The Church of St. Mary

Fr. Steve Binsfeld Our Mission is to know, love, and serve God by living the Eucharist. Promulgated on Pentecost Sunday 2013 The Church of St. Mary 420 Irving Street (PO Box 669) Alexandria, MN 56308 Parish Office: 320-763-5781 School Office: 320-763-5861 Rel Ed. Office: 320-763-9202 Website: www.stmaryalexandria.org Email: stmary@stmaryalexandria.org Diocese website: www.stclouddiocese.org Office Hours: 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM Monday Thursday 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM Friday December 3, 2017 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Dear Members of St. Mary s On behalf of our parish, I thank those women and men who came forward to organize the annual Thanksgiving Community Meal and our lead cooks and kitchen crew. So many people came forward to volunteer. The dinner was delicious. (It is a tough thing to cook a turkey for one or two people so it was much better to join others.) Thank you all. This weekend we begin a new Liturgical Year. Our Sunday Gospel readings will be taken from the Gospel of Mark as we move through this year. (Because Mark s gospel is so short, in the summer we will have 6 weeks from the Gospel of John Jesus Bread of Life Discourse. ) Mark is the first gospel written (@70 AD). It is believed that Matthew and Luke borrowed material/stories from him. All the Gospels are very different from one another because they are influenced by what is happening in their lives often 40-60 years after Jesus death. We cannot help but be influenced by our surroundings and the events that occur in our lives. This means that each of them will have a differing theological twist if you will. Our call as Christians is to interpret the events that happen in our lives with the eyes of faith. We are to place our trust in the fact that, no matter what, God will have the final word in our world that God is giving us his Word constantly through the Sacraments, the Scriptures, through the witness of good people in our lives. Let us live with joy as we enter this new liturgical year. It is good to plan ahead. Note that Christmas is on a Monday this year. This means that Christmas Eve Masses will be on a Sunday evening. Mass for the 4 th Sunday of Advent (Dec 23/24): Saturday at 5 PM and Sunday at 9 AM. Christmas Eve Masses are at 4 PM (remember, no coming ahead to hold pews for the family) and at 9 PM. Christmas Day Mass is at 9 AM. On the Feast of the Holy Family (Dec 30/31) Masses will be at the regular times. On New Year s Day the Feast Mary, the Mother of God we have Mass at 9 AM. Continued on page 2 Readings for the Week of Dec 3 rd Monday: Is 2:1-5; Mt 8:5-11 Tuesday: Is 11:1-10; Lk 10:21-24 Wednesday: Is 25:6-10a; Mt 15:29-37 Thursday: Is 26:1-6; Mt 7:21, 24-27 Friday: Gn 3:9-15,20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38 Saturday: Is 30:19-21, 23-26; Mt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8 Sunday: Is 40:1-5, 9-11; Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8 WEEKLY MASS SCHEDULE Daily Mass Server: Tues., Wed., Thur., - Tom Kretschmer Monday No daily mass Tuesday 5:00 PM +Dorothy Thoennes Wednesday 8:30 AM +Steven Ignowski Thursday 7:00 AM ++Dennis & Sylvia Leier 1:30 @ Knute +Grace Huss Friday 8:30 AM +Gilbert Roerick 7:00 PM +Jimmy Chan Saturday 5:00 PM For the Parish Sunday 8:00 AM +Rita Pansch 10:00 AM +Ron Lorsung 2017 CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE PENITENTIAL SERVICES Sunday, Dec. 17 th at 2:00 PM Wednesday, Dec. 20 th at 7:00 PM INDIVIDUAL CONFESSIONS Saturdays, Dec. 2 & 9 at 4 :00 PM Saturday, Dec. 16 at 3:30 PM Immediately after Penitential Services Thursday, Dec. 21 at 10:00 AM Friday, Dec. 22 at 3:00 PM Saturday, Dec. 23 at 3:00 PM LITURGY SCHEDULE Please note: on Dec. 24 Sunday morning Mass is at 9:00 AM ONLY CHRISTMAS EVE: Sunday, Dec. 24 at 4:00 PM & 9:00 PM (Incense will be used at the 9:00 PM Mass) CHRISTMAS DAY: Monday, Dec. 25 at 9:00 AM NEW YEARS DAY: Monday, Jan. 1 at 9:00 AM

WELCOME TO THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY 1 LITURGICAL MINISTERS December 9 th & 10 th SATURDAY 5 PM MASS Greeters Team 2- Alice Larson, Jane Johnson, Katie & Daniel Trombley Ushers Team 2- Henry Wessel, David Sternquist, Thomas Lynch, Loren Larson, Mark Johnson, Steven Takle, Roy Nodsle, Tom Ernst, Harvey Chermak Extraordinary Ministers Team 2 Lector 1 Thomas Wosepka Lector 2 Charlotte Hanson Servers Christian Lopez, Anthony Olson SUNDAY 8 AM MASS Greeters Team 6-A- C.J. Juenger-Daas, Patrice Kiefer, Phyllis Kern, Rosemary Flick, Sharon Fyle, Rose Ann Maloney Ushers Team 6 Thomas Haase, Ritchie Spindler, Donald Thoennes, Michael Savageau, David Close, Kevin Becker, Arnold Ebert Extraordinary Ministers Team 6 Lector 1 Gayle Walz Lector 2 Karen Grundei Servers Mitchel Floding, Alisah Floding SUNDAY 10 AM MASS Greeters Team 10-A- Bettie Reis, Mary Lou Maack, Tom & Jennifer Klecker Ushers Team 10-Richard Woelfel, Josh Brummond, Douglas Houska, Glen Klimek, Clarence Wolf, Austin Klimek, Frank Klimek Extraordinary Ministers Team 10 Lector 1 Jodi Rehovsky Lector 2 Anna Solheid Servers Thomas Klecker, Henry Klecker Drivers December 10 th Bethel Manor Pete Olmscheid Windmill Ponds Randy Meyer Arabella Manor Laurel Linder Grand Arbor John Hovel & Ron Boyden.Hospital/Nursing Home December 10 th Hospital Betty Ebsen Knute Nelson/Nelson Gables Steve & Diane Henry Bethany Gene Burghardt BAPTIS - Avery Ann & Lucas James- Children of Jacob & Stephanie Boersma BANNS OF MARRIAGE III Matthew Doll & Rachel Finazzo ATTENTION USHERS, GREETERS & EM S Team Captains: if you know of any changes, please let the Parish Office know by DEC. 18 TH. ADULT FAITH FORMATION ADULT BIBLE STUDY - Tuesday evenings in the Great Hall immediately following the 5 PM mass. Call Mike at 759-1911 for more info. MEN S BIBLE STUDY - Thursday mornings in the Commons Area of the church at 6 AM. Call Mike at 759-1911 for more info. WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY Please join us when we begin the exciting new study Wisdom: God s Vision for Life by Jeff Cavins and Thomas Smith. Meets both Sat. AM and Sun. PM beginning Jan. 13 th & 14 th. For more info. and/or to enroll, contact: Tammy 320-808-6404 or Lori 320-808-1145. Email: biblestudywomen@gmail.com ST. MARY S PRAYER LINK: If you have a prayer request, please send to Wosepkak@aol.com or phone Kelly Wosepka at 320-815- 4655. You may also call Julie Desautels at 846-1842. All prayer requests will be kept confidential. PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel Rosary: Sundays (before Mass) 7:35 AM & 9:35 AM Holy Spirit Prayer Group: Thursdays 5:30-6:00 PM (rosary in Commons Area) 6-7 PM prayer time in the Chapel Contact Jim Joerger at 834-2945. Divine Mercy Hour: Mondays from 3-4 PM Contact Barb Nei at 846-0022. Sanctity of Life Prayer Group: Meets the 1 st Wednesday of every month at 7 PM. Contact Louise Revering at 762-8632. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION, A STEWARDSHIP OF PRAYER. For more information you can contact Sue McCulloch at 320-491- 7006 (call or text); tscamcculloch@charter.net. PRAYER CORNER If you or someone you know in our parish community is sick or ill or has a family member who could use our prayers, please call our Parish Nurse, Kathy Fischer, at 762-2320. Please remember the following people in your prayers: Ruth Partington, Ron Hoffman, Chris Ficenec, Ken Judson, Betty Schlosser, Butch (Bruce) Schmidt, Jim Rutten, Nancy Westhoff, Scott Addy, Ben Vanderheiden, Ronald Decker, Kathryn Vieaux, Dick Wagner, Pat Pahl, Ione Grubb, Shirley Botzet, Maureen Bruzik, Janine Clayton, Irene Bundy, Ilene Woida, Joel Novak and Laurel Bruder.

2 Fr. Steve s article continued Our Penitential Services are on Sunday, December 17 at 2 PM and on Wednesday, December20 at 7 PM. A Learning opportunity: On Saturday, December 9 from 9 to 12 in the Great Hall we will have a Ministry retreat for READERS. However, it is open to any liturgical minister or anyone who wants to learn more about the Scriptures used at Mass. It is open to all. We are a little late in getting this advertised more fully because we just received the rights to use some very special videos for teaching. We are trying to have several ministry retreats a year. While they are specific to a particular ministry, the sessions are designed to be informational for everyone. Laurie Youngers has a fuller announcement in this bulletin. A Blessed Advent to you. Fr. Steve COMMUNITY NEWS THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BINGO Sunday December 3 rd at 7:00 PM & Wednesday, December 6 th at 2:00 PM at the KC Hall on 6 th Ave E. & Nokomis. Team 14 Randal Meyer, Jeffrey Crosby, Steve Schlitgen, Justin Dummer, Tom Ernst will be in charge. THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MONDAY NIGHT MEETING TIME HAS BEEN CHANGED TO 7 PM. THE CARING & SHARING ROOM invites your participation by sharing much needed items with this ministry during the Advent season. A collection box is in the Commons Area where donations of the following items can be placed: kitchen towels, dish cloths, pot holders, measuring cups and spoons, glasses, basic kitchen utensils, toasters, coffee pots, hand mixers and bakeware. Blankets for twin, full, and queen beds are needed throughout the winter season and can be donated by calling The Caring & Sharing Room at 760-8084. Thanks for any help you can offer. RETIREMENT FUND FOR RELIGIOUS Help care for the elders. Thanks to support from the Retirement Fund for Religious, we are now in a much better position to care for our elders, writes a religious sister. Your donation helps her religious community and hundreds of others provide for aging members and plan for long-term needs. Please give to next week s Retirement Fund for Religious collection. There is an envelope in our packet for this Dec. 9/10 appeal. PANCAKE FRENCH TOAST BREAKFAST: St. Mary s Boy Scout Troop 418 is having a pancake french toast breakfast fundraiser Sunday morning Dec. 3 rd from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in the St. Mary s School Gym. ATTENTION DAILY MASS GOERS: Rosary Leaders are needed to pray at daily masses a couple of times a week & about once a month. If you can do this ministry, contact Larry at 763-5476 for more details. Thank you for volunteering. The Daughters of Isabella will meet for their annual Christmas Party in the Great Hall at St. Mary s on Thursday Dec. 14 th at 5:00 PM. This is for members, their spouses, or significant other. We will have a pot luck supper followed by a game of Bunco. Bring a gift to exchange. SANCTITY OF LIFE MOMENT: God of light and hope, look upon us in love and fill us with the Spirit of Jesus that we may love you and serve you in your kingdom. Protect us during this week and keep us watchful in prayer as we await the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world, and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Meets the 2 nd Monday of each month from 7-8:30 p.m. in the prayer room in St. Mary s School. Please join us! Contact Bruce Becker for more info: 320-759-2003 or bbecker100@gmail.com. Visit St. Mary s Sanctity of Life online at: http://sanctityoflifestm.org/ for information and resources ADVENT: An Invitation to Intimacy with God An online, Interactive Retreat for Women Dec. 3 24, 2017 Join the School Sisters of Notre Dame in taking time to nurture your relationship with God this Advent, using reflection materials provided by Sister Carolyn Sur, SSND. Deepen your personal reflection and prayer by interaction with a spiritual companion, a sister with whom you will be paired to meet with weekly by phone skype or in person. To RSVP or for more information, contact Sister Stephanie Spandl, SSND at: sspandl@ssnd.org or 651-278-4498 or visit ssnd.org/events/advent-retreat-2017.

WELCOME TO THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY 3 ST MARY S ANGEL TREE If you have taken a name off the tree, please bring wrapped gifts to the Great Hall by Friday, Dec. 15. We are looking for volunteers to help sort gifts, Sunday Dec. 17, after the 10:00 AM Mass and help delivering gifts on Monday, Dec 18 starting at 4:00 PM. If you have any questions, call 320-762-4055. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY if you know of someone in need of comfort and prayer, we have prayer shawls available. Please call Kay at 320-815-6604. PARISH HEALTH MINISTRY Lifting Spirits, Touching Lives NATIONAL HANDWASHING AWARENESS WEEK: Dec. 3-9, 2017. True Flu Prevention: 1. Do Not Touch the T Zone. 2. Handwash regularly. 3. Don t hesitate to vaccinate. The T Zone is the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. Those mucous membranes are the only portals of bacteria that cause respitatory and gastiontestinal diseases. Touching your T Zone with fingers or hands that are contaminated with germs can make you sick. Studies have shown that people touch their eyes, nose, and mouth about 25 times every hour without even realizing it! Continued on page 5 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION email: stmreled@stmaryalexandria.org Phone: 763-9202 Class Schedule Sunday School: December 10, 9:50 11:00 AM Grades 1-5: December 6, 3:45 4:30 PM Grades 6-11: December 6, 6:30 8:00 PM Sunday School Voices We hope your home is full of the joy of the anticipation of the coming of Jesus! Today we heard the story of the annunciation and made a cute baby Jesus doll out of a sock. We also made a manger bed with some hay. We are going to use this as a project during Advent. We want to make a very soft bed for baby Jesus. We are going to do this by doing good deeds for others. First Reconciliation Learning Centers will be held on Tuesday, December 5, between 3:30 6:30 PM in the school gym. Please allow at least one hour to complete the centers. The sacrament of First Reconciliation will follow immediately in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Jr/Sr High Faith Formation Junior High - The 6 th - 8 th graders will be continuing their semester on the Creed and, specifically, the creation of humanity and how men and women are given the responsibility to care for all of creation. Senior High - The 9 th 11 th graders will continue their series on the Paschal Mystery and will be focusing on the Nativity of Jesus. The goal of the night is for the teens to see how radically the Incarnation changes their lives through understanding the waiting of the Old Testament people. Service Night On December 13th the St. Mary s Senior High students will be having a Service Night. On this evening the youth in grades 9-11 participate in service work with their small group members. Many groups leave St. Mary s to help out in nursing homes, local non-profits and other service agencies. Donations from the students are brought to these agencies as well. If any parishioners would like to help with donations, the following items would be beneficial. Donations can be left in the Commons Area in the bins marked Service Night or brought to the Religious Education Office. Items Needed: Easy meal kits Cereal Boxed pizza kits Gift cards to local restaurants Dry kitten or puppy food Paper towels Gasoline cards AA or AAA batteries Cat litter

4 ST. MARY'S SCHOOL St. Mary's School educates the whole child within a nurturing Catholic Christian environment. Email: stmaryss@stmaryalexandria.org Phone: 320-763-5861 Fax: 320-763-7992 Be Advent 2017 CALENDAR RAFFLE WINNERS NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2017 November 26 Kathleen Bruden, Alexandria $35 November 27 Caden Serda, Savage $20 November 28 Sarah Klimek, Alexandria $20 November 29 Ari Horstman, Alexandria $20 November 30 Adella Klimek, Alexandria $20 December 1 Sarah Breitzman, Alexandria $100 December 2 Velma Yatskis, Alexandria $20 SCHOOL HAPPENINGS Week 1 Dec 4-8 Be Peaceful * Tuesday, December 5: 1:30 Prayer Service - Grade 2F * Wednesday, December 6: Feast of St. Nicholas * Friday, December 8: 8:30 Mass, Feast of the Immaculate Conception * All-School Activity: Feast of St. Nicholas Week 2 Dec 11-15 Be Kind * Tuesday, December 12: 8:30 Prayer Service - Grade 1S and 3B * Friday, December 15: 12:30 Reconciliation - Grade 3-6 * All-School Activity: Christmas Pageant - Thursday, December 14 at 7 p.m. Week 3 Dec 18-21 Be Humble * Tuesday, December 19: 1:00 Prayer Service - Grade KH and 5G * Wednesday, December 20: 10:45-11:15 Sibling Activity - Nativity Craft * Thursday, December 21: 10:00 Carolers Calendar Raffle Ticket sales have begun! Tickets can be purchased after Mass or at the School Office. Christmas Pageant December 14 ~ 7:00 p.m. Be compassionate! Share with others! It s cooold outside and many people in our community do not have warm winter outerwear. During Advent we will be showing our compassion to others. Here s how: The United Way is collecting warm outerwear for those in need living in Douglas and Pope counties. The items needed are: * NEW (or gently used) winter coats especially children sizes and mens XL and XXL * NEW (or gently used) snow pants * NEW (or gently used) boots * NEW (or gently used) hats * NEW (or gently used) mittens or gloves A collection bin will be located in the school foyer. Please join us in helping fill the bin with much needed winter wear!

5 LITURGICAL & MUSICAL NOTES PARISH STAFF Pastor Steve Binsfeld 763-5781 Parish Business Administrator Todd Wentworth 763-5781 Director of Music and Liturgy Laurie Youngers 763-5781 Parish Nurse Kathy Fischer 762-2320 School Principal & Elem. Religious Ed Troy Sladek 763-5861 Logistics Coordinator Laurie Bienias 763-9202 Parish Health Ministry Continued The CDC recommends these easy steps every time you wash your hands: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry. Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap, and apply soap. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hand, between your fingers, and under your nails. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Rinse hands well under clean running water. Dry hands using a clean towel, hand dryer, or air dry. Practicing the 4 Principles of Hand Awareness behaviors will ensure you stay well. Imagine never having the flu again! The 4 Principles of Hand Awareness: 1: WASH your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating. 2: DO NOT cough into your hands. 3: DO NOT sneeze into your hands. 4: Above all, DO NOT put your fingers into your eyes, nose, or mouth. The 4 Principles of Hand Awareness have been endorsed by the AMA and AAFP. For more information: Henry the Hand Foundation: dr.will@henrythehand.org 513-769-HAND (4263) Coordinator of Youth Ministries & Confirmation Gina Pohlen 763-9202 COMMITTEE CHAIRS Parish Trustees Elmer Kobbermann 834-3103 Francie Peterson 320-360-0325 Pastoral Council President Steve Russell 218-943-5191 Finance Committee Mike Dolan 763-4705 Board of Education Francie Peterson 320-360-0325 Liturgy Committee Laurie Youngers 763-5781 Committee for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Tammy Boushek 760-5405 Parish Life Committee Verna Winter 507-329-0135 Cemetery Committee Leon Breun 320-763-5781 CARING & SHARING ROOM FINANCIAL GIFTS Collections for the Weekend of 11/26/2017 Actual Budgeted Sunday Envelope $37,565.46 $29,941.88 Loose $ 1,849.25 $ 2,115.38 Sunday Children $ 19.80 $ 115.38 A more detailed report may be viewed at the Parish Office. 320-760-8084 PASTORAL COUNCIL President: Steve Russell Vice President: Mike Sponsler Secretary: Sonya Skinner Megan Bristow, Tammy Huss, Dan Hillback, Dawn Houska, Mary Jane Reif, Tabatha Odens.