Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…please put a penny in the old man’s hat! – One of my best friends, Fr. Bob McCabe, is pastor at St. Pius in Southgate. Prior to that he was pastor of three parishes in the city of Detroit. While pastor in the city, he did a photo essay of the homeless. This month, Hour Detroit Magazine published a layout of some of Fr. Bob’s images. I had a chance to study them in more detail. He is an amazing and gifted photographer and seemed to grasp some of the darkness and challenge that our homeless brothers and sisters endure. Fr. Bob never takes photos of their faces, to protect their dignity. I am sure that these images will spark many folks who subscribe to the publication to respond to the plight of poverty. We here at St. Anastasia have an opportunity to protect these folks dignity and bring them some help as well: by supporting the ministries of St. Aloysius and the Christmas Ball. The Ball is this coming weekend! We are drastically behind in ticket sales and we need your help. Monday noon is the cutoff to buy a ticket. So if you could dig in those couch cushions for money to buy a ticket and rummage through that storage bin and donate an item, someone who presently is exposed to the elements will more likely get a warm meal and some clothing from St. Aloysius. Thanks.
Another Franciscan is in the house – Fr. Alex Kratz, who lives at St. Aloysius in the friary, will be with us here at St. Anastasia this weekend. He is a member of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Mobile Evangelization Team which works to empower all Catholics to share their faith in Jesus with others. An active member of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), Fr. Alex is moved to provide pilgrimages to the Holy Land. He immersed himself in the history and culture of the land to seek ways to build bridges between American Christians and Arab Christians. Fr. Alex journeyed to the holy sites, came to know the local people, and learned the customs of the Christians of the Holy Land. The Franciscans are empowered by the Catholic Church as the Official Guardians of the Shrines of the Holy Land, so he had a good in. He is here with us this weekend to help show the unity and magnificence of God’s Plan in Salvation History and the relevance this has in our daily lives as contemporary Catholic Christians. He will be presenting “Bethlehem in the Bible and Today” Saturday, Dec 5 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec 6 at 11:15 a.m. in the Social Hall. It is a family event to welcome Advent, so bring the whole gang. He will show a power point presentation and speak on the Holy Sites of Bethlehem. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to learn about the birth place of our Savior! A light dinner will be served at the December 5th presentation. Both presentations will begin following Mass.
Where are my donuts and coffee? – As you may have noticed, you have not been able to get your sugar and community fix in the same way on Sunday mornings. Why? We have not had coffee and donuts. This is not a cost saving measure (although it costs the parish $8000 a year for this, and we only get about half that in donations!?!). The reason is the economy. Our donut and bagel supplier unfortunately went out of business. We are in search of another business who can give us good quality product for a reasonable price. If you have a suggestion, please call Pat Ullmann in the office (Ext. 121) and offer your perspective. Don’t worry, we will have coffee and donuts back; even if I have to make Fr. Mark make them himself (Hey, I am the pastor!?!)
Awesome Ministries – I was speaking to Dave, our BASIC Youth Ministry coordinator, and Regina, who heads up the Cross Training Confirmation program, and they inspired me to remind you just how fortunate we are to have the awesome programs we have here at the parish. We have a great staff, an excellent Religious Education program on all levels and superb Adult Faith formation opportunities. If you feel a nudge from the Spirit and are unaware of the 1001 opportunities that we have here to serve and/or be enriched in your faith, just ask around, go on our website, or grab a bulletin and get involved. You will not regret it.
God bless,
Fr. J.J.
