IC Newsletter

IC Blessings

May 1, 2022

“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother”

-St. Therese of Lisieux

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Rest In Peace

Jonh McClung, Husband of Anne McClung

Joseph "Joe" McLauglin, Father of Jennifer Kunkel

Heinz Woessner, Husband of Sara Woessner

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

MAY PARISHIONER OF THE MONTH

Annamarie Jakubielski moved from Naples, FL, 17 years ago. “When we were researching where we might like to move,” Annamarie recalls, “Hendersonville kept popping up, and we took this as a sign from God that this is where He wanted us to be. We knew we were home when we arrived here and joined Immaculate Conception Church.”

While she has done many things over the years, Annamarie finds her most rewarding job has been raising and homeschooling their children. She is currently the publisher of Discover Hometown magazine.

At Immaculate Conception Parish, Annamarie has taught several grades in the Faith Formation program and was a small group leader for both EDGE and the Confirmation program. She currently chairs the Parish Life Commission, under which are various committees. “In this role, I am working with Father Cook to identify some activities to bring fun to our parish community and identify parishioners who can help make these events occur as committee chairs for each,” she explains.

So far, she and parish members have organized the Welcome Back Festival, Marian Days, Stations and Lenten Soup Suppers, and the recent screening of the movie “Father Stu.” “We will grow this commission to include committee chairs and support volunteers with more events as time goes on,” she says confidently. “I cherish our parish life and hope to continue to build it so all can feel the same way.”

Married happily to Joe for almost 23 years, Annamarie enjoys doing things with their four children – Jordan, 21. Dana, 19; Jesse, 17; and Jonah, 15. Her father, Gill Rapoza, also lives with them. “We enjoy hiking, finding the beauty in nature, gardening, and just being together. I have a soft spot for dancing with my dad."

Outside the parish, Annamarie previously chaired an ecumenical Vacation Bible School, was a Cub Scout leader, a 4-H Youth Development Leader, currently serves on the Board of Open Arms Pregnancy Center, and is the chair of the Bounty of Bethlehem Community Christmas Dinner, an event she and her family have been involved with for years.

Parts of the Church Continued

Sanctuary

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal defines the sanctuary as “the place where the altar stands, where the word of God is proclaimed, and where the priest, the deacon and other ministers exercise their offices” (No. 295). It is the area in the front of the church where the altar, the ambo (stationary stand where the Gospel is proclaimed), the celebrant’s chair and in many churches, the tabernacle are located.

The sanctuary, also known as the chancel, is usually raised above the floor of the nave to enhance the view of the altar by the congregation, but most especially to highlight the sacredness of the space. This is the space reminiscent of the Holy of Holies - the inner sanctuary of the Old Testament temple in Jerusalem. Thus the sanctuary of our churches also fulfills Exodus 25:8, “They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst”.

Sacristy

The name sacristy comes from the Latin word sacristra and is the room near the sanctuary where the sacred vessels, books, vestments, and bread and wine are stored. As is often the case, at Immaculate Conception the priests and deacons vest in the sacristy.

The sacristy has been part of Catholic churches since the fourth century when the first public places of worship were built. The sacristy also contains a sacrarium, a special sink that drains directly into the earth. It is used to dispose of water that has been used for a sa purpose such as rinsing the altar linens or cleaning the sacred vessels.

Since 2009, Feed the Kids has prepared and served approximately 60,000 meals to kids at the Boys & Girls Club. Our five teams rotate cooking and serving a meal every Friday afternoon. Our volunteers are the life-blood of FTK; without them we cannot achieve our goal of feeding kids. We are seeking to replenish our team as we return to normal operations after the pandemic. Will you help?

Volunteer Makeup of each Team

Cooks – 6-10 people from 1:00-3:30 PM on Friday (Salvation Army kitchen)

Servers - 8-12 people from 3:45-4:45 PM on Friday at B&G Club

Shoppers – 1-2 people (shopping day designated by team)

Transporters – 1-2 people with an SUV, van, or truck at 3:30 on Fri.

Transporters must be able to carry 40 lbs.

Check out our website at feedthekidscoalition.org. For information or to volunteer, call or text Skip Grasser at 828-595-1105 or Eris Allen at 704-619-8166.

Update on Our Progress at Immaculata

Spring is in the air, the tulips and forsythia are blooming and we are about to begin Phase II construction of our new STEM Lab at Immaculata Catholic School.

Our Phase I construction project was completed in the summer of 2020, which drew interest from many families with school-age children. The momentum of the school improvement project, along with new dynamic teachers and staff, has resulted in increased enrollment in each of the last two years, plus improving revenue and standardized test scores trending upward. Due to these results, Immaculata has secured a grant of $2,250,000 from a Catholic family foundation to build a STEM Lab and make other exciting improvements to the school. We are in the final stages of planning this wonderful addition to our school and community and construction will soon be underway.

Due to the increased costs of building materials and the difficulty in finding qualified construction personnel, we have reworked our design plans and hope to start construction by the end of May. We have selected Edifice as our general contractor. They have completed several projects for our diocese and are highly recommended. We have already started teaching STEM as one of our special classes to Pre-K through 8^th grade once a week. We are excited to have a dedicated space that promotes hands on learning where students can take ownership of their education.

We will have more exciting news to share with you in the next few months so please follow our progress in the church bulletin or the E-Newsletter. Thank you for all your support.

Margaret Beale

Principal

Immaculata Catholic School

St. Francis of the Hills

Welcomes New Candidate For Profession

St. Francis of the Hills Fraternity, Hendersonville, N.C., held the Rite of Admission during its April 23 gathering, receiving Margaret Cavagnaro (center) into the Secular Franciscan Order as a candidate for permanent profession. With her after the Rite are Father Bob Menard, OFM, spiritual assistant (left); Brenda Harris, OFS, minister; Mark Taylor, OFS, formation director; Diane Salkewicz, OFS, vice minister and Margaret's sponsor.

Annual Rummage Sale

The Women's Guild will be collecting donations for their Annual Rummage Sale from May 2 through June 15. Donations will be accepted at the IC Women's Guild shed located on Buncombe Street in the parking lot next to Immaculata School at the following times:

Mondays 12:00-1:00 pm (excluding Memorial Day)

Wednesdays 5:00-6:00 pm

Saturdays 10:30-11:30 am

Sundays 11:00-12:00 noon

We will be accepting items in good condition, such as kitchen, linens, toys and home decor. The only clothing we will accept is summer clothing. For more information please contact Pat Durako at Padurako@gmail.com or 703-509-6812 or Joan DeMadona at jhdemadona@gmail.com or 203-470-1744.

Knights of Columbus Council 7184

Announcement

We need your help! Immaculate Conception & The Knights of Columbus are joining in a campaign to raise funds for the Open Arms Pregnancy Center. From Mother’s Day through Father’s Day there will be an oversized Baby Bottle in the narthex of the church to place your donations. You can also collect and fill smaller baby bottles and return them, as always. Open Arms’ mission is to protect all life through the love of Jesus Christ. Their vision is to meet the needs of women and teens facing unplanned pregnancies by providing a safe place for them. Please make checks out to the Knights of Columbus 7184. Thank you in advance for your help.

SAVE THE DATE

Immaculata Catholic School is hosting its first annual Spring Festival Sunday, May 22 from 1-4 at the school. There will be great food, fun games, awesome prizes, and a live auction. All proceeds benefit the school. Please join us for this amazing community event!

Men's Bible Study

Come join us on Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 in Room 1 downstairs (the Library) for our weekly Men’s Bible Study. Our focus is to grow in our ability to listen to God speak to us personally in the Scriptures and to respond prayerfully to what we hear. Bring your bible and enjoy the coffee and fellowship.

Cup of Encouragement

God is my Co-Pilot- A Paradigm Shift!

WHOOSH! What was that??

“Ladies and gentlemen this is your Captain, we’ve just lost our starboard engine, I’ve declared a state of emergency, we’ve been cleared to land at Tampa International Airport, in about 15 minutes! Be sure your seat belts are buckled, please follow the instructions of our Flight attendants to assume the pre-crash position”.

Those are the words I heard on an early morning flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Tampa Bay, Florida.

Obviously and thankfully, due to the skills of our pilot and co-pilot we landed safely or, most likely, I would not be writing you today.

Why do I even mention this story? Because in my opinion it is a metaphor for living a life with Christ. You see, I had no control of what was about to happen on that flight. My fate, and the fate of my fellow passengers, were in the hands of the expert pilots, they knew the safest route, they knew how to avoid further danger, and knew how to bring me and my fellow passengers to a safe landing and conclusion.

I was not the Co-Pilot. What was required of me was to simply follow instructions, pray, be obedient, and TRUST the experts.

While it was not a life and death situation, I can see Peter and the disciples in the Gospel of John 21: v.s1-6 in a life lesson of TRUST.

Peter, an expert fisherman, “catches nothing”. Jesus shows up and tells Peter and the others to throw their net on the other side of the boat. After they realize it was Him, they do exactly what He tells them to do. “So, they dropped the net, there were so many fish they could not haul it in” [Jerusalem Bible].

In the same way as I and my fellow passengers trusted the Pilot. Peter and his fellow Disciples, trusted Jesus with the outcome of their (life’s) work. As a result, they experienced the generosity, and life that only Jesus the Good Shepherd can give.

I’ve realized I am not God’s co-pilot.

He is our pilot, the real expert, He knows the best route to take, what side of the boat to cast the net in order to bring us and our fellow passengers, our family and friends to a safe landing in life, into His arms, forever.

What I, we, need to do is listen to Him, do what he says and “Buckle Up”

Dave Coe

Parishioner Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

Have a Prayer Request? Have a comment?

Please Contact me at ambassadordhc@gmail.com