Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday evening for our Catholic Cafe...I think it was a great start ! For those who missed ...here is the 4.1.1.
Our goal will be to meet following Sunday Night Vespers each month. We will go to Vespers together at 6:00p.m. and then gather for a social right after in the Parish Centre - say around 7:00 p.m. During Vespers some may sing in the choir, other might do a reading and still others just attend.
Our social will be exactly that, but also have a little agenda (something to talk about...it might just be how our week is going or maybe in time a video ..a suggestion was from Father Benedict Groeschel or Father John Corapi).
We have decided that we want to also focus on Service and outreach to the community. Some ideas we are toying with:
Participating as a group in the upcoming parish Service Saturday which is on October 25th. Looking into Amnesty International, Development and Peace and doing some letter writing. Adopting a child thru Christian Child Care International. Take an evening ourselves to help at the Bridges Shelter serving a meal.
Finally, we want to have fun too. So maybe a sports night or theatre trip will be in our future.
So next gathering - its this coming Sunday, October 5th - Vespers at 6pm and then social afterwards ...try and bring a friend. Thanks again to all who came - great start !!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Baptism
One of the great sacraments of our faith is baptism, the very sacrament that washes us clean from original sin and marks us, forever and always, as a child of God. Recently we have offered to those seeking baptism for their child the opportunity to celebrate that sacrament at a Sunday eucharist rather than at a service on a Sunday afternoon. Some families have taken advantage of this opportunity. Why are we celebrating baptism at Sunday Eucharist?
First, it is an attempt to overcome the notion that the celebration of baptism is a private family event. No sacrament in the church is a private event, they are all intended to be communal, to which anyone is invited. Second, the ritual instructions that are provided for the celebration of baptism remind us that “Baptism should take place on Sunday, the day on which the church celebrates the paschal mystery. It should be conferred in a communal celebration for all the newly born children, and in the presence of the faithful ...” Third, by including baptism at Sunday eucharist it serves to remind as all of two things: one, our own baptism, and two, the responsibility we share with the parents in raising the children of our parish in the practice of the faith. Fourth, it is the hope of our faith that all the baptized will one day share fully in the life of the church, especially by receiving eucharist. By celebrating baptism within eucharist we model to the newly baptized the very celebration of our faith we wish them to one day fully share, namely, they too will one day receive eucharist.
Baptism during Mass occurs after the Homily when the reception of the child takes place, the professing of faith and the general intercessions by the congregation, followed by the actual baptism with the pouring of water, and the anointing with chrism along with receiving the light of Christ and the signing of the senses.
The reception of the child involves the announcing the name of the one to be baptized and the questioning of the parents as to why they are here – this action is actually the gathered assembly saying they welcome the child and desire that they be baptized. The pouring of water washes the child clean from the stain of original sin. The anointing with chrism makes the newly baptized a child of God forever, nothing can take baptism away, especially if they walk in the light of Christ given
them at baptism.
We have been celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism during Mass now since the summer and it has been so well received in our parish, both by the parents who are bringing their child for baptism, (who speak of feeling a part of the community instantly) and also by the parish itself. What a grace to be a part of this Family of Faith.
First, it is an attempt to overcome the notion that the celebration of baptism is a private family event. No sacrament in the church is a private event, they are all intended to be communal, to which anyone is invited. Second, the ritual instructions that are provided for the celebration of baptism remind us that “Baptism should take place on Sunday, the day on which the church celebrates the paschal mystery. It should be conferred in a communal celebration for all the newly born children, and in the presence of the faithful ...” Third, by including baptism at Sunday eucharist it serves to remind as all of two things: one, our own baptism, and two, the responsibility we share with the parents in raising the children of our parish in the practice of the faith. Fourth, it is the hope of our faith that all the baptized will one day share fully in the life of the church, especially by receiving eucharist. By celebrating baptism within eucharist we model to the newly baptized the very celebration of our faith we wish them to one day fully share, namely, they too will one day receive eucharist.
Baptism during Mass occurs after the Homily when the reception of the child takes place, the professing of faith and the general intercessions by the congregation, followed by the actual baptism with the pouring of water, and the anointing with chrism along with receiving the light of Christ and the signing of the senses.
The reception of the child involves the announcing the name of the one to be baptized and the questioning of the parents as to why they are here – this action is actually the gathered assembly saying they welcome the child and desire that they be baptized. The pouring of water washes the child clean from the stain of original sin. The anointing with chrism makes the newly baptized a child of God forever, nothing can take baptism away, especially if they walk in the light of Christ given
them at baptism.
We have been celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism during Mass now since the summer and it has been so well received in our parish, both by the parents who are bringing their child for baptism, (who speak of feeling a part of the community instantly) and also by the parish itself. What a grace to be a part of this Family of Faith.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Fall Kick Off
Well it was a great start for Da Crew…twenty teens came out for a wonderful afternoon together. We got on the bus, with Debby our usual driver ready for another year of taking us to safely to our spots. Our arrival at Erbsville was uneventful, but then we waited, and waited and waited. Thanks to Da Crew for their patience as we got our turn..it was a great time inspite of the wait. Everybody got a chance with Cory having the best lap time. Then..wow..what a great meal at Da Moose… every body had lots to eat... then we chatted about our upcoming year and even had the chance to speak about the Nerve to Serve weekend in October. Uncle Bruce and Auntie T were with us...thanks for their help and for letting us beat them at Go Karts...at least they said they let us.
Thanks to everyone who came out…can’t wait for a great year with Da Crew…lots more coming…stay tuned and stay connected…
Why Be Connected ?
What a great September we have been having. Our Children’s Ministry has started and we had over 60 children involved in our first weekend of programs. Our Kids Klub recently launched and we had over 90 kids show up, some almost an hour early, to be a part of our opening activities. Our High Schoolers came out full of energy as over 20 showed up for our Fall start up. It has been great to see such activity among our children, youth and teens.
But that is not all, our Wize Guys had a great start with an opening bar b q which attracted 18 men from the parish. The ladies were not to be out done though; the Corn Roast, which opened their year, had a great turnout too. It has also been rewarding to see our Celebrating the Word Small Groups start up…four groups are active with a total of almost 40 parishioners involved. This coming week our young adults will begin their Catholic Café and our Mother’s Morning Out will commence.
With the goal of being connected this Fall, it has been great to see so many people in our parish doing just that…getting involved and connected. So why do it – be connected that is – well that was the focus of the final reflection of our three weekend homilies. Week one we looked at What we are connected and decided that it was seeing the face of God. Then week two we asked Who are we connected to and discerned that was it Christ thru and with one another. Today we inquired Why be connected, and determined that it helps us in the midst of the storms of life to not become mesmerized by the whirl winds which come our way, but rather to be focused on the fact that we are loved, called to love, and connected to love. The love of Christ, which leads us toward the face of God, is what gets us thru life toward the place where God wishes us to be, and toward becoming who He calls us to be.
It has been a great start to the Fall….can’t wait for all that God has planned for us as we continue to be connected to His love.
But that is not all, our Wize Guys had a great start with an opening bar b q which attracted 18 men from the parish. The ladies were not to be out done though; the Corn Roast, which opened their year, had a great turnout too. It has also been rewarding to see our Celebrating the Word Small Groups start up…four groups are active with a total of almost 40 parishioners involved. This coming week our young adults will begin their Catholic Café and our Mother’s Morning Out will commence.
With the goal of being connected this Fall, it has been great to see so many people in our parish doing just that…getting involved and connected. So why do it – be connected that is – well that was the focus of the final reflection of our three weekend homilies. Week one we looked at What we are connected and decided that it was seeing the face of God. Then week two we asked Who are we connected to and discerned that was it Christ thru and with one another. Today we inquired Why be connected, and determined that it helps us in the midst of the storms of life to not become mesmerized by the whirl winds which come our way, but rather to be focused on the fact that we are loved, called to love, and connected to love. The love of Christ, which leads us toward the face of God, is what gets us thru life toward the place where God wishes us to be, and toward becoming who He calls us to be.
It has been a great start to the Fall….can’t wait for all that God has planned for us as we continue to be connected to His love.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Who are you connected to ?
The last couple of weeks have been rewarding in our parish community;we have been looking at Being Connected. Week # 1 we asked What are you connected to : The Prophet Ezekiel - in a watchtower - taught us that we need in our daily walk with God to honour Him by being connected; not just running to Him when the winds come; but letting Him walk with us and we walk with Him. The Letter to the Romans as our template told us that love is the motivating factor for our walk, and that when we gather as two or three in the name of Jesus, it helps us to be focused and finessed in Seeing the Face of God...after all .....that is what we are connected to.
Week # 2 we asked Who are you connected to: We reflected on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and reminded that we live in a pressurized society, and that trying to muddle through life on your own is tough - we are going to get blown back and forth every day by the winds of life. We all need a place to belong, we all need a place to share our burdens and to be connected.
Having something for everyone, is not a slogan we have, it is who we are called to be - a people connected to God and to one another. Our relationship with each other has a lot to do with our relationship with God. So we walk seeking to see the face of God...with one another, and thru one another...connected to Christ.
This coming Sunday we ask a vital question atop of the important questions we have looked at already - we ask - WHY BE CONNECTED. We are spending this time doing this because it gives us a chance to re think where we are, and ask if we need to take our walk with Christ to a new level of being connected. Come join us in our journey.
Week # 2 we asked Who are you connected to: We reflected on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and reminded that we live in a pressurized society, and that trying to muddle through life on your own is tough - we are going to get blown back and forth every day by the winds of life. We all need a place to belong, we all need a place to share our burdens and to be connected.
Having something for everyone, is not a slogan we have, it is who we are called to be - a people connected to God and to one another. Our relationship with each other has a lot to do with our relationship with God. So we walk seeking to see the face of God...with one another, and thru one another...connected to Christ.
This coming Sunday we ask a vital question atop of the important questions we have looked at already - we ask - WHY BE CONNECTED. We are spending this time doing this because it gives us a chance to re think where we are, and ask if we need to take our walk with Christ to a new level of being connected. Come join us in our journey.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
KIDS KAOS.....a great start
Wow ! What a great start...Kids Kaos was awesome ! Kids started arriving shortly after 6pm for our 7pm opening of the 2008-2009 Kids Klub year. Over 90 kids showed up for the first night..with lots of new faces...and many returnees. The evening was action backed.
Soccer and Basketball skills were on in the gym...stack a tower was the wacky game...fresh snacks in the snack station...a HUGE poster to work on in the village..it was non stop, and then at the end....great news....we got to see our schedule for the year (trips and all) and even heard about our first trip Playdium in November. We heard about Service Squad opportunities and even heard that our next Kids Klub will be our first ever..Flag Football Frenzie at Forbes Park. it is going to be awesome !
Just before the Kids Klub prayer...we saw our new Kids Klub T-Shirts and the 25 door prize winners got to be the first to wear them and take one home. We can't wait for the next Kids Klub. It is going to be a great year ! Come be a part of Kids Klub...remember, if its Friday Night..its Kids Klub night.
Soccer and Basketball skills were on in the gym...stack a tower was the wacky game...fresh snacks in the snack station...a HUGE poster to work on in the village..it was non stop, and then at the end....great news....we got to see our schedule for the year (trips and all) and even heard about our first trip Playdium in November. We heard about Service Squad opportunities and even heard that our next Kids Klub will be our first ever..Flag Football Frenzie at Forbes Park. it is going to be awesome !
Just before the Kids Klub prayer...we saw our new Kids Klub T-Shirts and the 25 door prize winners got to be the first to wear them and take one home. We can't wait for the next Kids Klub. It is going to be a great year ! Come be a part of Kids Klub...remember, if its Friday Night..its Kids Klub night.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
New Year: Getting Connected
In many ways the return of yellow school buses to our streets marks the "unofficial" end of summer - it really is a sort of whole new season - one might even say "New Year". September brings with it not only an upswing in traffic, but also an upswing in activity; it is the start of so many things, and certainly that is the case even in our parish community. We start a "new year" of offering opportunities for everyone to grow in the path of Discipleship; our goal continues to be as a family of faith to be a place with something for everyone.
Our CWL is getting ready for its annual Corn Roast, our Mother's Morning Out is starting to meet, our four Celebrating the Word small groups are gearing up for another year together, our Wize Guys are hungering for their annual bar b q, our Kids Klub is set for Kids Kaos, Da Crew is looking forward to highschoolers mini golf and go karting, our children are eager to get see our Children's Liturgy and Iwannago underway and our young adults are set for the start of Catholic Cafe.
This weekend we began on the theme of Getting Connected and asking three important question over the next three weekends; What are you connected to? Who are you connected to? and Why be connected ? We ask these questions as we have been hearing in the news the names Gustav, Hannah and Ike. The news this week has been the Hurricanes, Tropical Storms and hazardous weather. While the rain has been heavy, the flooding been extreme - most people agree that it not any of these, which caused the problems, it is actually the wind, which has caused the problem.
The busyness of the Fall can be a wind of sorts. It can blow us in all sorts of directions if we are not grounded or connected to something. Getting Connected really is important because otherwise when the wind comes - the winds of busyness and daily demands and even stress, you get blown in every direction.
I will keep you posted on how our series of reflections go. Til then…consider getting connected - our Family of Faith is a good place to start - consider joining us at the "getting connected place"...there is something for everyone
Our CWL is getting ready for its annual Corn Roast, our Mother's Morning Out is starting to meet, our four Celebrating the Word small groups are gearing up for another year together, our Wize Guys are hungering for their annual bar b q, our Kids Klub is set for Kids Kaos, Da Crew is looking forward to highschoolers mini golf and go karting, our children are eager to get see our Children's Liturgy and Iwannago underway and our young adults are set for the start of Catholic Cafe.
This weekend we began on the theme of Getting Connected and asking three important question over the next three weekends; What are you connected to? Who are you connected to? and Why be connected ? We ask these questions as we have been hearing in the news the names Gustav, Hannah and Ike. The news this week has been the Hurricanes, Tropical Storms and hazardous weather. While the rain has been heavy, the flooding been extreme - most people agree that it not any of these, which caused the problems, it is actually the wind, which has caused the problem.
The busyness of the Fall can be a wind of sorts. It can blow us in all sorts of directions if we are not grounded or connected to something. Getting Connected really is important because otherwise when the wind comes - the winds of busyness and daily demands and even stress, you get blown in every direction.
I will keep you posted on how our series of reflections go. Til then…consider getting connected - our Family of Faith is a good place to start - consider joining us at the "getting connected place"...there is something for everyone
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