What's Happening
at St. John's
Parish News
Summer Projects Continue

This coming week, the planned work to replace the old cracked sidewalks will begin. The continued work will affect the way people can access the parish office. Please be aware of informational signs that will help navigate access while this work is being done. If the concrete work is done by mid-August, the plan will be to finish the sealing of the parish parking lot in front of the church immediately afterward. This project will also entail changes to parking for daily Mass. We hope the work can all be completed before the week beginning August 23. Thank you for your patience.
 
Spiritual Meanderings:
40 Years of Officiating the Sacrament of Marriage
 
To appreciate my encounters with weddings, it is good to remember that the first weddings I officiated were in Huntington, Indiana. The Indiana weather may have played a role in the events of those first weddings, as it is more like the weather in St. Louis, hot and humid. Forty years ago, there was no air conditioning in the beautiful gothic church of Saints Peter and Paul. It will come as no surprise that the first weddings I officiated ended with some health concerns. Primarily, those in the bridal party were fainting and needed to be carried out of the church.
 
The very first Indiana wedding I remember was when the bride fainted and fell to the left off the kneeler. Cindy was kneeling after receiving Holy Communion. I noticed her facial color going from rosy flesh tones to white to sickly grey, and then I watched her lean to the left and drop onto the floor. It wasn’t easy for her new husband and wedding ushers to get her up off the floor. Her long wedding gown didn’t help. She ended up not feeling well for the rest of the entire day.
 
Then there was a time when a very pregnant bridesmaid passed out just as the couple was exchanging vows. There was another time when the best man passed out just before the exchange of vows. I told the two groomsmen who were escorting him out of the church to “bring back the wedding rings.” No response. Again I said, “Bring back the rings.” “What?” they asked? I said, a bit louder this time, “Bring back with you the wedding rings!” And the ceremony continued.
 
About 15 years later, at a wedding rehearsal here in Wisconsin, I was quite surprised when the bride demanded at the wedding rehearsal that she and the entire wedding party would stand for the entire wedding ceremony the next day. “Why?” I asked. She said, “Because I don’t want to wrinkle my wedding dress!” I relented to her request, and the wedding party stood for the entire service. No one fainted; praise God.
 
Over the years, I have discovered that weddings can be particularly stressful for the mothers of the bride and groom, as well as for the bride.
 
There are guidelines that are good to follow. There is a wedding booklet filled with parish guidelines for prospective couples who are requesting to be married here at St. John’s. They were put together by one of my former pastors. Here is one of the guidelines:
 
A Catholic wedding can be celebrated during a Wedding Service or a Wedding Mass. The Wedding Service is preferred, especially if:

  1. Your guests are from several different denominations.
  2. The two of you are from different denominations.
  3. You do not attend weekly Eucharist.
  4. You have been living together for a long time.
 
I recently heard that in the state of Wisconsin, the number of weddings is at a 100 year low. Let us pray that our culture may grow in seeing the value of sacramental marriage.
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.

There is an open hour on Mondays-
10:00 to 11:00 p.m. 

If interested in volunteering for this open hour, call Kay Shomperlen at 414-763-1250.
Christian Women Meeting

Christian Women, and any interested ladies of the parish, are invited to attend the upcoming meeting on Thursday, August 19, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hall. Annual $5 dues will be collected and must be paid by CHECK. You can also pay for and make your reservations for the September 9 Dinner at Carl’s Banquet Hall (originally scheduled for June). Members are $18 and guests are $22 (new prices). Payment should be made with a separate CHECK, made out to St. John’s Christian Women. If you are unable to attend the upcoming meeting but want to reserve your table, please contact Diane Gaffke at (414)327-6780.

Reservations and payments are due by Friday, August 27.
Fidelity to the Lord

Regardless of what happens in the world, St. Francis de Sales Seminary will always be rooted in Fidelity to the Lord. The Annual Seminary Dinner will once again return to the Wisconsin Center this fall on Friday, September 24. Please join in meeting the 70 seminarians who are offering their lives to Jesus Christ so that they can serve you as His priests. Join fellow parishioners from St. John’s for a special dinner and evening as we show our support for our diocesan seminary and seminarians.

Please call Mary or Dennis Baumgardner at (414) 427-0832 for further information and/or to RSVP. Your reservation is needed by August 31. Transportation can be arranged.
Fall Auction Items Needed

To help replace the revenue from the Festival Raffle Booth, we will be holding an online silent auction this fall.

We are looking for NEW items, things you would have donated for the Festival Raffle Booth.

Items like - electronics, jewelry, sports/outdoor equipment, household items, gift cards, sports memorabilia, spa items, new, unopened bottles of wine and liquor, etc., make for great single items or baskets.

You can drop off your NEW items at the Parish Office during regular office hours. Contact Diane Gaffke at 414-327-6780 if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support!
Silent Preached Retreat for Women

Ladies of the Parish: Mark your calendars and let God speak to you and revitalize your spirit, Friday, October 1, through Sunday, October 3, at the Redemptorist Retreat Center in Oconomowoc. This year’s theme is “Healing in a Wounded World.”
 
How do we return to those basic gospel values that bring us a sense of healing, not only to the world but to each one of us? This retreat is a great opportunity to encounter our need for Jesus.
 
The weekend starts around 7:00 p.m., with check-in between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The retreat ends at noon on Sunday. Carpooling is available. For details and to sign up, please call Barb at (414) 448-7117. You may also register directly at the Redemptorist Retreat Center by calling (262) 567-6900 or on their website: www.redemptoristretreat.org. The cost is $230 per person. The center is located at 1800 N. Timber Trail Lane on the shores of Crooked Lake in Oconomowoc.
The Hidden King-
The Jewish Roots of St. Joseph 

What is your image of St. Joseph? A poor, humble carpenter, or the Hidden King of the Jews? An elderly widower, or a man in his prime, the chaste spouse of Mary? The mere legal guardian of the child Jesus, or the earthly shadow of the heavenly father?
 
Come and See! Dr. Brant Pitre will give answers to these questions and any more in this one-day Adult Faith Formation DVD program on Saturday, August 21, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Hall. He will explain how Joseph was indeed the Hidden King of the Jews and why he was a threat to Kind Herod. You will learn why he accepted Mary’s Jewish Vow of Virginity and what his relationship was to the “Brothers” of Jesus. These answers, along with many very important facts that can be learned from the Bible, Ancient Jewish and Roman history, and the living Tradition of the Church, will be presented. Although Joseph is silent in the pages of the New Testament, when looked at through ancient Jewish eyes, he stands with Jesus and Mary at the very center of salvation history.
 
Join in this excellent and easy-to-understand presentation by Dr. Pitre. Sign up in the Narthex. The cost for a Cousin's box lunch is $10, or bring your own. There is no charge to attend, but there will be a free-will collection.

For more information, call or text -
Laura Lee at (414) 840-0261 or
Austin at (414) 530-5770.
Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 7/8, 2021

The lens through which we view life makes a difference. It also determines whom we choose to learn from and what we allow to shape our thoughts and feelings. For many, life is simply what it appears to be, a given that either through evolution or some other means just came to be. There is no apparent rhyme or reason to things, and things can be dissected and understood only in terms of what they empirically present. To the person using this lens, a tree is a tree, and a flower is a flower. Their composition and existence can be understood only to the extent that current human knowledge allows. Through this lens, what gives life purpose and meaning? This lens has an essentially unknown beginning and a definite end. Once those are accepted, the middle becomes some kind of pursuit of happiness, with values and principles being things that are self-created and found acceptable. 
 
But there is a Divine lens that also exists and deserves mention. It is found when one stumbles upon faith and begins to see things differently. This lens is of God and reveals a Divine Energy and Life that flows through and in all things. Faith then shows us that all that lives come from this one Source of Love. This is the only true lens that can give human beings the purpose and meaning they desperately need. From this perspective, all of life is much more than what is immediately apparent! It now tells and reveals a story about God's generous, creative, and unconditional love! The unfolding of the human story is the unfolding of God’s story. What meaning our lives have when they are viewed as a part of God’s love affair with humanity! We are indeed special.
 
The lens of our faith asks us to learn from Jesus Christ. Jesus, as the real Bread of Life, shows us our eternal destiny and completes and frames our lives. It is only in allowing ourselves to be taught by Jesus that faith, hope, and love take on much greater importance. All the relationships in our lives are now structured and ordered using God’s primary commandment of love. Jesus, then, is not just some man who lived at some point in history. Jesus is the incarnate Son of God who shows us the way, the truth, and the life. Using this lens changes things up a great deal. Looking at the creation that surrounds you and the special unique people you love, what is God trying to teach you about His love for you and the eternal life He wants you to have?
 
©LPi
School News
After School Care Helper Needed

The parish school is seeking help in the After School program. There are two positions available. The employees provide a safe, fun program for students each school day from 2:30 p.m. until approximately 6:00 p.m. (or until the last student goes home). The employees must be willing to supervise students outdoors as well as engage in indoor activities such as board games. The positions will begin when school starts on Tuesday, August 31. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, willing to submit to a criminal background check and participate in Archdiocesan Safeguarding training. Please call the school principal, Ben Oberdorf, at 414-321-8540 or email him at boberdorf@sje.school if interested.
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.
Thomas Smith was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and can trace his lineage back seven generations. In this talk, he shares his beliefs and incredible experiences as a Mormon missionary in Alabama and how this led him to convert and become a Protestant minister and later enter the Catholic Church.
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.

To submit articles e-mail to: newsletter@stjohns-grfd.org
"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.
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