying my soulmate, Thomas Ruholl, on October 20, 2018, right here in St. Francis Church. We have been dating for over two years, and I couldn't be more excited to spend the rest of my life with him. I work at the Dieterich Bank Corporate Center as a Mortgage Loan Processor. I started my faith walk as a Lutheran, and then grew up as a Methodist, and will be joining the Catholic Church on July 29, 2018. I am looking forward to joining the church to strengthen my relationship with God and to attend church with my future husband. Inspiration for the Week Do you describe yourself as a holy person? For many, becoming holy may not be seen as a desirous goal. We are all called to be holy but maybe not in the way we often imagined. Holiness is nothing more than doing ordinary things with great love and faith. St. Teresa of Calcutta says, "Holiness is not something extraordinary. Holiness is for every one -- the acceptance of God with a smile, at all times, anywhere and everywhere." Holiness has to do with understanding that our faith has a lot to do with how we see and live life. It is that simple. Are you willing to go about the simple business of your life and be holy? We congratulate all those who participated in the CD of A contest. This week we congratulate Isaac Vahling, son of Tom and Cindy Vahling (student of Ted Rhodes) on placing 2nd place in Division II for his essay. The Lord has Done Great Things for Us, We are Filled with Joy December 4th - a quiet day for most, but a day filled with adventures for some that tend to not be so enjoyable. That day, in the early evening, a forest fire began about a half a mile south of St. Thomas Aquinas College s campus in California. It spread quickly. By 8:00 p.m. the students had evacuated. They expected that the college would burn, especially because the fire was approaching from all sides. The Santa Ana winds fueled the fire and caused 100 foot-long flames. The winds would cause burning material to fly great distances and catch other things on fire. This caused it to begin raining fire. The fire burned like a furnace through the night. Firefighters were doing all that they could to save the campus, but they were not capable of saving all of it. The next morning, the worst was over. Everyone was sure that at least one building was lost. Only one small storage building burned, but all the surrounding woods and hills were completely obliterated. St. Thomas Aquinas College had miraculously been spared! The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy!: First, have you ever stopped to think about how much the Lord has really done for us? He created us, He gave us life, and He made us for joy. He allowed us to have free will and make our own decisions. He gave us grace and forgiveness, the Holy Spirit to guide us, the gift of hope, and, mainly, an immortal soul. God chose to create us out of His great love: I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). In addition, we are part of the war between God and Satan and God s ultimate plan to defeat him. We owe God our help after everything that He has chosen to do for us. By putting our faith in God and following His commandments, we can help him defeat Satan and his lies, so that we can have eternal joy with God in heaven: We are God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). When we disobey God s commandments, all we are really doing is weakening our relationship with God. This causes Him to lose joy, which is why He made us - so that we can have joy and spend eternity with Him in heaven. We are God s hands and feet on this earth, so we should use all of the great gifts that God has given us to help others and bring them joy. The world is only 16% Catholic, and if we showed everyone all the great things the Lord has done for us, then we would be able to bring many to Jesus to be filled with joy. The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy!
July 15, 2018-15th Sunday in Ordinary Time page 5 2018 Picnic Thank You First of all, thank you to the ladies of our parish, we had over 615 pies/cakes donated. Your generosity is so appreciated and it helped make the dinner and cake stand a huge success! So many people gave so much of their time, talent and treasures for this event. Many thanks to all who helped in any way to make our parish picnic a success! The officers of the Men s Holy Name and the Women s CCW appreciate each and every one who assisted and/or donated to the fun-filled day. Because of the cooperation of so many, we served 1,635 dinners. Congratulations to the top adult raffle winners: $4,000 Cash - Logan Waldhoff Honda Scooter - Alice Waldhoff $500 Cash - Will and Michelle Fombelle LuxCraft Poly Glide - Lisa Uthell Patio Set - Tina Goeckner Congratulations to the top children s raffle winners: Kindle Fire - Andrew Spilker $500 Cash - Betty Buenker $500 Cash - Kinzey Buening CCW grill and meat package winner - Kayleigh Zerrusen Thanks so much! Officers of the Holy Name and CCW Marriage Requirements If you have your wedding scheduled at St. Francis, you will be required to attend the following for preparation: Pre-Cana workshops offered in the Effingham area. St. Isidore Parish, Bishop, Sunday, November 11, 2018. Call 217-925-5788 to register. St. Francis Parish, Teutopolis, Sunday, January 27, 2019 Call 217-857-6404 to register. Additional dates are available on the diocesan website at www.dio.org under vocation services, marriage and family life. FOCCUS: Scheduled dates at St. Francis are as follows: October 6, 2018 January 5, 2019 April 6, 2019 July 6, 2019 October 5, 2019 All sessions begin at 5:30 pm in St. Clare Hall. To register call 857-6404. Natural Family Planning (NFP) 2018 sessions are scheduled as follows: July 21, 9:30-11:00 am at St. Isidore August 24, 6:00-7:30 pm at St. Anthony September 21, 6:30-8:00 pm at St. Francis October 20, 9:00-10:30 am at Sacred Heart November 10, 1:00-2:30 pm at St. Isidore Call Kate Pruemer at 217-821-1840 to register for NFP. St. Francis CCW Christmas Stockings for the Veterans Sewing Project Tuesday, July 24th, we will be sewing stockings in the monastery museum, 9:30 am-4:00 pm. Lunch will be provided. Please bring your sewing machines and a scissors labeled with your name. Young seamstresses are also welcome to help with the sewing project. You are needed even if you do not like to sew. Cutting the patterns and pressing the finished stockings are just as important as sewing the seams. Whatever time anyone can give is most appreciated. Questions? Contact Rita Habing at 857-3006 or Angie Hotze at 343-6344. A donation container will be placed in the entrance to the parish rectory for the donation of Christmas fabric. Christmas stockings sewn at St. Francis and Effingham Home Extension are filled with gift items for the veterans, compliments of Effingham VFW. Filled stockings are distributed to veterans at the Veteran Hospitals in Marion and Danville, IL during the Christmas season. Assisi for Africa Thanks to all who stopped to visit with Fr Damien and those who made donations; he truly enjoyed visiting with you and being here. Your donations help the boys to be productive and learn more about our God. Pictured is the manual labor done by some of the boys who are at the farm, carrying a bag of corn after harvest. Fr Damien notes, Today one of our former boys is a medical doctor, another is a professional psychologist and another has a master s degree in electricity. Many others are working, some are sick, some are in prison, but they know we are there, a reminder to them that God is there as well, and is here and is also, where you all are. Let s keep one another in prayer. Pro-Life Victory! Thanks to all who prayed for a favorable US Supreme Court ruling for pro-life crisis pregnancy centers! The Court struck down a California law that requires the pro-life centers to inform clients about abortion services. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chair of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities wrote: In an important victory for the free speech rights of pro-life organizations [the ruling allows] centers to continue providing life-affirming support to both mother and child without being forced by governments to provide free advertising for the violent act of abortion in direct violation of the center s pro-life convictions. Illinois passed a similar law last year. It is hoped this Court ruling will help the lawsuits that were filed against it. Let us also please pray that a new Supreme Court Justice may be appointed who will follow the moral teachings of the Christian faith.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish Teutopolis, Illinois page 6 Monthly Prayer Vigil for Life will be held at St. Anthony Memorial Hospital Chapel on Monday July 16. Praying the scriptural rosary will begin at 6:00 pm. Fr. Ralph Zetzl will be celebrant for the 6:30 pm Mass. Everyone is urged to join us in prayer for respect of all life, born and unborn. The 7:30 pm business meeting will follow in the St. Clare room to discuss current legislation and local pro-life events. Pro-Life Social Please join us for dessert at the Pro- Life Social. All are invited! Bring your spouse, a friend or a neighbor. Date: Wednesday, July 25 Time: 6:30 pm Location: St. Anthony Parish Center, Effingham Hosted by the Sacred Heart/St. Anthony/St. Mary Pro-Life Group. Church Picnic at St. Michael s in Sigel, IL, today, July 15th, 2018. Chicken and ham dinners served from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm in the air-conditioned Four Parish Community Center. Raffles, games, inflatables, crafts and refreshments. Come and enjoy the day! First Ever T-Town KC Cruise Night & Car Show August 24, 2018 Cruise from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm All vehicles welcome no registration required. Car show held on T-Town Banquet Hall grounds - no entry fee required. Live DJ - Vince Higgs Brats, pork burgers, and refreshments available on KC grounds. Proceeds to benefit remodeling of the T-Town Banquet Hall. Contact Brett Higgs (925-5378) or Ted Brumleve (857-3537) with any questions. Ramblin Rose School Bus, sponsored by Catholic Charities will have their Pack The Bus on Friday, July 20th, 8:00 am-5:00 pm at Premier Broadcasting, 206 South Willow, Effingham. Items needed include: backpacks (17 no wheels), binders (2 +), composition books, compass/protractor sets, index cards (3x5), calculators, color pencils, ink pens (black or blue), pencils, pink erasers, glue bottles (4oz.), markers (8-10 classic colors), rulers, notebooks (one subject, wide ruled), filler paper (wide ruled), highlighters (yellow), crayons (24 pack). Ramblin Rose offers free basic school supplies as well as clothing items for children in need grades K-12. Community Wide Garage Sale at the Grove Township Community Center will be held on Saturday, August 4th. If you would like to have a spot at the community center, please call Kim Will at 217-683-2688 or 217-663-2505 or email: grovetownshipcommunitycenter@gmail.com before Friday, July 20th. Address for Kyndal Dasenbrock Kyndal Dasenbrock @Rankin Jordan 11365 Dorset Road Maryland Heights, MO 63043 Kyndal is in rehab therapy and would appreciate prayers.