January 25, 2015 - Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

Parish Stewardship
January 17-18, 2015: $11,948.50 (inclement weather)
Jan. 19, 2014: $13,311.70
Jan. 20, 2013: $14,099.00
The collection that is taken up each weekend is
the life support for our church community. The
ministries and events listed on the calendar are
supported by your donations. Thank you for
your generosity.
“For I was hungry and you gave
me food, I was thirsty and you
gave me drink, a stranger and
you welcomed me” (Mt. 25:35).
Today, we are reminded of Jesus’ call to see him in
all those we encounter. The Catholic Relief
Services Collection sees J esus in displaced
families, those who seek to change unjust laws, and
those who need pastoral care and humanitarian
assistance across the globe. How will you help
Jesus in disguise? Please be generous in today’s
Collection.
PARISH CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK
Monday, January 26, 2015
12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Sewing Group—Finnegan Room
Bible Study—Coll Room
Bible Study—Finnegan Room
Prayer Shawl Group—Fritz Room
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
6:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
We The Living –Finnegan Room
Contemp. Ensb. Rehearsal—Church
Tues. Evening Bible Study—Kitchenette
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
10:00 a.m.
6:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Bible Study—Finnegan Room
PREP
RCIA—Finnegan Room
Choir Rehearsal—Church
Thursday, January 29, 2015
3:45 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Youth Choir rehearsal—Church
Boy Scouts—Basement
CODA—Fritz Room
Co-ed Adult Volleybl—Hanlon Center
Friday, January 30, 2015
6:00 a.m.
Top Gun Group—Finnegan Room
Saturday, January 31, 2015
4:00 p.m.
Confessions—Church
Sunday, February 1, 2015
8:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
PREP
Adult Ed. Series—Finnegan Room
Guardians—Church Basement
Retreat Team Meeting
Knights of Columbus
Free Throw Championship
All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are
invited to participate in the local level of
competition for the 2015 Knights of Columbus
Free Throw Championship. The competition will
be jointly sponsored by our parish Knights of
Columbus council as well as Saint Theresa and
Saint John Vianney councils (Saint Joseph’s
parish) and Sacred Heart councils. It will be held
on Sunday evening, 25 January at 5:30 PM in the
Hanlon Center. Registration will be held on the
day of the event, beginning at 5:00 PM. The
District Competition will also be held that day
immediately following the local contests. There is
no charge to participate. Proof of age is required.
The Knights of Columbus Free Throw
Championship is held annually, with winners
progressing through local, district, regional and
state competitions. All boys and girls 9 to 14 years
old are eligible to participate and will compete in
their respective age / gender divisions. Last year
more than 120,000 sharpshooters participated in
over 3,600 local competitions. For more
information,
contact
Nik
Santanasto,
Assumption BVM Council, 610-865-5828 or by
email at santa1994@ptd.net.
Mission Statement
The Church of the Assumption B.V.M. is dedicated to becoming a community of disciples of Jesus Christ. As
disciples we make Jesus Christ a living reality in the lives of the members of our parish family. By guiding and
encouraging our people to discipleship through a heightened awareness of our Lord’s presence in their lives, the
parish community becomes a visible and active expression of the living Christ in our world today.
Assumption Parish Staff
Parish Office: 610-867-7424 - ext. 10
Rev. Msgr. Nevin Klinger J.C.L., M.A., Pastor
Deacon Don Elliott, ext. 18
Saint Michael the Archangel School: 610-867-8422
Dr. Joanne LoFaso, Principal; Mrs. Colleen Weiss, Assistant Principal
Assumption Preschool, Carol Barron, M. S., Director: 610-867-7892
Christina Durback, DRE: Parish & St. Michael Middle School: 610-814-0712
Dr. Dennis Varley: Director of Music: 610-282-1872
Mary Williams/Parish Office – x10, Email: abvmrect@ptd.net
Kate Varley –Room Scheduling/Bulletin – x11, Email: abvmkate@ptd.net
ShareCare Faith-In-Action—610-867-7424 x19
Youth Outreach
St. Michael Middle School and
Assumption PREP are collecting
soup (canned or packaged) and
crackers for the St. Paul Food
Bank in Allentown and Betty
Lou’s Food Bank in Coopersburg
during January. Please remember to drop off your
donations in the boxes in the hallway of St.
Michael Middle School.
RESPECT LIFE MINISTRY
Did you know that Assumption Parish has a
Respect Life Ministry? The group will meet
regularly on the second Tuesday of each month to
discuss Pro-Life issues and how they pertain to us
as a parish community.
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday,
February 10. We’ll meet at 9:00 a.m. in the
parish office kitchenette AND we’ll meet at 7:00
p.m. in the Coll Room. Choose which time
best fits your schedule. We’ll be discussing future
events to promote pro-life in our parish.
RSVP to Lisa Temple at 281-507-8912 or email
her at lisa_temple3@yahoo.com
Women of the Parish
Let’s join together in prayer on the second
Thursday of each month to say the
Rosary. We’ll meet on Thursday,
February 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the church.
Any questions? You can email Bonnie
Preisler at bchristeinpreisler@yahoo.com or call
her at 484-851-3473.
SAVE THE DATE
Assumption St. Patrick’s Day Party
Saturday, March 21 - 6:00 - 9:30 p.m.
Volunteers needed! Join
the fun and join “Team
Irish” to help plan this
great event at our parish! An
organizational meeting will be
held this Wednesday, Jan. 28
at 12:30 p.m. in the parish
office. Call Kate at 610-8677424 x11 if you’d like to help.
Parishioner, Luke Myers, is a Lion’s Club LEO.
The LEO’s are young adults under the guidance of
the LIONS club. Their main function is to be
involved in various community service projects.
One of their projects is placing and maintaining an
eye-glass collection box at locations throughout
the community. Please use the collection box that
is located at the entrance of our church for old,
unbroken eye-glasses. The glasses ar e collected,
processed and dispensed to individuals who
cannot access or afford to purchase new ones.
www.st-mikes.com
Dr. Joanne LoFaso, Principal
Mrs. Colleen Weiss,
Assistant Principal
Sowing Seeds of
Faith, Hope and Love!
OPEN HOUSE & PRINCIPAL ADDRESS
All current St. Michael School families as well as
anyone seeking information regarding our school
are invited to join us on Tuesday, January 27th at
6:30PM for the Principal’s Address at our St.
Joseph’s Rd. campus. The school will be open
from 5:30PM – 6:30PM for tours and information
for any prospective family. Visit www.stmikes.com for more information.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
Dear Parishioners,
As we begin our celebration of Catholic Schools
Week 2015, you are invited to visit our elementary
school and middle school campuses and
experience St. Michael the Archangel School as
we nurture students, challenge minds, and inspire
faith-filled leaders. We encourage you to explore
our comprehensive curriculum, see our students’
impressive work, witness our daily faith lives,
meet our dedicated faculty, and engage in the
welcoming culture that makes us a family of
learners. As you walk through our classrooms, you
will witness the faith, hope and love that is sown
in our students by their families and supported by
their teachers so they can make a difference in our
school, community, and world.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joanne J. Lofaso and Mrs. Colleen Weiss
See the Catholic Schools Week
calendar in today’s bulletin.
Next weekend our Confirmation Candidates,
Inquirers, and other parish teens will be at the
entrances of the church following each Mass for
our annual Souper Bowl of Caring.
Your
donations will benefit Betty Lou’s Food Bank,
New Bethany Ministries, and the Ecumenical
Soup Kitchen. Please help our youth to help
those in need!
Youth assistance needed: To suppor t our
young parishioners as they celebrate God’s
forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation
for the first time on February 21, we ask parish
youth in grades 5 – 12 to assist us with:
♦ Set-up of the Hanlon Center on Friday,
Friday, February 20, 3:15 – 4:15 p.m. and/or;
♦ Participation in a Gospel presentation and
hospitality help for the First Reconciliation
service on Saturday, February 21, 10 – 11
a.m. (This will also require attendance at a
practice for the Gospel presentation on Tues.,
Feb. 17, 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.)
If you can volunteer for either or both of these
events, please contact Mrs. Durback at 610-8140712 or durback@ptd.net by January 31.
Beginning February 5, 2015, we invite
parishioners to participate in 50 days of prayer for
our Confirmation candidates. If you ar e
interested in praying for a specific candidate from
then until March 26 (Confirmation Day), please
pick a card from the basket on the windowsill of
the church. Place the card with the candidate's
name somewhere at home where the whole family
will remember to pray for that candidate as we
prepare to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit in
the lives of our 2015 candidates and be renewed
as a parish family in the Holy Spirit!
Our parish is blessed to have the Children’s
Liturgy of the Word every Sunday (except
holidays) at the 10 a.m. Mass. Parents, encourage
your children (preschool through grade 3) to
participate when the celebrant calls the children to
come forward. If a child is reluctant to come by
him/herself, a parent or older sibling may
accompany him/her.
Give God five minutes of your day.
Weekly Sales: Jan. 12-18: $2575.00
Weekly Goal: $10,000.00
Monday, January 26: SS. Timothy and Titus
8:15 a.m.
Julia Smith
Tuesday, January 27: St. Angela Merici
8:15 a.m.
Josephine Mongiello
Wednesday, Jan. 28: St. Thomas Aquinas
8:15 a.m.
Rick Leone
Thursday, January 29: Weekday
8:15 a.m.
Ross Lantaff
Friday, January 30: Weekday
8:15 a.m.
Michael Zuber
Saturday, January 31: St. John Bosco
No Morning Mass
Vigil 5:00pm Living & Deceased Parishioners
Sunday, Feb. 1: 4th Sunday Ordinary Time
7:30 a.m.
June Bigatel
10:00 a.m.
Claudia Benner - Bruce Benner
11:30 a.m.
William Grap
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday:
2 Tm 1:1-8 or Ti 1:1-5; Ps 96:1-3, 7
-8a, 10; Mk 3:22-30
Tuesday:
Heb 10:1-10; Ps 40:2, 4ab, 7-8a, 10,
11; Mk 3:31-35
Wednesday: Heb 10:11-18; Ps 110:1-4;
Mk 4:1-20
Thursday:
Heb 10:19-25; Ps 24:1-6;
Mk 4:21-25
Friday:
Heb 10:32-39; Ps 37:3-6, 23-24, 3940; Mk 4:26-34
Saturday:
Heb 11:1-2, 8-19; Lk 1:69-75;
Mk 4:35-41
Sunday:
Dt 18:15-20; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9;
1 Cor 7:32-35; Mk1:21-28
The altar flowers for the this
weekend were given in
loving memory of:
Joseph & Rose Ciccone
and
Helen & William Moscovic
by Robert & Harriett Ciccone.
Now on sale: J. C. Penney,
Red Robin, Cooperhead Grille
and Macy’s Gift Cards
along with grocery gift cards!
Credit Cards can be used to buy grocery gift cards.
Gift cards are on sale after the 10:00 a.m. and
11:30 a.m. Masses in the parish office. Gift cards
are also on sale in the parish office Monday
through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
A new session of We The Living, as self-help
bereavement support group will begin this
Tuesday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Finnegan
Room. For more information, contact Carol
Barron at 610-867-7892 or 610-868-4107.
Our parish Preschool will register students for the
2015-2016 school year during Catholic Schools
Week, January 26 to January 30, in the preschool
room from 10 am till 2 pm each day.
• For more information, visit the parish website at
www.assumptionbethlehem.com or contact
Carol
Barron
at
610-867-7892
or
abvmprek@yahoo.com. Please place preschool
in the subject line.
9th—12th graders: Do you like to help people
in need in our local community and
internationally? If so, The Guardians (our parish
teen social justice group) is the right group for
you! Come and join our meeting next Sunday,
February 1 after the 10:00 a.m. Mass in the church
basement. If you cannot attend, but you are
interested, please contact Anne Weeks by email:
ajweeks@ptd.net or call 484-357-9525.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: Jon 3:1–5, 10;
Ps 25:4–9;
1 Cor 7:29–31;
Mk 1:14–20
Today we hear how Jonah, sent by God to warn the people, storms through the streets of Nineveh,
scaring the citizens out of their wits. And it works! God has a change of heart, seeing “by their actions”
how the people turn from evil (Jonah 3:10). A new day dawns.
Next we hear Paul telling the Corinthians, “The world in its present form is passing away” (1
Corinthians 7:31). He calls for a change of heart. Stopping short of telling them to stop carrying out their
everyday activities, he urges them—rather mysteriously—to live “as though” they aren’t doing the things
they are doing. A new day has dawned.
Finally, Jesus stands on the shore and cries, “The kingdom of
God is at hand!” (Mark 1:14). Simon and Andrew abandon their
nets—and even their father—and follow him. A new day had
dawned.
Everyone has to change when a new day dawns: the
Ninevites, the Corinthians, the apostles, even Jesus! Didn’t a new day
dawn today for us as well?
TIME IS ALWAYS SHORT
Paul warned the Corinthians, “[T]he time is running out” (1 Corinthians 7:29). In reflective
moments, we know time is always short. There is a story told of a holy Sufi who, asked what grace had
brought him, said that he awoke each morning feeling he might not live till evening. His questioner
objected that “everyone” knows that. “Everyone knows it,” the Sufi agreed, “but not everyone feels it.”
There’s a difference between knowing something and feeling it so much that
it changes our lives. The people of Nineveh “knew” all along what God wanted. But it took a Jonah to wake
them up, make them feel what that meant, so that they would reform their actions—not “next year,” not
“after the kids are grown,” not “later”—but now!
In the Gospel we see those first disciples immediately leave boats and nets, even families, to follow
Jesus. They not only knew, but they felt, that time was short. The time to act, always, is now.
“THIS IS THE TIME OF FULFILLMENT”
It’s not only that a truck might leap the curb, careen down the sidewalk, and sweep us away. That’s
possible. But it’s also possible that we walk life’s sidewalk, day after day, living as though we are not
living, putting our lives off until later. God has placed dreams in our hearts, but we might not get to them.
We put them off.
Maybe there’s an attitude or a habit we’d like to put aside, knowing that we’d be better, happier, if
we did. Maybe there’s a group we’d like to help, a person we’d like to get closer to, a child whose growing
up we would like to share. But we’d have to do something, not merely plan to do it someday.
There is no tomorrow, you know. There really isn’t. There’s only today, this moment. Time is short.
God is not later . . . in the sky . . . if we’re good girls and boys. “This is the time of fulfillment! The
kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:14).
NEW PARISHIONERS
Pilgrimage to Lourdes, Fatima, Madrid,
and Avila—Departing May 22, 2015
Come join other parishioners from the Diocese of
Allentown on an 11 day Journey of Faith to
encounter our Blessed Mother’s “Powerful
Intercession” for healing and renewal. The cost is
$3,798. which includes airfare, all transportation,
breakfast and dinners, 4 star hotels, Mass daily,
professional and dedicated guides. Bus
transportation will be provided to and from the
airport, with pick-up at St. Joseph the Worker
Parish in Allentown. Special service for travelers
outside the area is available and they will provide
door to door pick-up and drop off for groups of 5
people. Currently they have people who would
like to take the trip and need a roommate. For a
brochure or information, call Deacon Tony
Campanell at 610-395-0868.
Post Abortion Healing Retreat: Ar e you hur ting
from a past abortion? Plan to attend the Rachel’s
Vineyard Retreat Weekends, Feb. 27-Mar. 1
(Spanish) and March 20-22 (English) through
Catholic Charities. Within a safe, confidential, non
-judgmental environment, experience God’s
healing love, and forgiveness.
For more
information or to register, call 1-866-3Rachel (1866-372-2435). For a complete listing of Retreat
dates and locations, visit the national Rachel’s
vineyard website at www.rachelsvineyard.org.
Welcome! Our parish family invites all of its members to
participate fully in our spiritual and social life. Please contact
the parish office to register.
BAPTISMS
Baptisms are scheduled on the first or third Sunday
of each month immediately following the 11:30 a.m. Mass.
Contact the parish office at
610-867-7424 x10 at least six weeks in advance.
Parents must attend a Baptismal Preparation Class.
WEDDINGS
Couples must contact the pastor at least 6 months
prior to the wedding.
BULLETIN
All copy must be received in writing two Fridays prior to the
intended Sunday publication. We reserve the right to edit all
copy. All inserts must be received at least
two weeks in advance.
PRAYER CHAIN
Call Carol Herman at 610-838-1048 or email her at
prayer@ealvinc.com and give her your name and intention.
She will contact other parishioners participating in our
Prayer Chain on your behalf.
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL
The Council welcomes any comments or suggestions
by parishioners. Please contact Anne Evans
acevans2@juno.com this month.
PARISH MEMORIALS
If a Prenatal Diagnosis is Poor...You are not
Alone. Ther e is help. Do you feel numb and in
shock? Heartbroken? Frightened and alone? Are
you considering carrying to term but uncertain
how to find resources and support? Y OU ARE
NOT ALONE MINISTRY has a networ k of
concerned parents and professionals who have
experienced or worked closely with issues
surrounding poor prenatal diagnosis.
• For support contact: Sr. Janice Marie Johnson,
610-289-8900 x 245 or email her at:
jjohnson@allentowndioces.org.
Following the death of a relative or friend, offerings may be
made to the Church in loving memory of the deceased. The
offerings may specify a particular request or placed in the
Parish Memorial Endowment, The Parish Education
Endowment, or the Health Ministry Endowment.
DIOCESAN VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR
Wendy S. Krisak, M.A., NCC, LPC: 1-800-791-9209
DIOCESAN SAFE ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR
Sr. Meg Cole, S.S.J.: 610-866-0581 x 19 or by email at
mcole@allentowndiocese3.org
Our website:
www.assumptionbethlehem.com