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October 2015
Community CONNECTION
Creating community engagement
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FROM FATHER RASK
Each October the family of faith at St. Odilia takes time to remember our vocation to be faithful and effective stewards of the abundant blessings and responsibilities that have been entrusted to us. Our reflection takes the form of pledge drive. But this is only a means to help us remember what we are all about here. Above all we pray that God will release the gifts of the Spirit given each of us for the building up of the Kingdom of God. Faith is shown in love and love "is shown in little things."
We ask you to make a prayerful commitment to our parish as a faithful steward of the blessings God has bestowed on you. God has blessed all of us, and our parish in so many ways. Your gift provides the means by which we can fulfill our duty as a Church and a "factory of hope" for our parish family!
I ask you to join other parishioners in completing and returning the pledge cards at Mass in the coming weeks. Those cards can be returned by mail, completed on-line at the St. Odilia website, returned in the collection, or dropped off at the parish office.
Thank you for making the Catholic Community of St. Odilia the best parish in the Archdiocese!
God Bless,
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SHARING OUR ABUNDANT BLESSINGS
2016 STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE
We invite you to prayerfully consider your pledge of financial stewardship to our parish community. Pledge materials have been mailed to all registered parishioners. This year we are asking all parishioners to complete and return a pledge card to help us keep our records current. We encourage you to pledge your best gift with a grateful heart.
As a sign of one in Christ, you will be invited to bring your Pledge Card to the baskets at the foot of the altar during Mass on 10/24 and 10/25. In the spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving, our gifts will be blessed during Masses on 10/31 and 11/1.
If you did not receive a pledge card in the mail, or have misplaced your pledge card, additional pledge cards will be available in the back of church. You may also submit your pledge online by clicking HERE.
Giving is made easier with our Automatic Offering Options - refer to the Automatic Offering Options form that was sent with your pledge materials, or download the form HERE.
Thank you for being interested and engaged in supporting our parish community. Your generosity is gratefully received, appreciated, and pleasing to God.
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IN REMEMBRANCE SERVICE NOVEMBER 2, 7:00 p.m. All are invited to join those in our community who are grieving the loss of a friend or family member at our In Remembrance Service on Monday, November 2 at 7:00pm in the Church. As a community of believers in the resurrection, during this liturgy we will especially remember those who have died this past year with a litany of names.
If you would like a photo of your loved one included in a slide presentation during this service, please either e-mail a photo in a digital format (i.e. jpg) to ruhland@stodilia.org or drop off a photo in the Parish office no later than Wednesday, October 28. Photos will be returned to you following the service.
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THE NIGHTCLUB 2015
Make plans to attend!
Shows are:
Friday November 13 7:30pm in the Courtyard
Saturday November 14 8:00pm in the Courtyard
There will be a wide variety of music including rock, swing, country, blues, folk and more.
Tickets go on sale after Masses the weekend of October 24/25.
For videos, photos and more information about the 2015 show, visit www.thenightclub.org
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ST. ODILIA MUSICAL MINISTRY Auditions!
The St. Odilia Musical Ministry Committee is excited to announce the 2016 musical production: THE HAPPY PRINCE, with music and lyrics by Caroline Dooley and David Perkins. The Happy Prince is based on the well-loved story by Oscar Wilde.
Audition Information:
- Musical Kick-off Meeting October 24, 2015 at 9:00 am
- Auditions 10:00 am - 12:30 pm on October 24 and 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm on October 27
Please bring a photo of yourself to your audition:
Contact Deb Darling at: djdarling@usfamily.net with questions or to pre-register for audition time slot
- Chorus Members: Please prepare a few measures from a song of your choice. Pianist will be available. Auditions will be in small groups and include dance movement.
- Lead Roles: Please prepare a song selection from a musical of your choice. Audition process does include reading and dance movement.
- Callbacks: Thursday, October 29 at 6:00pm in the music room
We have roles for all ages 4th grade and older including: An angel, God, the Happy Prince, the Swallow, a seamstress & her son, a dreamy child, the mayor, the writer, townspeople, school children, the town clerk, and more!
First Rehearsal: Saturday, October 31 at 9:00am.
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TRUNK OR TREAT IS COMING! Trunk or Treating provides a safe family environment for trick or treaters. At this event adults & teens gather and enjoy opening and decorating their trunks or back of their vehicles. Young people have fun going from vehicle to vehicle while adults and teens hand out treats. When: Friday, October 30, 2015 Where: St. Odilia - West School Parking Lot Time: 6:00PM - 7:00pm Set Up: Between 5:00-5:45pm Everyone can participate! - Adults/teens who want to have fun decorating their trunks (age appropriate) and/or hand out treats
- Young people who enjoy trick or treating!!
- If you are an adult/teen and wish to decorate your vehicle and hand out store purchased treats, please send an email to albrecht@stodilia.org so we can plan accordingly.
Sponsored by the Worship and Community Life Council, "Where all are Welcome" with help from our Junior & Senior High Youth Ministries!
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ST. ODILIA SCHOOL THE BOOKFAIR IS HERE!
Click HERE for the full schedule and more information.
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SCHOOL SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME IN MANKATO CELEBRATE 150 YEARS Sr. Carol Ann Gosse, a part-time staff member with the St. Odilia Pastoral Care Ministry, has been a School Sister of Notre Dame for 54 years. She shares the following history of her order as they celebrate 150 years in the Mankato area.
"Following a five-day journey from Milwaukee that included traveling by train, boat and mail coach, the three sisters and a candidate arrived in Mankato on Sept. 3, 1865, and began offering classes in the new church and school built for the purpose. For the first couple of months, instruction of the 250 children and young people was focused on preparing them for First Holy Communion. Beginning in November of that year, 87 students took on the usual subjects and education took hold.
As the schools grew so did the need for more sisters and a permanent home for them. A gift of land was arranged, in no small part by the students of Sister Mary Isidore Schumacher who were then among the city's most affluent businessmen. In 1912 the first building at Our Lady of Good Counsel opened. Others followed, including a chapel opened in 1926.
Although fewer in number, the School Sisters of Notre Dame continue to play a role in education in the Mankato area, as landlord to Loyola Catholic School and operators of The Good Counsel Learning Center, founded in 1967 and now expanding its role as educators of immigrant families adapting to a new home and new culture."
Sr. Carol Ann wants to thank all who contributed plants for the School Sisters of Notre Dame Craft Fair and Garage Sale on October 10, 2015 in Mankato. She is most grateful and keeping you in prayer.
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ST. ODILIA CCW NEWS
DON'T MISS THE BIG SALE!!!
JEWELRY, LINENS & COLLECTIBLES
OCTOBER 24-25, 2015
Shop a fantastic selection of jewelry (used & next to new) necklaces, earrings, pins and more. Includes collectibles, religious items, vintage & handmade linens. Proceeds earned go toward the needs of our parish and community.
Hours: Sat Noon-6:00pm and Sun 8 am-12:30pm
Location: in the Gym
Questions: Call Pat 651-484-4549.
"Stories of Thanks Living"
Please join the St. Odilia Council of Catholic Women for their next meeting on Thurs., Nov. 5 at 7:00pm in the Cafeteria.
Featured speaker is the wonderful Pati Katchel presenting "Stories of Thanks Living." It's not to be missed! She will help us prepare hearts of joyful gratitude around Thanksgiving time with a colorful feast of stories about God's goodness and abundant provision. Images of harvest time and family time are shared through treasured remembrances, scripture, songs,and poetry for living a thankful life. More info: http://www.theparablefund.org/
Questions: Call Florence at 651-484-8670.
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REACHING OUT TO PREVENT SUICIDE POSTPONED The Panel Discussion: "Reaching Out to Prevent Suicide" scheduled for November 3, 2015 has been postponed. Watch the bulletin and other publications for updates.
- St. Odilia Pastoral Care Council |
NEW RECYCLING BINS In his encylical, Laudato Sí, Pope Francis writes about Care for Our Common Home, this earth we live in. For our part, in a small way, St. Odilia has recently increased recycling waste efforts with new recycling bins and signage. You may have noticed the new blue recycling bins throughout St. Odilia over the past few weeks. This is part of an initiative to increase our recycling and we need your help! When you throw something away, please take a moment to think about what it is and what bin it should go into. What can go into the blue bins? - All plastics #1-7: This includes drink bottles, plastic food containers (yogurt), and even plastic drinking cups.
- Any office paper, envelopes, magazines, newspapers, and cardboard.
- Metal food cans.
- Glass bottles and jars.
- Please NO STYROFOAM CUPS OR FOOD WASTE in the BLUE BINS.
Note: St. Odilia School has a Food to Animals lunch food waste program where during breakfast and lunch students sort their garbage from their food/liquid waste. Food and liquid waste is picked up and delivered to Barthold Farms. Pigs at the farm will use the"waste" for delicious food so they can live as free range animals. Recycling helps protect the environment, saves energy, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by lessening the need for raw materials and manufacturing. It also reduces landfill and emissions of methane and saves us money by lessening the cost of garbage pickup and landfill taxes! So the next time you see a blue recycling bin, please take a moment to help us improve our environmental impact by choosing to recycle. - St. Odilia Social Justice Council
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LORD OF THE MIRACLES CELEBRATION
The annual celebration of Senor de los Milagros/Lord of the Miracles took place at St. Odilia on Sunday, October 18 during the 12:45pm Spanish Mass followed by a reception in the Courtyard. This Peruvian holiday commemorates an image of Christ that has withstood two earthquakes while all of the walls around it were destroyed. Kim Albrecht, Director of Worship estimates there were as many as 700 who attended.
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A NEW RETAINING WALL IS BUILT Parishioner Paul Nussbaum, who is a Boy Scout with St. Odilia Troop 9626, built a retaining wall behind the Faith Formation building (3510 Vivian) to earn his Eagle Scout award. Paul built this wall to enclose an area that is used by Youth Ministry for camp fires and gatherings. A big thank you to Paul and all who made donations to Paul's Eagle Scout project!
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FAITH FORMATION
THIS FALL
Employment Opportunity - Sp.R.Ed. Coordinator
Answer god's call to serve our developmentally disabled community
at St. Odilia
St. Odilia has one of the finest programs for developmentally disabled adults in the Archdiocese. Sp.R.Ed., our Special Religious Education program, meets on the second and fourth Tues. evenings of each month, September through April, for a joy-filled evening of music, prayer, learning about God's love, and social time.
We are in need of a Coordinator for the program. The position is very part-time, nine hours per week or less, mid-August through mid-May, with very flexible hours except for the actual Sp.R.Ed. meetings. Start date is November 1, or earlier if possible. Those of you who have volunteered with Sp.R.Ed., or who have been at Parish Missions when the Sp.R.Ed. participants join us for the Mission Band music, know how much love there is in this group. When they sing "Jesus loves me, this I know..." they really mean it. Sp.R.Ed. gives the gift of religious belonging and the joy of faith community to our brothers and sisters who are limited intellectually but fully equal spiritually. Please prayerfully discern whether God might be calling you to this work.
And if you know of anyone else who would be good at this, please "Sp.R.Ed." the word. For further info or to apply, see the position description, posted on the parish website, or contact Lucy Arimond, Director of Faith Formation, arimond@stodilia.org, 651-415-3331.
"What Catholics Believe" Series 2015-2016
Thomas Merton & Dorothy Day: Why is Pope Francis Talking About Them?
When: Mon., Nov. 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Where: Courtyard
Presenter: Lucy Arimond, Director of Faith Formation
Meet new friends - grow your faith.
Donation requested: $5.00, or what you can afford.
No registration needed.
In his historic address to the U.S. Congress on Sept. 24, Pope Francis highlighted the work of four "great" Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.
President Lincoln and the Rev. Dr. King are familiar names, and we all know what they did. Join us for a closer look at the two Catholics on the Pope's list, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Why did he pick these two? A journalist who co-founded the Catholic Worker movement, which serves the poor in our inner cities while calling attention to Church teachings about social justice. A cloistered Trappist monk who was a gigantically prolific author of classics on spirituality, and whose friendships ranged worldwide, from John Howard Griffin to the Dalai Lama. And what does this say about Pope Francis' own spirituality, and his vision for the Church?
Lucy Arimond was the house attorney (and dishwasher, trapper of cockroaches, and general volunteer) for four years at a Catholic Worker house that served as a shelter for women and children. She has been pondering Thomas Merton's writings for over four decades, and has taught a course on his life and work.
Watch for future topics in our What Catholics Believe series, once a month or so, on Monday or Tuesday evenings.
Conversations About Prayer
Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Cafeteria
October 22 - Leo Boucher - "Prayer and the Holy Spirit"
Autumn evenings are a great time for turning inward and turning to God. You are welcome to join us even if you missed the first session on Oct. 8. Two more great evenings to learn about prayer in the Catholic Christian tradition, sample several kinds of praying, and have a good conversation about it.
Suggested donation: $5 for the series, or what you can afford.
About Our Presenter: Leo Boucher and Phyllis, his wife of 52 years, have been St. Odilia parishioners for 50 years, and have children and grandchildren in London, St. Paul, and North St. Paul. Starting out to be an artist, he instead had a career in software development. Among his many volunteer roles here, he leads our monthly Monday evening Prayer Hour. He'll offer a perspective and practical hints about the role of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life.
The St. Odilia Sunday Nursery is open during the 9:00 and 11:00 Sunday Masses! Children are welcome to Room 1416, one of the Wee Saints Preschool Classrooms at the end of the hall. There are plenty of toys and fun for children ages 6 months to 3 years. It is staffed by consistent parent volunteers and youth helpers. When dropping off a child, parents sign in and place a nametag on the child and any belongings, leave a cell set on vibrate to be contacted during Mass if needed. Stop by and check it out! Contact Janet Etten for more info: 651-415-3330 or etten@stodilia.org
High School Youth Ministry - Join us!
Sunday Youth Group - Sunday nights (7:15-9:00pm)
Sunday youth group is a mixture of faith and fun, and is open to all high school youth! Each week features games and activities, prayer, faith talks and discussion, and plenty of laughs! There's something for everyone on Sunday nights. With social time and food, it's a great way to join the community!
There's no registration required, but if you'd like to be on the e-mail list with reminders and each week's topic, email kieffer@stodilia.org. Most weeks we meet in the Youth Room (3510 Vivian Av.).
Remaining Fall Dates: Nov. 1, Nov. 8, Nov. 15
2015 Leadership Retreat - October 24-25
(1:30pm Saturday - 2:30pm Sunday)
Last year's Leadership Retreat drew rave reviews from our teens, and we hope to build on that this year with a 24-hour experience full of opportunities and fun for our high schoolers! While on retreat, we'll have great talks and discussions on ministry and leadership, and do hands-on activities to practice those skills. We'll have some fantastic prayer and worship experiences as well, as part of our goal for teens to enrich their personal faith. We'll keep a spirit of joy in all that we do throughout the retreat, in addition to specific "fun stuff" planned - including some amazing games & team-builders, hilarious skits, and more! The retreat will be held at St. Mary's in New Trier, transportation to and from St. Odilia provided. Registration forms available HERE on our Senior High Youth Ministry web page, cost is $65 per student (includes meals). We hope your teens can join us for a great experience and a lot of laughs!
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SARAH'S TABLE 2015-2016 ST. ODILIA LUNCHEON PROGRAM FOR SENIORS November Luncheon: WED., NOV. 4, 2015 - 11:30am Enjoy the presentation by Roseville Area Senior Programs and a great meal for only $7.50! MENU: Pork chop, dressing, potatoes/gravy, applesauce To make your reservation please clearly leave your NAME and the NUMBER of people attending before NOON on Fri., Oct. 30 at 651-415-3364. If you make a reservation and then find that you need to cancel, please call the Parish Office at 651-484-6681. We also need volunteers to help clean up. Please bring a dessert to share!!
See the entire menu/programs for 2015-2016 HERE. |
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ST. ODILIA CHARITABLE OUTREACH
October Green Envelopes:
In October, our green envelope donations will benefit and further the efforts of the St. Odilia Social Justice Ministry. This ministry works to engage our parish community in the social mission of the Church while responding to pressing social needs by raising awareness through education, and by supporting personal involvement on behalf of justice. Our Social Justice outreach ministries include Latino Ministries, Dorothy Day, the Caring and Sharing Family Shelter, the Sharing Korner Food shelf, Respect Life, the Sharing Tree Christmas program, and SOAR for Jobs. The financial support to these outreach ministries is made possible by your contributions.
In addition to the above mentioned ministries, the Social Justice Council has been involved in helping with the distribution of Pope Francis' Encylical, Laudato Sí, working to expand our ability to recycle here at St. Odilia, and learning about and supporting ways to stop human trafficking.
Please support these Social Justice initiatives in October with a generous donation in your green envelope!
September Green Envelopes:
Our September green envelope donation raised $2,362.00 to benefit our Support a Student Scholarship fund. This fund is shared equally between our faith formation and school ministry areas. Thank you for your charitable support!
Did you misplace your Green Envelope?
You can still contribute to the St. Odilia Social Justice Ministry Fund. Just make a check out to St. Odilia with Social Justice Ministry Fund in the memo line.
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COMMUNITY CONNECTION REMINDERS
The monthly Community CONNECTION includes a selection of timely announcements and articles. In addition, you may occasionally receive special notices.
- Click "SafeUnsubscribe" at the end of the email
if you wish to no longer receive the Community CONNECTION. - Update your email address by clicking "Update Profile/Email Address" at the end of the email.
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