What's Happening
at St. John's
Parish News
Preparing for your
Christmas Mass

The parish recently sent out a postcard announcing the Mass times for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There will be four Masses on Christmas Eve and four on Christmas Day. We hope that between these eight Masses, we will be able to accommodate the people who plan to celebrate Christmas in Church.
 
Upon receiving the postcard, someone asked, how can we have a Christmas Eve Mass at 2:00 p.m.? The answer is because the Bishops of the United States, having a great desire to have as many faithful believers celebrate the birthday of Christ with Mass, have given a one-time dispensation to have Christmas Eve Masses as early in the afternoon as needed. We requested the dispensation and were granted immediate permission by the Diocese.

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.
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.
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.

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!
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.
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! 
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.
 
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. All gifts must be under the tree by Noon on Sunday, 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.
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 5:00 p.m. today, Thursday, December 10.
Christmas Cookie Pick-Up

Don’t forget to pick up any Christmas cookies that you ordered after all Masses this weekend. You can pick them up downstairs in the Church Hall, or if you cannot navigate the stairs, school students will be standing by to get your order for you.
Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
Third Sunday in Advent
December 12/13, 2020

Today we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete” is a Latin word, meaning “rejoice.” A spirit of rejoicing should characterize the Christian steward.

Our First Reading, from Isaiah, expresses a fitting motto for us. “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul.” It is God Who is the source of our joy and contentment — not things or achievements or comfort, but our relationship with God.

This is why stewards can share so freely of their time, talents, and material possessions — because ultimately, we are not attached to these things. We recognize them as good gifts from our loving Father, but we are attached to the Giver of the gifts, not the gifts themselves. This allows for great freedom in life and the capacity for great joy in the Lord.

We can become like John the Baptist in today’s Gospel passage from the Book of John. We read this description of the prophet: “He came for testimony, to testify to the light... He was not the light but came to testify to the light.” This is our calling too — to testify to the light, our incredible Savior — by the way we make use of the time, talent, and treasure He has entrusted to our care.

When God Himself is the source of our joy, nothing can take it away from us. There is still time, this Advent season, to clear away any “clutter” in our lives that may take our focus away from Him. Let us strive to detach from any of these things so that we can be free to rejoice in God on Christmas Day.
School News
Appreciation...

This weekend, we are happy to be presenting a pandemic edition of our annual Cookie Walk. We have given up many activities this year, including our VIP day and our Christmas program. When the Cookie Walk was in jeopardy, our Home and School Committee put their heads together to plan an alternative. Our families and the Christian Women of the parish have certainly stepped up to the plate, pledging to bake more cookies than you can imagine!
 
We know that perusing all the tables overfilled with homemade cookies, groaning at their goodness, and then choosing your favorites is a huge part of the fun of any Cookie Walk. But, I guarantee that the assortment of cookies assembled for you by our volunteers will be delightful! Thanks to all of our parishioners. Your unfailing support for our efforts never go unnoticed.
 
We hope you enjoy the cookies. Please know that the box of cookies you purchase from our Home and School was baked and boxed with love and appreciation for the support of our parish.
 
...Together in God’s Name

Mary Laidlaw-Otto, Principal
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
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.
Death by suicide is sadly at pandemic proportions, killing more people every year than war and homicide combined. While many people know that the Church condemns suicide as a grave sin, few people know that the Church does not teach that a person who commits suicide is automatically condemned to hell. As Fr. Chris Alar, MIC shares in this insightful talk (based upon his book, After Suicide, given an imprimatur), while suicide remains grave and tragic, we must never despair of God's mercy, and we must know that our prayers can powerfully help those who have taken their own lives, and those who have been left behind. 
Start earning the easy way with the new mobile app: RaiseRight by ShopWithScrip
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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 Wednesdays. 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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