What's Happening During a Pandemic
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While we are "Safer At Home" our weekly newsletter has changed format
to help you during this challenging time.
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Spiritual Meanderings During a Pandemic
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Fr. Michael will be hearing confessions this
Friday, May 8 at 8:30 a.m.
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Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
We are now live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses and Adoration. We are still in a learning curve, but if you have been watching since day one we have come a long way.
Our YouTube channel is SJE-Greenfield if you are searching for it.
Our daily Masses will be live-streamed Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 8:00 a.m. and Tuesday, Thursday at 7:30 a.m. If you miss the livestream we will post a link on our Facebook page (you can subscribe to our Facebook page by clicking the link at the bottom of the newsletter).
Mass on Saturday, May 8, will live-stream at 4:30 p.m.
Mass on Sunday, May 9, will live-stream at 8:30 a.m.
In order to comply with Archdiocesan directives, these are private Masses and are not open to the public. Adoration will close 15 minutes before the Mass starts and anyone in church who has not already done so, will be asked to leave. Adoration will reopen when the Mass has concluded.
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Mother’s Day Blessings to
all of our Moms
On behalf of myself and the parish staff here at St. John’s, a very blessed Mother’s Day Weekend to you. I pray that God will continue to bless our Moms and give them the gifts of the Holy Spirit, particularly the gifts of Patience, Wisdom, Counsel, Understanding, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of God.
Public Mass to Return May 30 & 31:
Solemnity of Pentecost - Wear Red
We were pleased to hear the news that Public Masses will return to our local parishes at the end of May. With the beginning of Public Masses, there are guidelines that must be followed. I will include some here that particularly pertain to those parishioners in the pew.
- Attendance at each Mass is limited to 25% of church capacity. Our church’s capacity is 600; therefore, no more than 150 people can be at Mass at one time. Hoping that many people are ready to return to Mass, we will be going back to our former weekend Mass schedule: Saturday at 4:30 p.m., Sunday at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. We will maintain this schedule until the end of August and then re-evaluate our needs in relation to the Coronavirus.
- About two weeks before the return of Public Mass, parishioners will be able to sign up online for their preferred Mass. People will also be able to send their request via the mail or call the parish office.
- If you have any flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, bronchitis) or if you have preexisting health conditions (are under treatment for cancer, have a compromised immune system), or are afraid of being in a gathering of people, then please do not come.
- The obligation to attend Mass is dispensed through Sunday, July 5.
- Communion is to be received only in the hand. There will be no Communion from the chalice.
- To maintain social distancing, only every other pew will be used.
- Hymnals may not be used at this time. They have been gathered, sanitized, and stored.
- There is to be no Holy Water.
- There will be no offertory procession of wine and Host. Offertory gifts will be brought from the Sanctuary.
- We will need to reconfigure our Communion lines.
- We will need to maintain social distancing as we leave Mass.
- We will continue to go over these regulations as time gets closer to our first Public Mass.
Please Keep in your Prayers
Our parishioner, and mother of some of our parishioners, Ines Leonardelli, recently passed. Please keep Ines and her family in your prayers. Also, Chris Kelly, Head of our Maintenance Department, recently underwent bypass surgery. He is doing well, but please also keep him in your prayers.
Text and email Scams
Please continue to be aware of texts and emails that
appear
to be from Fr. Michael (and other St. John’s staff and parish leaders). This situation began in January and continues today. Fr. Michael will NOT ask you to make gift card purchases on his behalf or for the parish, and then say you will be reimbursed. Please disregard these requests.
Spiritual Bouquet for Deacon Ed Sanchez
In preparation for the ordination to the priesthood of Deacon Ed Sanchez, I encourage and invite each parish family to offer a “Spiritual Bouquet” for him. A spiritual bouquet is a gift of prayer such as Masses offered, Rosary, or prayers. These prayers will be given to Fr. Ed on the occasion of his ordination into the priesthood. You can send your bouquet offering to the parish office through email (
rectory@stjohns-grfd.org
), U.S. Mail, or drop it off in the basket in the parish office lobby or in the narthex
by May 11
. Examples can be found on page four of the bulletin, and they are also available in the narthex and on a table by the Adoration entrance door.
24-Hour Perpetual Adoration
Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary: “Make reparation for the ingratitude of men. Spend an hour in prayer to appease divine justice, to implore mercy for sinners, to honor Me, to console Me for My bitter suffering when abandoned by My Apostles, when they did not watch one hour with Me.”
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. Join us!
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DELIVERANCE PRAYER FOR USE BY THE LAITY
In His name and by the power of His Cross and Blood, I ask Jesus to bind any evil spirits, forces, and powers of the earth, air, fire, or water, of the netherworld and the satanic forces of nature. By the power of the Holy Spirit and by His authority, I ask Jesus Christ to break any curses, hexes, or spells and to send them back where they came from, if it be His Holy Will. I ask You, Lord Jesus to protect us by pouring Thy Precious Blood on us and our families, which You have shed for us and I ask Thee to command that any departing spirits leave quietly, without disturbance and go straight to the Cross to be disposed of as Thou sees fit. I ask Thee to bind any demonic interaction, interplay, or communications. I place (name a person, place, or thing) under the protection of the Blood of Jesus Christ which He shed for us. Amen.
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Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
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Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 9/10, 2020
The readings on this fifth Sunday of Easter present us with themes of dwelling places and home. As Christian stewards, we are well aware that this world is not our permanent home. We are merely pilgrims here, making our way through the stewardship way of life to our true home, heaven.
Yet, as we make our way to heaven, we are called to make our dwelling here, whether we are in a household of one or bursting at the seams, a true “domestic church.” In other words, the stewardship way of life begins long before we set foot on the parish grounds. Stewardship starts at home. It begins with our families, our domestic churches.
The domestic church plays a key role in our sanctification because it is the primary place where we practice intimate and selfless love of other persons.
In our Gospel passage from John, Jesus speaks of heaven as a home filled with dwelling places. “In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” This is a beautiful image of the glory that awaits us and the personal love our Lord has for us in preparing the perfect “spot” for each one of us who remain faithful to Him.
Let us respond to this great love by becoming good stewards of our earthly dwellings, making of our homes true “domestic churches” where we honor God with our prayer, our thoughtfulness to each other, and our generous hospitality to all.
Let us never forget that stewardship starts at home!
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Our Unusual Journey and the Need for Prayer
Happy Mother’s Day! Our traditional calendar contained a celebration of “Muffins with Mom” scheduled for last Friday. Although we are not able to honor our Moms in school this year, we are all aware and incredibly grateful for how hard our parents have been working to keep our students engaged with learning from home.
Many of our parents are currently balancing their own jobs with providing support for their children, as we all navigate technology that is not familiar to us. In spite of all of these challenges, our teachers are greeted with smiling faces in classroom meetings, and evidence of learning continues.
When we return to traditional school in the fall, we know that our students, our families, and our teachers will all have changed. This shared experience will be carried by our students for the rest of their lives. Building positive relationships with our families will be the cornerstone of success supporting our transition back into our classrooms. When you are in the classroom with your school family each day, it is easy to forget about how important parents are in providing the best education for our children. Anyone who is teaching or parenting through COVID-19 has a renewed understanding of the importance of our relationships.
Today, we pray for our Moms and Dads. We pray in thanksgiving for their devotion to their children and to our school, and we pray for patience and fortitude for all as we complete our school year in these unusual times.
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Staying Safer at Home and Being a Blessing!
Mary Laidlaw-Otto, Principal
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Golf Outing Sponsored by Holy Name
St. John’s has reservations for a golf outing on Sunday, June 7 starting at 2:00pm at Whitnall Park Golf Course located at 6751 S. 92nd Street in Franklin. This outing is open to all men, women and children 16 and over. The cost will be $20.00 per person for nine holes golfing only. Golf carts are now available for rental, but only one person per cart unless they are from the same household. Food and drinks will be available. These items will have to be paid for in advance via phone with a credit card. Due to social distancing restrictions, there will not be a meal served after the golfing. This will strictly be a chance to get some fresh air. No prizes will be awarded. Please contact Ron Heser if you are interested at 414-448-7117 or email daheez@hotmail.com.
The deadline to join the group is Monday, May 18. Payment can be dropped off at the rectory office in an envelope addressed to Ron Heser or payment can be mailed to Ron Heser, 12665 W. Beloit Road, Apt. 210, New Berlin, WI 53151. All checks should be made payable to St. John’s Holy Name Society.
Eight Milwaukee County Golf Courses reopened in late April with certain restrictions. The new guidelines for all Milwaukee County Golf Courses can be found at
mke.golf
. If the guidelines should change further between now and the golf outing, we will notify you in the bulletin.
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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.
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Archbishop Paul Coakley attended the university of Kansas where he completed his undergraduate studies in English and Classical Antiquities. After being ordained a priest in 1983, he served as a priest of the Wichita Diocese for 21 years. He was installed as bishop of Salina, Kansas by Saint John Paul II in 2004 and was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the fourth archbishop of the archdiocese of Oklahoma City, where he has served since 2011. His episcopal motto is Duc in Altum, which translated from Latin, means "Put out into the Deep."
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With public celebrations of Mass being canceled until further notice, SCRIP is still available at the parish office during regular business hours. However, we have some materials available if you would like to set up an online account.
Our enrollment code is
18DE7D4F11822. 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.
These are unprecedented times, but with your help we can keep this fundraising effort viable.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the parish office at 414-321-1965.
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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.
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The newsletter is published on Wednesdays. Articles for each week's publication are due on Mondays at noon.
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"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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