January 22nd, 2012

News from Our Lady School

Wednesday - 1/25      Market Day pick-up
                        5:30-6:30pm Rear of school cafeteria

Friday - 1/27   Second quarter progress reports sent home

Sunday - 1/29     Catholic Schools Week begins  

Registration for the upcoming school year 2012-2013 for families new to the school will be held on Sunday, February 5, 2012 in the school gym from 10:30 am (immediately following the 9:30 Mass) until noon.  You must bring a copy of your child's birth certificate, baptismal certificate, and any custody papers that may apply to your family.  There is a $30.00 non-refundable registration fee and a $100.00 deposit due with your paperwork.  We look forward to seeing your child on this date!

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
The RCIA topic for this up-coming Thursday, January 26, will be “Life in Christ Part II” chapter 24.  All are welcome from 7-9 pm in the Parish Life Center.

First Communion Retreat
Great thanks to all who participated in the First Communion Retreat on Saturday, January 21.  Special thanks to the adults who led the stations:  Jennifer Radde, Paula Taliaferro, Laura Doland, Sarah Dunham, Ann Green, Lesley Turek, Julie Dilley and Karen DeVore.

First Reconciliation Retreat
The retreat is Saturday, February 11, 1-4 pm. Registration forms were distributed at the parent meeting and are still being accepted.  Questions? Call 875-9345. All students receiving reconciliation for the first time are expected to attend. Family First Reconciliation will be held Tuesday, February 28, at 6:30 pm.

Life Nights for January, 6-8pm on Sundays

Jan. 22nd                    Blindside…Teaching Office in The Church: the Magisterium
Jan. 29th                       All For One, One For All…The Church as a Sign and Instrument of Unity

Mark your calendars & get your registration in for Life Teen's Annual Retreat:  March 9-11th at Pleasant Hill Outdoor Center.  Cost is $130.

In preparation for Lent, the Catholic Men’s Ministry of the Diocese of Columbus will host the 15th Annual Catholic Men’s Conference on Saturday, March 3.  The Conference will be held at the Lausche Building of the Ohio State Expo Center from 8:00 am till 2:00 pm.  This is an encouraging opportunity to help you increase your spiritual strength; add new life to your relationships with your spouse, family and friends; re-energize your soul as you deepen your love of Christ and his Church with other Catholic Men of the Diocese.

I encourage all men of the parish to ask God to give you the strength to open up the door to  your heart and allow the Holy Spirit to  come into your heart and transform your life and allow you to Become the Man God Created you to Be.

Registration forms can be found in the Gathering Space or by visiting www.coumbuscatholicmen.com. 

2012 Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference 
"Clothed with strength and dignity,
becoming a worthy woman of God" (Proverbs 31: 10-31)
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Ohio State Expo Center
Lausche Building
717 E. 17th Ave, Columbus Ohio 43211
Speakers include: Leah Darrow from the reality TV show Americas Next Top Model , Gloria Anderson author of The Heart of Jesus from the Domestic Church, Jenn Giroux from Human Life International, and Yvonne Florczak-Seeman founder of Love from Above.  Please visit www.columbuscatholicwomen.com for the full details of this conference and speakers.

Fr. Shonebarger Memorial
A memorial fund has been established in Fr. Tom Shonebarger’s name for those who would like to make a monetary donation to honor him.  Fr. Tom was pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish from 1977-1987, and shepherded us through tremendous growth as a parish family.  Please look for an envelope in your pew, and place your offering in the collection basket.

The Knights of Columbus at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, council 4603 would like to sincerely thank everyone who chose to participate in the Giving Tree 2011!  You were responsible for the smiles and excitement gleaming from the faces of many children.  Wow!  The gift of giving does not get any better than this.  The following organizations would also like to express their appreciation:

• St. Vincent DePaul - Children and a few adults
• Crossroads Methodist Church on the Hilltop - All Children
• Jericho - Homeless Adults & Children
• Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare - Young Adult

 With the above organizations, we distributed over 350 gifts such as clothing, toys, Mp3 players, and bikes to name a few.  Although it was a lot of work, it was gratifying to see the excitement on the faces as the gifts were delivered.  God Bless each and every one of you!

Parish Women’s Association

Next meeting: Wednesday, January 25

Parish Life Center                        

Rosary begins at 6:45 p.m., meeting at 7:00 p.m., followed by a Pizza Party and games.  All women of the parish are invited and encouraged to attend.   

Bring with you new ideas for a New Year!  Questions?  Call Andrea Adler, President, 305-1108.                                 

Next weekend, January 28-29, members of St. Vincent de Paul Society will be at the doors of the church to accept your donations for those in need.  Since our last 5th Sunday Collection at the end of October 2011, we have spent a little over $5,600 for persons who needed assistance.  We have paid electric bills, gas bills, water bills, helped with rent and mortgage payments, paid health insurance premium, paid for car brakes, purchased groceries and gasoline, paid a fee for furniture , purchased Christmas gift cards for children, purchased gift cards for a homeless center, and twinned with other St. Vincent de Paul conferences to help clients.   

We have also provided  items to families and individuals from our storage garage.

Members and parishioners continue to make sack lunches for the homeless each month, the Saturday Morning Food Delivery program delivers bags of food to families on the Westside twice a month, and members visit persons in nursing homes and those who are homebound.

As always, we welcome parishioners who are interested in finding out more about St. Vincent de Paul to attend our meetings which are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Parish Life Center.  Also, anyone who is in need, or anyone who knows someone who is in need, may contact Frank Schmidt at 871-1988.  All contacts are confidential.  We are truly grateful to Our Lady parishioners for their continued support of our ministry!

Dear Parishioners,

                I have been asked to publish in the bulletin the “State of the Parish” address I delivered last weekend at all the Masses.  Please reflect on this along-side the article I wrote for the latest issue of the Parish Newsletter which you received in the mail.  Both presentations offer us some “grist for the mill” as we continue to answer God’s call to establish his Kingdom in our parish life.

15 January 2012
“State of the Parish Address”
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish
Grove City, Ohio

                This weekend I would like to begin a tradition at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish; a tradition that I instituted also at other parishes where I served as Pastor: an annual “State of the Parish” address.  This address gives us an opportunity to reflect on our life together in Christ, where we have been over the past year, and some vision for our direction in the future.  The scriptures for this weekend provide a great context for this reflection, so let us begin with looking at our readings.

                There is a story in Mark’s Gospel about Jesus healing a man of leprosy.  After Jesus touches him, and lays hands on him, he instructs him to go to the priests and tell them that he was made clean according to what Moses proscribed.  The method Moses proscribed for pronouncing a leper clean is in the book of Leviticus, and it’s a fairly lengthy and involved protocol, but it is one that Jesus himself did not follow, especially in touching the leper.  There’s an important lesson here in Jesus’ action of healing – taking the risk of touching others with the healing and loving and forgiving power of God is more important than following any protocol.

                This story is a good illustration of a key controversy in the gospels; a controversy between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day, who were often offended by Jesus’ exercise of his power because it challenged the system that maintained their place and comfort in the community.  Jesus was constantly pointing out that the law was made for the sake of the people, and not the other way around.  He wanted the priests and other leaders to learn that people were always more important than the religious system.

                A similar theme is present in today’s readings also, because apparently this is how God has acted throughout human history, and how God continues to act in our lives today.  God does not seem to follow any particular protocol or formula in making himself known or in calling people and gifting them for service.  There is no predicting when God will come or how the visit might occur or whom God will call.

                God can call the apprentice instead of the master, in the middle of the night while he is sleeping, as God did with Samuel.

                God can call an ordinary fellow out of a crowd of people at 4:00 in the afternoon, as God did with Andrew….
                ….or two fishermen busy cleaning their nets, as God did with James and John….

                …or a tax collector hiding up a tree, as God did with Zacheus….

                …or a Roman soldier at his post, as God did with the centurion on his watch at the crucifixion…

                …or an atheist walking down a crowded street in mid-town Manhattan, as God did with Thomas Merton…

                …or an older woman in her 70’s, as God did with Mother Theresa.

                In fact, the invitation we heard in today’s Gospel – the call of Jesus to “come and see” can come to any of us, at any time, anywhere.  God isn’t shackled by any protocol, and doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in waiting until all is calm and bright in our lives, or until we have all our ducks in a row, to make a visit.

                Further proof of the surprising and wondrous ways of God stands before you this evening/morning.  A priest by God’s grace, I was called by God to be your pastor last July.  And I am thrilled to be here with you.   It has been an exciting year. As I have been getting to know you and learning about everything that goes on in our parish, I would describe that state of our parish as vibrant, active, welcoming, caring, and growing.  Let me elaborate on this general description by considering our blessings, our stewardship, and our challenges.

                First, our blessings, and they are abundant.  Check out some of our numbers:

• There are 2,710 families in our parish;
• This adds up to 5,935 individual parishioners;
• 128 new families registered in the parish this past year;
• We celebrated 50 infant baptisms, 23 adult baptisms, and received 10 adults into the church by profession of faith this past year;
• And we celebrated 80 First Holy Communions, 61 Confirmations, 13 weddings and 30 funerals;
• 405 children are enrolled in our parish school, and 280 children in our Parish School of Religion;
• According to our October Count, about 1, 912 people participate in Sunday Mass each week;
• And our records indicate that more than 1300 parishioners are involved actively in one or more of our parish ministries, including:
• Parish council
• Athletic Association
• Finance Board
• School Board
• PSR program
• Our Lady School, Preschool and Latchkey
• PTO
• Life Teen and Edge
• Sunday Pre-school and Nursery
• RCIA
• Children’s Liturgy of the Word
• Family Enrichment
• Prayer Chain
• Marriage preparation
• Choirs, cantors and music ministries
• Ministry to sick and homebound
• Bingo
• Disciples for Life
• Liturgical ministries, including lectors, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, greeters, sacristans, church cleaners
• Health and Wellness ministries
• Knights of Columbus
• Landscape Committee
• Market Day and Scrip
• Meals on Wheels
• Bereavement
• Communion to the sick
• MOMS
• Parish Women’s association
• Respect Life
• St. Vincent de Paul society
• Saintly Stitchers
• Silver Streaks
• Stewardship Committee

                Second, our many blessings reach out to us as a call to stewardship, to receiving God’s gifts gratefully, tending to them responsibly, and sharing our time, talents and treasure with our brothers and sisters.   We see every day the vast number of parishioners who give freely and generously of their time and talent in service and ministry within our parish life.   What we do not always see, but is nonetheless so very real, is how each one of us carries the call to service and ministry into our daily lives, stewarding God’s blessings at home, at school, in the office, on the road, in the gym, in every relationship and in every  place where we live and work and play.   This is true discipleship; it is why we come to God’s altar every week: to celebrate, discern and be nourished for our unique callings.  There are so many opportunities for ministry and service in our parish family.  Please keep your minds and hearts open to God’s call, and how your time and talent can meet the needs we have.

                Our stewardship also involves sharing our treasure.  Next weekend we will publish our mid-year financial report, which reflects the continuing generosity of our parish family.  We are meeting our obligations within our budget, though those obligations continue to grow as our parish grows.  Later this year we will introduce an annual parish growth appeal that will coincide with the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.  Combining the two of these efforts will allow us to contribute our parish’s fair share to fund the many programs, services and outreach to those in need we can accomplish together as a diocesan family, as well as increase the resources we need as a parish to meet our many needs.
You will hear more about this in the months to come.

                Third, our challenges.   I believe most important moment we have before us, is the invitation by God to more firmly, more fully, more richly, and more deeply ground ourselves in Christ.  For as scripture tells us, “If the Lord does not build the house, then in vain do the builders labor.”  Jesus Christ is, today, calling each one of us individually, and all of us together as a parish, to “come and see” where he lives.  In the Christmas season we just concluded, we heard proclaimed the awesome and world-changing truth that God has chosen to make his dwelling place with us, indeed, within us.  This is where God lives now, in you and in I.   We are all stewards of this great mystery, forever renewed in the Eucharist.  And this is the ultimate focus, the beginning and the end, of my ministry as your priest and your pastor: all is centered in Christ.  Everything we are, everything we have, everything we do, is centered in Christ.  Our work and play, our study and leisure, our building and planting, our prayer and loving, our questioning and grieving, our letting-go and drawing near – may it all be centered in Christ.   I pray that each of us may open our hearts, our minds, our lives to the grace of God, who is building us, living stones, into the temple of his glory.

                There is a final lesson for us in these readings today.  In both Samuel’s and Andrew’s case, and often enough in other examples for us to take note,  the call of God / the invitation of Jesus had to be pointed out by someone else.  It took Eli to help Samuel understand that it was God he was hearing; and it took John the Baptist to show Andrew, “Look, there goes the Lamb of God!”  Let us do this for each other.

Love,
Fr. Dan

Job Search Training Program…
This program will be conducted by Mr. Tom Nann of Stewardship Employment Ministries  (www.stewardshipemploy.org).  This program has been coordinated by our Parish Council to address the needs of those in our parish and in the wider Grove City community who are seeking meaningful employment.

Classes will begin on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 and continue for an 8 to 10 week series.  Tom has generally continued the series once the first run is completed so that if someone comes in week 4, he or she can go through to the end and then pick up the first 3 in the next iteration.  All classes will be held on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in Swickard Hall of Our Lady Center.  Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to: the job search process, resume writing, interview techniques (by phone and in person), company research, networking, mentoring, negotiation, and job fair preparations.

OFFERTORY FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 1, 2012:

Envelope Offerings  (477) $16,848.50
Loose Check Offerings (11) 745.00
Loose Offerings       358.07
$17,951.57

We thank all those who are sacrificing for the work of the Lord.

MONEY COUNTERS FOR JANUARY 29, 2012 – TEAM #3