St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church
Divinely Inspired!

How amazing and how RIGHT it is to celebrate the many facets of human creativity by pondering the mysteries and wonders of the Creator Himself. Our Parish Mission this year was so blessed, so motivating, so convicting, so downright holy!  If you weren’t able to make it to every session, you can listen (or re-listen) to most of them on our website.  Look under the heading of Adults, and then choose “Audio Downloads” from the menu. They should be available by April 8.  We did have some difficulty recording Fr. Bob McCabe – whose presentation was very visual anyway – so unfortunately that talk is not available.

At the celebration of the Eucharist we are nourished at two tables…the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist. Both are necessary. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says: “When the Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself is speaking to his people and Christ, present in his own word, is proclaiming the Gospel”. (GIRM, n.29) We need to ponder these words and make them our own.

One of my favorite seasons is spring. While it may not always feel like spring outside, we are in it.  It is great to see the flowers bloom; the trees bud and then soon have leaves. It reminds me that even though something may appear dead, there is still life in it. This is a perfect analogy as we celebrate the season of Lent. When we look at our lives we may see areas that appear dead or appear to have stunted growth. When we prune and remove these obstacles that are preventing us from seeing God, we then see His fullness. I encourage everyone to look deep in their lives and remove those things that prevent us from seeing God. If it is sin, go to confession and make your life right with God. During spring we will see the full blooming of flowers. Let us pray we see that in our lives as well.

I would like to thank everyone who purchased a St. Anastasia bumpersticker or attended the St. Anastasia Irish Night. With both of these event we were able to donate almost $2500 to help the World Youth Day Pilgrims. I know they appreciate our help. I would also like to tank the Knights of Columbus for a wonderful meal and Kevin Enright who was the head chef, directing the Knights in meal preperation. A big thank you to the Young Adults who put the event together.

We will be having an informational meeting to kick off a new outreach ministry. It will involve inviting our neighbors to come to St. Anastasia to learn about us and to explore our faith. Many people are just waiting to be invited to come and experience the love of Christ. We are called by Christ to make this invitation. This ministry, Opening Doors to St. Anastasia,  encourages us to do this and gives us the tools to accomplish our goal.  The fist meeting is Saturday, April 2nd from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the parish social hall (enter through the Church doors).  A pizza lunch will be served.

The Confessions of St Augustine

“Your exceedingly great mercy, and on that alone, rests all my hope.”
Are there times when you miss the mark? Times when you haven’t really done the best you could do?

There are times when I fall down, and try again. First I ask for forgiveness and light to my path. Sometimes I am not sure what the right path is. He knows where we should be going. We need to find a quiet time in the day and listen. Ask Him for guidance and He will hold our hand. Sometimes I believe I feel His hand in mine.

The night before my father passed, he came to my house, held my hand and let me know he will always be there when ever I needed him. Truly, that is a gift and a hopeful sign for our future.

Can you feel His hand in yours? Effort is required.

E-Mail

Are you interested in serving those who can’t get to church to receive the Eucharist? Our Homebound Ministers are scheduled approximately every 4-5 weeks to visit 4 parishioners in their homes. It is based on your availability during that week. We are currently low on our number of ministers and need to recruit some new faces. This is a very rewarding ministry. Please call Kim Houseman if you are slightly interested or have questions,248.689.8380 x112.

Christina Marsack’s dresses get around.

Marsack learned about an initiative that sends dresses to little girls in need

around the world. She heard about it from a friend who saw dresses being made at the Faith at Work Catholic bookstore and coffeehouse in Troy. The project was in support of Little Dresses for Africa, a Christian nonprofit group that sends dresses made from pillowcases to girls in Africa topromote a message of love, worth and hope.

The group also distributes dresses to other countries in crisis, including Honduras, Mexico and Haiti. “The dresses were beautiful, and all were so different. I made my first few dresses and dropped them off at the bookstore. The dresses were all sent to Rwanda with Immaculee Ilibagiza,” she said, referring to the author of the book “Left to Tell” and a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. “These dresses were then brought back to her country to be distributed to Rwandan girls,”Marsack said. Marsack experienced the gratitude of the recipients firsthand last summer, when she handed out the garments in Honduras. She and her sisters attended a dental-related mission trip with University of Detroit Mercy’s Christian Dental Association. “We were in a small village where people had come from all over to receive free dental services,”Marsack explained. “The depth of poverty was evident, and the recipients of the dresses were very grateful. Although there was a language barrier, the expression of thanks was evident. I had one man come up to me and thank me for the dress I had given his daughter. His wife had recently died, and he was so thankful that something would bring joy to his little girl.” Marsack said each dress takes her about 45 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on the level of detail she puts into it. She told friend Barbara Simony, also of Troy, about the initiative, and Simony was in. Simony scours local Salvation Army stores for gently used pillowcases to use as fabric for the dresses. She explained that the pillowcases are the right size, and the hemming for the pillowcases works well for the hems on the bottom of the dresses. “Each dress is so unique,” Simony said. “They can be very basic or elaborate.” Marsack said the next batch of dresses will be going to Rwanda in late April or early May with a friend. “We are hoping to send another batch to South Africa in August to a missionary team,” she said. “It’s easy to find places to send dresses to.”

Pillowcase donations in support of the project may be sent to St. Anastasia Catholic Church, Attn: Christian Services, 4571 John R, Troy, MI 48085.  For information, call Kim Houseman at(248) 689-8380, ext. 112.  Pillow Cases Accepted until April 14, 2011.

Information about Little Dresses for Africa is available at www.littledressesforafrica. org.

We made our quarterly payment to the Archdiocese of Detroit this week. If you’ll recall, we are “taxed” 7% by the AOD based on our weekly donations; we’ve sent them a check for $24,754.The tax or assessment is due on the last day of each fiscal quarter so our next one is due June 30^th, which is also the close of the fiscal year. We mentioned in last week’s “From The Office” article that we were looking at possibly doing our own lawn care for the coming year utilizing our maintenance crew and some summer help (high school / college students). The equipment we are in need of is a large riding mower with short turning radius, two small non-self propelled mowers, two weed-whackers/edgers, one back pack blower, and one fertilizer spreader. Might some of you out there have some of that equipment – in running order – or maybe requiring some minor maintenance – which you might be willing to donate to St. Anastasia? If so, please contact me via phone or e-mail. We are still going through the quoting process for landscaping and we will have three quotes (or more) to make a good comparison. From my point of view if doing the landscaping ourselves can get a payback of 2 years or less, it would probably be worth it. 

Act of Penitence

One of the things that Christ was most frequently criticized for by leaders of the Jews was that he drew sinners to himself. He ate with sinners, he cured sinners, and reached out to sinners who were most in need of God’s mercy. As the community of faithful gathers to celebrate this paschal mystery, it acknowledges that it too is a sinful people. We confess our sinfulness to God, to each other, and to all the angels and saints. 

Michigan Heart Gallery 2011

Grand Opening Event!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

13660 Stansbury Avenue

Detroit MI 48227

Doors Open: 10:30 am

Program: 11:00 – 2pm

Register at: www.mare.org

Or call 800.589.6273

More than 3,500 children are in Michigan’s foster care system that are in need of loving adoptive homes. At this free event, you’ll hear more about the kids who are waiting, the process of adoption, from foster care and ways to support the adoptive families. Contact the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange for more information.

Are you interested in serving those who can’t get to church to receive the Eucharist? Our Homebound Ministers are scheduled approximately every 4-5 weeks to visit 4 parishioners in their homes. It is based on your availability during that week. We are currently low on our number of ministers and need to recruit some new faces. This is a very rewarding ministry. Please call Kim Houseman if you are slightly interested or have questions,248.689.8380 x112.