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Our Lady of LourdesKNOW l LOVE l SERVE l GROW
Parish Newsletter
SPRING 2020
LETTER FROM OUR PASTOR
Recommit to follow Jesus during crisisDear friends,
“God of everlasting mercy!” These words greet the ears of our
hearts in the Collect or Open-ing Prayer on the Second Sunday of
Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday. It was just a few days ago when we
were asked during the Easter celebration: Do you believe? A
recommitment to faithfully follow Jesus each and every moment of
our lives.
What do our lives look like today? How have they changed in just
a matter of days or weeks? The constant – go, go, go – has all but
stopped. Street traffic is lighter. Crowds have disappeared from
schools, places of business, sporting events and houses of worship.
The parish is eerily quiet.
Yet at 10:00 a.m., we ring the church bells. At night, the
original rectory pays homage to lives lost with a green light in
the window. In
this time of crisis, outreach is done by email, texting and the
old-fash-ioned way – phone calls.
Remember the commercial - you old timers: Paper or Plastic
(lol). Paper takes on new meaning and emphasis. Weddings are being
re-scheduled and funerals replaced by “small” grave side
services.
Let us pray for each other espe-cially the sick, homebound,
those in hospitals, nursing homes, first responders and all health
care pro-viders. Let us remember those who lack the basic
necessities of life.
For all who have died, Eternal
Rest grant to them, O Lord.Continue to be smart. Stay home,
stay healthy, wash your hands often and say your prayers more
often.
Show mercy to our neighbor as mercy has been shown to us.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Rev. Scott J. Wimsett, Pastsor
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Our Mission is...
To KNOWLOVEand
SERVEGod.
LOVEand
SERVE our
neighbors.
GROWintentional disciples.
Our Lady of Lourdes 508 Breckenridge Lane Louisville, KY 40207 n
502-896-0241 www.ourlourdes.org Office Hours: By Appointment
Only
Follow us on Social Media
Our Lady of Lourdes, a Roman
Catholic Church in St. Matthews, Kentucky, was
established in 1950.
Twitter: @OurLourdes
Facebook: OUR LADY OF LOURDES, LOU KY OurLadyofLourdes
YouthMinistry
Instagram: ourlourdeskyolollouisvilleym (YouthMinistry)
SPIRITUALITY
Virtual opportunities for all ages
The Men’s Group is meeting virtually on Thurs-day mornings for
fellowship & Sunday Gospel reflections. They welcome new
additions!
With the change in our current times, some of our formation
ministries have adapted to include some meetups virtually. This
includes adult bible study and youth ministry. See the info below
for details:
Adult Bible Study- Tuesday mornings All are invited to join us
on Tuesday morn-ings for Zoom video-conference virtual bible study
sessions from 10-11 a.m. We will be following Bishop Robert
Barron’s classroom lessons. If interested, please contact Doug Wolz
at [email protected] or call 896-0241 and leave a message.
The weekly topics will be as follows: April 28: Church
Leadership May 5: Death on the Cross May 12: Church’s Attitude
toward
Non-Christians May 19: The Values and Behaviors of
Church Members
Men’s Group - Thursday morningsAll men are invited to join us
for a Zoom
video-conference discussion about the up-coming week’s Gospel.
We meet at 7-7:50 a.m. If interested in attending, please contact
Doug Wolz at [email protected] or leave a message at
896-0241.
Youth Group - Sunday EveningsProjectYM is every Sunday at 8 p.m.
Each
broadcast is an hour long and includes games, music, and a
teaching from one of the top Catholic youth ministry speakers in
the country. Teens will be able to watch the live
stream from any device – and be part of the biggest Catholic
youth nights ever! The link is projectym.com/watch. Questions?
Contact Bill Ash at [email protected] or leave a message at
896-0241.
YouTube Channel: @olol youtube
LIVE-STREAMING MASS SUNDAYS
10 AM
Full mass available afterwards: Parish YouTube Channel: @olol
youtube
Streamed LIVE on Facebook@ OUR LADY OF LOURDES, LOU KY
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Since we can have no public gatherings at this time, and in
order to safely follow social dis-tancing guidelines, all
sacramental celebrations are temporarily sus-pended. As soon as
restrictions are lifted and we are able to meet per-sonally again,
we will resume. This will be a time of great joy for all of us, and
you will be notified when this happens!
Community celebrations such as baptism and First Communion will
be rescheduled as soon as it is feasible to do so.
In the meantime, please use the beautiful prayer below for an
act of Spiritual Communion:
Baptisms, FirstCommunion postponed
My Jesus,I believe that You are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament.I love You above all things, and
I
desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this
moment
receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually
into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and
unite
myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from
You.
Amen.
The parish leadership would like to thank our parishio-ners for
your continued sup-port of our parish’s many min-istries. Even
during this COVID-19 crisis, we are receiving financial gifts
through weekly/monthly offering envelopes or through eGiving and
Faith Direct. These donations are critical to keep the work of our
church going!
You may mail gifts directly to the Parish Office or drop off on
our front porch mailbox. There are staff members at-tending to this
need everyday. Please be assured that it will get processed and
deposited in a timely manner.
Currently 30% of our parish-ioners donate through Faith
Direct. Faith Direct is a con-venient and secure electronic
giving (eGiving) program that
will enable you to continue giv-ing to Our Lady of Lourdes from
your home.
Through Faith Direct you can make all of your contributions
to Our Lady of Lourdes auto-matically from your checking account
or savings account. This is a great way to simplify your giving –
and it’s the most cost-effective, environmental-ly-friendly way for
us to receive your gifts.
To signup, visit: https://membership.faithdirect.net/KY747 or
call Faith Direct’s toll-free number, 866-507-8757, to speak with
someone directly.
Thank you so much for sup-porting our parish!
FINANCIAL GIVING
Support the parish from home through Faith Direct
STEWARDSHIP IN ACTION
The first class of First Communicants from Our Lady of Lourdes
in 1951. Pictured with Monsignor Gerst and Sister Willeta.
THROWBACK SNAPSHOT
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SHARE YOUR THROWBACK PICS WITH US!EMAIL TO
[email protected]
RIGHT: Beautiful signs of God’s creation have sprouted on the
OLOL campus.
BOTTOM: 3rd grader Paden Wissing watches a math lesson from his
teacher, Ms. Gerstle, during Non-Tradi-tional Learning Days.
#BEARCATSTRONG DURING COVID-19 CRISIS
The PTO surprised 8th graders on April 15 with yard signs
celebrating their upcoming graduation - espe-cially during this
difficult time.
TOP:The parish has connected with parishioners through video
messages from Fr. Scott and has just begun live-streaming Sunday
mass.
ABOVE: Third grade teachers Mrs. Motiff and Mrs. Smith posted a
sign from their classroom for their students. School families have
been completing Non-Traditional Learning Days at-home since March
16.
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GET TO KNOW...
FAMILY MEMBERS: Ted & Sharon Elsesser (son David is 31)
OCCUPATION: Sharon retired from Norton Healthcare, Nursing
management; Ted retired teacher, Sacred Heart Academy
NUMBER OF YEARS AT OLOL: 28
MASS WE NORMALLY ATTEND: 9:30
ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT OUR-SELVES: We have been in every
state except Ted has not been to Maine. One of our recent vacation
memories was swim-ming in the Blue Lagoon and viewing the Northern
Lights in Iceland. We once drove a TV 800 miles to throw it
away!
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN US VOLUNTEERING: Sharon: Parish Council, Adult
Choir, For-mation Committee; Ted: Sacristan, Land-scape, RCIA,
Communion at Hospital
FAVORITE THING ABOUT OLOL: Communi-ty, liturgies and warmth of
the church.
HOPE & DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE OUR CHURCH: Sharon: The
fulfillment of our stewardship prayer; Ted: That we strive to be
our best and build toward the King-dom.
Ted & Sharon Elsesser
May has always been a month in our church devoted to Mary, our
Blessed Mother. We’d like to start a new trend during this
quar-antine month in honor of our Our Lady - especially since our
parish is named in her honor.
In mid-March, Pope Francis offered a prayer to Mary. The Pope
wanted to entrust the city of Rome, all of Italy, and “the entire
world to the protec-tion of the Mother of God, as a sign of
salvation and hope” during the ongoing coronavi-rus emergency.
An English-language trans-lation of the Pope’s prayer is shared
below in the blue box. We encourage you to say this
prayer often or pray the rosary in your home.
Also, see the coloring sheet on the next page - print, color and
hang this in the window or door of your home. Or if you have
another favorite im-age of Mary, feel free to hang that. Then while
walking in the neighorhood, look for these images of our Blessed
Mother.
This is similar to the “rain-bow hunts” that have been popular
in many neighbor-hoods. We can find comfort in coming together in
this spiri-tual way.
We’d love to see pics of your Mary image in your window. Share
them with us by email-ing: [email protected]
MARIAN DEVOTION
Honor Mary by posting image & Pope blessing
Pope Francis’ Prayer to Mary during Pandemic
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of
salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick.At the foot of
the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
with steadfast faith.You, Salvation of the Roman People, know
what we need.
We are certain that you will provide, so that, as you did at
Cana of Galilee,
joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.Help
us, Mother of Divine Love to conform ourselves to the
Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us:He who took our
sufferings upon Himself, and bore our
sorrows to bring us,through the Cross, to the joy of the
Resurrection. Amen.
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our pleas– we who are put to the test – and
deliver us from every danger,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
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Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us!
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Beginning in late January 2020, the Strategic Planning Committee
conducted input sessions with 155 parishioners. More than 500
parishioners were invited at random to attend these sessions. The
participants verbalized in a small-group setting one strength, one
opportunity, and one future desire of the parish. Sessions lasted
55 minutes and were facilitated by Fr. Scott and parish staff
members Doug Wolz and Beth Freeman. Below is a summary of the
results:
STRENGTHSLiturgyMinistries/OutreachBlue Ribbon
SchoolCommunity
OPPORTUNITIESYoung Adult MinistryAging FacilityInclusive
Engagement across age groups/More
VolunteersTechnology/SecurityKeeping connection with families whose
children graduate from 8th grade
FUTUREMulti-Purpose Building for Bereavement, Conferences &
Lectures, Group Meetings, School Programs, Youth Ministry and
moreCreate Preschool SpaceVibrant OutreachBrand school and
parish
DID YOU KNOW?
THANK YOUOn the weekend of Feb. 1/2 a “Parish Pulse” survey was
conducted at all masses. This survey was also emailed to all
parishoners for input. THANK YOU to the 692 parishioners who
completed a survey - your responses help us understand the current
“pulse” of the parish! The detailed results of the “Parish Pulse”
survey are included on the next page.
WHAT’S TO COME...Phase 2 of the Stragetic Plan is now underway.
This will include establishing subcommittees for each of our
pillars of focus: Communication, Education, Facilities, Outreach,
Stewardship & Worship. The subcommittees will design and
document priorities, activities and measures for each of their
areas. In the Fall of 2020, the full document and goals of the
entire Strategic Plan will be shared with the parish at-large.
If you have suggestions or input about the future of the parish,
we welcome feedback anytime by emailing Beth Freeman at
[email protected] or call 966-7216.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES STRATEGIC PLAN
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Our Lady of LourdesFebruary 2020 Pulse Survey
DemographicsAll Surveys 4:30 7:30 9:30 11:30 Vistor
Electronic
AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE:65+ 40% 65+ 53% 65+ 55% 65+
52% 65+ 29% 65+ 75% 35-44 24%55-64 21% 55-64 29% 55-64 28% 55-64
19% 35-44 23% 55-64 25% 45-54 23%35-44 16% 35-44 8% 45-54 9% 35-44
12% Under 18 21% Under 18 0% 65+ 22%45-54 13% 45-54 4% 35-44 4%
45-54 9% 55-64 13% 18-25 0% 55-64 18%Under 18 5% Under 18 3% 26-34
3% Under 18 4% 45-54 12% 26-34 0% 26-34 9%26-34 4% 26-34 2% Under
18 0% 26-34 3% 18-25 2% 35-44 0% 18-25 2%18-25 1% 18-25 1% 18-25 0%
18-25 1% 26-34 1% 45-54 0% Under 18 2%
All SurveysCompleted Surveys: Count
Electronic 31% 2179:30 23% 1594:30 16% 11211:30 16% 1107:30 13%
89Visitor 1% 5Total 100% 692
Why I attend Mass at Our Lady of LourdesAll Surveys 4:30 7:30
9:30 11:30 Vistor Electronic
# Responses 692 112 89 159 110 5 217% of Total 100% 16% 13% 23%
16% 1% 31%
Welcome Welcome Welcome Welcome Welcome Mass Times Welcome
Liturgy Mass Times Mass Times Liturgy School Liturgy Liturgy
Leadership Liturgy Liturgy Leadership Liturgy Leadership School
Mass Times Leadership Spiritual Spiritual Location Location
Opportunities Location Location Leadership Geo Leadership School
Spiritual Geo Spiritual Geo Location Geo Welcome Leadership
Spiritual Geo Location Mass Times Opportunities Geo Location School
Opportunities Opportunities School Mass Times Spiritual Mass Times
Opportunities School Mission Opportunities Spiritual Opportunities
Best Friends Best Friends Best Friends School Best Friends Best
Friends Best Friends Geo Mission Mission Best Friends Mission
Mission Mission Mission
TOP
5 TOP 5
Take-a-Ways: 1) 65+ had highest survey participation rate, at
40% or 272 of 692, 2) Electronic surveys had the highest
participation with 217 surveys completed primarily by younger
"school age" families, 24% by 35-44 age group and 23% by 45-54 age
group, 3) 9:30 mass had highest overall participation of hardcopy
surveys with 159 surveys completed, 4) 7:30 mass is older and less
connected to Parish/School, 4) 11:30 is the "school family" mass
with higher number with school children and the second highest
survey participants were 35-44 age group, 5) feeling "Welcome" was
the overall highest response of why they are a parishioner at
OLOL
Our Lady of LourdesFebruary 2020 Pulse Survey
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree
Strongly Agree Total
Weighted Average
9 20 89 336 218 6721.3% 3.0% 13.2% 50.0% 32.4% 100%
6 25 145 299 178 6530.9% 3.8% 22.2% 45.8% 27.3% 100%
8 8 28 229 412 6851.2% 1.2% 4.1% 33.4% 60.1% 100%
5 11 67 261 318 6620.8% 1.7% 10.1% 39.4% 48.0% 100%
6 11 111 358 198 6840.9% 1.6% 16.2% 52.3% 28.9% 100%
55 141 146 190 124 6568.4% 21.5% 22.3% 29.0% 18.9% 100%
I have the opportunity to share my gifts of time, talent,
expertise and wisdom here at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish:
4.3
When I listen to the Gospel message shared at mass, it
translates into action in my life:
4.1
In the last 6 months, I have personally invited someone to
attend mass, events, functions and/or celebrations here at Our Lady
of Lourdes Parish:
3.3
Parish leaders do an excellent job of communicating with me in
regards to activities and events:
4.1
Parish leaders do an excellent job of communicating with me in
regards to volunteer activities:
3.9
I am warmly greeted when I celebrate liturgy here at Our Lady of
Lourdes Parish:
4.5
PARISH PULSE SURVEY RESULTSOur Lady of LourdesFebruary 2020
Pulse Survey
DemographicsAll Surveys 4:30 7:30 9:30 11:30 Vistor
Electronic
AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE: AGE:65+ 40% 65+ 53% 65+ 55% 65+
52% 65+ 29% 65+ 75% 35-44 24%55-64 21% 55-64 29% 55-64 28% 55-64
19% 35-44 23% 55-64 25% 45-54 23%35-44 16% 35-44 8% 45-54 9% 35-44
12% Under 18 21% Under 18 0% 65+ 22%45-54 13% 45-54 4% 35-44 4%
45-54 9% 55-64 13% 18-25 0% 55-64 18%Under 18 5% Under 18 3% 26-34
3% Under 18 4% 45-54 12% 26-34 0% 26-34 9%26-34 4% 26-34 2% Under
18 0% 26-34 3% 18-25 2% 35-44 0% 18-25 2%18-25 1% 18-25 1% 18-25 0%
18-25 1% 26-34 1% 45-54 0% Under 18 2%
All SurveysCompleted Surveys: Count
Electronic 31% 2179:30 23% 1594:30 16% 11211:30 16% 1107:30 13%
89Visitor 1% 5Total 100% 692
Why I attend Mass at Our Lady of LourdesAll Surveys 4:30 7:30
9:30 11:30 Vistor Electronic
# Responses 692 112 89 159 110 5 217% of Total 100% 16% 13% 23%
16% 1% 31%
Welcome Welcome Welcome Welcome Welcome Mass Times Welcome
Liturgy Mass Times Mass Times Liturgy School Liturgy Liturgy
Leadership Liturgy Liturgy Leadership Liturgy Leadership School
Mass Times Leadership Spiritual Spiritual Location Location
Opportunities Location Location Leadership Geo Leadership School
Spiritual Geo Spiritual Geo Location Geo Welcome Leadership
Spiritual Geo Location Mass Times Opportunities Geo Location School
Opportunities Opportunities School Mass Times Spiritual Mass Times
Opportunities School Mission Opportunities Spiritual Opportunities
Best Friends Best Friends Best Friends School Best Friends Best
Friends Best Friends Geo Mission Mission Best Friends Mission
Mission Mission Mission
TOP
5 TOP 5
Take-a-Ways: 1) 65+ had highest survey participation rate, at
40% or 272 of 692, 2) Electronic surveys had the highest
participation with 217 surveys completed primarily by younger
"school age" families, 24% by 35-44 age group and 23% by 45-54 age
group, 3) 9:30 mass had highest overall participation of hardcopy
surveys with 159 surveys completed, 4) 7:30 mass is older and less
connected to Parish/School, 4) 11:30 is the "school family" mass
with higher number with school children and the second highest
survey participants were 35-44 age group, 5) feeling "Welcome" was
the overall highest response of why they are a parishioner at
OLOL