STB Bulletin - week of 8/1- 8/7

e-Bulletin

Week of August 1 - 7, 2021

... to Love, to Serve, to be Hope ...

CALENDAR

Saturday, July 31:

5:00 pm Fr. Mike Erlander

Sunday, August 1:

9:00 am MASS, Fr. Mike Erlander

Monday, August 2:

Baptism Preparation, 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm

Tuesday, August 3:

Mass at Inver Glen, 10:00 am
AA meeting, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Wednesday, August 4:

No Event Scheduled

Thursday, August 5:

Lawn Mowing Crew Team 4
Mass, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Council meeting, 5:45 pm - 8:00 pm
Al-Anon meeting, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Friday, August 6:

Funeral Mass for John Hakanson 10-11am

Saturday, August 7: Food Shelf Weekend

Zenner/Strom Wedding, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
5:00 pm Fr. Mike Erlander

Sunday, August 8: Food Shelf Weekend

Baptism beginning 10:30 am
9:00 am MASS, Fr. Mike Erlander

SYNOD UPDATE

New update every week!

Are you someone who would like to see change but do not think you have a voice or a place to be heard?

The Synod small group process may be just what you are looking for.

Click here for latest update

ATTN FAITH FORMATION & SACRAMENT PARENTS!

Registration for Faith Formation classes and Sacramental Preparation for Pre/K – Grade 12 is now open!

CLICK HERE and get the early bird discount when you register by August 19!!

ITEMS NEEDED

Our Confirmation Director is in search of gently used Jenga games and copies of the Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! These are for use on retreat and will not be returned. Please do not buy new; right now we are hoping to collect from items people are no longer using. Mark your donations, “For Dez” and drop off at the church. Thank you!

LAST OUTDOOR MASS

THIS SUMMER

AUGUST 15

The next outdoor Mass will be held Sunday, August 15th at 9:00 a.m., The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We will also have a pancake and sausage picnic brunch after this Mass. The Mass is outdoors on our back lawn.

All are welcome!

Bring your own lawn chair or blanket for your comfort, but chairs will be available as needed.

MASS COORDINATORS NEEDED

One of the many ministries necessary to our weekend worship is that of Mass Coordinator. Now that we are becoming fully open, the need is especially urgent.

The Mass Coordinator comes early to prepare what is needed for liturgy and leaves a little later after tidying up and making sure that the worship space is ready for the next mass. They also organize the collection and the gifts procession.

New Mass Coordinators train with our experienced Mass Coordinators before being their own. This is also a good ministry for couples or friends to do together.

All Masses could use more Mass Coordinators. They are usually scheduled for a month at a time, but scheduling can also be flexible.

Contact Jackie Graham at 651-452-8775 or jackieg@stbeagan.org for more information.

RED PINE

SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE

7/30-8/27

Saint Thomas Becket will be holding a school supply drive for our friends at Red Pine Elementary in Eagan from Friday July 30^th through Friday August 27^th.

Donations can be dropped off at STB before Mass or anytime the church is open. Bins will be placed by the entrance.

Suggested items to donate are listed below.

If you have any questions feel free to contact:

Molly Gantz at mmgantz@comcast.net or Kate Gantz (teacher @ Red Pine) at kate.gantz@district196.org.

Thank you for supporting our community’s children. You do make a difference!

Items to donate:

Crayons (24 count)
Colored pencils (12 count)
Folders – 2 pocket folders (sturdy/laminated are ideal)
Glue sticks
Glue bottles (school glue)
Markers – (both broad and thin tip)
Scissors – (both children’s for primary students & adult’s for intermediate students)
Dry Erase/White board markers
Spiral Notebooks – Wide Rule
Composition Books – Wide Rule
School Boxes
Student headphones (no earbuds)

GRIEF SMALL GROUP FACILITATORS NEEDED!

St. Thomas Becket is a member of a coalition of 16 local churches that presents Growing Through Loss, a bi-annual program of information and support for persons who are experiencing grief due to the death of a loved one, broken relationship, job loss, loss of health, etc.

Small group facilitators are needed for this coming year.

The Fall Series will be held at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake on Thursday evenings, September 14 – October 12 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm.

Each session offers a presentation followed by small groups led by facilitators. Training is provided. If you are a good listener and wish to minister to those experiencing grief, this ministry may be for you.

If you are interested, please contact Lori Hannasch, Director of Pastoral Care, St. John Neumann Catholic Church at Lori.Hannasch@sjn.org or 651-209-8590.

PROJECT C.R.I.B DONATIONS NEEDED

Please provide love, service and hope to local women and their families in need! Place Project CRIB (Christians Rejoicing In Birth) donations in the crib by the front door. All baby supplies, equipment and toys are helpful, but specific needs at this time include pull-ups, wipes, and new or used 18-24month, 2T and 3T clothing.

Donations benefit clients of Guiding Star Wakota in West St. Paul:

https://guidingstarwakota.org.

DOROTHY DAY HIGHER GROUND

AN OPPORTUNTIY TO LOVE, TO SERVE, TO BE HOPE

There is a huge need for volunteers at Dorothy Day Higher Ground, especially Thursday to Sunday evenings. Serve once or as it fits into your schedule!

For I was Hungry…

Ready to start joyfully serving others?

Consider Christ’s command to “feed the hungry” and volunteer to serve an evening meal to the homeless at the Dorothy Day (Higher Ground) Homeless Shelter in St. Paul, serving those in a transition program known as Pay for-Stay. Two to four volunteers are needed nightly from 7-9pm to serve the evening meal. This is a very flexible program and only involves serving the meal and clean up; no food preparation or financial commitment is required. Also, volunteers may select a personally convenient date through an online portal; there is no required, regular volunteer commitment. You can create your own team or sign up as an individual. The Higher Ground program is an excellent volunteer/work of mercy opportunity for you, your family, and friends.

Learn more or sign up to volunteer at www.friendsofdorothyday.org.

ADOPT-A-GARDEN

This annual project invites families and individuals to “adopt” areas for regular growing and weeding on our beautiful property.

You would be asked to maintain your area for a the entire growing season. Most gardens involve a few hours of work twice-a-month, and can be done on your own schedule.

Thank you for volunteering your time! SIGN-UP HERE

MASS GREETERS

We are always in need of some help with greeters for all of our Masses.

This is a good ministry for men, women, couples and families.

Sign-up HERE.

PREPARING

FOR OUR FALL FESTIVAL

SEPTEMBER 18

Make sure to SAVE THE DATE:

Saturday, September 18, 2021,

starting with an INDOOR Mass at 3:00 pm.

We’ll have a silent auction, petting zoo, giant slide, food, beer/wine, games and live music.

SILENT AUCTION

To get ready and while you are out traveling this summer, please also look for unique and interesting items for the Silent Auction as well as bottles of wine for the wine toss. Thank You!

SAVE THE DATE

SEPTEMER 11

10th Annual Bogey's Best Ball Golf Tournament

September 11, 201

Start getting your teams ready! (groups of 4)

STB VIRTUAL PRAYER WALL

Let's pray for each other!

When you get to this page, double click on the brick wall to post your prayer or a prayer request, or click on the "+" on the lower right of the wall.

GOSPEL MEDITATION

“You cannot see the forest for the trees” is a widely known saying that can bring wisdom to our understanding of our journey. Often, our sight becomes limited to what is immediately before us. We lose touch with lessons and experiences from the past and promises and hope for the future. As human beings, we have the privilege of being able to choose things. What I like and don’t like, want, and don’t want can be major preoccupations of our minds and hearts. Our preferences and desires begin to define us more than the simple fact of our being. Who we are matters more than what we are or what we have. If we don’t move beyond the external and superficial stuff to what really is of essence, we risk becoming very unsettled, disorientated, angry, and unhappy. We fail to see the bigger picture of hope and promise that lies ahead and the Divine Presence that has sustained and carried us before.

We like it when the “now” time of our lives satisfy us. Even the people who witnessed Jesus feed the five thousand got confused and distracted. It felt good when thousands of people were able to eat. They wanted to know what they could do to get this to happen again! But Jesus quickly reminds them that this is not the point of this sign. As much as the now time of our lives is of concern, it is not what is ultimately important. We need to learn the difference between being and doing, drawing more strength from who we are and who God is rather than what is happening around us and the choices we can make. Jesus is the true bread that came down from heaven. Jesus is the very incarnate presence of God who sustains life and assures us that we will not perish. This is not easy to understand and feel. We have to practice being in the presence of ourselves, others, creation, and God. We are brought to a holy place when we encounter the sacredness of being. This is real prayer.

Then, we learn to trust. It is when we cease trusting that we start to become afraid, uncertain, apprehensive, and doubtful, and overly self-concerned. We even start to grumble. God has our back. That is the essential powerful message of the living bread come down from heaven. God, who is alpha is also omega, the beginning and the end, and has everything in between in his care as well. A woman once remarked that her most powerful God moment happened when she and her husband cuddled with their new baby for a time. Without exchanging words and using only the affection communicated through sight and touch, they rested in being with each other. This brought them to the sacred, where they realized that a greater Being was with them. It was real. They knew that they were part of something bigger, intimate, and profound. When we rest in the Living Source of life, we will find that our souls are no longer hungry or thirsty.

©LPi

RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS

Practicing Graciousness in the Desert

Looking back over my journey of parenthood, I know there were days when I traveled the extra mile for my children. I made their toast the way they like it, let them play in the park an extra ten minutes, or let them go to the movies with their friends and I finished up the chores on my own. And then, it happened: the attitude. The request for the smallest thing from one of them is met with disdain or bewilderment.

Sometimes you can be made breathless with the ingratitude of another person who takes so much and with so little shame, only to scoff at the idea that they, too, give even the smallest amount.

But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we will admit that we do the exact same thing to God. Haven’t we all been the Israelites in the desert at one point or another? God has parted our Red Sea in some way. He’s led us out of some great trial, given us some great blessings. But then we run into a little resistance somewhere along the way and we throw up our hands. How could you do this to us, Lord? How could you ask this of us? No, I can’t go any further. No, I won’t do any more.

Persisting in the blindness to the many ways God continues to protect us is nothing short of a temper tantrum. It robs our Everyday Stewardship of its graciousness, of our ability to accept with joy the trials of life because we are also constantly aware of its blessings.

— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

©LPi