ST. HELEN CHURCH RIVERSIDE, OHIO August 16, 2015 BACK TO SCHOOL PRAYER Creator God, We thank you for the joy and beauty of summer, for time shared with our families, and for the opportunity to rest. Bless our students, parents, faculty and staff that this year might be full of your graces and that our hearts might be open to all that you wish to teach us. Guide us in your ways so we may have a fun, safe, and fruitful year. Amen. Cassie Schemmel A BLESSING FOR OUR SCHOOL AND PARISH FAMILY: Thank you and Congratulations, Cameron Neal This past Tuesday, members of our community experienced a tremendous blessing. Cameron Neal, one of our 8th graders, has been battling a brain tumor for several years. His time with us is short, and his greatest wish was that he could graduate from St. Helen School. Principal Chrissy Buschur and former Principal Barb Markus and St. Helen faculty made that happen. In a beautiful ceremony of scripture and remembrance, Cameron received his diploma as an honorary graduate of St. Helen School. Then, as a special tribute, Riverside Mayor Bill Flaute presented Cameron with a plaque acknowledging his friendliness and love of life, his contributions to our school and our football team, and his honorary membership on the University of Dayton s baseball team. Mayor Flaute and the City Council declared Tuesday, August 11, as Cameron Neal Day in the City of Riverside. There was not a dry eye in the house. As the narrator in the story, The Little Prince by Antoine de Sainte Exupery, says, It is such a secret place, the land of tears. Tears of joy, tears of delight, tears of sorrow, tears of loss, but most of all, tears of gratitude for the gift of Cameron in our lives. Thank you, Cameron! Thank you, Lord Jesus! READINGS FOR AUGUST 23 Josh 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b Ephesians 5:21-32 John 6:60-69 With heartfelt thanks for your STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE AUGUST 8 & 9 Adults $15,740.53 Children $4.55 IN THE MILITARY Please pray for those serving in the military. Lord, protect our military as they sacrifice for us; bless them and their families for their continuing selflessness. HAPPY FEAST OF ST. HELEN! We are most grateful to parishioner Virgil Rehg for this beautiful carving of our patroness!
NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATIONS SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 8:00 a.m. Deceased Members of the Family of Helen Hawkins (Helen Hawkins) 10:30 a.m. John Madden (Family & Friends) MONDAY, AUGUST 17 8:15 a.m. Maureen Hunt (Dick & Clare Hunt) TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 8:15 a.m. Gene Deis (Hoyer Family) WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 8:15 a.m. Kathy Peterson (Jack & Peg Butler) THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 8:15 a.m. Maria Salazar (Alice Griffin) FRIDAY, AUGUST 21 Regional Mass at Immaculate Conception Church SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 5:00 p.m. Craig Bauer (Family) SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 8:00 a.m. Deceased Members of the Lomaglio Family (Helen Hischak) 10:30 a.m. Myron Aukerman (Jean & Family) RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CLASSES BEGIN SOON! Have you registered yet? Registration forms are available on our website, www.sthelenparish.org. Please call Cassie Schemmel at 256-8815 if you have any questions. We are looking forward to another good year with our students. CALENDAR OF EVENTS SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 8:00 a.m. Mass (Rosary at 7:30 a.m.) Coffee and Conversation- HR 9:00-10:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Mass Parish Picnic-On the Hill following 10:30 a.m. Mass Secular Order of Franciscan s-12:00 p.m. MONDAY, AUGUST 17 Novena-9:00 a.m. Legion of Mary-SJA 1:00 p.m. TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 Rosary-BSC 9:00 a.m. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 First Day of School Centering Prayer-SJN 3:15 p.m. THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 Booster Club Meeting-SB 7:00 p.m. FRIDAY, AUGUST 21 Regional Mass Immaculate Conception-8:15 am Virtus Training Class-SB 8:30 a.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 Men s Group-SJN 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Mass IT S ALMOST KAIROS COOKIE TIME Bakers of the parish, it s almost that time again! Start purchasing your ingredients this week so you are ready to go!!! Bags and instructions will be available beginning next weekend. More than 20,000 cookies are needed to make the next Kairos Prison Ministry retreat a success. Cookies must be returned to the rectory by September 14th. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY Thanks to all our parishioners who supported this years Pro-life baby shower that sponsored Dayton Right to Life. Many donations were received to help moms and babies in need. It is wonderful to be a part of such a caring parish. God Bless, Melissa Heil VIRTUS TRAINING CLASS St. Helen will hold Virtus Training Sessions Friday, August 21st 8:30-11:30 a.m. and Wednesday, September 16th 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Smith Building. Prior registration is required at www.virtus.org. NO WALK- IN S WILL BE AC- CEPTED. This training is required for any volunteer who will be working with children in any capacity at out parish or school. If you have any questions please call or email Mel in the office: 254-6233 or mel.mcwilliams@sthelenparish.org.
THE LITURGICAL MINISTERS SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST 22 AND 23 Sat., 8/22 5:00 p.m. Sun., 8/23 8:00 a.m. Sun., 8/23 10:30 a.m. Altar Servers Heil, Lauren Dillon, Linda* Ciesko, Olivia Randall, Grace MacLeod, Donald Hilgeford, Eric Shindlebower, Cole Steeber, Sheri Saunders, Adam Saunders, Nicholas Eucharistic Ministers Benjamin, Clive Bryan, Sam Brinkman, Agnes Decker, Judy Buechele, Jacob Geisel, Lin Heil, Jacob Buechele, Ryan Hilgeford, Drew Heil, Matthew Hatcher, Arlene Hilgeford, Mindy Randall, Trenton Heckman, Linda Huber, Dan Shindlebower, Carlee Seward, Sadie Huber, Nate Shindlebower, Laura Seward, Walt Merz, Michael Torres, Al Notestine, Greg Vesey, Kim Ruef, Dan Zebrowski, Connie Schmid, Jenny Sheridan, Sylvia Szydlik, Billie Jean Lectors Bourgeois, Dave Weese, Thomas Jachimowicz, Marlene Marino, Nora* Snyder, Kathy Robinette, Eric CENTERING PRAYER AT ST. HELEN If you are looking for a way to deepen your relationship with God, Centering Prayer may be for you. It is a method of prayer that is based on ancient Catholic teachings but uses an updated form. It does not replace other prayer forms but can add more depth and meaning to the. We meet for an hour on Wednesday afternoons and we d love to have you join us. If you would like more information about getting started with this spiritually fulfilling prayer form, please call Sadie Seward at 426-9942 PARISH GUIDE BOOK Please notify us asap if there are any changes in your address, phone number, or marital status by THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, so that the published directory will be accurate! ARS HOLIDAY BAZAAR This year s Christmas Bazaar will not be held due to health issues some of the current committee members are facing. IF THE BAZAAR IS TO CONTINUE, a new committee must take over this tradition. If you are interested, gather a group of friends and call Dolora at 426-3360. CAN YOU HELP OUR SCOUTS? Boy Scout Troop 329 is celebrating its 20th Anniversary and we are looking to contact former scouts and scout families for a special Alumni Dinner this November. Please contact Eric Saunders (416-0547 or saunders.es@gmail.com) to learn more information PLEASE SAVE YOUR HYDRANGEA BLOOMS Please save hydrangea blooms to help decorate at Christmas. Snip the full blooms and place them in a plastic trash bag. You can bring them to the rectory Monday-Friday, 8:a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Thank you!
CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME One of the many marvelous things about Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," is that it is written in a very accessible style not like an academic book as many encyclicals of the past. The encyclical is great for individual reading, but even better for a book club, class, or discussion group because throughout the letter, there are calls to dialogue. Anyone can download the encyclical for free from the Vatican website, call their friends and say, "Let's read and discuss the encyclical." There s also a readers' guide with study questions to help in reading and discussing (also a free download). The impact of the encyclical is going to be significant even outside the Catholic Church. Environmentalists and scientists have endorsed the document. Likewise, non-catholic religious leaders are eager to discuss the encyclical, which will become a topic of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. (A readers guide to Laudato Si, National Catholic Reporter, June 26, 2015) The Green Team encourages you to read and engage in the dialogue. IN HONOR OF OUR PATRONESS, HERE IS THE OFFICIAL TRADITION OF THE STORY OF HOW ST. HELEN FOUND THE TRUE CROSS When St. Helen arrived in Jerusalem in 362, she found that the holy sites had been covered by pagan Roman shrines for the previous 180 years. Christians did not visit the sites since they had become the shrines of idols. St. Helen, in the name of her son, the Emperor Constantine, had the pagan monuments torn down. She then ordered deep excavations to be made, which resulted in the discovery of three crosses, and, apart from them, the writing which had been nailed on that of the Lord. The Bishop of Jerusalem offered prayers to God and then touched each of the three crosses to a woman afflicted with a grievous disease. The first two had no effect, but at the touch of the third, she was immediately healed!
NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME You don t want to miss this! Dave Ramsey s Financial Peace University (FPU) St. Helen Parish St. Julie Center Main Level Tuesdays from 7-9 PM, September 1 - October 27 There are 9 classes to complete the course Class materials are only $93 + shipping when you use the St. Helen link http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/locations/class/1001981 For more information or to register, contact: Brian Miller 902-2966 or turftime01@aol.com Shelly Miller 307-7049 or RealtorForMe@aol.com Mary Heider 254-6233 or mary.heider@sthelenparish.org During the 9 weeks of the St. Helen class that ended 5/31/15 $14,296.61 in debt was paid off. $25,600 was put into savings. 20 credit cards were closed or cut up. The same can be true for you. Register Today!
ST. HELEN CHURCH RIVERSIDE, OHIO August 9, 2015 ST. HELEN GUIDE BOOK & DIRECTORY ADVERTISING We are in the process of updating our annual Guide Book & Directory for the church. This book will be the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of our Congregation. The book is being provided at no cost to our Church, including the mailing to each family, and again is being subsidized by local businesses that advertise in it. If you own or manage a business and would like to find out about advertising in our book, please call the Church Office. Recent survey results by Guide Book Publishing show that 92.1% of families would rather patronize a Guide Book & Directory advertiser over a non-advertiser. It will pay to advertise in our new Guide Book & Directory. CREDIT UNION NEWS Did you know the St. Helen Federal Credit Union has been here on the parish grounds for 58 years?! We take great pride in saying that we have been able to help you, our parishioners and members, through good times and bad. Whether it has been to start savings accounts for yourselves or your children, setting up Christmas accounts, asking for auto loans, making tuition payments, or seeking help and advice for debt consolidation, the St. Helen FCU has been your go-to financial security spot. Just as our students are excited to begin a new school year, we too look forward to serving our members as best we can with new products such as our new Student Loan Refinance and Debt Consolidation Loan to accompany our tried and true savings programs. If we can be of service to you and your family, please contact us as 252-7477 or stop by our office in the corner of the Smith Building for more information. CATHOLIC INFORMATION BOOTH AT THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAIR Free statues, pictures, Rosaries, etc., hosted by the Legion of Mary in the Commercial exhibits, the Coliseum building, noon to 9 p.m., Sep. 2-7. For Fair hours and admission prices, (937) 224-1619 or www.montcofair.com. For more about the Legion of Mary, call Gloria Dodd at (937) 229-1431 or http:// legionofmary.org/. DIVORCECARE If you are a Catholic who is newly divorced or separated, you may be going through a very difficult time right now. You should not have to feel isolated or cut off from the Catholic Church. Your Church is here to offer the support and ministry you need and deserve. There are two excellent Catholic-Sponsored divorce-recovery support groups in the local area to help men and women heal from this life trauma. Both groups feature nationally recognized experts on divorce through professional video input and small group discussions. There are such recovery topics as anger, loneliness, new relationships, annulments, etc. CATHOLIC-SPONSORED DIVORCECARE 13 weeks, held on Thursday evenings, 7-9PM from Sept. 10 to Dec. 10 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 6245 Wilmington Pike, Centerville, OH. Cost: is $25 per person. Scholarships are available. For more information, or to register, call Marcelle Toma at (937) 312-1157 or mtoma@woh.rr.com CATHOLIC DIVORCE SURVIVAL GUIDE 12 weeks, held on Monday evenings, 7-8:30PM from August 31 st to Nov. 23 in the Candle Room of St. Christopher s Church in Vandalia. Cost: is $25 per person. Register Online at: https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=670e37 - Questions: Call Noreen Wendeln at Family & Respect Life Office (937) 222-0227