Break Open the Word

Just a reminder, that for the remainder of Advent (the next three weekends) we have Break Open the Word for all K4 though 5th grade students at the 8:15 Masses.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Break Open the Word, it is a opportunity for children to hear and discuss the Scriptures at their level during Mass.  They leave after the opening prayer and move into the classrooms by grade level and return to their parents after the homily.  No need to register, just show up and participate.

Household Activity: Advent Wreath

The Advent wreath is a great way to connect your domestic church with the Advent season.  As we light the candles as a parish community, so you can in your household.  It's never too late to begin with this tradition.  You can either make a wreath with 3 purple/blue candles and one rose/pink candle or buy a ready made one.  Once created, you can pray around is as a household daily or weekly.  Light the wreath when you and your household continue the Jesse tree activity.

The links below should help you and your household pray this Advent:

• A good prayer for the first day the wreath is in your house.
• Prayers to use each week.

Happy Advent!

House of Peace

Those of you who had chosen to participate in the House of Peace service opportunity should bring your food boxes to our December GIFT session on the week of the 13th. House of Peace boxes should contain the following:

• 1 box of mashed potatoes
• 1 bag of stuffing
• 4 cans of green beans
• 4 cans of corn
• 2 cans of cranberry sauce
• 1 32 oz. can of sweet potatoes or yams
• 1 box of cake mix
• 1 can of frosting
• 2 boxes of pudding or jello
• 2 boxes of cornbread
• 2 boxes of macaroni and cheese

After your box is filled it can be sealed with packaging tape.

We will contact the House of Peace after our Tuesday GIFT session and they will send someone out to pick up our completed boxes, so be sure to bring your food box no later than the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 16th so as not to miss the pick up. For additional information on The House of Peace you can check out their website at http://www.houseofpeacemilwaukee.org/

Advent Reflections

Hello all! Hope you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a website that has daily reflections and readings throughout Advent. It might be a good way for you to enrich your spiritual journey this Advent as we all prepare for the coming of Christ.

Jesse Tree

It was so good to see all of you again for the November GIFT session. You were all so creative making the tree part for the Jesse Tree. I hope you are finishing coloring your symbols & gluing them on a leaf. Remember to wait until Nov. 29, the first Sunday of Advent, to begin using the purple booklet and hanging the matching symbol on the branches. My suggestion is to begin on the bottom of the tree and end with the star on the top. If you are ready & know your weekdays are very busy, you may start earlier to be finished by Christmas. I also hope this activity will acquaint your household with many stories in the scriptures about Jesus' ancestory.

Operation Christmas Child

If you were unable to bring your Operation Christmas Child box to the November GIFT session but would like to participate in this service activity, you can still drop it off. All boxes need to be here NO LATER THAN 4:00 on Tuesday, November 16th.

Please remember to label your box as to whether it is for a BOY or GIRL and what the age is that it's intended for. If you don't have a label or need to check regarding item suggestions for the box you can go to the website www.samaritanspurse.org/ezgive for more information.

Don't forget to secure your box with 2 rubberbands to keep the box closed and Samaritan's Purse also asks that you include your donation of $7 per shoebox to help cover the cost of shipping.

Advent is coming!

You are reminded that there is still time to sign up for the Advent Workshop on December 1st. This is a family experience geared primarily to those with children in Preschool and grade school (although my kids always enjoyed participating even when in High School). It's purpose is to stop and think about how you want to pray your way through the Advent Season. You are invited to create a couple of different items that are intended to be used throughout Advent. The things you make will give you scripture passages, prayers, and good deeds to participate in during this Holy season. Make a commitment to come and pray your way to Christmas. See the link for more information and a registration form. 

Adevent Workshop 2009

View more documents from St. James GIFT.

House Hold Activity, November 12, 2009

I drive by a house that has a tree cut out and taped to their picture window. Each time that I drive by, it seems as though there are more leaves on it. I wanted to investigate this further so one day I made a point of going past this house on my walk. The cut out leaves had names of people and events written on them. I think it may have been a kind of "Thank You Tree".
You might want to try doing this over the next couple of weeks. If you don't want to create a tree, you could simple keep a list of things that you are thankful for. I watched a group of fourth graders do this once and it was very impressive! Perhaps each member of your house hold could come up with one (or 2, or 3) thing that you can thank God for each day. Try not to repeat any items on your list. Think of all the things that God has blessed you with! See if you can come up with 100 things before Thanksgiving Day and be sure to use them as you count your blessings on this special Holiday!

All Saint's Day

A special thank you to all the children and parents who participated in the All Saint's Day celebration at Mass on November 1st.  If you missed it, our cameras caught all the action, which you can find in its entirety.

Below is Fr. Art's homily that includes the little Saints:
Part 1:

Part 2:

Making your Google search safer

Google unveiled a change to their SafeSearch feature on their popular search engine yesterday, allowing parents to lock in the SafeSearch settings with a password.  If you're looking for ways to protect your children from potentially dangerous or scandalous websites through a Google search, check out information on locking SafeSearch (the video is pretty good!).  But don't let this lull you into a false sense of security -- there are still many other search engines and many more precautions that can be made to create a safe Internet environment for your children.

Young Adult Mass and Social

Stressful week at work? Need some time to relax? Want to hang out with some young adult Catholics?

St. James is hosting a Mass on Friday, November 13th in the Historic Chapel at 7pm for young adults in their 20s or 30s, married or single. Afterward we will go to Pistol Pete’s for some food, drinks, and social time. If you have any questions or are interested in young adult activities in the future, contact Isaac in the CF office.

Hope to see you there!

Searching for Jesus

On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at 7:00 P.M., in the Marcy Center (below the church), St. Dominic Catholic Parish in Brookfield is offering the presentation, “Searching for Jesus,” by noted scripture scholar and popular presenter, Dr. Dan Scholz. Based on his newly published book, “Jesus in the Gospels and Acts” (Saint Mary's Press, 2009), Dr. Scholz, will discuss what Catholic scholars are saying today about the historical Jesus, the four New Testament Gospels, and the other early Christian Gospels not included in the New Testament. The event is free and will include the opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by the author.

This presentation by Dr. Dan Scholz is a wonderful opportunity to explore Jesus in the Gospels and early Christian writings. Hope to see you there!

2nd Grade Reconciliation Information

Parents of 2nd Graders, 
Hopefully by now those of you who have 2nd graders preparing for Reconciliation have attended the parent meeting and received your materials by now so that you can help in preparing your child for the sacrament. There have been a number of families who have not responded to us about which reconciliation retreat they will be attending and which service they would like to celebrate at. If you haven’t let us know please email, call or send in your slip with your choices.

Dates & times for the retreats are:

Friday, November 13 from 5:30-8:30 PM

OR

Saturday, November 14 from 9 AM-Noon

*Please consider attending on November 14th to keep our numbers more manageable.

Dates & times for the services are:

Tuesday, November 24 at 6:30 PM

OR

Monday, November 30 at 6:30 PM

*At this time we have more room on November 30th if the date works for your family.

How do we explain Halloween to our children?

Some Catholic parents may be wondering, "How do I explain Halloween to my children?  How did it originate?  Why do we say 'trick or treat' as we go door to door?"  These and other questions are answered in a Catholic Update "How Halloween Can Be Redeemed", by Page McKean Zyromski printed by St. Anthony Messenger Press.

If you have another way you like to explain Halloween to your children, leave a comment and share it with everyone.

S. Carol Ann

Thanksgiving Dinner coming up!

Our Annual Cooperating Churches of Sussex Thanksgiving Dinner is coming up on Sunday, November 22nd. This is a dinner for the senior citizens of our community to enjoy a turkey dinner with all of the yummy Thanksgiving foods that go along with the turkey. The dinner is served “family style” by the youth of the 5 CCOS churches of which we are a part. We already expect that we will have 100 youth participating as for many of the churches this is a mandatory service project, but there are other areas in which individuals and families can help. We have two seating times and between them should serve about 350 guests.  (For a list of all the ways you and your household can help, scroll down.)

All of the food for the dinner is donated by the parishioners of the CCOS churches. Some of the food needs more prep than others as we do not have time to make the turkey or desserts from scratch. The food is dropped off by those donating already prepared foods or items purchased on Saturday morning, November 21st between 9 AM & Noon. The following items need to come to us prepared:

• Turkey – cooked & sliced
• Potatoes – peeled & cubed (in water)
• Desserts – pies, cookies or other desserts
• Stuffing – 13 x 9 pans of ready made stuffing

To get a complete list of food items needed you can see the cover of this past week’s bulletin or pick up a copy from the Information Booth after Mass. We do need to know ahead of time what you would like to bring and how much so that we know what we still need to request.

Ways your family may want to help . . . .

1. Shop for food or prepare some food for the dinner together
2. Create some Thanksgiving cards for the seniors attending (We will collect them from you Saturday morning, or at the November GIFT session and see that the seniors receive them at the dinner.)
3. Create centerpieces or decorations for the tables (27 tables)
4. Create small cupcake tins with candies or trail mix types of treats
5. Decorate a few paper placemats which we can use for the dinner
6. Create prayer cards or prayer tabletents for the guests at the dinner
7. Make a few decorations to make the atmosphere more festive

Thank you!

Diana Wyszkowski

Household Activity: Gives Me Hope

Who gives you hope in life?  This is a simple exercise that you can do with your household, your family, and your friends.  How does the way your household (or family, co-workers, friends, strangers) lives give you hope for your life?  After thinking about it, tell each other!  Affirmation of goodness is important to keep goodness going.

If you're looking for some inspiration and some great examples (or if you're doubting the goodness of humanity), check out the website GivesMeHope.  A recent video contest winner is inspiring.

Kids Against Hunger

What would it take to provide 50,000 or more meals to people starting in African Villages?

50,000 meals = 500 people giving 1 hour of work and $25 on one Saturday in November.

Kids Against Hunger is a program run by Outreach International.  They need volunteers to pack in one hour shifts on Saturday, November 7th from 8am to 5pm at Menomonee Falls High School.

Interested?  Contact Sandi Blackwell at (262) 246-8486 or Pam Schwalbach at (262) 502-9130 or by email.  We also have several registration forms and more information in the CF office.

Holiday Help

Milwaukee's Catholic Charities has organized several ways you and your household can serve the needs of local families this Christmas season.  Please check out the flyer below for more information on how we can make a difference this Christmas:

2009 Holiday Giving Flyer

View more documents from St. James GIFT.

GIFT Video - October 11/13

Here is the presentation from Father Art recorded on Sunday, October 11th:

GIFT - October 11, 2009 from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

Update

On both Sunday and Tuesday families shared how they are taking something we do at the GIFT session and repeat it or adapt it to their household. This is one of the goals of GIFT. Keep it up!

Also, we are having more adults attend GIFT, so we are becoming truly intergenerational! Another goal we are working at. Thank you.

S. Carol Ann

Jesus: Brother

“Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:28)

When I was in middle school (many years ago), I had an encounter with Jesus in the Bible. I got into the habit of reading the bible everyday. I had one of those sheets that gave suggestions of passages to read when one was dealing with specific live issues (When worried, read Luke 12:22-31, When happy, read 1Thessalonians 5:16-18, When…). Once I got through my list, I started reading the Gospels and getting to know Jesus as a person, as my friend, and as a brother. The “brother image” has stayed with me to this day and is one that I can easily relate to, and take a lot of comfort in. Maybe having 4 brothers that draws me to this image ,or maybe it’s the concreteness of thinking about a real person relating to me.

When thinking about the phrase “Who do you say that I am?” I would answer: You, Jesus, are someone who is a brother to me. You hang out with me as my brothers do and listen to my joys and frustrations. I even wonder sometimes if you tease me with the unusual people and crazy situations that enter my every day life. The spirit of your presence reminds me to laugh and take things in stride. When life becomes difficult or sad, You remind me that I am never alone…a phone call away. It is much easier to walk into difficult situations with my Brother than alone. Each week I am reminded of the “Real Presence” of Jesus in my life when I celebrate and receive Eucharist. Jesus, my brother, gives me the gift of himself over and over to remind me of who he is…My brother, my friend, my God. What a GIFT!

Sue Devine-Simon

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a service project offered to the GIFT Families to participate in over this next month. Operation Christmas Child is organized by Samaritans Purse and is a collection of toys, treats, and other personal items for children around the world who are caught in crisis due to war, natural disasters, and poverty. It is a wonderful opportunity to involve your children in helping other children their age by reaching out in care and love by providing a gift for them.

Many of you have received a pamphlet in your Family Packet materials, but because of the smaller size of the pamphlet we noticed that a number were left behind in the folders. If you do not have a pamphlet you can go to the website www.samaritanspurse.org.

We will be collecting items up until November 18th so we are encouraging those who want to participate in this service project to bring their shoebox to the November GIFT Sessions.

You can fill a shoebox with a number of small items but items to avoid would be anything breakable, perishable, things requiring extra parts like batteries, or war related toys. The box and cover can be wrapped in Christmas wrap but the lid should be wrapped separately as the boxes get checked before they are shipped. When your box is complete please include an envelope with a $7 donation for shipping if possible. Attach the label as to whether the gift is for a boy or a girl and what age level this gift would be appropriate for. Please seal the package with 2 rubberbands to keep the box closed and bring it with you on either November 8th or 10th to GIFT.

Household Activity: Mission Statement

What is your household about? Deciding as a household what your worthy purposes, worthy visions, and worthy values are will unite your household together in both the brainstorming and the keeping of the mission. Your mission statement will embody principles everyone has chosen and that everyone has committed to live. After you're done, try creating a communal poster or a personalized note card with the mission statement to remind you about your agreed upon mission.

No mini-GIFT

Just a reminder, we will not have mini-GIFT this upcoming week (October 18 and 20). Take the time to spend with your family.

St. James Monthly Mission - October

St. James Monthly Mission is a great opportunity for high school students to get involved in the St. James community.  This month we will head out to St. Ben's for their Community Meal.  Check out the flyer below for more information.

St. James Monthly Mission - October 2009

If you have any questions, please contact Isaac (info on the flyer).

Second Grade Parents

We are holding parent meetings this Sunday and Tuesday for all families who have a 2nd or 3rd grader preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You are asked to attend one of the following meetings. Childcare will be provided.

• Sunday, October 4th at 9:30 a.m. in the Community Center OR
• Tuesday, October 6th at 5:00 p.m. in the Community Center OR
• Tuesday, October 6th at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Center

Change in Schedule

Please note that we will not be holding the Mini GIFT sessions on Sunday October 18th and October 20th (This is session #3 on your GIFT calendar). We wanted these sessions to be meaningful and well done and simply do not feel we can pull them together by these dates. We’re sorry if this caused any inconvenience. Be assured that we will hold the rest of the GIFT sessions as scheduled.

Household Activity: Prayer Walk

Take a prayer walk this week. Do it with everyone in your family or go in pairs as your schedule allows. Be aware of God’s wonderful creation by counting all the different kinds of trees, or counting the different natural colors you find in creation. Thank God for all you see and say your thank you prayers out loud, with your eyes open. Happy Walking!

Prayer Links

Over to the right you may have noticed a new section to the blog called "Prayer Links".  This is a collection of links to websites that can help us pray.

• Prepare for the Sunday liturgy with the Scriptures ("Prepare for Sunday from SLU")
• Reflect on the readings selected for the day ("Daily Reflections from the USCCB")
• Reflect on aspects of our faith ("Daily Reflections from Creighton" and "Daily Reflections from Notre Dame")
• Watch the entire 8:15 Sunday Mass at St. James ("Sunday Mass @ St. James")
• Take a short, daily retreats ("Daily Prayer: Sacred Space" and "3 Minute Retreat")
• Listen to audio reflections on the Sunday Gospel ("Sunday Gospel Podcast: LifeTeen")
• Listen and pray along with a compilation of music, Scripture, and a homily ("Prayercast from Notre Dame")

If you have any suggestions or a personal favorite online resource for prayer, let us know!

Jesus: friend, companion, spouse

“Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)

Who do I say Jesus is for me?

A friend, a companion, my spouse.  That last one may surprise you, but you see I am a woman religious, Sister Carol Ann.  When I was received into my religious community of the School Sisters of St. Francis, I was told that now I was a bride of Christ.  At the time, it didn't have a very deep meaning.  However, as the years went by, 48 of them in religious life, it has taken on a very real and significant understanding of Jesus for me.

It especially came home to me several years ago when I was driving in a snowstorm.  I was getting very frightened and thought to myself, "I sure wish I had a husband riding with me to calm me down."  I came to the realization, I do have a companion, an encourager, a supporter and yes even a challenger to help me grow in my love of God and others.  That is precisely what the primary purpose of marriage is: the good of the couple that is, the santification ofe ach other.

Fortunately, for me I didn't have to worry about the sanctification of my spouse.  He certainly has been helping me to grow closer to God and others.

Thank you all for being the presence of Jesus in my life.

Sister Carol Ann, SSSF

Love and Logic

Have you ever wondered why the techniques that your parents used for child rearing don't work so well for you?  do you wonder how to be a more effective parent?  Would you like to gain some new insights and tools to help you parent?
The Love and Logic method might be the answer. 
For more information, check out this PDF or call Sue in the office: 251-0897.

Living Beyond the "End of the World"

A Spirituality of Hope

With Environmentalist and

Author Margaret Swedish

Sunday, September 27, 11:45 am

St. James Parish Hall

Daily we are overrun with news and debates on energy, food, water, climate and economics - interrelated forces that could undermine the fabric of life as we know it. How will we contend with issues like water shortages, the end of “cheap oil”, and the global food crises? What is the potential impact on the poor and powerless in the U.S. and around the world? How can we as people of faith and compassion change our actions to help humankind face these challenges? With Margaret we will explore the spiritual meaning of the ecological crisis that now faces our precious Earth, where the changes required are particularly profound.

Please join us for Margaret’s presentation on Sunday, September 27 at 11:45 am following mass and the Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast. Please invite your friends and neighbors to hear this wonderful speaker. All are welcome!

Household Activity: Car Conversation

Have a car conversation this week about faith.  Here's a good question to get you started: Who have you encountered this week that has reminded you of Jesus?

Tuesday catechist needs

We had a number of people respond to our plea for catechists and childcare for the October GIFT session. At this time we are all set in both areas for the Sunday Session as a number of people had responded. We are still in need of someone to teach Gr. 4, Gr. 5/6, and Gr. 9/10 as well as someone from the Tuesday GIFT program to do childcare for our Sunday families. Please email if you can help in any of these areas. Thanks to all of those who have already come forward.

We need some ceramics for October.

In October, our theme is Jesus: human and divine.  We want to look at Jesus and His times -- customs, dishes, tools, food, and places he went, prayed, and taught.

Two of the grades will view the types of dishes Jesus may have used.  Does anyone know someone who teaches ceramics and would be willing to loan us some greenware of 2 pitchers, 2 flat dishes, 2 pieces that look like glasss or something to drink from and maybe something to drink from and maybe something that could hold oil in a love lamp?  We have woven baskets.  Please email or phone either Sue or S. Carol Ann if you can help.  Thank you.

How are you growing in your faith?

Our wheat seeds are growing by leaps and bounds!  The catechists and the core team will get an in person preview at their meeting coming up.  But for the rest of us, check out the picture of the wheat:

GIFT Calendar 2009-2010

Here is the 2009-2010 GIFT calendar:

 Gift Calendar 2009

View more documents from St. James GIFT.

You can also download it if you want.

Thursday's Thoughts

Welcome to our GIFT Blog!
We are happy to have you here sharing ideas and thoughts about the GIFT Program at St. James. This site will be updated weekly and we hope that you will take the time to read it and add your thoughts to it.

Thanks to all of you who participated in our GIFT Retreat, "Who do you say that I am?" It was amazing to see 250 individuals come together to focus on Jesus and faith. As we continue Growing In Faith Together this year with our study of Jesus, we look forward to continued reflections on Jesus’ life. Be sure to put your prayer cloth in a place of meaning in your home and keep that space for prayer. You might want to put your Bible on your cloth or maybe have a candle there that you always light for prayer. Make it work for your domestic church! If you were not able to get to the Retreat you can check out some of the other things we did on this blog site, and you can pick up other important information you missed at the Christian Formation Office. Please feel free to call the staff at 262-251-0897.

Help is needed!!!
We still need a few adults to lead our children’s groups on Sunday and Tuesday. You are asked to commit to the first 3 GIFT sessions (Sundays, Oct 11, Nov. 8, Dec. 13th or Tuesdays, Oct. 13, Nov. 10, & Dec 15th).There will be a Catechist Planning session for these Catechists on Thursday, September 24th at 6:30 in the Great Room. If you can help, please e-mail or call, Sue or Diana as soon as possible. The following grades still need a leader.

Sunday
7th Graders
8th Graders

Tuesday
4K-1st
4th Grade
5/6th Grades
9/10th Grades

-Sue

Household Activity

Here's a good activity for your household.  As Catholic Christians, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God.  We always treat the Bible with respect.  Help your family, no matter how young, recognize that the Bible is not just another book.  Consider enthroning the Bible in your home.  The USCCB website has a prayer service for enthroning the Bible at the link.

Jesus, Compassionate Savior

As we launch the GIFT blog, we start a mini-series of short reflections that answers the question that Jesus Christ posed to Peter and to us: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29).
---
Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior.

Compassionate because you, the Eternal Word, didn’t regard equality with God something to be grasped. Instead, you let go, you humbled yourself, you emptied yourself taking the form of a servant and came to us like us in all things except sin. You could have come in a scary way, through a talking animal, a powerful giant, or a flying angel. Instead, you were found human in appearance. You wanted to be like us. You lived life as one of us and you know of our pain, our suffering. Jesus, you yourself suffered and were obedient to death, even death on a cross.

But Jesus, your compassion is not limited to your birth and death. Your life speaks of compassion. We see you healing the blind, curing the lame, dining with sinners and the least among us. You speak with women and men, with children and adults, the words of everlasting life. You look upon crowds both now and then and are moved with pity and provide nourishment, with bread that sustains our body, mind, and spirit. You want to be with us, want to meet us most especially in those places we consider unworthy, unsatisfactory, imperfect. Your special love for the poor extends into the poor areas of our life.

Jesus, your desire to heal extends beyond our time and our space; you are our savior.

You saved us through your suffering, death, and resurrection and save us now when we call out to you. When we face a difficult situation, when we are in pain and need healing, when we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, we turn to you. Salvation is life-giving and you are the source of life.

Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior. Desiring our good, loving us until the end, and always calling us towards yourself, may we live eternally in your loving embrace.

Isaac Garcia

El Greco: The Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind

GIFT Videos - September 13th

Here are the GIFT videos from this past weekend, Fr. Art's presentation and the expectations and responsibilities:

Fr. Art:

GIFT - September 13, 2009 from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

Responsibilities and Expectations:

GIFT - September 13, 2009 - Expectations & Responsibilities from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

Images of Jesus

Here are the images that we used during the opening prayer for Sunday's GIFT session (with music):

St. James GIFT - Jesus Images

You can also pause it and flip back and forth between different slides.