St. Joseph Catholic Church

612 High Street Beatrice, NE  68310

 

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RECTORY OFFICE 402-223-2923 (SECRETARY EXT. 220, FATHER MAJOR EXT. 222)

SCHOOL OFFICE 402-223-5033 EXT 200

EMERGENCIES: (CELL) 402-806-2821

July 11, 2010

15^th Sunday of ordinary time

 

SEPTEMBERFEST is just around the corner…It is time to start thinking about donations for raffle prizes or to suggest raffle prizes.

 

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS:  The Knights July meeting will be a family picnic held at the Rob and Kris Ostdiek residence, 2120 S. 4^th Ave, Beatrice NE 68310.  It will be July 13^th, starting at 6:00pm.  The Knights will provide hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, drinks and table service.  Please bring a side dish or desert. A short meeting will take place for urgent business.

 

THE KNIGHT’S OF COLUMBUS would like to thank everyone who helped in any way with our 4^th of July Fireworks Stand. Also, thanks to those who purchased fireworks from our stand. -Jerry Kempf, Grand Knight.

 

The ALTAR SOCIETY is holding its Third Annual “Bakeless Bake Sale” fundraiser during July.  We realize that everyone is busy and it is difficult to volunteer time for breakfasts, dinners, and other fundraisers.  So we are having a Bakeless Bake Sale to replace some of these events.  Just figure the cost of food items you would have donated and/or bought at a bake sale.  Then enclose that amount in the attached envelope and return it in the collection basket at Mass or to the Rectory.  Extra envelopes and flyers will be available at the Church entrances.  Thank you!

 

SCHOOL SISTERS OF CHRIST THE KING: A Rite of Initiation Reception for Katherine Jo Wozny, Jessica Lynn Lewandowski, and Elizabeth Ann Bader will be July 31, 12:30 – 2:30.  Rite of First Profession for Sister Mary Ruth will be July 31, 5:30 – 7:00.  Sister Mary Ruth taught Religion here last year.  These receptions will be at the Villa Regina Motherhouse 4100 SW 56^th St., Lincoln, NE and open to the public.

 

REGISTRATION NIGHT: St. Joseph Catholic School Registration Night will be August 4^th from 6:00 – 8:00pm in the Parish Center. 

 

LIBRARY HELP: If you are interested in helping out with the library conversion, Mrs. Pinkerton will be working next week Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00am-12:00pm, Thursday and Friday from 1:00 – 4:00 pm.  Any and all help is very much appreciated.  If an evening works better, that is available also, call Lenece at 223-4526. 

 

COLUMBAN FATHERS’ MISSION APPEAL will be here the weekend of July 24^th and 25^th.

The Columban Fathers are a missionary society who works in eleven countries of Asia and Latin America.  Founded in 1918 they reach out in service to our brothers and sisters in other lands and cultures.  Their call is to work with people who have not yet fully heard the gospel message, especially the poor.  Their U.S. headquarters is in St. Columbans, Nebraska. 

In the U.S.A. the Columbans assist the Church at home in understanding the missionary dimension of our call to faith.  They strive to promote an awareness of modern day missionary activity through their Mission Education programs.

These Mission Education programs are aimed at parishes and schools on the elementary, secondary and adult levels.  The programs are available on loan and include videotapes, texts and their magazine, Columban Mission.

 

Dr. Elena Lugo, ISSM, a member of the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary will be speaking on BIOETHICS: OUR CONCERN FOR LIFE AND DEATH IN POSTMODERN TIMES on Wednesday, July 21^st from 7:00pm to 8:00pm at St. Michael’s Church Rectory, 9230 First St., Lincoln, NE, with refreshments provided afterwards. Call (402) 328-8480 to register.

 

BEATRICE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER In the year 2010 to date, the center has assisted 109 women/men with materials/supplies including assisting with 27 pregnancy tests. The center also has an “Earn While You Learn” program that also teaches parenting skills, where they currently have 10 clients participating in and have five more on a waiting list. For more information call 228-6411.

 

MARRIAGE SAVING – THE WEEKEND PHASE- During the weekend phase of Retrouvaille a series of presentations are given by a team of three couples and a priest.  The team presents a technique of communication that enables you to take a good look at most areas of your relationship.  After each presentation you have time in the privacy of your room to discuss the previous presentation.  For confidential information about or to register for the August program beginning with a weekend on August 6-8, 2010 call 1-888-317-5654 or www.retrouvaille.org on the web.

                                                   

THE GREAT ADVENTURE BIBLE STUDY IS RETURNING IN OCTOBER! After a very successful first year, St. Michael’s in Fairbury will begin a new Great Adventure Bible Study in October.

 

The Great Adventure program is a 24-part deep study into the Biblical story. A combination of DVD lecture, individual reading and study, group discussion, and lecture commentary guides participants as they read through the 14 narrative books of The Bible Timeline and discover the meaning of each in light of the whole.

 

This Bible Timeline study is basic enough to suit those who haven’t studied the Bible before, while at the same time offering ways to go deeper that will challenge the Bible study veteran. Salvation history is covered from its beginning in Genesis through the coming of Christ and the establishment of the Catholic Church.

Throughout the 24-part Bible Timeline, you will:

Read for yourself the 14 narrative books of the Bible—the ones that tell the story—in chronological order. Learn God’s marvelous plan of salvation history and see how your faith story fits into “His-story.” Study key Old Testament passages in light of their fulfillment in Christ. Learn how Catholic Tradition views the biblical narrative and how to use the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a study reference. Gain a greater appreciation for the Scripture readings you hear in Mass. Encourage fellow Catholics as you learn how God’s Word applies to your lives. Lay a strong foundation for further Bible reading and study.  Each of the 24 parts lasts 90 minutes. We will be meeting on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM in the St. Michael’s Center. The proposed start date is September 21, 2010. The official start date will be announced soon.

 

St. Michael’s Church is funding the program itself, however the study materials for each student will be approximately $40, and are the only fees the church would like to recover.  If you want to participate, but have difficulty with this fee; please contact the church office to make arrangements. We want everyone who is interested to attend, regardless of ability to pay.  We hope to have a large number of participants!  Please contact the St. Michael’s church office at 402-729-2058 as soon as possible to let us know you plan to attend so an estimate can be made on the number of student materials to order.  You will not have to pay until classes begin.  You can read more about The Great Adventure Bible Study by visiting www.biblestudyforcatholics.com.

 

FROM FR. STEVE MAJOR:

 

TONY LENNERS “FUN” FUND RAISER July 18^th at the VFW Club, 124 at 23^rd in Beatrice, NE.  Pancake feed from 9:00am to 1:00pm, silent auction all day, sandwich and chips from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and “Teen’s” Karaoke from 6:00pm to 10pm. Free will donation, also if you have “New” items you would like to donate for the silent auction please call 228-6012.  Tony is a Beatrice police officer, husband and father being treated for cancer. 

 

IMMIGRATION has been a hot topic in Nebraska and the U.S.A. for many years.  Debate has intensified recently as local, state and federal governments seek legal solutions to problems related to the matter.  I think it is important for us Catholics to do some reading and study about the topic so we can approach it in an informed, holy way.  In 2003 the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the U.S. co-wrote a pastoral letter that gives some Scriptural and theological principles that guide discussion and explain Catholic thought related to immigration.  You can find it at this link on the Internet: http://www.usccb.org/mrs/stranger.shtml

Here’s an outline excerpt:

Migration in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching

I. Persons have the right to find opportunities in their homeland.

II. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families.

III. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders.

IV. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection.

V. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected.

Those are paragraph headings from the document; the meat of the matter is in the text, of course. 

Our three Nebraska Catholic Bishops wrote this in a joint document:

"We look forward to the day when a comprehensive, innovative and effective framework of reforms improves and revitalizes our nation's immigration system. Then, there will be no dual approach, no need to differentiate between authorized and unauthorized immigrants, no reason to use terms such as 'undocumented' or 'illegal,'" the bishops say in their statement. "All newly arrived immigrants will have legal status, having attained such in accordance with a rational, just and humane policy and process, based upon proper regard for the security, economic capacity and common good of the nation and for the human dignity of the individuals and their families."

If you would like to read more but don’t have Internet access, please contact Fr. Major.

 

Our PARISH COUNCIL met with Fr. Major June 21st. The council recommended to going ahead with the office remodeling under these conditions: use $10,000 from the Gala fund and the rest of the money from our rental property income fund at Homestead Land in Beatrice, with a proviso that roof replacement on our rental property be completed first.

 

BUT… After talking with several people and our parish council I decided to pursue another way to make our school secure.   We won’t be doing the remodeling project.  The main goal of this project was security for our school, CCD program and daycare.  Locating the office at the east entrance would provide that, but only when someone was present to watch things.

This past Thursday Mr. Tom Doll came to visit our school and to make security recommendations.  Tom is a retired Army soldier who served in Vietnam and is now retired from a job overseeing security for Omaha Public Schools.  He came to us partly because his daughter is a School Sister of Christ the King(!)  I will share his observations with others, including putting a summary of them here.  They will become part of the discussion about what to do to make our school a more secure, safe place.  I should note that we haven’t had any unfortunate incidents that prompted this action; common sense dictates doing something.

             Last week I asked Toby Bisseger for a renewed tuckpointing bid that would cover only the places that most need repair: the stone above the south entrance of church; two places high above the east entrance; a small area on the north end of church above a basement furnace vent, and along the south face of the oldest part of our school where the brick meets the ground.  Scaffolding would need to be put up temporarily to do that east side work.  Updates will appear here as they become available.

 

SCHOOL NEWS--REVIEW   Contracts are signed by our teachers and all seven lay faculty members will return for the 2010-2011 school year.  Sr. Mary Catherine, C.K. will be our new head teacher/principal and Sr. Mary Agnes Dunavan, C.K. will be our new religion teacher for all grades.  The sisters will live at the Villa Regina House in Denton and commute daily.  Please pray for Sr. Mary Agnes, who will make her perpetual vows in a public Mass at Cathedral of the Risen Christ, 33^rd and Sheridan Streets, Lincoln on Sunday, August 1^st.