Thursday, May 7, 2020
Family Prayer 

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Reading I :  Acts 6:1-7
They chose leaders to care for the poor.
  • It is made clear in the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, that the early Church had its conflicts.
  • The widows were among the poor, for whom God had special concern, and for whom Israel was to be concerned.
  • The concern of the early Christians for the Jewish widows in the community, and their apparent neglect of the Greek widows, gave rise to the conflict described in today’s passage.

Reading II :  1 Peter 2:4-9
Come to the Lord, a living stone.
  • While the setting of today’s first reading was the daily life of the community gathered around the table, the second reading evokes the temple.
  • The author of 1 Peter envisioned a new “temple” or place of worship.
  • Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of this spiritual building and Christians, its building blocks.

Gospel :  John 14:1-12
If you know me, you know my father also.
  • The author of today’s Gospel situated the words of Jesus, “I am the way”; in the context of the meal Jesus shared with his disciples the night before he died.
  • His words brought comfort in the face of impending distress.
  • Jesus’ words also gave the disciples direction for the days ahead.
Here is a prayer we can recite at home for  
 the times we will not be able to receive the Eucharist.  
  
An Act of Spiritual Communion  
  
My Jesus, 
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. 
 
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. 
 
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, 
come at least spiritually into my heart. 
 
I embrace You as if You were already there 
 and unite myself wholly to You.  
Never permit me to be separated from You. 
 
Amen. 
A Message from
Mrs. Laidlaw Otto
 
Dear SJE Families, 

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Thanks to all the parents who have reached out to our teachers individually or via social media to let us know that you appreciate our efforts.  Although I know we can all agree that the Stay at Home order has been a struggle for all of us in so many different ways, our teachers have demonstrated their commitment to “keeping the learning going” for our students. 

And, of course, Mother’s Day is Sunday. Muffins with Mom, in school created Mother’s Day gifts, we are missing it all. However, not being able to celebrate all the women who care about our children doesn’t mean that we aren’t thinking about all of you!  We are so grateful to all our parents and grandparents. Your efforts to support our teachers in distance learning have been monumental! I am amazed at the ability of our families to stay the course with your young learners, and so grateful for your patience with us as we have worked to learn technology platforms, put safety measures in place, and  maintain those incredibly important social relationships for our students and teachers. 

It’s hard to believe that we are winding down. It feels a little bit as if time stopped on March 13th.  Our staff is working together to plan for the wrap up of virtual instruction and assessment for our students. We will also be scheduling a drop off/pick up schedule for all our families and are planning for an end of year all school live-streamed mass. The details for all these plans will be available next week. 

I know that better days are coming, for our families, for our communities, and for our schools. We have learned a great deal from this experience, and we are looking forward to coming back in August stronger and more prepared to provide the best education possible for our children.  

Mary Laidlaw Otto  
Junior Prayer Chain   

In case you missed it last week, here is a message from Jessica Schein, the faculty advisor for our Junior Prayer Chain. All families are invited to take time on Friday afternoon at 2:45 and join in praying for this week’s intentions. 
2020-2021 School Year

Thanks to all who have already returned their tuition and intent contracts.  This paperwork was sent home to families and can be returned in the self-addressed envelope included in the mailing. Questions or concerns about the 2020-2021 school year? Please email principal@sje.k12.wi.us  to set up a phone conference. 
Sock Toss Challenge

Did you send in a video clip for our Sock Toss Challenge? Here is the final version of the video, put together by Ms. Starks:


Thank you to all who participated, and especially to Ms. Starks for putting together this fun video. Stay active, everyone!

We’re All In this Together Wednesdays  
Please join us in celebrating our students and our SJE families with spirit Wednesdays!  Tag us on Facebook or Instagram or email your photos to principal@sje.k12.wi.us! 

May 13 - Favorite character Day - dress like your favorite book character 
May 20 - Superhero Day -dress as your favorite superhero, or show off your superpower 
May 27 - Patriotic Day  – show us your red, white and blue 
June 3 - Our Future's so Bright Day - honor our eighth graders by wearing your favorite sunglasses 
June 10 - SJE Spirit Day  – show off your SJE spiritwear   
Some of our staff and students had fun with our
Christmas in May Day yesterday!
Check out the St. John the Evangelist YouTube Channel for messages from Fr. Michael, as well as live streamed masses and adoration: SJE YouTube . Please subscribe so that you can stay in touch.
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. Here are a few parishioners should be aware of:
 
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. The obligation to attend Mass is dispensed through Sunday, July 5.
  5. Communion is to be received only in the hand. There will be no Communion from the chalice.
  6. To maintain social distancing, only every other pew will be used.
  7. Hymnals may not be used at this time. They have been gathered, sanitized, and stored.
  8. There is to be no Holy Water.
  9. There will be no offertory procession of wine and Host. Offertory gifts will be brought from the Sanctuary.
  10. We will need to reconfigure our Communion lines.
  11. We will need to maintain social distancing as we leave Mass.
  12. The parish staff will review these regulations as time gets closer to our first Public Mass.
Looking for a way to help in our local community? Clement Manor welcomes cards, letters and artwork to share with their residents. You can mail your contributions to:  

Activity Team 
Clement Manor 
3939 S 92nd St 
Greenfield, WI 53228 
St. John the Evangelist School
414-321-8540
Fax: 414-321-4450
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