February 27, 2005

Pastor’s Perspective 

*Twenty Five Years!

  I personally want to congratulate you on the 25th anniversary milestone.  A pastor always inherits the fruits of so many faith-filled people and leaders.  I am grateful for all who have helped Saints John and Paul Parish stay the course.  From a parish-in-formation to a full-fledged parish with its own church to whatever the future will bring as this area continues to develop and grow.  May the Holy Spirit guide us into that future. 

*Fridays of Lent

  Our focus on Fridays of Lent continues this week with the soup and bread meal, a speaker, and stations of the cross.  Let’s continue to make the Fridays of Lent a common day of penance, no matter what we are doing individually. 

*Together in Faith Process

  The Parish Council handed in to the vicariate our response to the Together in Faith process.   Each parish of the Archdiocese is being asked to look at the data connected to the parish and come up with various scenarios for how the parish will face the future.  Since the parish council is in the midst of a more extensive goal-setting process, we have been putting more time into moving that along. 

  The Together in Faith process had three focal points—sacramental nature of the parish, the strategic nature of the parish (how we handle the various areas of Christian service, religious formation, and community involvement), and the sustainable nature of the parish (finances but also staffing, and volunteers).  Sacramentally we are at a limit for the number of weekend liturgies and in the medium term will be determined by continued growth and how we handle that growth in the given worship space.  Strategically we have to find ways to grow in all our areas of outreach and formation.  And Sustainability will need to deal both with long-term needs such as increased worship space and a permanent multi-purpose building, as well as with the land we purchased adjacent to us for potential expansion. 

   Fr. Buersmeyer 

25 years ago… 

SS. John & Paul Parish

was officially designated

a parish on

February 29, 1980 

The beginning of SS. John & Paul Parish Community dates back to June of 1977 when St. Clement of Rome in Romeo began a mass station in the Washington Elementary School to determine the need for a new parish in the Washington area. After great effort and dedication by many people in the area, growth continued and the need was recognized. 

In December, 1978, the diocese appointed Fr. Ronald Sayes to the community which was granted the status of “parish-in-formation”. This led to the creation of a steering committee and formation of Religious Education, Christian Service and Worship Commissions. On February 29, 1980, SS. John & Paul was officially designated a parish. 

After many long months of drawing plans and countless hours given by parishioners on a building committee, construction was finally started in April of 1984. SS. John & Paul’s new church building was opened for Christmas mass in December, 1984 and was officially dedicated on February 10, 1985 by then Archbishop Edmund C. Szoka. 

Thirst….

There is a thirst in every human heart. 
Each of us is like that lonely Samaritan woman.
We are thirsting for something,
something that will satisfy all our longings.
But often we search in the wrong places.
We draw water from many wells:
the water of praise to quench our thirst for
self-esteem;
the water of success to quench our thirst for
importance;
the water of pleasure to quench our thirst for
joy…
But we still get thirsty.
Only God can give us what we are looking for.
He alone can cause a spring to well up inside
us.
The water from this spring will sustain us
in our journey to the Promised Land of eternal
life. 

“Food for Thought”

Fridays during Lent

6:00-7:30 p.m.  

March 4 

Soup dinner at 6:00 p.m. followed by Connie Teschler of Macomb County Interfaith

Volunteer Caregivers at 6:30 p.m., concluding

with Stations of the Cross at 6:45 p.m. 

If you would like to donate soup, bread or help set up or clean up,

please sign up on the poster in the hallway to the Parish Center.

Thank you! 

Taize prayer 

During the weeks of Lent, we have scheduled two times each week for you to experience this unique and beautiful form of prayer.  Each time we gather, there will be time for singing (a repetitive form of song that is easily learned), group prayer, scripture and silent meditation.  We will use two or three different stations of the cross each week as a way to further the meditations.  

The weekly schedule and times of prayer varies each week and is listed below: 

Week 3

Tuesday, March 1, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 3, 6:30 p.m. 

Week 4

Wednesday, March 9, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 11, 6:00 p.m. 

Week 5

Wednesday, March 16, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 17, 6:30 p.m. 

Week 6

Monday, March 21, 11:00 a.m. 

Little Rock Scripture Study

TOPIC:  

The Passion and Resurrection 
Narratives of Jesus 

WHEN:  

Mondays from 6-7 p.m. on the following weeks:  February 14, 21, 28, March 14, 21 April 4, 11 

WHERE:  Parish Center 

WHO:  All scripture lovers, young and old alike 

This study compares the particular insights found in the passion and resurrection accounts of the four

gospels. Examining these events, the core of our faith, will challenge you to incorporate both the pain of the cross and the hope of the resurrection into daily living. Please register  by signing up on the board in the hallway going to the Parish Center. Cost for the books is $10.00 

CHRISTIAN FAITH FORMATION

2004-2005

Religious Formation

Program 

Early Childhood — Sunday

(ages 3-4-5 years)

During 9:30 a.m. Mass

Sessions:  Mar. 6, 13, 20 

Grades 1-6 — Tuesday

4:45-6:00 p.m. & 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Sessions:  Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22 

Grades 7-8 — Sunday

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Sessions: Feb. 27

Mar. 6, 13, 20 

FIRST

 EUCHARIST

PREPARATION 

Parent /Child Session 

Wednesday, March 2   or

Thursday, March 3

6:30 p.m. 

This evening will involve all families with children preparing for First Eucharist in bread baking,  While the bread is baking, they will compare the Last Supper and the Mass to help the children to better understand the relationship between the two.  The children will then have the opportunity to taste the unconsecrated bread and wine.  Afterwards, parents and children will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the reception of First Communion. 

Be sure to bring your ingredients:  1/2 cup flour, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/8 tsp. salt, 3/4 tsp. sugar, 1 1/2 tbsp. shortening.  

And most especially….be sure all hands are washed before coming.   

Loved in our sins

Jn. 4:5-42 

      Jesus’ approach to the Samaritan woman was ever so gentle.  Had he forced himself  into her life, she would have immediately closed up.  He began with a request for a drink of water.  His heart was already open to her.  With that she opened her heart to him.  A wonderful dialogue took place.  Jesus treated her with great respect, without a hint of judgment or condemnation.   Right from the start he was looking into her heart, yet he did not make her feel bad.  She didn’t feel judged.  Rather, she felt accepted and understood.

       No one ever paid such close and loving attention to her before.  Jesus explained her life to her more sympathetically than she’d been able to explain it to herself.  Before she realized it, she had shared with him the whole story of her sad and confused life. Jesus was able to see into her secret being, into that part of her which longed for true love, which was pure and innocent, thirsting to be seen as a person and not as an object.  She was a deeply wounded woman, wounded by a series of broken relationships. 

      Christ meets us where we are at.  He says to us what he said to that lost woman.   ‘If you only knew the gift God wants to give you.’  We find it very difficult  to admit our poverty, weakness, and sins.  We then are unable to receive the ‘gift of God’ Jesus wishes to give us.  

      It doesn’t do us much good to be loved for being perfect.  We need to be accepted and loved precisely as sinners.  Only when we have experienced this kind of love can we know what it is. Being loved like that gives one surprising courage and energy. It puts us in touch with our true nature, and to touch our true nature is a kind of home-coming.  

Parents —  update while you wait… 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CATHOLIC?

Tuesdays:  March 1, 8, 15 

 4:45-6:00 PM  and repeated at 6:30-7:45 PM

  For anyone interested in a Catholic update, preparing for a sacrament, or   with questions to ask.  Presenter: Fr. Dave Buersmeyer in the Church.

Easter food drive 

  The Samaritan House annual Easter Basket and Easter Dinner Drive is now underway. The intention of this program is to provide filled Easter baskets to all young children whose families are clients and to provide the family with the means to make Easter dinner. 

  This year volunteers are expected to fill 280 dinner baskets and are in need of the following items: Brown sugar, boxed potatoes (scalloped or au gratin), Jell-o, canned fruit, coffee, cake mix, cake frosting, applesauce, mayonnaise (small jar), Easter egg coloring kit. Fifteen dollar gift certificates or cash donations are needed for hams. 

  Please bring your donations to Samaritan House by March 18. Business hours are Tuesday and Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Samaritan House is located at 58944 Van Dyke at 27 Mile in the Alward’s Plaza. If these days/times are inconvenient, items can be dropped off at SS. John & Paul CLEARLY MARKED SAMARITAN HOUSE. 

Samaritan House plans

10th anniversary 

  The Samaritan House will hold its 10th Anniversary Gala Celebration at the Capital Banquet Center, 12350 31 Mile Road, on Friday, April 22. Tickets, which are available in the parish office, are $75 each and include valet parking, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, dinner (prepared by Chef John), dessert and dancing to the music of Gateway Orchestra. “It Take Two” will provide music during cocktail hour and dinner. Tickets must be purchased by April 1. This event is black tie optional. 

Operation Rice Bowl

The woman at the well 

  For what do we thirst? As we continue our journey with Operation Rice Bowl this week, we learn about people who hunger and thirst for food and drink. We pray that God may enlighten us to see some of the vanities we hold as necessities. We fast to call to mind the greater hunger and thirst we have for what matters in life; good relationships rather than material possessions. We give alms to aid those whose hunger and thirst can be satisfied with our assistance.  

St. Clement to hold blood drive 

  St. Clement of Rome in Romeo will be sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive on Sunday, March 6, from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. St. Clement is located at 343 S. Main between 31 and 32 Mile Roads. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 752-6804. 

Recycle your inkjet cartridges 

  SS. Peter and Paul Warming Center is partnered with AAA Environmental in an inkjet cartridge recycling fundraiser. SS. Peter and Paul will provide preaddressed, postage paid envelopes to send the cartridges to the recycling center. The bags are specially marked with SS. Peter and Paul’s bar code so they get 50 cents credit for each cartridge returned. The center will not accept Dell or Epson cartridges. If you would like to recycle your cartridges, please pick up a recycling bag in the parish office. 

TEEN NEWS

Attention teens (grade 9-12). Please join us for our meeting this Sunday, February 27, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

¨         Teen lock-in (Grade 9-12)

  Friday, Mar. 11 until Saturday,

   Mar. 12. Watch the bulletin for more details. 

¨         Meeting Sunday, March 13

6:30-8:30 p.m. with “special” reconciliation service for teens. 

¨         Meeting Sunday, March 20

6:30-8:30 p.m. Teens doing last hour of the session with 8th grade. 

¨         Tuesday, March 22

  Teens doing Stations of the Cross for grades 1-6. 

¨         Good Friday, March 25:

  Teens doing Stations of the Cross 

Beginning Spanish

class offered

  The North Macomb Vicariate Cultural Diversity Team is sponsoring a conversational Spanish class beginning on Thursday, March 3, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at St. Clement of Rome in Romeo. The class will run for eight weeks and costs $60 which will be collected on the first night of class.

  This initial step to learn a new language will be interesting and fun! It could even help us strengthen our sense of community. We will better understand the challenges of learning a new language and make new friends in the process.

  If you would like more information, contact Emily Diaz Torres at 586.484.9138 or Maureen Aman at 586.242.4250. 

Meijer community rewards

  Meijer’s is running a new promotion in March: for every new member that signs up for the Meijer Community Rewards program in March 2005, the parish will earn $3, in addition to our monthly earnings! Ten parishioners need to enroll and use their Community Rewards card by April 30 in order for us to earn this bonus. If you haven’t signed up yet for this free fundraising opportunity, please do so this month. There are two ways to register: 

¨         enroll online at Meijer.com/rewards, click “Join”, then “Meijer Guest Card”

OR

¨         Pick up an application at the parish office

¨         Our organization number is 617883 

The rest is easy—just swipe your Rewards card before the last item is scanned. Meijer’s does the rest. There is no cost to you or the parish to join or use this program. Funds raised in 2004-05 are earmarked for the purchase of a new parish sign on 28 Mile Road. Thank you for supporting our parish. 

2004 statements 

  2004 contribution statements were mailed to all parishioners who have contributed $250 or more during 2004. If you did not receive a statement but would like one, please call the parish office (586) 781-9010 and we will be happy to send you one. Please note, your 2004 CSA donation is not included on your statement. You will receive a statement directly from the Archdiocese of Detroit .

In Sympathy

The faith community of SS. John & Paul extends sympathy and prayers to the family and friends of George Lorenzo, whose funeral was held at our parish on 
February 19, 2005.

Highlights of Christian Service Commission

Meeting on February 9, 2005

Samaritan House

¨         A list of pantry needs for March and Easter baskets and dinners was given. It is posted on the “Community” bulletin board

¨         SSJP will do Focus: HOPE food delivery in April

¨         Information was given regarding the Samaritan House 10th Gala Anniversary celebration 4/22/05

¨         Upcoming fundraisers including “Heart Sale”, flower sale, golf outing were discussed

Parish Nurse Ministry

¨         Parish nurses have begun home visits

¨         Blood pressures will not be taken the last weekend in March because it is Easter weekend

¨         Christian Service will sponsor an Emergency Preparedness workshop on 4/20/05 at 7:00 p.m. All types of emergencies and how to deal with them will be discussed

¨         Our next blood drive will be Thursday, 6/23/05. In the meantime, donors may donate at the St. Clement blood drive on 3/6/05. We will begin to hold three blood drives per year—one in November, one during Lent, and one in the summer

Soup Kitchen

¨         Salvation Army has requested that the number of volunteers preparing and serving the meal be reduced from eight to six. The possibility of adding another day (one per month) to utilize more volunteers was discussed.

Macomb County Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers

¨         A representative from MCIVC will be here to meet with those interested in becoming liaisons for SSJP and this organization on 2/10/05

A Friend’s House lunches

¨         Enough volunteers have come forward to cover all March lunches

“Mundo Divertido” Day Care Program

¨         This vicariate sponsored program will continue this summer at St. Clement if two more people are willing to come forward to volunteer in a supervisory capacity four weeks during the program from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

¨         Will include non-Hispanic children

Support the Catholic Relief Services Collection 

Who is Jesus in Disguise? 

·          One of the 43, 000 people who die of hunger and its consequences every day

·          One of the 4.4 billion people living in developing countries where

·          basic sanitation is often lacking

·          safe drinking water is scarce

·          adequate housing is a challenge

·          modern health services are almost non-existent

·          education beyond a fifth grade level is rarely available for  the majority of people

·          One of the estimated 35 million refugees and displaced persons living in often dangerous and squalid conditions without the hope of returning home 

Please help by giving to the Catholic Relief Services Collection (formerly the American Bishops’ Overseas Appeal) on the weekend of March 5-6. Your support will go to the Catholic organizations working to bring relief and hope to our brothers and sisters in need. Please use the envelope you received this weekend to make your donation.  

 What Does It Mean To Be Catholic?

Catholic Practices: 

Which are Important and Where

Do They Come From? 

Catholic Beliefs 

about God? Jesus? The Bible?

Creation and Evolution?

Death and Resurrection? 

Catholics Making Social, Ethical, and Personal Decisions:

What Approach Does Our Faith Take?

What Questions Do We Ask? 

WHEN: 

Three Tuesday of March —  March 1, 8, 15

4:45-6:00 p.m. and repeated again at 6:30-7:45 p.m. 

WHERE:

In the Church 

WHO:

Anyone interested in a Catholic update

Those preparing for a sacrament for oneself or a child

Anyone with questions to ask 

Recipes wanted … deadline moved 

The deadline for recipes for our parish cookbook has moved to March 30th.  The recipe form printed in the bulletin can be used to submit your favorite dish recipe.  We need 50 more recipes to meet our quota...so please help us out by sending yours in as soon as possible. Thank You 

Together in Ministry

Youth Ministry

Why is it important to be an adult mentor?

Our Youth Ministers say…    

·          Working with teens is a special and unique opportunity to minister to God’s children.  As an adult mentor I feel it is important to “LISTEN” to the teens and to hear what they are saying, and then to help them find what they might be searching for.  Teens love to feel respected, needed, and helpful.  Teens need a lot of positive reinforcement.  They need to know that the choices they make are their own, and that we as adults will be there to guide them, give them praise and advice when needed, but that our purpose is not to judge them. It is often up to adults to help teens to look at who they are, discover where their strengths are, and to see how a strong faith can help them each and everyday of their lives.  Our teens at SS. John and Paul are SIMPLY AMAZING!  They come together to be supportive and encouraging of one another and to share their faith, hope and love for one another.  In today’s modern era, it is essential that adults invest their time and energy into our church of tomorrow. (Karen Peters)  

·          Teens need someone who is willing to take the time to relate to their issues...their concerns.  It is so easy for adults to get wrapped up  in every day living, taking care of the house, going to work, paying the bills...that we sometimes lose sight of the concerns of our teens.  By being involved with our youth, we help provide a voice that reflects our values in the hope  that they care enough about their beliefs to carry their faith into adulthood.  It is all too easy for the teens to lose sight of their faith in this modern era where the internet rules, and what is acceptable politically and socially is directly contrary to our faith.  So I stay involved with the teens in their faith development, keeping hope alive for our Church’s future, our kids.  I hope to open their eyes to a larger world.  They have so much energy and idealism...it is worth helping them to find their generous spirits and to then give them opportunities to share it.  And, selfishly, the kids do keep you young!  It’s a pleasure spending time with them. (Laura Hester)  

·          We feel very blessed to be working with the teens as  positive role models.   We have a wonderful group of teens active in our parish.  The teens like to use their helpful hands in participating in community and parish-sponsored events.  The meaningful experience they receive from these events will help them grow into the future active adults of our community.  Having a teen ministry gives the teens a place that they know they are always welcome.  Seeing other teens involved, even in attending mass, gives them a sense of belonging.  Watching our teens grow in faith gives us a wonderful feeling of pride to be involved in this ministry.  

·          MORE NEXT WEEK!  

Saturday and Sunday

February 26-27, 2005

Helen Guastini by Family & Friends

Ida Lancia by Family

Joe Talley by Pennington Family

Bob Henk by Sturm Family 

Monday, February 28, 2005

Rudi Dietrich by Giffin Family 

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Gerald Hatcher by wife 

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

Helen Scheff by Stec Family 

Saturday and Sunday

March 5-6, 2005

Fr. Jerome Krieg by Family

Lorraine Darga by Family

Camille Minjoe by Cracchiola Family

Eldon Gregory by C. Gregory & Kevin