What's Happening During a Pandemic
|
|
|
While we are "Safer At Home" our weekly newsletter has changed format
to help you during this challenging time.
|
|
Spiritual Meanderings During a Pandemic
|
|
|
Fr. Michael will be hearing confessions this
Friday, May 15 at 8:30 a.m.
|
|
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 16, will live-stream at 4:30 p.m.
Mass on Sunday, May 17, 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.
|
|
SIGNING UP FOR MASS PREFERENCE
Beginning May 30 and 31,
St. John the Evangelist will resume public Masses, under the directives set by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. We are limited to 25% of the capacity of our church. Therefore, 125 parishioners will be able to attend each Mass, with an additional 25 seats available for walk-ins.
There are four Mass times set:
- Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, 8:00 a.m.
- Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
- Sunday, 11:00 a.m.
Parishioners can now sign up for their Mass preference in several ways:
- Call the parish office (414-321-1965)
- Visit the parish office (Monday – Thursday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. – Noon)
- Email their preference to rectory@stjohns-grfd.org
- Respond to the email survey below
In each case, please let us know your preferred Mass day and time, the TOTAL number of people who will be attending, and leave your first and last name. If there are any special needs or requirements for your family, please call the parish office. These preferences will be in effect until further notice, but most likely through July 5.
|
|
*If you have already given your Mass preference you do not need to fill out this survey.
|
|
PREPARING TO RETURN TO MASS
As we prepare to return to Mass, the Archdiocese has set some guidelines for us to follow to make the church environments as physically safe as possible. The first guideline is if you are sick, and have any flu-like symptoms, fever, fear or anxiety of catching the virus, stay home. There will be hand sanitizers for people to use as they enter church, or you may bring your own. Wearing masks is encouraged. Every other pew will be available to seat parishioners. Those living in the same household are asked to sit together.
For distribution of Holy Communion, we ask that you stay in your pew and the Eucharistic Minister will come to you, walking through the empty pews in front of parishioners.
A reminder that Communion on the tongue is absolutely forbidden. If you cannot receive Communion in your hand, you may cross your arms on your chest and receive a blessing. There will be no distribution of Holy Communion from the chalice or common cup.
If there is an overflow of people, Mass will be live-streamed in the church Hall where Communion will also be distributed.
To keep proper social distancing as we leave Mass, parishioners will be asked to exit church in a new way: those who sit on the St. Joseph side of church, in the short pews, will exit through the North side door. Those who sit on Mary’s side of church, in the short pews will exit by the Nouth door. Those who sit in the two large center pew sections of church may exit via the East doors through the narthex.
The obligation to attend Mass has been lifted until July 5. Hymnals will not be used at this time. They have been gathered, sanitized and stored. The Holy water fonts have been put away until further notice. There will be no offertory procession of wine and host. Offertory gifts will be brought from the Sanctuary.
FESTIVAL CANCELED FOR 2020
Fr. Michael and the festival Chairperson Ron Heser have made an executive decision to cancel this summer’s Parish festival. This decision was reluctantly made based on all the uncertainties the Coronavirus has placed upon us. We made this decision two and a half months before the festival so we could put our energies into developing possible ways to recoup the $70,000 lost revenue the Festival would have hopefully added to our parish budget. At the recent festival meeting, these four ways were discussed as feasible opportunities to recoup some of the loss of the festival revenue: Continue to have the raffle; have an online auction; send a “Special Donation Letter” in place of the festival; and if conditions present themselves, in early fall, have a chicken dinner or fish fry.
The raffle tickets will be out for pickup by mid-June. The selling of tickets will last through the Tuesday after Labor Day. The drawings for winners will be held Tuesday evening, September 8. We also discussed the Parish Rummage sale, hosted by the Christian Women. As soon as school is over, we will begin setting up for the rummage and look for a date some time before school begins. Extra hands will be solicited to help set up and implement the rummage sale.
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.
|
|
Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
|
|
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 16/17, 2020
On this sixth Sunday of Easter, our readings remind us that God must come first in our lives, and that love of God shows itself in concrete actions, this is precisely why the stewardship way of life is so necessary.
Our second reading, from St. Peter, challenges us to, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” In other words, we are to put Christ first, above all else in our lives. His role is not merely as Savior of our lives, as significant as that role is, He is to be “Lord” of our lives as well. As His disciples, we are called to make Him ruler of all aspects of our lives, our time, talents, and treasure.
The beauty of the stewardship way of life is that it offers us a concrete means to show that Christ truly is Lord of our lives, to “prove” our love, in a manner of speaking, because true love is not a mere sentiment. “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me,” Jesus tells us in our Gospel passage from John.
True love is an act of the will. It requires obedience to all of God’s commandments. This requires courage, humility, and deep trust in Him.
But the rewards of this kind of love are indescribably wonderful. Christ tells us Himself, “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Could there be anything more satisfying to live in such a way that the God of the universe is pleased to reveal more and more of Himself to us?
|
|
Our Unusual Journey and the Need for Prayer
As distance learning continues for our students, staff members are beginning to plan for the end of the school year. In our regular environment, this would mean field trips, our end of year picnic, and planting our garden. We would be welcoming our parents in to celebrate the learning that has gone on in our building throughout the year. Instead, our classrooms and hallways are empty and dark. The only reminder that we should be in school are the bells - they continue to ring throughout the day.
Those dark classrooms are frustrating, but they don’t mean that we will not be celebrating the accomplishments of our amazing learners. Plans are underway to provide our eighth graders with the opportunity to walk across our stage in their caps and gowns. All our students will receive the awards and participation certificates that they have earned. Thanks to the efforts of Jane Ehrmann, our garden beds are ready for planting and seedlings of every sort are sprouting in our science lab. As is often the case, we are praying for warm weather, but we know our garden will be planted, and our students and parishioners will have the opportunity to visit and enjoy harvesting fresh vegetables on hot summer days.
Preparing to celebrate the accomplishments of our students, planting our garden, all these simple tasks that we take for granted, are so important this year. They represent hope, and our belief in better times ahead, when we will gather to pray and learn. I don’t know about you - but I will never take these opportunities for granted again!
...
Staying Safer at Home and Being a Blessing!
Mary Laidlaw-Otto, Principal
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
The stations of the Cross is a devotion and reflection in which we walk alongside Jesus on His way to Calvary. By prayerfully participating in this meditation we are able to clearly see through His passion and death the depths of God's love for mankind and the price He paid for our salvation. This presentation includes powerful meditations by Dr. Ronald Thomas, Assistant Professor of Theology at Belmont Abbey College, with prayer responses by students from the college
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
"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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
