What's Happening
at St. John's
|
|
|
Confirmation of Youth
Yesterday evening, Bishop Jeffrey Haines was here to confirm our parish youth. Please keep these young adults in your prayers that they may continue to embrace our Catholic faith. We pray that they may grow in the knowledge, love, and service of God. A special thanks to their parents, grandparents, family, and friends who have influenced and encouraged them to accept this powerful sacrament. I thank their teachers and catechists over the years who have taught them to keep Christ at the forefront of their lives. A thank you also to all who helped make Wednesday evening’s Confirmation Mass prayerful.
Holy Water
When the pandemic began over a year ago, parishes were told to take all Holy Water fonts out of church for the common use of parishioners as we come into the church. It is believed that water is an agent for passing on the COVID-19 virus. We are, however, able to dispense Holy Water from our covered tank. Parishioners are able to have their own bottle of Holy Water for the blessing of self, home, and property. In our Church, we do have, near the St. Joseph shrine, our Holy Water tank for people to re-supply their private Holy Water bottles. A priest once said, “What you ask for when blessing Holy Water is what you receive.” Here are some of the things we pray for when a priest blesses water to make it Holy Water:
“I exorcise you so that you may put to flight all the power of the enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that enemy with his apostate angels: May this, your creature water, become an agent of divine grace, to drive away evil spirits and dispel sickness, so that everything in the homes and buildings of the faithful that is sprinkled with this water may be rid of all uncleanliness and freed from every harm. Let no breath of infection; no disease-bearing air remain in these places. May the wiles of the lurking enemy prove of no avail. Let whatever might menace the safety and peace of those who live here be put to flight by the sprinkling of this water so that the health obtained by calling upon Your Holy Name may be made secure against all attack. Through Christ our Lord. Wherever this water and salt is sprinkled, it may turn aside every attack of the unclean spirit and dispel the terror of the poisonous serpent. And wherever we may be, make the Holy Spirit present to us who now implore your mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Birthday Wishes for Fr. Richard Verberg
Please send your prayers and good wishes to our former pastor, Fr. Richard Verberg. He will celebrate his 80th birthday on May 6. Happy Birthday, Fr. Verberg!
|
|
Parish Council Nominations
Parish Council nominations will be held this weekend, April 24 & 25. Please give prayerful consideration in nominating yourself or someone else for one of the two available Member-at-Large positions. Voting takes place the weekend of May 15/16
Should anyone wish to nominate themselves or someone else, forms are also available in the parish office.
|
|
24-Hour Perpetual Adoration
St. John’s is fortunate to have 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Please take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to stay close to God in these difficult times. Hand sanitizer is available in the Adoration entrance (south side of Church), and we ask that you practice social distancing and stay at least six feet from others while in Church.
|
|
Please pray for our candidates who celebrated the
Sacrament of Confirmation .
Kennedy Francis Bosch
Elliot Ignatius Damm
Nathan Sebastian Forget
Ashley Valentina Frye
Mercedes Joan Maier
Natalia Peter Murillo
William Justin Perez III
Camryn Cynthia Rajala
Kathirene Therese of Lisieux Rillorta
Erika Dymphna Scannell
Hannah Tarcisius Schroeder
Alexandra Joan Smith
Monica Agnes Wichgers
|
|
World Day of Prayer, also known as "Good Shepherd Sunday," will be observed on Sunday, April 25, 2021. The purpose of this day is to publicly fulfill the Lord's instruction to "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). Please pray that young men and women hear and respond generously to the Lord's call to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life, societies of apostolic life, or secular institutes.
|
|
Save the following dates for
"The Best Catholic Fish Fry in Greenfield"
Friday, April 23
Friday, May 7
(Last Call Special: $2 off each dinner
between 6:30 p.m & 7:00 p.m.)
All will be "drive-thru" only.
|
|
Come to our Drive-Thru Fish Fry
Enter on 84th Street Only
(4:00-7:00 p.m.)
You can order any number of menu items: A, B, C, or D, but please, no substitutions. All dinners will be prepared as ordered and are served “drive-thru” only. We are adhering to safe and strict food-handling procedures and social distancing practices.
- (A) Fried Fish (3 pieces) with French Fries
- (B) Fried Fish (3 pieces) with Parsley Potatoes
- (C) Baked Fish (3 pieces) with French Fries
- (D) Baked Fish (3 pieces) with Parsley Potatoes
Dinners include coleslaw, applesauce, tartar sauce,
bread, butter, and dessert.
All this for $11.00 per meal.
Extra pieces of fish $2.00 each (limit 2 per dinner)
|
|
Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
|
|
Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 24/25, 2021
On this fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep. Our readings today call us to reflect inward — do we allow Jesus to shepherd our lives?
In our Gospel, Jesus reveals His radical love for us. He says, “I will lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus tells us that we are His. We can compare this relationship to that of a loving parent to their child. The parent gives without much in return, and if any evil came near the child, the parent would do anything, even lay down their life for their baby.
We are Christ’s, even more than a child is to a parent. He created us and sustains our lives each day. Evil persists in our world, so Jesus willingly laid down His life for us at Calvary for our salvation. He is our Good Shepherd, whether we remain in His flock or go astray.
But just as a baby is happiest in the arms of a parent, so too are we happiest in the flock of our Shepherd. And just as sheep go astray, we also stray from God, test our limits, and even follow false shepherds.
Thankfully our Shepherd is a Good Shepherd, and He laid down His life for us, knowing every sin we will ever commit. Therefore, let us examine our hearts and return to our flock. We don’t even need to find the way. He is right there, always waiting to guide us home.
Let us look inward this week and ask ourselves, ‘Who is my Shepherd?’ and ‘Have I gone astray?’ Name the areas in your life that you have neglected. Ask Jesus to bring you home. Pray for His mercy, seek His forgiveness in the sacraments and begin again.
|
|
Last week was Safe Environment Week. This week serves as a reminder of our year-round efforts to provide a safe learning environment and community for our children and their families. From locked doors to cameras to fire drills, keeping our students physically safe is at the forefront of all we do.
Ensuring the social and emotional safety of our students is just as important as their physical safety. All adults who interact with our students have participated in Safeguard training. In addition, we conduct regular background checks on employees and volunteers. We also provide lessons to our students at all grade levels. Even our early learnings, while practicing a variety of social skills, learn how to keep their bodies safe.
Internet safety is another area of focus for our students. Learning how to conduct research safely online while determining the validity of sources are skills that our students will need in high school and beyond. We practice these skills in school on a daily basis.
Keeping our students safe is, indeed, a full-time job. Our school is blessed with an exemplary staff made up of professionals who devote every single day to meeting the needs of our children on every level. As we close Safe Environment Week, please keep all those who care so much for our children in your prayers.
...Together in God’s Name
Mary Laidlaw-Otto, Principal
|
|
After School Care Helper Needed
We are in immediate need of a temporary after school care helper to fill a position through the end of the current school year. Hours are from 2:30 until 6:00 p.m. (or until the last student goes home) each school day.
Please call the school office at 414-321-8540
for more information.
|
|
Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
We are live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses as well as Adoration for those who are unable to attend:
Daily Masses are:
Monday thru Saturday 8:00 a.m.
Weekend Masses are:
Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Sunday at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Our YouTube channel is SJE-Greenfield.
If you miss the livestream, you can watch the upload of each Mass on our YouTube channel.
|
|
CDs from Augustine Institute
Did you know we have CDs (and other items) located in the narthex? Each week we will highlight one of the available CDs.
Cost is $4 each.
|
|
Mike Aquilina is the author of over forty books and an expert on early Church history. He shares how the faithful witness of Christian families amidst the trials and persecutions of the Church in the first centuries of its existence led to the rapid expansion of Christianity and the conversion of the Roman Empire. Mike relates how fidelity to prayer, faithful attendance of Sunday Mass, and love of neighbor offered a powerful witness to a culture that, in many respects, is similar to our own. |
|
Start earning the easy way with the new mobile app: RaiseRight by ShopWithScrip
RaiseRight is simply the right way to fundraise for our organization. Shop gift cards from more than 750 top brands to earn on your daily purchases—right from your phone.
Turn your shopping list into fundraising
- Discover new earning opportunities every day
- Narrow your search with categories that fit your everyday shopping needs
- Easily browse brands offering bonus earnings
- Add brands you love to your Favorites for faster shopping
- Manage your gift cards in one place: your Wallet
Pick up right where you left off. Sign in with your same ShopWithScrip username and password. Access your gift cards right away. And check out with payment information already saved to your account.
SCRIP will now be sold before and after all weekend Masses. As always, SCRIP is available at the parish office during regular business hours. We have materials available below if you would like to set up an online account.
You can also click here to view a how-to video from Scrip on how to open an account.
To protect the program from fraud, please contact the Parish or School offices for the enrollment code. Once you have an online account you can pay by direct debit from your checking account (Presto Pay), by credit card, or by check here in the parish office. If we do not have the item in stock, we will order on Monday and have the cards by Thursday. Once you have the physical card you can enroll it in your "wallet" and reload it as needed.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the parish office at 414-321-1965.
|
|
This program allows .5% of your shopping on Amazon to be donated to St. John the Evangelist.
If you purchase Scrip, St. John's receives an additional 2.25%. That's 2.75% of your purchases to St. John's if you are already shopping Amazon.
|
|
 |
The newsletter is published on Thursdays. Articles for each week's publication are due on Mondays at noon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Remember God's Will in Yours!"
Please keep the needs of St. John the Evangelist in mind as you do your estate planning. For information on how to include the parish as a beneficiary, contact the Parish Office at 414-321-1965.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
