What's Happening
at St. John's
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November 25 Message From
Our Lady of Medjugorje
“Dear children! This is a time of love, warmth, prayer, and joy. Pray, little children, for little Jesus to be born in your hearts. Open your hearts to Jesus, who gives Himself to each of you. God sent me to be joy and hope in this time, and I am saying to you: Without little Jesus, you do not have the tenderness or the feeling of Heaven which is hidden in the Newborn. Therefore, little children, work on yourselves. By reading the Sacred Scripture, you will discover Jesus’ birth and joy, as in the first days which Medjugorje gave to humanity. History will be truth, which, also, today, is being repeated in you and around you. Work on and build peace through the Sacrament of Confession. Reconcile with God, little children, and you will see miracles around you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Interested in the Priesthood
Attention: Young men in high school or those of college age: If you may be interested in or being called to the priesthood, you are invited to the St. Andrew Dinner on Tuesday, December 29, at 5:00 p.m. The event will take place at St. Francis de Sales Seminary. For those in high school, you are invited to a discussion about College Seminary beginning at 3:00 p.m. For college-age men, there will be a silent discernment retreat on December 18, 2020. To register, or for more information on either event, please call Emma Hegarty at 414-747-6437 or email her at ehegarty@sfs.edu.
Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary -
Holy Day of Obligation
On Tuesday, December 8, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics. Mass times at St. John’s are 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. We celebrate Mary, who would bring our Savior into the world, free from original sin. Mary Immaculate is also the patroness of the United States which might inspire you to say a prayer for our country.
Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America, into the hands of Mary Immaculate, in order that she may present the country to You. Through her, we wish to thank You for the great resources of this land and for the freedom which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Amen.
Flu Season
Now that the normal flu season is here, be sure that if you have a sore throat, fever, cough, sneezing, muscle aches and pains you do not come to Church. We are working to keep the Parish as healthy as possible. Please stay home when not feeling well. When you are not feeling well, it is not a sin to miss Mass.
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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.
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Bipolar Ionization System
In this time of Covid-19, there are a number of things we have been doing to stay safe: mask, sanitizer, social distance. Another thing we would like to do is install a high-tech air purification system in our heating and A/C units. Many hospitals are using them to clean air by killing bacteria and viruses along with many other air impurities. The way it works is that millions of positive and negative-charged oxygen ions are sent into the air which attach to pathogens and kill them.
We would like to order this new system and have it installed by Easter. Even though Covid-19 won’t be with us forever, germs and other viruses will be. This is something that can be used for years to come to keep us as healthy as we can be.
Total cost of the project is $10,000
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Find Out What the
Real Christmas Party is All About!
Dr. Brant Pitre’s “ The Last Supper and the Lost Tribes of Israel” is an easy to understand presentation on the REAL Christmas party... it isn’t just about someone in ancient history, but rather about ‘someone’ we each know quite well. Come and find out who that ‘someone’ is. Have your understanding of Advent, your love of Christmas, and your gratitude to our Lord Jesus take on even deeper depths.
Questions? Call or text
Laura Lee (414) 840-0261, Chris (414) 507-7660 or
Austin (414) 530-5770.
We hope to see you there on
Saturday, December 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hall.
Please wear a mask!
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Holy Name Society News
The Holy Name Society will celebrate Corporate Communion at the 8:00am Mass on Sunday, December 13, 2020. They will also pray the Rosary at 7:20 a.m. in the Church before Mass.
NO Meeting or Breakfast will follow. All men 16 and older are welcome, and fathers are encouraged to bring their sons 8 years and older.
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CHRISTMAS 2020 at ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
— CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE —
(Prelude music begins 15 minutes before each Mass)
CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES
Thursday, December 24, 2020
2:00 p.m. Church
4:00 p.m. Church
4:15 p.m. Gym
10:00 p.m. Church
CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES
Friday, December 25, 2020
8:00 a.m. Church
9:30 a.m. Church
11:00 a.m. Church
11:15 a.m. Gym
Seating will be on a first-come, first-seated basis in the church proper. Once the church reaches its safe, socially-distanced capacity, guests will be directed to the overflow seating area in the church hall where Mass will be live-streamed and eucharistic ministers will distribute Holy Communion.
Be sure to wear a mask to Mass!
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The Word Among Us
Copies of the Advent issue of The Word Among Us are available this weekend in the Narthex, at the Adoration entrance, and at the parish office for $2 per copy.
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2020 Parish Giving Tree
St. John’s annual tradition of hosting a Giving Tree for those less fortunate will continue this year with a few additional precautionary measures due to the Covid-19 virus. Those will be outlined in future newsletters.
Please know that the 2020 Christmas Giving Tree is full of gift envelopes. Individuals and families can take a gift tag, shop for that item and then return it between now and December 13. On December 14, all gifts will be given to and then distributed by the House of Peace, Hope House, Sojourner Family Peace Center, Stork’s Nest and the St. John’s Chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society (all gifts to St. Vincent de Paul will be in the form of gift cards).
Gift cards can be purchased after all weekend Masses through our SCRIP program.
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Cookie Walk
(Pandemic Edition)
Mark your calendars for our annual Home and School Cookie Walk - “Pandemic Edition.” Pre-packaged 1-pound boxes of assorted homemade Christmas cookies will be available for pre-purchase and pickup after Masses on Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13. Cookies are reasonably priced at $8 per pound.
You can call the school to order (414-321-8540) or click here to fill out a form and return it to the Parish Office by 5:00pm on Thursday, December 10.
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Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
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Second Sunday in Advent
December 5/6, 2020
We serve a merciful and patient God. In His kindness, He warns us that we will be called to make an account one day for how we made use of the gifts He has given us.
The most precious gift He has given us is His own Son, Whose birth we are preparing to celebrate.
St. Peter describes the loving-kindness of the Father in our Second Reading today, saying God “is patient with you, not wishing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Yet, in the same passage, we receive this warning: “The Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar... and the earth and everything on it will be found out.”
How are we to assimilate these two truths — the merciful love of God and the responsibility that comes with the privilege of living as His disciple? St. Peter tells us we should conduct ourselves “in holiness and devotion.” Indeed, this is the goal of our Advent “reset” — to return to living lives focused on Christ, in gratitude for all He has done for us.
In our Gospel passage from Mark, John the Baptist instructs us to “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” We must make good use of the gift of time we have been given this Advent season. Let’s be sure to get to Confession, prioritize a daily reading of the Scriptures, and reach out to someone in need with a word of comfort or an act of service.
In this way, we will honor both the mercy and justice of our God, and we will be prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ and give account for all His gifts to us.
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Patience...
Each year we use the season of Advent to teach lessons in patience, focusing on the celebration of Jesus’ birth, while preparing for our Christmas program, classroom celebrations, and the many other activities that keep us busy during December.
Just like everything else, Advent has a different focus for us. We are grateful to continue our in-person learning, but the sacrifices we make daily - wearing masks, skipping our beloved buddy activities, and attending Mass without our parish friends, are all a special exercise in patience. Advent remains what it has always been - a season of hope, peace, joy, and love. This year, as we face unimaginable challenges, we will emphasize hope for a future, sooner rather than later, that is filled with the peace, joy, and love that comes from well-earned time with family and friends.
I know you all join us in our prayers for brighter days ahead, filled with abundant blessings.
...Together in God’s Name
Mary Laidlaw-Otto, Principal
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2021 Calendar Raffles
are now Available!
Calendar raffles are available for sale in the Parish Office and in the Narthex after select weekend Masses.
Give the gift that could keep on giving!
Cost is $20 each
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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.
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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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When people decide to follow Christ, they often experience conversion. In fact many of the saints refer to continuous conversion throughout their lives. In this talk, Mark Hart tells the story of his conversion and encourages us to be made new in Christ.
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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.
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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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