From the Desk of Fr. McCarthy Given that this edition of the Newsletter is for the Advent and Christmas Seasons, let me now wish you a very blessed Advent and a Joy-filled Christmas. Advent Advent is not merely the preparation for Christmas, but the realization of the need to be prepared to receive the Lord when He comes. In this sense, we constantly live in “Advent”, for the Lord comes to us each and every minute. Too often, we are not aware of the Lord’s loving presence in the everyday or do not open ourselves to receive Him as we ought. Prayer is essential no matter the season, it is in prayer that we readily put ourselves in the presence of God. In prayer, we open ourselves to listen to His voice and allow Him to lead us where He wills. Advent also brings the reality of His promise, “I will come again”. Whether it is His return to earth or our particular death, we will someday (soon) meet the Lord. He has given us everything, can we say the same to Him. He entrusts us to live the Gospel and spread it to others. He invites us to have a personal and imitate relationship with Him, but are we too busy or focusing on other things, that we prefer that relationship be one- way. He loves us to death (literally). Advent is a time for us to focus more intensely on our relationship with Christ, to be open now to His desire to enter more fully into our lives. Christmas Christmas is a wonderful season! It is a reminder of how much God loves us. He sends His Son to us as an infant, so we would not be frightened, knowing that the almighty and all powerful God has entered our world. Christ takes on flesh not to be like us, but to be one of us. This is the hope of our redemption and that of the world. Our culture today places the emphasis of Christmas on commercialism, gifts, and Santa Clause. I ask each of you to focus on your relationship with Christ this Christmas and reflect on the meaning of Christ taking on flesh. The Magi presented Jesus with gifts, gifts that first come from the hand of God. Each of us are given many gifts from God. Do we give those gifts back to God through Stewardship- Time, Talent, and Treasure? The miracle of Christmas is the joy of knowing how much God loves us, desires us, and seeks to make us happy. But, true happiness does not come from boxes or bags, it can’t be purchased at stores or online. True happiness comes in giving ourselves to another, first of course to God. So may this Christmas be filled with love of God and love for God and each other!
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Transcript
From the Desk of Fr. McCarthy Given that this edition of the Newsletter is for the Advent
and Christmas Seasons, let me now wish you a very blessed
Advent and a Joy-filled Christmas.
Advent Advent is not merely the preparation for Christmas, but the realization of the need to be prepared to receive the Lord when He comes. In this sense, we constantly live in “Advent”, for the Lord comes to us each and every minute. Too often, we are not aware of the Lord’s loving presence in the everyday or do not open ourselves to receive Him as we ought. Prayer is essential no matter the season, it is in prayer that we readily put ourselves in the presence of God. In prayer, we open ourselves to listen to His voice and allow Him to lead us where He wills.
Advent also brings the reality of His promise, “I will come again”. Whether it is His return to earth or our particular death, we will someday (soon) meet the Lord. He has given us everything, can we say the same to Him. He entrusts us to live the Gospel and spread it to others. He invites us to have a personal and imitate relationship with Him, but are we too busy or focusing on other things, that we prefer that relationship be one-way. He loves us to death (literally). Advent is a time for us to focus more intensely on our relationship with Christ, to be open now to His desire to enter more fully into our lives.
Christmas Christmas is a wonderful season! It is a reminder of how much God loves us. He sends His Son to us as an infant, so we would not be frightened, knowing that the almighty and all powerful God has entered our world. Christ takes on flesh not to be like us, but to be one of us. This is the hope of our redemption and that of the world. Our culture today places the emphasis of Christmas on commercialism, gifts, and Santa Clause. I ask each of you to focus on your relationship with Christ this Christmas and reflect on the meaning of Christ taking on flesh. The Magi presented Jesus with gifts, gifts that first come from the hand of God. Each of us are given many gifts from God. Do we give those gifts back to God through Stewardship- Time, Talent, and Treasure? The miracle of Christmas is the joy of knowing how much God loves us, desires us, and seeks to make us happy. But, true happiness does not come from boxes or bags, it can’t be purchased at stores or online. True happiness comes in giving ourselves to another, first of course to God. So may this Christmas be filled with love of God and love for God and each other!
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Henry & Claudia Sajnog have been in St. Ann Parish for many years. Claudia’s family have been part of St. Ann’s since its inception. Her parents raised 9 children here. She says the greatest gift her parents ever gave them was the gift of each other, their unconditional love and their love and abiding faith in God. Henry and Claudia were married by Fr. Lunn in 1971. They have 4 children: Angie and her husband Ryan; Kim; Adam and his wife Melanie and Danielle and her husband Michael. At present, they have 9 grandchildren: Gracie, Ava, Jack, Asher, Lilah, Mitchell, Ava and Ella. A new little bless-ing is due in January. Their prayer is that their children always live in the love of our Lord. They spend a lot of their time with family and Henry enjoys woodworking. Henry is current president of SAMA and is a Eucharistic minister. Claudia has been involved in the MERP program for a long time and is also a Eucharistic minister. They feel that because they are a part of the St. Ann community, it has helped them learn and grow so that they may accomplish His special purpose for their lives. They feel very blest to be a part of the St. Ann Community and they thank everyone for being a part of their journey.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Before I arrived at St. Ann, in July of 2013, there was already much discussion on ways to improve the layout of various pieces used for communication within the parish. This has been a long and demanding task. The plan was to brand the image of St. Ann. Hopefully you have noticed that the image of St. Ann from the stain
glass is at the forefront of our communication pieces. The goal is that the image itself will become synonymous with the parish - all we have accomplished and the good we can accomplish in the future. This edition of the Newsletter is our first in this format and we hope you will like it. The trend in many parishes is to do a quarterly newsletter, rather than monthly in order to improve the quality/substance and to reduce costs. We made the decision to do our newsletter quarterly and base the newsletter on the liturgical cycle. Thus, this edition focuses on Advent and Christmas. The following newsletter will cover the seasons of Lent/Easter. For those who like using a computer you have the option of receiving the Newsletter on-line rather than in the mail, to do this you would need to sign-up for FlockNotes, which you can do on our website. If you have recommendations on how to improve the Newsletter the Communication Commission is always looking for suggestions. In October, we revamped the bulletin, as well. We added color and additional pages. The color used on the cover and front pages is based on the liturgical seasons as well. In Ordinary Time it will be green, in Advent- purple, and so forth. Both revisions of the Bulletin and Newsletter added no additional cost; they were existing options we decided to implement. The Website is currently being updated as well. The goal is to improve quality, content, and ease of use. We are in the process of switching providers in order to accomplish these goals. In doing so, we will be able to provide many more services, like having an on-line parish calendar. Studies continually show that in the modern environment having a quality website is essential to bring in new parishioners. Many Catholics now look at a parish’s websites before deciding to visit or join a parish. Our goal is to make the website a source not just for perspective parishioners to grow the parish, but a functional resource in which all our parishioners can use to deepen their understanding of the faith. An example of this is Stream Spot which allows people to watch Mass online or Symbolon which is an educational program that allows parishioners to watch videos to learn more about their faith. Personally, I am not very technologically proficient and at times technology seems more of a hassle then it’s worth. I can’t deny that websites, social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are realities of the times, and when used correctly can be effective ways of evangelizing and growing our parish.
In Christ, Fr. McCarthy
In this corner
SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS Martin was born in the year 316, of pagan parents, in Hungary. His parents moved to Italy when he was very young and he was forced to join the army at the age of 15. While a soldier, he studied to become a Christian and was baptized at the age of 18. He was offered a war bonus but refused it and requested that he be discharged. He told them that he wanted to become a soldier for Christ. Martin was ordained an exorcist and
worked at it with great zeal and later became a monk. He later went to France and started a monastery there and lived there for 10 years. Martin had many disciples and they preached throughout the country. The people of Tours tricked him into coming there and then convinced him into becoming their bishop. Martin later had many problems with other bishops and the Emperor of the area who wanted to kill all heretics. He fought them until he became very ill and later died in the year 397. His feast day is November 11th. Story: On a very cold day, as the legend goes, Martin met a poor man at the city gate who was trembling from the cold. Martin drew his sword and cut his cloak in half and gave it to the man and he kept the other half. That night in his sleep Martin saw Christ dressed in the half of the cloak that he had put on the poor beggar. Christ said to him. “Martin you have covered me in his cloak and I love you for it.” For more info on this saint and other saints go to this website---www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints and select by saint or by month. By: Bill Witzgall Jr
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New Parishioners During the months of September and October, the following joined St. Ann Parish: Kevin & Mary Beth Brunsman Family Amber Gee Family Judith Gresham Irineo & Severa Hernandez Family Matthew & Amanda Hood Family Season Martin Family Carol Ormandy Andrew & Allison Pearson Family Darlene Ross-Kreissel Kimberly Streem Family Mabel Zehenni Alan & Sara Schwier Family
Please remember in your prayers the family of the following parishioner who recently passed through
death:
Mila Patterson
Dolores LaFleur
“May his soul and all the souls of the faithful
departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
Please pray for the Military Almighty and eternal God,
protect our service personnel as they discharge
their duties. Protect them with the shield of your
strength and keep them safe from all evil and harm. May
the power of your love enable them to return home
in safety. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen. If you have a family member or friend in one of the Military branches, please call the parish office with the name, rank and where stationed so it can be listed in the newsletter and so can be remembered in prayer.
Keeping our Parish Census current is an ongoing
process. To report a change of address or family status,
please contact Christy Hamm in the Parish Office at
"Prayer gives us strength for great ideals, for keeping up our faith, charity, purity, generosity; prayer gives us
strength to rise up from indifference and guilt, if we have had the misfortune to give into temptation and weakness.
Prayer gives us light by which to see and to judge from God's perspective and from eternity. That is why you
must not give up on praying!" - St. John Paul II
Pray for vocations! Almighty Father, You have created us for some definite purpose. Grant us the grace to know the path You have planned for us in this life and to respond with a generous “Yes.” Make our archdiocese, parishes, homes and hearts fruitful ground for Your gift of vocations. May our young people respond to Your call with courage and zeal. Stir among our men a desire and the strength to be good and holy priests. Bless us with consecrated religious and those called to a chaste single life, permanent deacons, and faithful husbands and wives, who are a sign of Christ’s love for His Church. We commend our prayer for vocations to You, Father, through the intercession of Mary our Mother, in the Holy Spirit, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
– Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr
RCIA
The following were welcomed into the faith in the Sacrament of Baptism during the months of September and October:: Adalyn Marie Abbott Audrey Kay Bybee Kyleigh Anne Durkin Kimberly Melinda Miranda Crisostomo Peyton Christopher Henson Grace Marie Keyes Franklin Dundas Streem Josie Louise Wallpe
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SAINT ANN CRAFT BEER TASTING 60+ CRAFT BEERS FROM MORE THAN 15 LOCAL AND REGIONAL BREWERIES
Tickets will be available at the parish office by calling 521-8440 or stopping in.
Tickets will be on sale after all weekend Masses on November 8th and 9th.
FOOD AND SNACKS WILL BE AVAILABLE
SOME OF THE BREWERIES:
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Please join us for the
Saturday, January 24, 2015 @ 7:00pm
Enjoy an evening out with the girls!
Great way to meet new people!
Tickets cost only $20.00 and includes playing BUNCO!, drinks, appetizers and desserts. Drinks are served up directly to your table by St. Ann’s own “celebrity waiters”.
(Make sure to tip your waiter, they are competing for “King of Bunco!”)
Questions or to purchase tickets contact Cindy Withrow at
NEWS FROM OUR PARISH SCHOOL Leadership Council Leadership Council consists of seventh and eighth grade students who support the school mission and promote school spirit. The following are the 2014/15 Leadership Council: George Abugoch, ShepahnieAhrnsen, Sophia Almanza, Keirnan Cagle, Samantha Huber, Gabriella Kinne, Emily Lawson, David Mattingly, Jordan Campbell, Louis Childers, Emma Curran, Matthew Daly, Aaron Dewald, Shannon Drew, Autumn Frank, Julia Funk, Kaitlin Greenlee, Sam Greenlee, Grace Gourley, Lauren Middendorf, Ethan Reed, Phillip Ricke, Jeremy Roenker, Adam Rosenacker, Amira Rowe, Lizzie Schreyer, Kean Schnieber, Katelynn Setters, Jenna Strassburger, Brenden Wells.
Walk-a-thon PTO’s only fundraiser was held on October 3rd. Even though it was a rain or shine day the kids had a great time walking with their friends, dancing to the music provided by the DJ, and just having fun. Proceeds from this event are used to help fund field trips, technology and other items to help make OLG a great school!
DRAMA The Drama Club will be performing three small plays on November 7th and 8th at Little Flower (7:30 p.m.). The plays are: “The Girl in the Gold Mine”, Who Killed Sherlock Holmes”, and “Sam White and the Seven Gnomies”. Come and see the wonderful talent of the OLG students and have a great time.
SOARIN Soarin’ will be performing their winter concert on December 14th at St. Margaret Mary (2:30 p.m.). Come and enjoy the beautiful music of our choir.
CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE The 2nd & 3rd graders will be performing a Christmas play on December 11th at St. Ann’s gym (7:00 p.m.). Get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy the talents of our OLG students. More information will be coming home at a later date.
Upcoming Events – Look for more information coming soon November 6 – Picture Retake Day November 7 & 8 – Drama plays at Little Flower (7:30 p.m.) November 14 – End of First Trimester November 26, 27, & 28 –NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Break December 11 – Christmas Performance—Grades 2 & 3—7:00 p.m., St. Ann’s gym December 14 – Soarin’ Concert at St. Margaret Mary, 2:30 p.m. December 18 – First grade nursing home visit December 22 – January 2 – NO SCHOOL, Christmas Break January 5 – School Reopens
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Set aside time during the Holidays to be with Jesus at Eucharistic Exposition For some, the holidays are a busy time in which you balance your everyday hectic life with the time it takes to prepare for the holidays. For others, it can be a lonelier time due to the loss of loved ones, being without friends or because of other difficult situations in your life. The parish community is there for everyone, though. This is always evident at Eucharistic Exposition. Eucharistic Exposition is a devotion to and worship of Jesus Christ who is truly present: body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Blessed Sacrament. You owe it to yourself to set aside time, especially during the holiday season, to be with Jesus at Eucharistic Exposition. We all need time to ourselves to collect our thoughts, remind ourselves what is important, what we need to do to get through our days and hopefully to appreciate the things we do for ourselves and others each day. Eucharistic Exposition is the time when Jesus is most present to us outside of Mass. He is able to gaze upon us as we adore him. He is able to help us see who we are and who he calls us to be in His love. If you find it difficult to focus in the quiet of the church, there is a reminder when you enter church on how to pray focusing on what is most important in our life. Pray with A.C.T.S. (www.prayercentral.net/engage-me/ways-to-pray/pray-with-acts), an easy way to remember key elements of prayer. It’s simply prayer in four parts:
Adoration – Tell God how much you appreciate Him. Praise His power and majesty. Confession – Tell Him where you fell short - be specific. Thank Him for his forgiveness. Thanksgiving – It may not always seem like it but you have plenty of reasons to be thankful. Thank God for His love, His faithfulness, His patience and a million other things. Thank Jesus for dying on the cross for you. Thank the Holy Spirit for dwelling in you and never leaving. Thank Him for being your conscience, your counselor and that “still small voice.” Supplication – Tell God what you want, no matter how small it seems to you. Do you really think any of your requests are too big or too small for God the Creator? Join us at Eucharistic Exposition so in the presence of God you set aside that time to contemplate these very things for your spiritual self. And, know God wants to be in communion with us; wants to hear our prayers; wants you to be a part of him; and wants to bring healing to your life.
Eucharistic Exposition Thursday 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Benediction is at 6:45 PM 2nd & 4th Saturday 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Sacrament of Reconciliation 5:30 to 6:30
Junior High Youth Group—20-35 Junior High Students meet weekly on
Mondays at St. Ann’s Parish Center to grow in faith and fellowship.
The Youth Group focuses on education (teaching Theology of the Body for Middle School Teens),
service projects, and social events. We want to build a strong community and equip our young people
with a Catholic Identity. Please pray for a strengthening in each of our personal relationships with
Jesus Christ. If you have questions or would like to volunteer with the youth group, please contact
Andrea Patch at [email protected] or 729-2810. We are looking for volunteers to attend
meetings once or twice month and to provide snacks each week for the youth group.
St. Ann Parish has invited the Fathers of Mercy to provide a Parish Mission Jan. 31-Feb. 5
There will be a series of talks and the opportunity to attend
Mass and go to Confession to help prepare us for the Save the Date
2015 DAILY RAFFLE The 2015 Daily Raffle is started. We will be selling tickets after all the weekend Masses through January. They will also be available at the Parish Office during regular business hours. Daily Raffle Tickets make great Christmas gifts for children, grandchildren, parents and friends.
Still ONLY $20.00. Look for the flyer on the Parish website.
Questions? Call Paul at 521-4649.
St. Ann Parish Council is made up of thirteen members of the parish, and includes a Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, Members at Large and Representatives from each of the commissions, such as Christian Outreach, Communications, Finance, Laity, Worship, and Stewardship. The purpose of the Parish Council is: 1. To advise the pastor in developing goals and programs for the
parish’s future.
2. To institute parish renewal called for by the Universal Church
and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in order to continue to bring the eternal and unchanging message of Jesus Christ to God's people.
3. To encourage dialogue among the clergy, administration, and
people of the parish; and to broaden their understanding of the parish and its’ operations.
In 2013, Fr. McCarthy challenged Parish Council to determine the goals that they would like to focus on going forward. After many suggestions, the goals determined by majority vote are:
Shepherding
Internal Evangelism
External Evangelism
Subcommittees were assigned to each and sub-goals were developed in order to accomplish the main goals. The subcommittees brainstormed ideas and implemented them throughout the past year. They include ideas such as promoting bequests, increasing the number of socials, providing Lighthouse Media CD’s to parishioners and non-members who live close to our church, conducting Church History classes, and many more.
All members of Parish Council wear name tags when they attend parish events. Please talk to a member of Parish Council if you have any ideas or thoughts that you would like to put before Council. Our Council meetings are held the last Tuesday of each month parishioners are welcome to attend and observe.
Upcoming Christian Outreach Collections
It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are fast approaching.
Christian Outreach gets very busy this time of year and
they need your help. Below is a schedule of upcoming
collections.
Nov. 1 & 2 - Veterans Collection
Nov. 8 & 9 - Stocking stuffer collection and small, used
toy collection for Hazard, KY.
Nov. 15 & 16 - Over the counter medicine, toiletries and
household cleaning products collection for Hazard, KY.
Nov. 27 - Thanksgiving Day Food Drive
Nov. 29 & 30 - Giving Tree and Shut-in
Tree. Please take a tag.
Dec. 13 & 14 - Giving tree gifts returned
Jan. 17 & 18 - Coat Drive
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1ST QUARTER FINANCIAL RECAP
JULY 2, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
Revenues
Sunday $ 240,687
Other offerings $ 6,603
Bequests and gifts * $ (29,207)
Activities/Fundraisers $ 1,494
Other $ 16,590
Total Revenue $ 236,167
Total YTD Budget $ 247,525
Variance to Budget $ (11,358)
Expenses
Salaries/benefits $ 94,566
Office/Rectory $ 16,862
Activities $ 5,972
Altar & Sanctuary $ 7,595
Religious Ed $ 7,039
Ministry administration $ 6,317
Maintenance/building/utilities $ 22,063
OLG - subsidy/tuition aid $ 46,790
Capital/Extraordinary Repair $ 27,598
Total Expense $ 234,802
Total YTD Budget $ 212,947
Variance to Budget $ (21,855)
1st Qtr Net Revenue $ 1,365 Total Expenses are over budget due to the
completion of extraordinary repairs (rainwater
drainage at SFC, boiler feed water tank).
1st Quarter Total Revenue is adversely affected by transfer of Fr. Tony Education Fund since income was reported in last fiscal year.
* This is the transfer of funds to the Fr. Tony Education Fund to an interest bearing note at the Archdiocese.
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Upcoming Events.....
33 Days to Morning Glory
November 3,10,17, 24 &
December 1
9:30 AM & 7:30 PM
Closing December 8, 7:00 PM
Thanksgiving Day Mass
8:30 AM
Advent Reconciliation Service
December 17, 7:00 PM
Christmas Eve Mass Times
3:00 PM; 5:30 PM & 11:00 PM
Christmas Day Mass Times
8:30 AM & 10:30 AM
Spanish Mass
December 28 & January 25 - 7:00 PM
Confession at 6:30 PM both evenings
New Years Eve Mass
4:30 PM
New Years Day Mass Times
8:30 AM & 10:30 AM
Catholicism 101– Part II
January 5,12,19,26
February 9 & 16
Classes held at 9:30 AM or 7:30 PM
Consoling the Heart of Jesus
January 8 & 22
February 12 & 26, continuing through April
Classes held at 9:30 AM or 7:30 PM
Church History
January 15, 29
February 19, continuing through April
Classes held at 9:30 AM or 7:30 PM
Bunco
January 24, 2015 - 7:30 PM
Parish Mission
January 31-February 5, 2015
Confirmation Retreat
February 7, 2015 - 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Weather Cancellations at St. Ann’s If Northwest Public Schools are cancelled due to the weather, morning activities will be cancelled. Mass will still occur. If the bad weather has passed, evening activities may still take place. You may call the parish office or check the website for cancellation information. Please sign up for FlockNotes in order to receive notifications about last minute weather cancellations. If you are concerned for your safety, please use your best judgment. We want all of you to be safe.
Winter Driving/Car Safety Tips Driving in the winter means changes in the way you drive. Snow, sleet and ice can lead to slower traffic, hazardous road conditions and unforeseen dangers. Keep yourself and your family safe. Prepare your vehicle for the upcoming winter season.
Weather Temperatures below 20° F, may affect road and driving conditions and can pose serious problems. Your local radio, TV and newspaper forecasts will give you the most up-to-date information on weather and road conditions.
Prepare your vehicle Have your vehicle serviced regularly (check the owner's manual for the recommended interval) to ensure better gas mileage, quicker starts, faster response on pick-up and passing power, and to prevent major problems.
antifreeze in your vehicle’s engine. This is done by using an antifreeze tester which is inserted into the water reservoir of your car. Do not open the radiator cap!
-icer fluid solution to keep the spray from freezing. (It is best to use a product that has a cleaner as well. This allows you to dislodge the road grime from the windshield.)
and replace any worn tires. (Having proper wheel alignment will lead to a longer life for your tires).
caught on the road in long lines of slow moving traffic.