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Weekly Bulletin—22 June 2008 en espanol |
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Our Lady of the Rosary Church |
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Iglesia de Nuestra Senora del Rosario |
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Once Upon a Summer’s Night . . .
Matthew 10: 26-33
Peter’s boat was anchored and tied to shore in the waist-deep inner cove at Capernaum. The lake was settling down for the night, leaving only a gentle surge to slowly rock the old boat. Jesus was sitting near the bow facing back toward his disciples. He was barely visible in the dark—only his pale robe showed against the darker sky. At sunset they had all waded out to the boat to escape the crowds. Since then, Jesus had been teaching his disciples with such intensity that no one noticed that the night had closed in around them. The moon was soon to rise, but now, in the blackness, there was only Jesus’ voice, soft, like a warm blanket about them. “What I am telling you in the dark,” he said to them, “you must repeat in broad daylight,”. One of the disciples questioned, “Aren’t these things you’ve told us to be secrets for us alone to know?” Jesus shook his head, hoping to prepare his disciples for their own future ministry when they would be on their own. “What you have heard in private, you must announce from the housetops.” It was a warning not to be afraid, even of death. The greater danger would be to lose their souls. A silence fell over the men as they pondered what Jesus was saying. It was late and they had been sitting in the boat for a long time. Jesus knew they were tired and so was he. The moon was rising with light to lead them home. One by one they climbed over the gunwale of the boat and dropped into the chilling water to wade ashore. The last one off was Peter who had stayed to make sure the lines were secured. Jesus waited for him and together they walked toward Peter’s house where Jesus was staying. Peter began to grumble about losing his soul. Jesus assured him that the Father loved him more than he knew. “Are not two sparrows sold for next to nothing? Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent.” Jesus gave Peter’s shaggy hair a friendly tug. “As for you, every hair of your head has been counted; so do not be afraid of anything. You are worth far more than even an entire flock of sparrows.” The moon was climbing behind them and they could see their faint shadows stretching ahead. Jesus put his hand on Peter’s shoulder, pulling him to a stop. They faced each other in the silver light as Jesus made his final point. “Peter, whoever acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever disowns me before others I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Peter smiled back confidently. He knew he would always follow his great friend, Jesus. He knew he would always acknowledge Jesus before the world. If ever anything was certain, Peter knew he would never disown Jesus. Today’s Gospel demands that we think about the strength of our own faith. We need to consider more than just our Sunday best. We must also face our Wednesday worst! Will we always follow our great friend, Jesus? Will we always acknowledge Jesus before others or by our silence will we disown Jesus? Deacon Dick Folger
REMEMBER TO MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR ARMENAK’S SUMMER LECTURE SERIES. Starting on July 13, our parishioner, Amenak Hermez, will start his four-session summer lecture series entitled: “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of our Faith.” It will be held for four consecutive Sundays after the 8:15 Mass in the Parish Hall. The requested donation for each session is $7.00 per person. For more information, including the topics for each of the Lectures, please see the enclosed page in this edition of The Bulletin. TODAY:
BLOOD DRIVE AFTER MASS IN THE PARISH HALL Walk-Ins Welcome (Even though this is a Blood “Drive,” you should “walk” to the Hall – no cars are allowed indoors.)
HISTORY BOOK DISTRIBUTION SUSPENDS FOR THE SUMMER. As of this weekend, we have been distributing our parish’s Centennial History Book, entitled “100 Years of Faith,” after Mass for the last three weeks. The first weekend we distributed 293 books. Last weekend we distributed another 60 books. Since we have over 3,000 registered parish families, and approximately 800 of them attend Mass each weekend, this shows that not all of our parishioners have obtained their book. NOW THAT SUMMER IS IN FULL SWING, WE ARE NOT DISTRIBUTING BOOKS AFTER MASS until the fall. We hope that in the fall any of our parishioners who may have already left on long, long vacations may come forward for their books. For our other parishioners (including you) here are a couple of suggestions:
IF YOU HAVE NOT YET OBTAINED YOUR COPY OF THE BOOK, you may pick it up at the Parish Office anytime this summer during normal office hours. IF YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR NEIGHBOR THAT “COMES TO OLR OCCASIONALLY” (that is, is registered at OLR but attends OLR sometimes and other parishes as well) he or she still has a book reserved. Do us a favor and tell this friend or neighbor to contact our office to pick up a copy. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PARISHIONER BUT IS INTERESTED IN THE BOOK, he or she can buy one if they want. Perhaps he or she might be a former parishioner who moved away, or just a long-standing member of the community who is interested in its history. The book is available at $15.00, or $16.32 with tax. We can ship it by mail for an additional $3.68. We hope that for those of you who now have this book that you are finding it both informative and enjoyable.
KEEPING HIM IN YOUR PRAYERS. Please remember to keep Fr. José in your prayers. He is currently away on the “Mini-Sabbatical” that he wrote about in last week’s edition of the Bulletin and talked about at all of the Masses last weekend. He will spend some of the time relaxing and refreshing himself, however a great portion of the time will be spent on a silent retreat at a retreat house. We will include a special prayer for Fr. José in the petitions offered at our weekend Masses. In addition, a number of parishioners will be meeting to determine the possibility of holding a special event to bring all of us together to pray. We will keep you posted in future editions of the Bulletin as plans develop.
For those of you who did not make it to the meeting, here is a brief summary of what transpired: Fr. José was great! (No, Fr. José is not writing this!) We originally thought that it would be an unstructured discussion where the various members of the Finance and Stewardship Committees would speak, and then listen to the input of parishioners. What actually happened is that Fr. José asked the committees right before the meeting started what the topics would be, and then he directed the entire meeting. He did an excellent job without any preparation. The 2007 Parish Financial Report that appeared in the Bulletin of June 8 was distributed, which showed the weekly shortage of $2,033.28. A listing of the bills that the parish pays every month was distributed, so that everyone could see where the parish spends its money – all the way from salaries, to telephone expenses, to office supplies, and garbage collection. Parishioners, in seeing this list, gave a couple of suggestions for saving money, which we will be looking into in the coming weeks. Some of the suggestions can be acted upon quickly, while others will take a little more time. A history of how we got into our tough financial situation was given. Our parish has been struggling since the late 1990’s when the Diocese mandated minimum salaries for all employees. What resulted is that not only are salaries and benefits the largest portion of the parish’s expenses (as one would expect for a service-oriented operation), but it takes up almost all of the money donated in the Sunday collection! Someone asked if other parishes are struggling as well. Fr. said that in the past, no, but given the current economic conditions, that many parishes are now very much running “in the red.” Another handout was distributed showing what the parish has been doing to cut expenses, and how our parishioners could help. Someone at the meeting suggested that this handout should be given to all of our parishioners. As a result, you will find a copy of it in this edition of the Bulletin. A member of the Stewardship Committee, Omy Ronquillo, gave a simple guideline that someone can use when thinking of what an appropriate weekly donation should be to the parish. He said that, at minimum, that every parishioner’s donation to the first collection should be equal to ONE HOUR’S SALARY. This would amount to only 2% of a person’s weekly income. If everyone who is currently giving less than one hour’s salary a week would do so, and everyone else maintain their current giving levels, our parish would have adequate income to meet is obligations. In other words, it is “doable.” The Stewardship and Finance committees are currently looking at other ways to raise parish income, such as seeking the assistance of a development professional. So there you have the meeting in a nutshell. We will keep you in touch with any later substantial developments. In the meantime, we hope that you will have reviewed the Financial Report that we distributed, and that you read the extra page in this Bulletin so that you will consider helping us in any way you can – either in prayerfully evaluating the level of your weekly offering, adopting one of our parish bills, or choosing to do some other action suggested on the sheet. MONEY’$ TIGHT . . . What has your parish done to cut expenses?
· The parish closes on Mondays to save on employee salaries. · The parish has not given its employees the full annual COLA increase, even though this is required by the Diocese. · The parish has eliminated Easter bonuses in the past, and will eliminate Christmas bonuses starting this year. The bonuses are traditional, as church employees work extra hard during these two times of the year. · The current method of printing the Parish Bulletin will be re-evaluated once the contract on the lease of the printing equipment is about to expire. · Telephone contracts will be re-evaluated and negotiated in the near future. · The parish avoids entering into contracts and agreements that would result in an additional monthly bill whenever possible. Fewer business-related expenses for employees are reimbursed, and these employees use these as a tax-deductible donation. What can I do to help?
· If you are able, prayerfully consider an increase in your donation to the first collection. · Join the volunteer Church Cleaning Team. · If you are a leader or member of a parish organization, hold fundraisers to help pay parish operating expenses. · Adopt one of our monthly bills. Come to the office each month, ask for the bill you signed up for, write a check, and have us mail out the bill. This can be done by individuals or by parish organizations. · Be an advocate, by spreading the word to those who did not attend tonight’s meeting. Here’s the message: o There is not enough income to meet all the parish’s expenses o In order to balance the budget, we must either increase income or reduce expenses. o Since the main parish expense is payroll, the only way to reduce expenses is to reduce payroll. This would either mean finding parishioners with the qualifications and free time needed to run our various programs, or to do away with the programs. o Therefore, to maintain the programs we have in the parish today, we need to increase parish income. If you are not already doing so, buy Fundraising Gift Cards (Scrip). It will not cost you any money, and the parish can make substantial income. S FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS NEWS ABOUT OUR PARISH FESTIVAL The lazy, crazy days of summer are here. Even though things seem quiet around here, they really aren’t, as we soon will be planning this year’s Parish Festival.
FLEA MARKET ITEMS BEING ACCEPTED – MAYBE, MAYBE NOT. In order to keep the Parish Office and its surroundings neat, we have not yet accepted any donations of Flea Market items – until now. Now that it is summer, and school is not in session, we have ordered the large cargo container that we use to store the items. As of this writing, the container is not here yet. Yet again, it might be here by the time you read this. It will be located next to the Parish Office. So when you see the container on the property, that is your sign to start bringing donations for the Flea Market. Remember our guidelines of the donations we can accept:
We can use: Household items, such as kitchen pots and utensils; furniture; knick knacks; tools; appliances
Please do not bring: Clothing and shoes; paints and cleaning products; furniture or appliances in need of repair
The Festival can use the following items: Books for the book booth; new hand-crafted boutique items; glassware for the dime toss booth
If the container is open, place your items at the front end of the container, in front of the container. If the container is locked, place your donations near the door of the container between the Office and the container. Thank you in advance for your support.
FESTIVAL DATES: Saturday and Sunday, October 4 and 5. |
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