Sons of Zebedee: Ss James & John Catholic Church W5882 Chuch Road Fond du Lac, WI 54937 «AddressBlock» Presorted Standard U.S. Posted Paid Oakfield, WI In our household the preparations for Christmas always centered around mid - night mass. Since all five of the Betz girls sang in the choir, our grandmother’s piano was never silent as we rehearsed the beautiful carols. We always decorated our tree before mass so we could briefly awe over the lights and open family gifts before we bundled into our coats and piled seven family members into our Pontiac Catalina for the short journey to church, being sure to leave an electric candle burning in the window to light the way for Christ. There was also a ham baking in the oven. This was a welcome aroma after our oyster stew dinner, an Irish tradition that my young taste buds did not appreciate. There was another Christmas tradition in our household that others did not share. Each year my mother read a letter to us from a man we never met. The letter, from her brother, was this: Dec. 25, 1944 C Central Pacific Dearest Family: Received your recent letter and was glad to hear from you all again. Trust that you all had a nice Christmas —my thoughts Christmas eve were with you. We had mid-night mass. It was beautiful and yet a sad ceremony. It was held outside naturally, the altar a stand, sand-bags for pews. A few boughs of evergreen, couple candles and a light or two made up the decorations. As mass started it began to rain and continued thru out the mass. Seemed to add a little bigger lump in our throats. Many of the younger kids cried-this being their first time away from home at X-mas. We were all soaked when it finished and nearly as much water came from tears of the boys. No mat- ter how hard crusted one gets there’s something about mass Christmas eve that melts him down. So much for that -it–was a sad and yet striking site to see. Well folks, I’ll close for tonight as it’s getting late. Write often even if I don’t. Take care of yo urselves and May God BlessYou All. Love, Les Les never returned to Byron. He was killed in action on Iwo Jima just two months after he wrote his Christmas letter. Now our mother, who passed away in June, has been reunited with him in the knowledge that he will not be forgotten. This daughter had the privilege to place a wreath on Les’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery in 2011 as part of the Wreaths Across America Program, and this Christmas his letter will be read again. Submitted by: Maureen Betz Perhaps you were not aware that, from the mid-1500’s to the early 1800’s, it was illegal to practice the Catholic Faith in England. The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” was written as a kind of memory aid, in code, to hel p young Catholics learn about their Faith. The words of the song, “My true love gave to me,” refer to God as the true love and “me” as every baptized person. Christ is represented as a partridge in a pear tree, in memory of his sadness over the fate of Jerusalem. The other symbols in the song have the following meanings: 2 2 Turtle doves: the Old Testament and the New Testament 3French h 3 French hens: the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity 4 Calling birds: the four Gospels 5 Golden rings: the first five books of the Old Testament 6 Geese-a-laying: the six days of creation 7 Swans-a-swimming: the seven sacraments 8 Maids-a-milking: the eight Beautitudes 9 Ladies Dancing: the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit 10 Lords-a-leaping: the Ten Commandments 11 Pipers piping: the eleven faithful Apostles t t 12 Drummers Drumming: the twelve articles of the Apostles Creed This is an interesting historical twist on a popular Christmas song! Remember this rich, Catholic context next time you hear the song. The Twelve Days of Christmas Notes from the Past THE ZEBEDEE INFORMER Sons of Zebedee: Ss. James and John Catholic Church W5882 Church Road, Fond du Lac, WI 54937-8602 Reverend Michael C. Petersen, Pastor Phone: (920) 922-1167 [email protected] www.sonsofz.org From the Pastor’s Desk: First of all I would like to wish Madonna Schaefer a very Happy Birthday! Madonna is the most senior mem- ber of our community. May God continue to bless you in this new year of life...Happy Birthday Madonna! Three words that I say at Mass several times “Let Us Pray”. It’s an invitation to reflect and pray. However, some people in our parish never hear that invitation. As you can see by the picture below, our parish’s St. James site is not accessible for persons in a wheelchair. The only way to gain entry to the church upstairs or the hall downstairs Is walking the steps. It’s time we as a parish do something about that! As most of you know, our St. James site started out life in the 1920’s and for the first 37 years was a community recreation center know as “Liberty Hall.” It was called “Liberty Hall” because it was constructed right after World War I and dedicated to the memory of “The Oakfield Boys” who died in the war to end all wars. Then in 1957 a new commu- nity center was built and “Liberty Hall” was bought by the Archdiocese, transformed Into a church and the St. James site was born. However, for the past 55 years the venerable building has had very little done to it other than cosmetic things and an occasional roof. This year the Parish used some of our Faith in our Future funds to make the basement restrooms “handicap compliant.” How ironic is it that the basement has handicap bathrooms, but wheelchair bound people can’t get into the basement to use those bathrooms. Your Parish has decided to do something about that. A hydraulic lift that can afford that access to both the church and the basement has been talked about for years and now is the time to make that happen. This is a major commitment that you Parish is making and it calls for a major commitment from all parishioners to have this come to fruition. Bids have been secured totaling $80,000.00 using a local contractor for the enclosure on the north side of the building. The wheelchair lift itself is manufactured in the U.S. and will be installed by an in-state company. Then, “What’s Left to Do?” The parish has some funds from the Buildings and Grounds portion of the Faith on our Future drive, but sadly it’s not enough to cover the lift project and a couple of other projects that need to be ac- complished at later dates (new roof for St. Johns Hall & resurfacing of the asphalt park- ing lot at the St. James site). That’s where Your commitment comes in. In January our Capital Campaign Committee will launch a 2 year Capital Campaign to fund these pro- jects with the first to be accomplished being the lift. If everyone in our parish pitches in we can get this well overdue project accomplished. It’s as simple as that. Many more details on this campaign will be outlined by the committee at the Masses in January. Let’s all stand up for those in our parish that can’t. Then, at Mass when I say “Let us Pray”, everyone can participate. Clustering Sons of Zebedee and St. Mary, Lomira In the ongoing effort to plan for the future the Archdiocese has completed a comprehensive review of par- ishes and personnel, with the approval of the Archbishop the document entitled, 2020 Parishes for Pastoral Leader- ship, has been shared with pastors and members of Parish Pastoral Councils. This document is a blueprint for parishes and the process of planning for the utilization of personnel and resources in the parishes of the Archdiocese now and into the future. The document itself is the result of efforts associated with archdiocesan Vision 21 Program. Three factors that will be a driving force behind this document are: (continued top of page 2) December, 2012 Volume 8
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NOTE FROM THE PAST
S o n s o f Z e b e d e e : S s J a m e s & J o h n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h
W 5 8 8 2 C h u c h R o a d
F o n d d u L a c , W I 5 4 9 3 7
«AddressBlock» Presorted Standard
U.S. Posted Paid
Oakfield, WI
In our household the preparations for Christmas always centered around mid - night mass. Since all five of the Betz girls sang in the choir, our grandmother’s piano was never silent as we rehearsed the beautiful carols. We always decorated our tree before mass so we could briefly awe over the lights and open family gifts before we bundled into our coats and piled seven family members into our Pontiac Catalina for the short journey to church, being sure to leave an electric candle burning in the window to light the way for Christ. There was also a ham baking in the oven. This was a welcome aroma after our oyster stew dinner, an Irish tradition that my young taste buds did not appreciate. There was another Christmas tradition in our household that others did not share. Each year my mother read a letter to us from a man we never met. The letter, from her brother, was this: Dec. 25, 1944 C Central Pacific
Dearest Family:
Received your recent letter and was glad to hear from you all again. Trust that you all had a nice Christmas—my thoughts Christmas eve were with you. We had mid-night mass. It was beautiful and yet a sad ceremony. It was held outside naturally, the altar a stand, sand-bags for pews. A few boughs of evergreen, couple candles and a light or two made up the decorations. As mass started it began to rain and continued thru out the mass. Seemed to add a little bigger lump in our throats. Many of the younger kids cried-this being their first time away from home at X-mas. We were all soaked when it finished and nearly as much water came from tears of the boys. No mat-ter how hard crusted one gets there’s something about mass Christmas eve that melts him down. So much for that-it–was a sad and yet striking site to see. Well folks, I’ll close for tonight as it’s getting late. Write often even if I don’t. Take care of yourselves and May God BlessYou All. Love, Les
Les never returned to Byron. He was killed in action on Iwo Jima just two months after he wrote his Christmas letter. Now our
mother, who passed away in June, has been reunited with him in the knowledge that he will not be forgotten. This daughter had the privilege to place a wreath on Les’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery in 2011 as part of the Wreaths Across America Program, and this Christmas his letter will be read again. Submitted by: Maureen Betz
Perhaps you were not aware that, from the mid-1500’s to the early 1800’s, it was illegal to practice the Catholic Faith in England. The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” was written as a kind of memory aid, in code, to help young Catholics learn about their Faith. The words of the song, “My true love gave to me,” refer to God as the true love and “me” as every baptized person. Christ is represented as a partridge in a pear tree, in memory of his sadness over the fate of Jerusalem. The other symbols in the song have the following meanings: 2
2 Turtle doves: the Old Testament and the New Testament 3French h 3 French hens: the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity
4 Calling birds: the four Gospels
5 Golden rings: the first five books of the Old Testament
6 Geese-a-laying: the six days of creation
7 Swans-a-swimming: the seven sacraments
8 Maids-a-milking: the eight Beautitudes
9 Ladies Dancing: the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords-a-leaping: the Ten Commandments
11 Pipers piping: the eleven faithful Apostles t t 12 Drummers Drumming: the twelve articles of the Apostles Creed
This is an interesting historical twist on a popular Christmas song! Remember this rich, Catholic context next time you hear the song.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Notes from the Past
THE ZEBEDEE INFORMER Sons of Zebedee: Ss. James and John Catholic Church
W5882 Church Road, Fond du Lac, WI 54937-8602
Reverend Michael C. Petersen, Pastor
Phone: (920) 922-1167 [email protected] www.sonsofz.org
From the Pastor’s Desk:
First of all I would like to wish Madonna Schaefer a very Happy Birthday! Madonna is the most senior mem-ber of our community. May God continue to bless you in this new year of life...Happy Birthday Madonna!
Three words that I say at Mass several times “Let Us Pray”. It’s an invitation to reflect and pray. However, some people in our parish never hear that invitation. As you can see by the picture below, our parish’s St. James site is not accessible for persons in a wheelchair. The only way to gain entry to the church upstairs or the hall downstairs Is walking the steps.
It’s time we as a parish do something about that!
As most of you know, our St. James site started out life in the 1920’s and for the first 37 years was a community recreation center know as “Liberty Hall.” It was called “Liberty Hall” because it was constructed right after World War I and dedicated to the memory of “The Oakfield Boys” who died in the war to end all wars. Then in 1957 a new commu-nity center was built and “Liberty Hall” was bought by the Archdiocese, transformed Into a church and the St. James site was born. However, for the past 55 years the venerable building has had very little done to it other than cosmetic things and an occasional roof. This year the Parish used some of our Faith in our Future funds to make the basement restrooms “handicap compliant.”
How ironic is it that the basement has handicap bathrooms, but wheelchair bound people can’t get into the basement to use those bathrooms.
Your Parish has decided to do something about that. A hydraulic lift that can afford that access to both the church and the basement has been talked about for years and now is the time to make that happen.
This is a major commitment that you Parish is making and it calls for a major commitment from all parishioners to have this come to fruition.
Bids have been secured totaling $80,000.00 using a local contractor for the enclosure on the north side of the building. The wheelchair lift itself is manufactured in the U.S. and will be installed by an in-state company.
Then, “What’s Left to Do?” The parish has some funds from the Buildings and Grounds portion of the Faith on our Future drive, but sadly it’s not enough to cover the lift project and a couple of other projects that need to be ac-
complished at later dates (new roof for St. Johns Hall & resurfacing of the asphalt park-ing lot at the St. James site). That’s where Your commitment comes in. In January our Capital Campaign Committee will launch a 2 year Capital Campaign to fund these pro-jects with the first to be accomplished being the lift. If everyone in our parish pitches in we can get this well overdue project accomplished. It’s as simple as that.
Many more details on this campaign will be outlined by the committee at the Masses in January. Let’s all stand up for those in our parish that can’t. Then, at Mass when I say “Let us Pray”, everyone can participate.
Clustering Sons of Zebedee and St. Mary, Lomira
In the ongoing effort to plan for the future the Archdiocese has completed a comprehensive review of par-ishes and personnel, with the approval of the Archbishop the document entitled, 2020 Parishes for Pastoral Leader-ship, has been shared with pastors and members of Parish Pastoral Councils. This document is a blueprint for parishes and the process of planning for the utilization of personnel and resources in the parishes of the Archdiocese now and into the future. The document itself is the result of efforts associated with archdiocesan Vision 21 Program.
Three factors that will be a driving force behind this document are: (continued top of page 2)
D e c e m b e r , 2 0 1 2
V o l u m e 8
From the Pastor’s Desk 1-2
Human Concerns 2
A Saintly Story 3
Chili Supper Enjoyment 3
Religious Education 3
Notes From the Past 4
The Twelve Days of
Christmas 4
SEE INSERTS FOR:
Upcoming Christmas
Schedules
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P a g e 2
Contributors:
Rev. Michael Petersen
Cheri Neitzel
Mary Rhein
Loreen Kuslits
Maureen Betz
Article Deadline For Next
Issue:
March 1, 2013
Next Issue : April, 2013
Upcoming issues: July, 2013
Oct 2013Oc-tober ,
From the Pastor’s Desk (cont. from page 1)
1.) the number of priests retirements between 2010 and 2020 will exceed ordina-tions resulting in a projected 40% reduction in the number of priests serving in parish min-istry. (It is projected that there will be 100 active priests in the Archdiocese by the year 2020.)
2.) The costs of operating parishes and funding ministries are escalating rapidly and parishes can gain economies of scale by collaborating with other parishes.
3.) The one mission of the Church, shared by all parishes, can be carried out more effectively by combining efforts and sharing resources.
Review of the information indicates that Sons of Zebedee is to cluster with St. Mary, Lomira. Clustering is “a grouping of geographically bordering parishes working together on a shared vision and ministry plan.” Clustering involves collaboration but is a formal rela-tionship between parishes leading to the sharing of personnel, ministries, programs and resources. With the announcement of Fr. Dennis seeking a new assignment this spring we will have to wait and see if the Priest Personnel Board will be able to replace him.
The holiday season is filled with many opportunities to share God’s love with others. THANK YOU to all who have supported the Human Concerns outreach projects throughout the year! We truly are blessed to be a part of a parish that cares so much.
HOLIDAY PROJECTS:
SALVATION ARMY RED KETTLES: Take a turn at ringing in the holiday season on Sat., Dec 1 in FDL at Pic’N Save-South and Walgreens. Thanks to all who have been gener-ously giving to red kettles in our area. This is the Salvation Army’s largest fund raiser for the year.
SALVTION ARMY GIVING TREE: We are sponsoring 12 people this year with the giving tree. Tags with wish list items are available in church. All gifts should be returned un-wrapped to the parish by Dec. 16.
OAKFIELD FOOD PANRY: Supplies are low and they could use our help! Needed items include: non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies, paper products, and holiday baking items. In addition to collections in church, we will send a donation of $50 to use for holiday supplies. The Food pantry is open Wed. 4-6pm.
SHARE: This food buying group helps families save 30-50% on groceries. They also of-fer free meals to needy families during the holidays. To give a donation for holiday meals, call 1-800-548-2124 or visit www.sharewi.org. The program is open to ANYONE who wants to save money on groceries.
LOOKING AHEAD:
OPERATION RICE BOWL: Bowls will be distributed to religious ed. students and avail-able in the back of church during Lent. This program raises money for Catholic Relief Services who work with local, national and international Catholic groups to help people in need.
SOUP & STATIONS: A free bowl of soup and fellowship will be offered once at each location during Lent. Soup will be served at 6pm with Stations to follow at 7pm. Dates will be posted in the bulletin.
NEXT MEETING: Wed., Feb. 6, 2013 St. John’s Hall—lower level, 7pm. We value your input. All are welcome!
Human Concerns Update Cheri Neitzel
CONTENTS
P a g e 3 Saintly Information Chili Supper Enjoyment
The Chili Supper, held Saturday, November 3, proved to be a great success. Thank you to all who volunteered their time to help in what ever way was needed. This event is a wonderful way for all of us to come together as a parish family and enjoy each others company. Thank you to Mary Rhine for submitting these wonderful pictures for all of us to enjoy.
Elizabeth Ann Seton
August 28, 1774-January 4, 1821.
Elizabeth Ann Seton is known for being the first American born Saint. She is remembered for being the person responsible for opening the first American Catholic parish school and an orphanage for children. Eliza-beth, an Episcopalian daughter of a prominent doctor, often brought food to the poor near her home. Elizabeth went on to marry to William Seton, the son and business partner of the owner of a wealthy shipping firm, Will and Elizabeth would bring three daughters and two sons into the world. Elizabeth and her sister-in-law, Rebecca, often visited the poor and the sick in slums. The year 1803 would prove to be a turning point in the lives of the Seton’s. Will would die from an illness while in Italy. Cared for by a Catholic Italian family Eliza-beth converted to Catholicism and upon her return to the United States Elizabeth was in need of support for herself and her chil-dren. To support herself she opened a Catholic boarding school for girls in Maryland. From this Elizabeth would go on to establish a community known as the Daughters of Charity. Today thou-sands of Daughters of Charity carry on Mother Seton’s work serv-ing in hospitals, homes for the aged and schools.
We are in full swing now! The students, catechists, and I have the routine down and are making
tracks in the right direction.
With the onset of Advent, all classes are taking a day to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and how we prepare to experience the joy of our Lord! Classes are completing individual crafts and are meeting separately. As always, parents are welcome to attend.
We would like to invite all students and all families of Sons of Zebedee Parish to participate in Christmas Caroling! Keep your eyes open for the bulletin announcement as to date, time and location. High School and Confirmation Students will have the opportunity to work on service hours. We are hoping for a visit soon from Ann Kaestner, the coordinator of the Oakfield Food pantry. In discussion, Ann has agreed to come and give a talk/explanation about the food pantry, who they serve, and what the needs are for this year. Each class will be assigned a non-perishable food item, paper product, or personal hygiene product to bring in to donate to the pantry. Dates and items to be announced.
Our reconciliation class is inching nearer to completion. Wednesday, December 19, 2012, is the night of celebration for First Reconciliation, the five students are working hard on lessons and learning through a variety of activities and wonderful, honest discussions.
As always, please keep our students and catechists in your prayers.
Peace, Loreen Kuslits, DRE
Religious Education
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