August 7, 2005 

Pastor’s Perspective  

*Our New Director of Liturgical Music

  Welcome to Al Eppens, our new director of liturgical music.  Please make him welcome.  He has a wealth of experience and is eager to see our singing and involvement in liturgical music grow.  In fact, he does not want to be called the ‘music minister,’ because he believes each of us who celebrates and every person involved in any way in music is, in fact, a music minister.  His role is to coordinate, plan, and encourage.  Welcome to him. 

*Missionary Appeal Next Weekend

  Our annual missionary appeal is next weekend at all Masses.  Fr. Josiah K’okal, a priest from the Consolata Missionaries who is working in Venezuela, will be with us to talk about their work and needs.  They are a more recent order, founded in 1901 but have over 1000 priests and brothers and over 1200 sisters in the order.  They work all over the world, bringing the good news of Jesus and help communities build health centers, start agricultural projects, fight hunger and illiteracy and much more.  They are an outstanding witness to the good that missionaries can do for and on behalf of the Church. Please be generous to them. 

*Of Magic, Faith and Christian Maturity (Part Two) 

  Last week I suggested that many adults, not just children, maintain an immature worldview, one that is more akin to magic than faith.  But what about our Catholic faith?  Doesn’t it fit precisely within this magical worldview with its emphasis on miracles, on a reality that is unseen, on its practices of novenas, candle lighting and other emotionally based pieties?  Yes and no.  Yes, it can fit within it.  Indeed we have Catholics who practice a magical faith, who send chain-letter type prayers, who negotiate with rather than pray to God, who bury St. Joseph statues upside down thinking it will sell a house, who spread rosaries in trees as though the weather is affected and other silly superstitious practices, who are enamored by angels more than by a relationship to Jesus Christ, who think rosaries get turned to gold and such are a sign of favor from God, who put a lot of emotional energy into marginal practices because they seem to them to be supernatural.  Historically the Catholic Church has had a certain genius for connecting such people to Christian faith without destroying their emotional base.  The devotion to Mary and the saints has had a large role in this.  In that sense, the Church has provided a safe haven for a more magic-based approach to life, all the while trying to connect such people to a more authentic faith-based approach. 

  A mature, faith-based approach, like the magic-based one, also believes that an excessively deterministic and rationalistic view of life that avoids the mystery at the heart of life is misguided.  It is not at all disdainful of the spiritual yearning and quest that youth and adults alike have.  Unlike a magic-based approach, however, a mature faith does not try to manipulate that mystery or control it.  Instead it graciously surrenders to the ground of that mystery we address as God.  It recognizes the sacramental dimension to all of life.   

  In this way we know ourselves as created and gifted with freedom.  We share in the ongoing creation and fulfillment of the universe, but nevertheless are still creatures who are called to worship, surrender, and trust.  We recognize that the heart of evil is not some angelic type counter beings who control us.  Rather, the heart of evil lies within our refusal to surrender to God, in the choices we make that hurt, harm and neglect others, in the way we acquiesce to the evil we see happening.  

  Moreover, a mature faith acknowledges the surprising graciousness, even miraculousness, which surrounds us but does not assign it to a separate supernatural realm.  It sees such graciousness as intimately connected to the nitty-gritty of this life, especially when we are willing to risk our own lives on the pattern of Jesus’ own life, death and resurrection.  Nor are the chaos, terror and evil of life to be feared, manipulated, negotiated with or charmed away with talismans.  Rather, these realities are to be named for what they are and resisted in hope, just as Jesus did.   

This is the heart of the Catholic sacramental approach to life.  Out of the ordinariness of life, good and bad, we discover a gracious connection to the God who unites his very self to all that makes us human and all that makes life both wondrous and terrible.  The sacramental approach to life allows who we are and what we are experiencing to be united to the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ.  It refuses to block out the wondrous mystery and terrible evil we discover in life and equally refuses to try to manipulate that mystery or ignore that evil.  Instead we are invited to risk our lives by uniting ourselves to that gracious mystery, trusting in God’s ever-present love, knowing that death does not have the final word. 

  But do we really want to live within such a faith-based adult reality?  For many it is uncomfortable facing the challenges that a current, scientific understanding of life presents to people of faith.  Fearful of the clear secularism surrounding us, for some it is easier to stay with a naïve pre-scientific worldview.  It is not easy to acknowledge, much less take some responsibility for, the inequities and injustices that perpetuate the evil within this world.  At times it can seem much safer to try to block out all that we think is wrong with this world, hoping that all things will magically be made better.     

   Isn’t it interesting how popular both angelic and demonic beings have become in people’s imaginative worlds?  We can accept them because they aren’t all-powerful and so are more than us but like us.  The same for children with witches and wizards—more than us but like us.  At the same time, for many people God has become connected to overly-structured, institutional religion and authority and so becomes almost suspect.  Some are more willing to put  faith in the existence of angelic beings than an ultimate God-reality.  Some stress strongly a traditional faith yet believe the ultimate mystery can be contained in straightjacket-like statements of belief and behavior. 

  The quest for magic is in essence a yearning for the mystery of life to be real, without wanting to pay the personal cost of the cross.  The belief in scientific rationalism or biblical and other fundamentalisms is a yearning that the mystery of life be explainable in our own terms and ultimately under our own control.  The Catholic sacramental approach affirms strongly the mystery that is at the heart of life and how it can be experienced in the ordinariness of our daily life, responsibilities and commitments.  It is that approach that allows us to hope even in the most horrible of circumstances.   

  We don’t get closer to appreciating that mystery by reading tarot cards or taking psychic readings, by putting our faith in some form or other of magic, by wrapping ourselves tightly in a safe, complete world where all the answers are completely given in a science text, Bible, Catechism, or other dogmatic authority.  We become connected to that mystery by risking our lives on the pattern of Jesus’ paschal mystery: his life, death and resurrection.  That is our Catholic faith at its most challenging, uncomfortable and mature depth. 

  It is great fun to read the Harry Potter-type books and inhabit for awhile an alternative reality that stokes our imaginations and touches our emotions.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Those who see these as an instrument of the devil are precisely guilty of a different type yet equally magic-based view of reality.  At the same time, it is not easy to truly let go of some sort of magical fantasy-based faith as adults.  It is hard work to change ourselves much less this world.  Mature Christian faith is not easy. It involves the cross as well as resurrection.  The Catholic sacramental understanding of life is a way to enter into that mystery of life who is God, not to manipulate it but to be transformed by it. 

   May we say ‘yes’ to all that God offers to us in life.  May we embrace the mystery of life in faith and hope, unafraid of what it will bring.  

  Fr. Buersmeyer

Meet Al Eppens

Director of Liturgical Music 

  It is with great joy and a strong sense of humility that I assume my responsibilities as your musician at this Parish of SS. John and Paul. Having talked at length with three of your prior music directors, I have come to appreciate their fine work over the years, and thank them for working to build the music program which you have today.  I am especially impressed with the dedicated and talented work of the instrumentalists, singers and ringers who have participated over the years.  What a privilege to be invited to be a part of such a community. 

   One of the great passions of my life has always been the music of the Church.  I began singing with the boys choir of St. Matthew Church in Detroit as a second grader; we rehearsed and sang daily.  By sixth grade I began accompanying the choir and playing for Masses.  During High School at Bishop Gallagher, I continued my music at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Harper Woods.  I continued to make music throughout college at Western Michigan University and at the University of Michigan, playing in a wide variety of churches, and studying with many fine musicians.  Although my career paths led me to history and law, I never ceased to find the time to hold a staff position as a church musician.  

   Over time, my priorities became clear and I gradually withdrew from my practice as a downtown Detroit trial lawyer and Special Assistant Attorney General, expanding my involvement in history and music.  For the past ten years I have held a position as adjunct professor of history at Oakland Community College, specializing in teaching World Civilization.  I have published in the area of religious terrorism, and am engaged in ongoing primary research, most recently in the catacombs and Vatican Library in Rome.  I continue to study at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, completing class work in theology and music within the context of the Bachelor of Philosophy program.  My musical vocation has also grown, as I have expanded into the areas of handbells and the diversity of world music, while continuing to study keyboard, voice and improvisation.

   I currently live in New Baltimore with my daughter Cate, who is entering her senior year of high school.  My two sons are both in the U. S. Army, the eldest, Drew, being in Seoul, Korea, and Eric at Fort Benning, Georgia.  Our house was built by my grandfather in the 1920’s, and I am happy to be able to keep it in the family.  We have an English bulldog named Roxanne (Roxy) and a black cat named Jasper, along with a bird and a tarantula. 

   Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your faith community.  I look forward to a mutual sharing of our various gifts and talents, all for the greater glory of God, and can hardly wait to get to know all of you as we journey together.       

From the Music Desk . . .

 Who’s the Music Minister around here anyway? 

  This is the question with which I begin my first column here at the Parish of SS. John and Paul.  The answer would seem to be obvious:  it is me, isn’t it?  Aren’t I the Minister of Music?  Isn’t that my job title?

  To me, the answer is a resounding no.  Ministry is something in which we all have a part, not only the staff of a church.  Overall, I do not make the music happen.  The celebrant, singers, ringers and instrumentalists do that; they are the primary ministers of music, along with everyone in the assembly.  My job is that of coordinator, facilitator, resource and coach. 

  A good analogy is that of the obstetrician.  He or she does not make the baby happen, but rather is a vital part of a successful pregnancy and birth.  If no doctor is around the child will still be born, and could be perfectly healthy, but there is a heightened risk of complications and possible tragedy.  Likewise liturgy, being the work (and the joy) of all of God’s people, will have music whether or not there is a staff musician.  But with someone to direct and coordinate, so much more is possible, and risks are diminished. This frees everyone to make music to God with unrestrained joy and abandon.

  So as Director of Liturgical Music, I am here to serve you in any way which can enrich and deepen your worship life, make your sacraments more meaningful, and foster your full conscious and active participation.  Please tell me what you liked or disliked, what helped you and what made things more difficult, what was challenging and what bored you.  Such a dialogue is crucial, and only by working together can we achieve both the spirit and the substance of excellent liturgical music.  I am indeed privileged to be able to help all of your ministries in every way that I can.  Thank you for calling me to exercise my vocation among you in this place and time. 

CHRISTIAN FAITH FORMATION

2004-2005

Religious Formation

Program 

Early Childhood — Sunday

(ages 3-4-5 years)

During 9:30 a.m. Mass 

Grades 1-6

Monday:  4:45-6:00 p.m.

Tuesday: 4:45-6:00 p.m.

& 6:30-7:45 p.m. 

Grades 7-8

Sunday:  6:30-8:30 p.m. 

STILL

LOOKING FOR

VOLUNTEERS 

 Catechists &

Assistants for:  

Early Childhood-Sun. Morning

(1)       for 3 & 4 yr. olds

(2)       for 4 & 5 yr. olds 

Tuesday Evening:

(1)  Grade 4

(1)       Grade 6 

Monday Afternoon:

(1)       Grade 5

(2)  Grade 6 

Do you feel a slight tug at the heart? Maybe ‘Someone’ is trying to tell you something!  You don’t need to have experience...just a love for our kids and the desire to share your faith with them. You will receive all the support you need.  All catechists and assistants are in teams of two.  For more information call Linda Bauer at  586-781-9488.     

Can you hear the whisper?

Mt. 14:22-33 

      A whisper...it is very personal, very individual.  If we want to get someone’s attention, we whisper.  When someone whispers to us, we have to strain our ears.  A whisper isn’t threatening.  It respects our freedom and we know that the person whispering to us wishes us well.  We are more apt to be open to what they have to say. 

      A whisper is a very fragile thing.  We have to really concentrate to hear it or it can be easily ignored.  It doesn’t take much to drown it out.    God’s voice is like a whisper.  It is the quietest, gentlest voice of all.  It is the voice of love.  Elijah didn’t hear God’s voice in the mighty wind, but in the whisper of a gentle breeze.  God speaks to us in the most hidden parts of our being and in the promptings of our conscience. 

      We live in a very noisy world and if we want to hear God’s voice, we need to create some stillness and quietness.  Elijah had to go to a cave to hear God’s voice.  Many voices clamor for our attention, voices that are loud.  But the voice that is the greatest threat to the gentle voice of God is the voice that comes from within ourselves—the voice of our self-esteem.

     For some who know how to listen, God’s gentle voice can make itself heard even in the midst of a storm.  Over the roar of the wind and the waves, the apostles heard the gentle voice of Jesus saying to them, ‘Courage!  It is I!  Do not be afraid.’

      To live by faith means to trust in God and to rely on his power.  We have to take the risk, and only then can God help us.  In our life today with its emphasis on security and its distrust of the unknown, this doesn’t make faith easy. 

      We are God’s children.  There is an unbreakable bond between us and God.  With this conviction our prayer should produce a kind of lightness in us that makes it possible for us to walk over the waves of danger.  

Courage!  Do not be afraid     

  Like Peter we too have often set out confidently across the waters of life.  But as soon as the winds of trouble rise against us, and the waves of adversity begin to buffet us, we lose our nerve and begin to sink.   

Lord, when our faith falters, as it often does, may we hear your gentle voice saying to us, “Courage! Do not be afraid!”  In that moment, Lord, may your divine power uphold us, calm our fears, steady our nerves, and enable us to steer our little  boat to a place of safety and peace, beyond the wind and the waves. 

Samaritan House Back-to-School Drive 

Last year Samaritan House provided backpacks filled with school supplies to 293 area children.  A greater number of children is anticipated this year and the goal is to prepare 300 backpacks for area children grades K-8.  

Beginning August 2nd, Samaritan House will be accepting donations for their annual “Back-to-School Drive”.  Please drop off any donations by August 17th so backpacks can be filled and ready to distribute to clients on August 19th and 20th.

In addition to backpacks, each child will be given a $15.00 gift certificate to Payless Shoes.  On behalf of all the children who will be able to go to school with some necessary school supplies THANK YOU for your generosity and support.

Back-to-School Wish List:

¨ New backpacks

¨ Spiral notebooks

¨ Pocket folders

¨ Binders

¨ Wide-ruled filler paper

¨ Children’s scissors

¨ Erasable pens

¨ Crayons

¨ Watercolor markers

¨ Colored pencils

¨ White school glue

¨ Glue sticks

¨ 12” rulers

¨ Cash to purchase gift certificates

Donations can be dropped off at Samaritan House at 58944 VanDyke in the old Alward’s Plaza on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 AM – 6 PM and Fridays from 10 AM – 2 PM.  If these days and times are not convenient, items can be dropped off here at church, clearly marked “Samaritan House”. 

Support group for widowed 

  Losing a spouse is one of the most life altering experiences that life has to offer.  Going out into a safe, comfortable, friendly environment is instrumental with healing and new growth as we enter our new life.

  Coordinated with “Widowed Friends”, the SS. John and Paul community would like to create a group within our area to help support and address the spiritual, educational and social needs of all widowed.  For interest, comments or questions please call Sue at (248) 651-3411. 

Faith in Jesus… 

  God is always present to us, always with us. Elijah recognizes Yahweh’s presence, even though it is only a subtle whisper.  The disciples, especially Peter, are eager to believe that Jesus is with them, despite the unbelievable storm around them. 

  When the disciples see Jesus coming towards them on the water, Peter decides to take a big risk.  Trusting Jesus, he steps out onto the lake despite the storm and begins to walk towards Jesus.   But when the wind frightens him, he begins to sink because he realizes the danger of what he is doing—actually walking on water in the middle of a storm.  His faith is not strong enough to direct  him to the One who will give him any help he needs—Jesus.

  When was your faith strong enough to direct you to ask Jesus for help, even though you were very frightened?

  If you saw Jesus standing on the water in the middle of a storm, and he asked you to come walk on the water with him, would you be afraid to try?  Would you do it?

LOOKING FOR… 

Have you ever put together a road rally or been on a committee that planned one? If you have, you are just the person the Hospitality Committee is looking for. 

  We would like to offer a Parish Road Rally in October but need volunteers to come forward and put it together for us.  The committee will help  with planning and the hospitality afterwards. If you are the person(s) we are looking for, please call JoAnne at the parish office. Thank you! 

Golf committee

needs you… 

  First as a player—registration forms are in the literature racks and elsewhere in this bulletin. Please don’t make us wait…register now so that we can better plan this annual event. Golf outing is August 28 at Bruce Hills Golf Course at 1:00 p.m.

  Secondly—we need prizes for our raffle. If you have any you could donate, please bring it to the parish office. Thank you! 

Fr. John West memorial donation 

  SS. John & Paul gratefully acknowledges receipt of a memorial donation by the West family in Fr. John West’s name. After much thought about how the donation should be used, it was decided to ask the local food pantries what they are most in need of. The Samaritan House will use this donation to purchase badly needed office furniture and possibly a digital camera for their new website. We thank the West family for this opportunity to memorialize Fr. John by enabling Samaritan House to better serve our neighbors in need. 

Soup kitchen news 

  Thanks to everyone who participated and donated food for the Salvation Army lunch on June 21. Once again the Soup Kitchen volunteers outdid themselves. We served a delicious spaghetti lunch. Our next meal served will be August 16. We will serve a spaghetti lunch with salad and fresh fruit. Donated items should be delivered to the parish kitchen before August 16. Please mark your bags SOUP KITCHEN.

  If you would like to make a food donation, please call Pat Sagert at 586.781.7035 or Barbara Jarzembski at 586.336.1450 and they will let you know what is needed. The volunteer preparers and servers will meet on August 16 at SS. John & Paul at 8:30 a.m. to car pool to the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen. God bless all those who donate food items and those who prepare and serve the lunch for your generosity in helping those less fortunate. 

Help us help others

  HELP in September!  We are in need of several kind-hearted individuals who could provide 10 simple box lunches for the ten Alzheimer’s patients and team at A Friend’s House in Romeo.  Lunches need to be made, packaged and delivered.  Serving lunches will not be required.  SS. John & Paul will provide the funds necessary to purchase the food as well as any materials that are needed (Styrofoam boxes, silverware, etc.).  The lunches need to be delivered at approximately 11:30 AM to A Friend’s House, located in the Agape Center on the grounds of St. Clement parish in Romeo. The specific dates we need assistance are: 

    Tuesday:  Thursday:

    September 6  September 1

    September 20  September 8

    September 22

    September 29 

This is something that can be accomplished by one individual per date.  However, a team of two or three would make the process even easier!  It won’t require a lot of time and it WILL make a big difference in the lives of some of our community’s elderly.  Please call Kathy at 781-9010 if you are interested in assisting in this most worthwhile project. 

MANDATORY MEETING

For all those attending

World Youth Day

 Week-end! 

There will be a MANDATORY meeting for all the teens and their parents who will be attending the World Youth Day Pilgrimage.    It is VERY important that all teens and parents attend this meeting to hear what is being planned, what will be expected of your teen, when we will be leaving, what time we will need to be picked up, etc.  The meeting will be held at the church on August 9th at 7:00 p.m.  If you should have any questions, please give Karen Peters a call at 586-781-9488. 

August

Senior cards
Mon., Aug. 1 & 15, 11:30 a.m. 

Monthly Food Drive
Sat/Sun., Aug. 6/7 at all masses

World Youth Day meeting
Tues., Aug 9, 7:00 p.m.

Samaritan House Back-to-School Drive
August 2-17

Family RCIA
Sun., Aug. 14, 10:30 a.m.

Feast of the Assumption
Mon., Aug. 15, mass at 7:00 p.m 

Soup kitchen at Salvation Arm
Tues., Aug. 16, call office to volunteer 

World Youth Day Weekend
Fri-Sun., Aug. 19-21, call to RSVP

 Coffee & donuts after masses
Sun., Aug. 21 

Hospitality Committee meeting
Mon, Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m. 

Taize prayer/conversation/refreshments
Tues., Aug. 23, 6:30 p.m.

 Parent/candidate Confirmation meeting
Sat., Aug. 27, 6:00 p.m. 

4th Annual Golf Outing—Bruce Hills
Sun., Aug. 28, 1:00 p.m. 

Blood Pressure Check
Sat/Sun., Aug. 27/28, after all masses  

Together In Ministry 

Family Committee  

  We have just begun to meet and plan events, both fun and faith-enriched, which will focus on the needs and lifestyle of today’s families. 

  Our first meeting was last week and so far six families have shown an interest in helping to make this new committee a reality. 

  We are looking at an October social event as a kick-off.  We are also planning to schedule dialogue/speaker sessions that would be held at the same time as our Religious Formation program. 

  If you are interested in joining this new committee, please call JoAnne at the parish office. 

  NEXT WEEK:  Sharing some of the ideas from our first meeting.

Saturday and Sunday

August 6-7, 2005

Agnes Lohmann by Family

Katherine Miracola by LaRose Family

Isaac Giffin by Family

Fr. Arthur Bell by Martino Family

Mae Gleason by Martino Family

Forrest Bernia by Family 

Monday, August 8, 2005

Stanley Materka by Puzzuoli Family 

Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Carol Lize by Family 

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Robert Leadley by Fredal Family 

Saturday and Sunday

August 13-14, 2005

Mary Timko by C. Gregory

Fr. John West by Klakulak Family

John Krzycki by Greenway Family

Rudi Dietrich by Family

Dan & Martha Brown by Brinker Family