St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church
Drop-off/Pick-up Procedures

For safety, traffic control, and all-around kindness, please follow these procedures when picking up or dropping off your children for weekday Religious Education classes:

• Preschool – 3^rd grade: Park your vehicle and walk to and from the classrooms together.
• 4^th-5^th grade: Park your vehicle and walk to and from the building or the classrooms together.  Please use the “Administrative Center” doors.
• 6^th- 8^th grade: Drop off students and pick them up by the church itself – the building with the steeple!  If you wish to park, please park near the chapel or behind it, closer to the rectory.

Please remember, especially right now while John R is under construction, that we need to be mindful of all our neighbors, serving them well by being patient, gentle, and thoughtful.

We have made some well-considered decisions about the textbooks we will be using in our religious education program this year.  We may be making more of these kinds of decisions in the years to come.  Our department takes many factors into consideration in making such choices, the most important factor being this:  How well do these textbooks convey the truth of the faith to this particular age group?  Other factors we critique are the teacher guides, prayers, cultural inclusivity, Christian service suggestions, visual attractiveness, and cost.

Fr. Ben Luedtke will speak about prayer on Wednesday, September 29 at 7 PM here at St. Anastasia,  in the church itself.  Father Ben was ordained by Pope John Paul II in Rome and has worked on three continents.  He personally knew Mother Teresa of Calcutta and was often her personal driver in Rome.  Each Missionary of Charity prays for a special preist;  Fr. Luedtke was Mother Teresa’s special priest.  He is a very popular speaker for retreats and missions.

Presented by the St. Anastasia Journey of Faith Team.  A free-will offering will be accepted and light refreshments will be served.

By the time you read this our own Dr. Christine Chun will be on her way to The Netherlands for the 13th International Cesar Franck Organ Competition.

Dr. Chun is one of only 8 competitors from around the world. Dr. Chun has created a blog that we can use to follow her adventure.  The site is http://adventuresofanorganist.blogspot.com/

Log in today to see how she’s doing.

We are in the process of reviewing the snow removal contract for the upcoming year.  We had a little bit of an advantage last year in that the snow fall was not as much as the record breaking year of 2008-09 and really the question is always do we go with a seasonal contract where you pay a lump sum for the entire year regardless of snowfall, or “pay as you go” where you pay for each and every snow removal as it occurs. If there are many snowfalls, the lump sum contract gives you an advantage, if there’s not much snowfall, the “pay as you go” gives you the advantage.  At this point, we are leaning towards the lump sum.  In 2008-09 our snow removal (includes salting the lot and clearing and salting the walks around the church) costs were $33,430. For 2009-10 those costs were $25,000…in case you haven’t noticed we have a big parking lot and lots of sidewalk area and we won’t take a chance on putting our staff, parishioners, or visitors at risk by cutting back on the snow removal services.

LET’S TALK ABOUT PRAYER – This Wednesday, Sep 29^th at 7 p.m. we are hosting Fr. Ben Luedtke.  I have been told that he is a dynamic speaker and he will be  presenting a talk on Prayer.  Interestingly enough, not only was he ordained by Pope John Paul II, but he was also Mother Teresa’s personal driver in Rome. The Missionaries of Charity each pray for a specific priest.   Fr. Luedtke was Mother Teresa’s special priest.  Having worked on three continents, and led numerous retreats and missions, I think you will be enriched by attending this event. Please join us.

My generous thanks go to all of those who have been so busily and cheerfully planning a wonderful new year for our students.  Our grade-level coordinators have bravely conquered pretty heavy work over the summer, delving into some new ways to plan lessons which focus on the students and their learning rather than on the teacher and the text.  

Thank you for your generous and loving response to God’s call!  You are invited to our important first gathering of the year on Tuesday, September 28 at 7 p.m. in the Davidson Center. We will fill out necessary paperwork, engage in a short lesson to help you prepare and be even more motivated for the year, and break into our smaller groups to receive lesson plans and procedural tips. Please let your grade-level coordinators know if you won’t be able to attend. Ninth grade catechists are highly encouraged to attend, and won’t have to stay for the small group time.

P.S.  Yes, we do still have a few open opportunities for you to become a catechist.  Contact Marian or any grade-level coordinator to learn more!

OCTOBER 16th

RESURECTON HOME- Sr. Mary Kay Druin
Resurrection Home in Beattyville Kentucky is one of St. Anastasia’s missions. Resurrection Home provides counseling and shelter to the people of Beattyville and Lee County, Kentucky, along with sponsoring a monthly clothing sale. Saint Anastasia’s parish is the sole supplier of clothing and household goods for this activity.
Our Parish supports Resurrection Home by providing high quality clothing and household items and then transporting them to Kentucky. The items collected are donated or sold for a very nominal fee. For many residences in the Beattyville area, this is their sole source of clothing.
Our semi-annual clothing drive is:
Saturday, OCTOBER 16th from 8:00 am till 11:30 am
in the William B. Davidson Activities Center
What to bring:

• Our goal is QUALITY, not quantity
• A special need exists for children clothes, infant thru teens
• All other clothing items are accepted. If you bring shoes, they should be polished and have shoelaces in them. Tennis shoes should be washed.
• If you wouldn’t wear it yourself, please don’t bring it.

How to bring:

• Freshly laundered
• Folded and in a box, ready to be sent

We CAN NOT accept medium or large appliances, bikes, trinket toys or any article that is difficult to transport.

If anyone is willing to work at the clothing drive, please call Barb or John Vella at (248) 879-9589.

Divorce is a life changing event that leaves many people feeling, isolated, lonely, depressed, angry, and hopeless. The good news is that you do not have to go at it alone. We are here to support you and help you work through the feelings that you may be experiencing so that you can truly heal from this traumatic event. If you have gone through a divorce or are currently going through one, then please consider joining our group which will address the feelings and issues that are commonly associated with divorce. There is light at the end of the tunnel and you will heal through the grace of God. The group is facilitated by Professional Counselor, Lisa S. Brown.  Please register with Lisa at 586.823.4001 or E-Mail