Among the many blessings we have in our parish, one that is at least somewhat unique compared to other parishes is our Sacred Heart Health and Wellness Ministry. We have a committee that meets and discusses what we are currently offering and what we might offer in the future that enhances our parishioners (and visitors) wellbeing in mind, body and soul!
In the area of the body, we have our twice a week exercise classes with our very capable and upbeat parishioner Linda Broome who leads a faster paced aerobic class from 10:00-11:00 on Tuesdays and Thurs-days and a more deliberate stretch and balance session on those same days from 11:30-12:30. We also offer Mat Yoga from 11:30-12:30 on those days in the upper hall led by Kate Wooten.
Speakers continue to be brought in by our committee to address other health care areas that are certainly beneficial to those who choose to come. (Please look in this week's bulletin for one of those opportunities).
Another area that deserves attention and participation is those who are caring for a loved one who has dementia and other mental and/or physical limitations due to sickness and age. Besides an ongoing caregiver support group that meets here in one of our classrooms monthly on the second Tuesday at 10:30 am, we are offering two family caregiver workshops in cooperation with the Oaklawn Center on Aging and McCauley Senior Center, on April 22 & 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with lunch provided.
Please look for more details on the second page of our bulletin this week. This can be helpful for some now and for others in the future as the realities of deteriorating mental and physical abilities lead to challenges for the persons affected and those who live with them.
Our Helping Hands ministry is such a blessing to those who are in need of various forms of assistance (see the bulletin for more information) that are needed at this point in their lives including rides to Dr.'s appointments and other places they need to go.
While our parish, like all parishes is charged by the Lord to help its people grow in holiness and in knowledge of our faith so as to bless us as well as those we encounter in our day to day lives, we should all strive to be the best we can be in mind, body and spirit and so be good stewards of all the gifts our Lord have given us. I applaud all those who are on our "Health and Wellness Committee" and invite everyone to take advantage of what this parish offers in this and in many other ways as we strive to fulfill the mission the Lord gives us here on earth!
In the area of the body, we have our twice a week exercise classes with our very capable and upbeat parishioner Linda Broome who leads a faster paced aerobic class from 10:00-11:00 on Tuesdays and Thurs-days and a more deliberate stretch and balance session on those same days from 11:30-12:30. We also offer Mat Yoga from 11:30-12:30 on those days in the upper hall led by Kate Wooten.
Speakers continue to be brought in by our committee to address other health care areas that are certainly beneficial to those who choose to come. (Please look in this week's bulletin for one of those opportunities).
Another area that deserves attention and participation is those who are caring for a loved one who has dementia and other mental and/or physical limitations due to sickness and age. Besides an ongoing caregiver support group that meets here in one of our classrooms monthly on the second Tuesday at 10:30 am, we are offering two family caregiver workshops in cooperation with the Oaklawn Center on Aging and McCauley Senior Center, on April 22 & 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with lunch provided.
Please look for more details on the second page of our bulletin this week. This can be helpful for some now and for others in the future as the realities of deteriorating mental and physical abilities lead to challenges for the persons affected and those who live with them.
Our Helping Hands ministry is such a blessing to those who are in need of various forms of assistance (see the bulletin for more information) that are needed at this point in their lives including rides to Dr.'s appointments and other places they need to go.
While our parish, like all parishes is charged by the Lord to help its people grow in holiness and in knowledge of our faith so as to bless us as well as those we encounter in our day to day lives, we should all strive to be the best we can be in mind, body and spirit and so be good stewards of all the gifts our Lord have given us. I applaud all those who are on our "Health and Wellness Committee" and invite everyone to take advantage of what this parish offers in this and in many other ways as we strive to fulfill the mission the Lord gives us here on earth!
During the beautiful Easter Vigil liturgy there was (and always is) a lull between the extended Liturgy of the Word (Old Testament readings) and the return of the Gloria, Alleluia's and instrumental accompaniment that begins the "celebration" of Christ's Resurrection and reality of his glorified existence for all eternity. It might also be the case in our faith lives that there is a lull between our celebration of our baptismal status (which we renewed at the Easter Vigil) and our lives going forward beyond the Octave of Easter and even the Easter Season, to the rest of the "Church Year". In fact the Easter Season (which culminates with the Solemnity of Pentecost the coming of the Holy Spirit) is given for us to pay attention to the growth of the Church in the years following the Resurrection which among other things renews our evangelical zeal to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen to others explicitly (especially to those who are unchurched and/or are not practicing their faith) and implicitly by our service-filled, hope-filled and peace-filled lives in the Lord. The spiritual and material disciplines of Lent are not meant to necessarily end, but hopefully the practice of these have become a habit that contin-ues and grows throughout the rest of the year. The Lord is always ready to transform our lives to make them more and more like His and therefore more and more ready for his Kingdom that has no end!! Please use the "Little White Books" that were provided on Easter Weekend and see what blessings the Lord has in store for all who acknowledge his presence and power in their daily lives.
I also want to thank all those who contributed to making our Easter Triduum liturgies so beautiful and meaningful as well as those who helped out with our meals (on Holy Thursday and Good Friday) and the reception after the Easter Vigil. Special thanks to the Men's Club, headed up By Bruce Rhodea for their efforts before, during and after the Holy Thursday meal and Susan Harrell and all her helpers for the efforts to provide the setting for the Good Friday lunch and reception after the Easter Vigil. Unlike last year I'm not going to mention any other names, but you all know who you are who joined with me in giving fitting worship to God and thanks to Jesus Christ for the sacrifice of love he gave us through his passion, death and resurrection and the great gift of the Eucharist and lesson of service that he provided to the apostles and all of us who are counted among his disciples.
Those of you who participated in some or all of the Triduum liturgies, I ask you to share your experiences of those liturgies among yourselves and those who did not participate and encourage them to join you and others next year for what is truly the "High Point of the Church's Year" that we annually prepare for AND reflect and benefit from for the rest of the year!
He is Risen.....and is truly alive and is working in so many lives!! Alleluia!
I also want to thank all those who contributed to making our Easter Triduum liturgies so beautiful and meaningful as well as those who helped out with our meals (on Holy Thursday and Good Friday) and the reception after the Easter Vigil. Special thanks to the Men's Club, headed up By Bruce Rhodea for their efforts before, during and after the Holy Thursday meal and Susan Harrell and all her helpers for the efforts to provide the setting for the Good Friday lunch and reception after the Easter Vigil. Unlike last year I'm not going to mention any other names, but you all know who you are who joined with me in giving fitting worship to God and thanks to Jesus Christ for the sacrifice of love he gave us through his passion, death and resurrection and the great gift of the Eucharist and lesson of service that he provided to the apostles and all of us who are counted among his disciples.
Those of you who participated in some or all of the Triduum liturgies, I ask you to share your experiences of those liturgies among yourselves and those who did not participate and encourage them to join you and others next year for what is truly the "High Point of the Church's Year" that we annually prepare for AND reflect and benefit from for the rest of the year!
He is Risen.....and is truly alive and is working in so many lives!! Alleluia!
I want to start this Easter Sunday pastor's column by saying "He is Risen" Alleluia! As I compose this column on Palm Sunday weekend, I am pondering Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a "beast of burden" to the cheers of the crowd ("Hosanna!! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Mk 11:10), only to have many of them less than a week later jeer at him and call for his death in a most cruel and painful way. Jesus did not turn out to be the one who they thought would lead them in armed revolt against their Roman occupiers, so they turned totally against him and agreed with those who wanted to rid themselves of him. Having gone through the Triduum of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord and now entering into the glorious 50 days of the Easter Season, it is appropriate for us to thank God for having the last say over sin and death. As we hear the stories of the early postResurrection communities of faith throughout the Easter Season in Acts of the Apostles, hopefully we will be inspired by their example to spread the Good News of Christ's life, death and Resurrection to others through our words and deeds and our hope-filled demeanor in the face of death!
Since this is the last weekend of the month, I want to take time to acknowledge and give thanks for our V.I.P. for the month of March, Janet Liszka. Janet (and her husband, Tom, of happy memory), moved to the Village and Sacred Heart Parish in 1995. She joined St. Anthony Guild and has taken on positions of responsibility in that guild. In the past she enjoyed her volunteer work at Mercy St. Joseph Senior-Net at McCauley Center AND as a tutor for 1st graders at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Benton. She has been chairman of ticket sales for the LOSH card party. She has been a Eucharistic Adorer since the inception of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in our parish (2013) and continues in that ministry. She currently volunteers as a tutor at Mountain Pine school (through her guild) and volunteers to bring and serve food at funeral meals. She has been on the education commission since 2018 and was the representative from that commission to the pastoral council for 2 terms (4 years). She has been our FORMED.org point person and provides information on what is offered from FORMED (At. Augustine Institute) regularly in our bulletin. As you can see, Janet has been and still is a busy "behind the scenes" person with and for the Lord in our parish activities and in the community. I am pleased that she was nominated as a VIP and was chosen for this acknowledgement and recognition. She is a wonderful encouragement to fellow parishioners to get involved in activities that are quietly and joyfully doing the Lord's work and making an impact on people in a variety of ways. God bless you, Janet.
Since this is the last weekend of the month, I want to take time to acknowledge and give thanks for our V.I.P. for the month of March, Janet Liszka. Janet (and her husband, Tom, of happy memory), moved to the Village and Sacred Heart Parish in 1995. She joined St. Anthony Guild and has taken on positions of responsibility in that guild. In the past she enjoyed her volunteer work at Mercy St. Joseph Senior-Net at McCauley Center AND as a tutor for 1st graders at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Benton. She has been chairman of ticket sales for the LOSH card party. She has been a Eucharistic Adorer since the inception of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in our parish (2013) and continues in that ministry. She currently volunteers as a tutor at Mountain Pine school (through her guild) and volunteers to bring and serve food at funeral meals. She has been on the education commission since 2018 and was the representative from that commission to the pastoral council for 2 terms (4 years). She has been our FORMED.org point person and provides information on what is offered from FORMED (At. Augustine Institute) regularly in our bulletin. As you can see, Janet has been and still is a busy "behind the scenes" person with and for the Lord in our parish activities and in the community. I am pleased that she was nominated as a VIP and was chosen for this acknowledgement and recognition. She is a wonderful encouragement to fellow parishioners to get involved in activities that are quietly and joyfully doing the Lord's work and making an impact on people in a variety of ways. God bless you, Janet.