Fifth Sunday of Easter May 1 & 2, 2021 Fifth Sunday of Easter May 1 & 2, 2021 Sunday Scriptures May 9, 2021 **Sixth Sunday of Easter** 1st Reading: Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48 2nd Reading: 1 Jn 4: 7-10 Gospel: Jn 15: 9-17 Daily Readings: May 3: 1 Cor 15: 1-8; Jn 14: 6-14 May 4: Acts 14: 19-28; Jn 14: 27-31a May 5: Acts 15: 1-6; Jn 15: 1-8 May 6: Acts 15: 7-21; Jn 15: 9-11 May 7: Acts 15: 22-31; Jn 15: 12-17 May 8: Acts 16: 1-10; Jn 15: 18-21 Please remember in your prayers Members of our parish families who are recovering in the hospital & at home, for their strength and patience each day, and for all those who ask for our prayers for health or other issues. Pat Beard, Mary Jo Bielong, Ana Cantrell, Margaret Daiber, Don Dapkus, Teresa Dickman, Jean Fields, Lawrence & Pat Frank, Denny Frey, Gabriel Frey, Jerry Fyke, Karen Grabowski, P.J. Hereford, Cory Humphrey, Gene Jolliff, Val King, Kenneth Korsmeyer, Allen Korte, Barrett Korte, Clarence & Ruth Korte, Randy Korte, David Kuehn, Helen Kuehn, Brett Leathers, Sue Luber, Christopher Marti, Taylor Marti, Alex McCall, Cody Neal, LaVonne Nelson, Judy Phillips, Gary Plog, Marcia Rowe, Abby Schrage, Phil Spies, Bertha Voss, Marie Weis, Barbara Weiss, Neal Weiss, Margie Zurliene, Todd Zucca. For Our parishioners in nursing homes: Helen Wuebbles & special people in our families. For those currently serving in the military: Adam Canfield, Tim Doll, Quinn Frey, Tom Frey, Chad Knebel, Michael Knebel, Dustin Korte, Connor Kutz, Solon McGill, Jimmy O’Boyle, Sgt. Joseph Patterson, Rickie Schuster, Joseph Schatte, Greg Spina, T.J. Waddington, Sgt. Tyler Wegman, Sgt. Zach Weiss. If you would like to have someone added or removed from the prayer list please call the parish office. Budget Goal $883.00 Weekly Surplus/Deficit $227.00 Support Needed (budget) $37,969.00 Support Actual $37,475.00 Surplus/Deficit YTD $-494.00 Budget Goal $1,180.00 Weekly Surplus/Deficit $-255.00 Support Needed (budget) $50,740.00 Support Actual $50,045.00 Surplus/Deficit YTD $-695.00 Budget Goal $1,933.00 Weekly Surplus/Deficit $-740.50 Support Needed (budget) $83,119.00 Support Actual $89,382.84 Surplus/Deficit YTD $6,263.84 † Mass Intentions † Mon. (May 3) No Mass Tues. (May 4) 8:00am (St.G) † John Accornero — Int. of Glyn Adams-Accornero Wed. (May 5) 8:00am (IC) † Joetta Schmidt — Int. of Bill & Denise Trickey Thur. (May 6) 8:00am (St.N) † All Souls Fri. (May 7) 8:00am (IC) † Ted & Marie Schrage — Int. of Millie Frey Sat. (May 8) 4:30pm (St.N) † Betty Haberer — Int. of Don Cureton Sun. (May 9) 8:00am (St.G) † Deceased of the Schwarz Family — Int. of Emily Schwarz & Family For the People of St. Gertrude, St. Nicholas & Immaculate Conception Sun. (May 9) 10:00am (IC) † Linette Korte — Int. of Larry & Barbara Weiss † Dolores Weis —Int. of Denise Richter Liturgical Ministers for May 8 & 9, 2021 Sat. May 8 @ 4:30pm @ St. Nicholas Reader: Don Cureton Music: Nick Worman Server: Ben Hutchinson Sun, May 9 @ 8:00am @ St. Gertrude Reader: Chad Korte Music: Jamie Dressler Sun., May 9 @ 10:00am @ Immaculate Conception Reader: John Dea Music: Nick Worman Bearing Much Fruit. It is the start of May and, in the northern hemisphere, some of us are about spring planng. The tasks today look to future fruit and vegetables. By analogy, God is the gardener. We are the branches, the seeds, the fruit. To be healthy, we let ourselves be lled around, watered, weeded. • Because of how I behave now, how will I be tomorrow and in the future? • What tending work will I let God do to me? • What can I do to be a more fruiul Chrisan? St. Gertrude Parish Breakfast to Honor Graduates St Gertrude Parish is seeking High School and College Graduates of their Parish Family to be honored with a special mass on May 16 th at 8am. We will also be honoring last years graduates as well. Due to the Covid 19, the class of 2020 was not honored. A breakfast will follow aſter mass. Please contact Wendy Essenpreis at 530-0927 if you would like to aend. Thank you for your generous support of last week’s Catholic Home Missions Appeal. Our parishes helped strengthen the Church at home and ensure that the Gospel is spread across the United States. If you missed the appeal, it’s not too late to give! Just visit www.usccb.org/home- missions. DINNER AT DIAMOND MINERAL SPRINGS The St Gertrude’s Altar Society will be going out for dinner at Diamond Mineral Springs on May 13 th . Eat at 6:30 pm. Please make reservaons with Judi Rode at 791-8204 by May 9 th if you plan to aend. There will be a meeng at the parish hall following dinner. ALL PARISH LADIES are encouraged to come to dinner - WE Welcome YOU!! St. Gertrude GARDENING ANGELS We need volunteers to pull weeds this summer from around the church & hall landscaping. If you have a few minutes to spare & you see weeds in the landscaping, we would appreciate your help. Our current lawn service does not manage the weeds. Great service project for our youth!! IC Collection For 4/25/21 Envelopes/Loose $1,192.50 Home Missions $255.00 Sister Parish $173.00 Cemetery $20.00 STN Collection For 4/24/21 Envelopes/Loose $1,110.00 Home Missions $165.00 Sister Parish $150.00 Candles $82.00 STG Collection For 4/25/21 Envelopes/Loose $925.00 Home Missions $35.00 Sister Parish $66.00 Holy Land $5.00 Seminarians $5.00 Maintenance Fund $35.00 Candles $20.00 Relevant Pregnancy Care Center 2021 Baby Bottle Campaign Highland Relevant Pregnancy Care Center will again be having their baby bottle campaign starting on Mother’s Day, May 9th thru Father’s Day, June 20th. Bottles will be available for you to fill or make a donation by placing it in the collection basket in an envelope marked BABY BOTTLES. Your donations assist in support for teens & young women who are pregnant and in need of assistance. Please return the bottles by June 20th. Thank You!! Anyone familiar with gardening knows that proper and mely pruning is essenal. The health of the plant depends upon it. An unpruned tree can quickly produce suckers that zap many of the essenal nutrients from its body. Pruning requires paence and vision. Studies reveal that plants oſten respond defensively to being pruned, displaying reacons that are similar to hurt or discomfort. Pruning is not easy but necessary. A hard lesson for us to learn is that we also need to be pruned. We become far healthier when we allow God to stretch, refine, and form us into the best version of ourselves. The fruit that then comes from our vines will be more abundant, nutrious, and robust. Leſt to our own devices we can easly find ourselves running amuck and spiraling out of control. Without a proper vision and trust in the Master Pruner, we will never find the contentment we desperately desire. Nor will the work of the Gospel stand a chance of succeeding. Next St. Nicholas Pastoral/Finance Council Meeng will be held on Tuesday, May 18th at 7:00PM Dive Deep - This is not what these new priests envisioned: They have been priests for less than a year but have only known priestly life during a pandemic. How are our new priests coping? What has been the biggest challenge and biggest reward? Dive Deep sits down with Fathers Dominic Vahling (Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepon in Springfield) and Michael Meinhart (St. Boniface in Edwardsville). Go to : dio.org/podcast to listen. St. Nicholas Blood Drive at St. Nicholas Parish Hall On Tuesday, May 18th 2:30 to 6:30PM