Mary Busch

Khris McCoy, husband of Pam McCoy and father of Katelyn, Matthew and Jeremy McCoy.

Joseph Patrick, husband of Mary Patrick.

Eternal rest grant to them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

The annual Fall Festival planning is well underway.  It will be Sunday, October 16, from 1-4pm. It will be an afternoon filled with fun, games, good food, music, community building and more. It is our vision to create a larger community event that shines a light on both our parish and our school.  As you can imagine, it will take many hands to do it well. We are seeking folks that may have an interest in helping us create this event.  Volunteers are needed at all levels.

If you are interested in volunteering reach out to Annamarie Jakubielski at annamarie@jakubielski.com or 828 699-6996 text/call for more information. 

It will surely be another fun event by the Parish Life Commission.

Bounty of Bethlehem is calling out for community leaders to join the effort to move forward.

Please join the Bounty of Bethlehem Team at the Salvation Army in Hendersonville on Tuesday,  September 13, 2-3pm. They are looking ahead to this year’s 39th Community Christmas Dinner with a goal of engaging as many community volunteer leaders as possible, to help make this year’s dinner as blessed as it can be for everyone in our community!   

For more information visit the Bounty of Bethlehem Facebook Page, and/or contact Annamarie Jakubielski at (828) 699-6996 or Leanne Christensen at (206) 280-9088. 

Richard (Dick) and Janice Wilcox moved to the Hendersonville area 5 years

ago from the small town of Castile in Western New York. “We wanted to be closer to our children and our granddaughter,” Janice explains. “Our daughter, Jenny, her husband, Brian, and our granddaughter, Avery, live in Fairview, and our son, Clinton, and his wife, Delia, live in Woodfin, so Hendersonville was a perfect location for us,” Dick adds.

The couple immediately joined and became active in Immaculate Conception Parish. Dick belongs to the Knights of Columbus, and he and Janice were recently named the Knights’ Family of the Year! “That was such an honor,” they agree. Janice belongs to the Women’s Guild, and Rose's Ministry.

Together they are group leaders for the Confirmation classes, are Lectors, Ushers, and Eucharistic Ministers at the 8:00 AM Sunday Mass. “We also help out at the Attic,” Dick adds.

They are active with the Edneyville Grange, an organization that had its national beginnings in 1867. “There are more than 2,100 hometown granges in the U.S.,” Dick explains. “I’ve been a Grange member for 56 years, and Janice has been a member for 42 years,” he shares..

 “As members,” Janice continues, “we strive to bring the community together for involvement in local government, fun fellowship, and dedicated volunteerism.” Janice serves as a member of the State Grange Leadership Officer. “We are also members of the Etowah Lions where Dick is the president,” she adds.

When not volunteering, the couple enjoys listening to music, playing cards, and doing things with their granddaughter. Dick also enjoys watching sports both on TV or at various games.

The two of them agree that being a member of Immaculate Conception Parish has “been wonderful! We love the friendliness of the people and how quickly and well we were welcomed into the parish!”

Our new Parish Maintenance Supervisor, Gabriel Vera, moved from Guanajuato, Mexico to Hendersonville 13 years ago with his parents and sister, Maria. He graduated from East Henderson High School, and Blue Ridge Community College with a degree in Mechatronics Engineering. He worked in Arden, NC, as a Maintenance technician/planner/purchasing at Arcadia Beverage before coming to Immaculate Conception.

Gabriel is looking forward to working here at Immaculate Conception. “I look forward to making the parish look great by keeping everything up to date. I also look forward to meeting everyone, and building new relationships with more and more parishioners!” he says eagerly.

When not working, Gabriel loves to play music! “Music is my passion,” he explains. “I am part of a praise and worship band called Summit which I really enjoy!” Besides playing music, Gabriel likes “to go fishing and camping and especially watch the sun rise! For fun and relaxation I also enjoy 3D building and laser engraving.”

He loves “spending time with my beautiful girlfriend, Evelyn, winter, and coffee so you will often see me with a cup of coffee in my hand,” he laughs.

13 years ago I decided I needed a change from western Pennsylvania where I grew up. The move happened eight years later when a friend told me I should research Hendersonville. I was on my way home from Florida and decided to stop in Hendersonville. I had three items on my list — church, Hampton Inn, and a garage. I stopped at Immaculate Conception (same name as my parish back home) and as soon as I entered the church I found peace; the other two items became less important. So I packed up and moved to a new adventure.

In the past I owned and operated four hotels, 250 rooms for 15 years. I had an awesome staff and loved meeting new people. I have been retired for 14 years and love every minute of it. I love to read, spend time at the beach, and travel thus visiting most states, plus Germany, Austria, Italy and the Holy Land. I also have done some cruises, but would rather jump in my truck and drive.

In my former parish I was involved in Religious Education, the funeral team and served as Eucharistic Minister. I have become involved with the Environment Committee here and offered to help the ladies that take care of the altar linens. I also helped with Edge for a short time, but with my traveling, it is difficult to commit to activities.

St. Francis of Assisi died just after sunset on October 3rd.

He recited Psalm 142 and, during the closing verse, he died.

This event is solemnly recalled each year by Franciscans

   to honor their holy Father's entrance into joy.

We warmly invite you to commemorate this night by joining the

   Secular Franciscans of St. Francis of the Hills Fraternity 

in a special Transitus service on Monday, October 3rd at 6:30pm

   in Our Lady of the Angels Chapel.

     * Reception to follow after the Transitus, in the St. Francis Room

If you look carefully at the right side of the sanctuary you will notice a small cabinet on the wall. This cabinet is our ambry (sometimes called an aumbry). The traditional purpose of the ambry (from the medieval form almarium or “a place to keep tools”) was to store the sacred vessels and vestments which today are stored in the sacristy.  

Now the ambry is used to store the three holy oils used in the Church’s liturgy:  chrism, a blessed mixture of olive oil scented with a sweet perfume, usually balsam; oil of the catechumens, blessed olive oil; and oil of the sick, also blessed olive oil. The vessel that holds a holy oil is called a chrismarium.   

The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick have singular uses by the church. Chrism, on the other hand, which is blessed by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass, is used in the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders as well as the consecration of churches, chalices, patens, altars and altar-stones. The head of the newly-baptized is anointed with chrism, the forehead of the person confirmed, the head and hands of a bishop at his consecration, and the hands of a priest at his ordination. The olive oil in chrism represents the copious outpouring of sacramental grace, while balsam with its fragrance typifies the innate sweetness of Christian virtue. Thus anointing with chrism signifies the fullness of grace and spiritual strength by which we can resist the contagion of sin and produce the sweet flowers of virtue

Those of you who are grandparents may know that there’s a special holiday set aside in your honor each year. This year, Grandparents Day is Sunday, September 11^th. Forty-four years ago in 1978, President Jimmy Carter set aside the Sunday after Labor Day as Grandparents Day. President Carter wanted to encourage all citizens to plan activities for that day that would recognize the many contributions grandparents have made in our lives.

Along with this special day, there is also an official song for the holiday. Written by Johnny Prill, “A Day for Grandma and Grandpa” https://youtu.be/KjAECeBqM3s tells of the love between grandparents and grandchildren, and of the many things grandparents do with and for their grandchildren.

There’s also an official flower for Grandparents Day – Forget-Me-Nots. While the sentiment of the name of this flower is appropriate, the timing is off a bit. Forget-Me-Nots bloom in the spring, and the holiday is always in the fall.

If you’re wondering what grandchildren want to know most about their grandparents, here are some questions most often asked by grandchildren:

“When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?”

“What did you like to do as a child?” “What was your favorite thing to play with when you were little?” and, “Did you ever get in trouble as a child?”

We hope you find this new part of our monthly newsletter to be intriguing enough to respond to the challenge presented. Each month we will give you something to ponder and pray about over the following month, and we will then provide some additional insight in the subsequent newsletter for you to consider. Each of us is on a unique faith journey, and it is our hope that these challenges will be helpful to you as we try to apply our faith to the everyday challenges of life.

So, let’s dive into our first challenge. When I was asked to author this article, I was quickly drawn to an experience my wife and I had many years ago. We opted to attend a three day Christian focused marriage retreat, which at the time was a huge step to take for us. We had very little idea of what we had signed up for, and so we showed up a bit nervous to say the least. The opening part of the retreat was in a large auditorium, and everyone was asked to attend this session together. We were informed that 888 individuals had signed up for the retreat. The speaker went on to tell us various details of what we could expect to happen each day and evening. One thing really got my attention, and that was we would be asked to write a personal letter to our spouse on the second evening. Like most guys, the prospect of writing down my most personal feelings was nerve-wracking!

As this first session began to wrap up, the speaker asked us one question. This question, as it turned out, would change my life forever. He prefaced the question with the acknowledgment that we all led busy lives. In many cases both spouses had full-time jobs, and many in attendance were raising children as well. In addition, many were involved in church activities, hobbies, and on and on. Susan and I were raising three children,

ages 5-10.

Then he gave us this question: “Do you believe it is more important to give your spouse/children/close friends quality time or quantity time”?

Please take the time to write down your answers to why you picked quality or quantity. Next month I will tell you how the group answered this question at the opening session, and also the tally at the end of the retreat.

Blessings,

Doug Miller

Parishioner

St. Anthony of Padua was born Ferdinand Bulhom in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal. His teachers at the Cathedral School of St. Mary suggested that he become a knight on the king’s court. His father wanted him to help manage the family estate and become a nobleman. Ferdinand decided he wanted to be a priest, and at the age of 15 joined the Canons Regular of St. Augustine.

After two years there he asked to be transferred to Holy Cross Monastery in Colmbra, the then capital of Portugal. He spent 8 years there studying theology and was ordained a priest around 1219. While in Colmbra, he became friends with friars from the Friars Minor who followed St. Francis of Assisi.

They told him the story of five Friars who went to Morocco as chaplains to the sultan’s soldiers, but angered the sultan who had them put to death. Ferdinand was so moved by their story and martyrdom that he joined the Friars Minor and was given the name Anthony. He then went to Morocco to continue the work the five Friars had started there, but became ill and had to return home.

His ship was blown off course and he landed in Sicily where he recovered and lived a life of solitude. His gift for preaching was discovered by accident when he accompanied the Father Provincial to an ordination and the scheduled preacher did not show up. The Father Provincial asked Anthony to preach, which he did eloquently and passionately.

When St. Francis of Assisi heard of his preaching, he appointed him the first theology teacher of the Franciscan Order.  Anthony founded a school of theology, and when Francis of Assisi died in 1226, Anthony returned to Padua, Italy to continue his preaching. He became ill again and died in 1231 at the age of 35. He was canonized one year later by Pope Gregory IX, and later named a Doctor of the Church.

He is the patron saint of the illiterate and the poor, the finder of lost things, and the saint of small requests. His feast day is June 13^th

The Good Samaritan Attic has distributed such items as furniture, beds, linens, pots, pans and much more to over 250 families since Jan 1, 2022. It is important to note that the Attic is only open 2 days a week for 1 hour each day. The need is great. We are receiving more referrals from Interfaith Ministry, the Mission and other organizations.

We would like to thank our parishioners for making this ministry possible. Without your support and donations of furniture and household items, this ministry would not exist.

Because of the large demands, we find ourselves once again in need of sheets, towels pots and pans and all furniture.

If you are moving or downsizing and would like to donate furniture or household items, please contact Margaret Cavagnaro at (828)280-1298 to schedule a pickup. We also offer receipts for tax purposes, if needed.

Knights collect Food for IAM

Knights of Columbus Annual Picnic