DOMESTIC CHURCH

As an example of ideas that are natural rituals in your domestic church, please go to http://www.ncronline.org/. This is the National Catholic Reporter that has some very good articles on contemporary church issues.



If you took a blue book for Advent this year, please go to the page for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. It talks about "The House Church". It reaffirms what you are doing in preparation around your home as part of the "Domestic" church.

Advent Adventures

Come, Lord Jesus

Advent is my favorite church season! There are so many meaningful traditions to help families focus on the meaning of this season of waiting. When my children were little we would light the candles on the advent wreath and turn out the lights. The candle light gave a warm glow and seemed to enhance our conversations at dinner time. I would encourage you to put an Advent wreath together today.

There are no hard and fast rules as to the materials you can use but there are a few symbols you will want to include. First of all be sure to start with a circle of some kind. Wreaths are circular with no beginning or end. They remind us of the love that God has for us. It has always been there, and will always continue. A wreath should also have some kind of green base. So you might want to start with a green paper plate, green play dough, a piece of green garland, green crepe paper, or boughs from a pine tree. The next items you will need are 4 candles. Light has always been a symbol of hope in the darkness. The candles on the Advent wreath remind us that Jesus is the light that came into our world. We use 4 candles to represent the 4 weeks of Advent. We usually use 3 purple (or deep blue) candles and 1 pink. Purple is used because, long ago, purple dye was very expensive and became associated with royalty. Because Advent was associated with the coming of our Kind, Jesus, we use purple. On the 3rd Sunday we light the pink candle. This is called Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday which reminds us  that we are over half way to Christmas! You can then add bits of ribbon or pine cones, or red beads or anything that you think would look nice. The last and most important thing is to use your Advent wreath to pray each day. You might like to pray the following prayer after you light your Advent candles or make up your own prayer!

      Loving God,

Bless our Advent time of waiting.

May this light be a sign of the coming of Jesus.

May it brighten our way as we journey towards Christmas Day.

Help us to share your light and love with everyone we meet today and tomorrow.

Amen

Monthly Mission for December

To the GIFT families of 6th, 7th, 8th graders and high school students:

Pam Dennis and Sandy Ciha are continuing the Monthly Mission service activities started by Isaac Garcia last year. The first Monthly Mission will take place during the December 12th GIFT session. We will be stuffing and delivering stockings to our parish members who reside in the Willow Springs Mobile Park across from St. James. Please bring a few of the following items with you on December 12th for the stockings. Also, remember to dress warm! We will return to St. James by 1:30, when GIFT ends.

The service opportunity is open to all middle and high school students of
St. James. Suggested items for the elderly residents at Willow Springs:
(20-25 stockings)

6th Grade - bring pocket sized tissue packs (the soft ones!) & postage stamps
7th Grade - bring notepads & unscented lotions
8th Grade - bring lifesavers or lemon drop candies, tea or hot chocolate packs
High Schoolers - bring a Christmas ornament

If you have any questions, please contact Pam Dennis fotopubnavy@yahoo.com
or Sandy Ciha sciha@wi.rr.com

A Reflection on Sunday's 2nd Reading

When you go to Mass this Sunday, you will hear readings from the Bible. To prepare yourself and your family to truly hear God's Word, read and discuss this short article before you go.



Romans 15:7-13 Treat All as Christ



If you were to visit a Benedictine monastery, you would likely see the words "treat all as Christ" posted on a wall or left in a handwritten note on your bed. Benedictines embrace hospitality and approach every stranger as they would Jesus Christ himself. Is hospitality a gift you possess? Does your family welcome the stranger? In today's world, where safety is often the measure of our actions, Paul's instruction to welcome others as Christ welcomes us may seem too risky. But it should never stop us from seeing Christ in each person -- from the homeless person begging for a dollar to the driver who cuts ahead of us in traffic -- and offering him or her the respect we would offer Jesus. Sometimes strangers are even people who are quite close to us. We regard them as strangers because they think or act or believe differently than we do; but we are called to welcome them as well. As a family, share how you can offer the gift of hospitality.



If you have a copy of this Bible, this article appears on p. 1416 of the Catholic Faith & Family Bible, produced by the Center for Ministry Development, published by HarperCollins, 2010.

A few announcements about GIFT and this week's sessions

As you may know, there exists a core team for the GIFT program which is made up of CF staff and interested adults from the Sunday and Tuesday Programs. We meet to plan, evaluate, and vision for our GIFT program. From this committee comes new ideas and better ways of doing things in our program. As facilitators, Sr. Carol Ann and I deeply appreciate the input and the ideas that the committee offer. We would like to invite you to consider serving on this committee. At the present time we have a dedicated and creative small group of adults. It would be good to have 3-6 more people join us. Please consider and pray about this opportunity and join us for our next meeting. Our next meeting will be on January 12th at 7:00 p.m. in the school building. Hope to see you there!

HOUSE OF PEACE
As part of our next GIFT session we will be putting our boxes together for the House of Peace. Please bring all, or some of the food items that are listed on the previous blog entry. We will have the boxes available on that day and we will fill as many as possible to send out to the House of Peace.
We will also be collecting the boxes for Operation Christmas Child at the next GIFT session. There will be a separate table designated for these shoe box gifts.

HOUSE OF PEACE FOOD BOXES

The House of Peace provides food boxes to over 1,000 needy households at Thanksgiving. At our November GIFT session we will be putting these boxes together. Some of you may be bringing all of the items for a box and some tables may have decided at our last session to split the list of items for the Gift box. Below are the items needed in each box:

• 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 jell-o
• 2 boxes of cornbread mix
• 2 boxes of macaroni and cheese

The House of Peace will add a $20 gift certificate for a turkey and to help pay for refrigerated foods.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

Operation Christmas Child is run by Samaritan's Purse. We will be delivering shoeboxes to one of their drop-off sites on November 17th so if you are participating in this service project and forget to bring it to the November GIFT session, be sure to have your box here at St. James no later than the morning of the 17th. Here are some details for packing your shoebox. Some of you already have a shoebox from Samaritan's Purse. If you do not and are using a regular shoebox you can wrap it but the lid and box must be wrapped separately. All boxes are checked before being sent out.

• Use rubberbands around your box to keep the box closed.
• Tape your label to the top of the box that indicates if your gift is for a boy or a girl and check the age of the child your gift is appropriate for. Labels can be found on the pamphlet that was in your October GIFT Packet.
• If you cannot find your pamphlet you can go to www.samaritanspurse.org/ezgive where they have printable boy/girl labels.
• Please include $7 for shipping per shoebox. This can be placed in the envelope which was also a part of the Operation Christmas Child pamphlet and bring this with you to our upcoming session.
• Gift ideas are: school supplies, toys, hygiene items, hard candy, t-shirts, socks, caps, sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries). NO war toys, chocolate or food, liquids, medication or breakable items.

HOLLY DAYS

Holly Days is coming up December 4th & 5th. The activities committee wants to encourage you to join them for this event! Santa will be visiting on Sunday and the children can tell him what they want for Christmas and have their picture taken with him! New this year will be a Silent Auction and Christmas Boutique.

The Activities Committee is looking for help through parishioner donations. If you have books, cd's, dvd's or videos that you are willing to donate the collection box will be in the Gathering Area through November 29th. They are also looking for donations for Theme Baskets and nearly new Christmas items for the Christmas Boutique. See the bulletin for more details if you can help with donations but need more specifics. Remember that the bulletins can be found online at http://www.stjames-parish.net/.

FALL CLEAN UP AT ST. JAMES

The Building and Grounds Committee has scheduled their annual Fall Clean-Up Day for this coming Saturday, November 6th. They are looking for volunteers willing to help rake the leaves here at St. James and clean up the yard.

They will begin at 8 a.m. and hopefully finish up before noon. There is no need to call ahead - just show up if you are able. This is an event that the whole family can come out and help with so consider joining them this coming Saturday morning!

Refelctions on Halloween (and Baptism) from a Friend...

At the end of October, children across the country will venture out into neighborhoods donning superhero capes, Star Wars attire, and all other sorts of costumes. As a child I always looked forward to Halloween, the day I would march around in my homemade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume (as Donatello, of course) and walk from door to door trick-or-treating. A funny thing would happen when I wore this costume -- I changed. While inside the costume, everyone expected me to take on the persona and the behavior of Donatello and I happily obliged with “Cowabungas”, “Dudes”, and attempts at athletic jump kicks into the air. I had put on Donatello and the clothing changed my very thoughts, words and actions. I was a “little Donatello” for a night, realizing a lifelong dream of being a “hero in a half-shell”.


In baptism, we hope for a similar transformation. Paul writes, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Gal 3:27). Symbolized with a white garment, the newly baptized are clothed with Christ. Unlike the Donatello outfit, when we “put on” Christ, it is once for all. He does not come off. We never dry off from our baptism and are continually challenged and strengthened by the Sacrament to take on the very persona and behavior of Jesus Christ. Like the Donatello costume, what happens on the outside hopefully changes our very thoughts, words and actions. The goal, then, of putting on Christ is for the inside to match the outside, so that our very identity becomes who we outwardly claim to be in baptism. For those of us who were baptized as babies, we spend our entire Christian lives trying to grow into the infant-sized baptismal garment. We strain to join our voices with Paul’s in proclaiming that “it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

We return now to the image of young Isaac as “little Donatello”. As I returned home, plastic pumpkin overflowing with candy, I was a happy kid and felt more turtle-like than before. But after the shell came off the effects quickly withered away. Once the costume was boxed up on November 1st, once there was no big event to look forward to, I forgot about the whole thing. With no continual reinforcement, I slid back to my usually quiet six-year-old self.

This too is a danger for us all -- forgetting our new identity in baptism. “Every Christian is to become a little Christ,” C.S. Lewis writes. “The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” We are continually challenged to appropriate our identity as “little Christs”, to grow in faith, hope, and love. This becomes especially difficult when there is no big “faith event” on the horizon to look forward to. In a world that pulls us in hundreds of different directions at once, we need constant reminders and help to be “little Christs”; we need the St. James community and our family to ensure we recognize and live into our baptismal clothes.

This Halloween, as we see the “little superheroes”, “little Buzz Lightyears”, and “little princesses” parading from house to house, may they serve as a reminder to baptism. May the automatic taking on of personalities by the trick-or-treaters inspire us to take on the personality of Christ. And may we support each other in our journey, no matter where we are in our faith.

Hope all is well in the land of the Packers!

Blessings,

Isaac

The Gift of Silence

Last night I asked my Confirmation group how much time they spend each day in silence. My motive was to challenge them to spend a portion of that time listening for God's voice in their lives. The most silent time, that any of them admitted to, was 30 minutes. I asked them to look for 5 minutes this week to be quiet and listen to what God has to say to them.

 How would you answer this question? How much time do you spend each day in silence? One of the ways that we connect to God in prayer is to listen. Do you ever make the time to stop to listen for the voice of God?

This week you are encouraged to take some time, individually or as a family, and simply be quiet. Take a walk and silently appreciate God's creation. Set a timer for 3 or 5 minutes and repeat in your mind, "speak Lord, I'm listening".   Perhaps you can refrain from listening to your ipod or car radio for 5 minutes and offer those minutes to God. Another idea might be to set a timer and focus on your breathing for 2-3 minutes. Challenge yourself this week to spend some time in the quiet and see if you can hear the "still small voice of God" (1Kings 19:12). 

A Service Opportunity!

Christians, Muslims and Others working together to aid flood victims in Pakistan

FOOD PACK FOR PAKISTAN

November 1-4 Monday thru Thursday
Wisconsin Products Pavilion, State Fair Park

Shifts each day 6 -7:30 and 7:30-9 PM

OUR TARGET: 1,000,000 MEALS PACKED AND SHIPPED

Worldwide Hunger Relief is working together with local churches and the Islamic Society of Milwaukee to conduct a 4 day food pack to feed the hungry people of Pakistan whose homes and crops have been destroyed by the monsoon flooding this summer. 20 million people were displaced. All food packed will be shipped to Pakistan and distributed with the help of Zindagi Trust: www.zindagitrust.org, one of the most respected charities in Pakistan

REGISTRATION AND MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT

http://www.worldwidehungerrelief.org/

Cost: $20 per participant which covers the cost of the food you will be packing.

A sponsor sheet is available on our website or by email from revtomkent@sbcglobal.net

This is a great event to bring confirmation classes, youth groups and other groups from your church. Join us in saving lives and sharing acts of compassion and mercy.

Good Deed Beads

October 1st is the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux. One of her spiritual practices was to carry around a little string of beads, and try to do ten good deeds each day. With every good deed she would move a bead over on her string. Perhaps this would be a good practice for you to try. Spend a little time reading about St. Therese and then make your own "Good Deed Beads". This would be an activity that everyone could participate in from the young ones to the teens the adults. This week, let's change the world, one deed (bead) at a time! Check this out ...(http://thelittleways.com/how-to-make-sacrifice-beads)

Safeguarding All God's Children

For many years the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has been offering a program called "Safeguarding all God's Children". The intent of this program is to help adults, who work with children, recognize the signs of abuse committed to children. It will give adults the tools to respond to suspected abuse in appropriate ways. While we ask any adult working with children on a volunteer basis to go through this training, it is without a doubt valuable to all adults, parents, grandparents, neighbors and friends. 

Parents who will be leading a group of children this year in GIFT, are asked to complete the Safeguarding class. There are many sessions offered on different days and times in the archdiocese. We will be hosting a session here at St. James on Monday, October 4th at 6:30p.m. in the Community Center. To register for this session or for another session please go to www.archmil.org/safeguarding . If you have any questions please call 251-0897.

Being a Domestic Church (A church of the home)

At our  first GIFT session we talked about the early church as talked about in Acts 2:42-47. That reading talks about a lot of qualities that could be found in the early church and hopefully in our church today. This week you might want to pull out your bible and re look at that passage. One of the qualities that keeps showing itself is love. I heard someone say today "How we love others, is how we love God".

It might be a good time to take stock of how we are doing in this area. How do we show love to each other at home (and hence, to God)? How do we show love to the people at school, at work, and in our community (and hence, to God)? How might you show love to strangers who are poor or struggling (and hence, to God)? Have everyone in your family contribute to a list of ways that you could share love with family, friends, relatives, acquaintances, and strangers. Hang that list in a prominent place and revisit it a couple times this week. See if you can do at least one concrete activity to show love to others (and hence, to God). Hope you have a 'love'ly week!

We are Church

Remembering that our theme for this year of GIFT is "We are Church", I was wondering if you knew that 90%of the 4.3 million women & men who serve in church ministries around the world are LAY people - that is, people besides the ordained priests and permanent deacons, who are the other 10%. You can see that right here in St. James' staff. We have 1 priest, 2 permanent deacons and 12 dedicated lay people. Yes, I, S. Carol Ann Jaeger, am considered part of the laity. Sisters are not ordained and therefore not considered part of the clergy.

Today in the United States, there are an esimated 31,000 lay ecclesial(church) ministers serving in Catholic parishes. St. James Staff is part of that group. Many of you do thank us when you see us "for all the hard work you do ." We appreciate that very much. We appreciate all of your cooperation and volunteering you do at S. James.

This weekend, there will be a commisisioning service for all the volunteers who serve in the ministries of passing on the faith to children, youth and adults. When the category is announced and you are part of,i.e. teach in the GIFT program, please come forward.

Always remember that by virtue of our Baptism, ALL are called to spread the Good News of the Gospel by our words & actions. We are all commissioned to pass on our Catholic faith.

Second Grade Sacraments

Families of second grade children will begin preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation at our next GIFT session. Information will also come home at that time to let the parents know what they can do to continue this preparation. There are many dates associated with these 2 celebrations so I have included a link to the parish web site where you can find all the dates needed for the year. Please go to Reconciliation & Eucharist Preparation & Celebration Calendar and add the dates from this calendar to your home calendar!

This & that

GIFT – Thursday Thoughts For Sept. 15, 2010
What a great start to our 2010-11 year of GIFT! See the picture.
53 of the 73 registered families attended the retreat either on Saturday or Sunday last weekend. We did not video tape the adult segment this time, so those who missed a fun time, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you pick up your packet in the Gathering Area this weekend, Sept. 18-19(on table with green cloth).

Packet contains:
-The Calendar -Hand-out sheet from Daryl’s Adult presentation on the early
-K-4-Gr. 5 materials Christian community
-Food schedule - Information on optional adult small faith groups in the
home(explained by Nate Lasnoski, one of the GIFT participants).
-Service opportunities
WE ARE THE CHURCH is our theme for this year. We saw excellent of this already at the retreat.
As a review for all the GIFT participants, please read again these Scripture passages sometime this month: Acts 2:14-21, Acts4:42-47 and Acts 15:1-28.

Be sure to check the Gospel question of the week in the bulletin and discuss it with you family, either before going to Mass or after. Some families even have someone read the Gospel from their copy of At Home with the Word on the way to Mass.

Thank you to all the people who helped teach the children during the retreat. We are also grateful to the Knights of Columbus for providing our wonderful pancake breakfast on Sunday. They donated their time & the food.

Sue will be attaching a family activity.

Next month we will be distributing the House of Peace information for the poor as a service project.
Next GIFT core meeting is on Monday, October 18 at 7PM in the cafeteria. WE NEED HELP! We need input from you, the GIFT participants, to shape the GIFT program, to plan and implement the ideas for each session. Please consider being on this important committee. Call Sue or S. Carol Ann for more info.

Family Prayer

The Practice of Prayer
When I was a young mother I wanted to help my children to be faithful to daily prayer. I wanted it to be simple enough that they would be able to do it without me, but also meaningful. I came up with a 3 question system for them to use.
What can you thank God for today?
What do you need to say you’re sorry for?
What do you need to ask God to help you with?
Over the years this has been a good format for them and for our family. It is a prayer process that we can do together or individually. Twenty three years later, it is still a way that we pray. Try it for a week and see how it works for you.

Parenting class for parents of teens

Love and Logic for parents of Teens

September 27th through November 1st
(6 consecutive Monday Evenings)
6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the Youth Room (#1)

For parents of Middle and High School Youth

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. This method teaches parents how to hold their kids accountable for their actions by locking in empathy, love, and understanding, prior to telling kids what the consequences of their actions will be. This method causes the child to see their parent as the “good guy” and the child’s poor decision as the “bad guy”. When it’s done on a regular basis, kids develop an internal voice that says, “I wonder how much pain I’m going to cause for myself with my next decision?” Kids who develop this internal voice become more capable of standing up to peer pressure. This common sense approach provides parents with easy to learn skills that create respect, responsibility, and good decision making in youth.

Love and Logic rests on four scientifically-based principles:

1. Logical consequences delivered with empathy
2. Collective thinking and problem-solving
3. Shared control
4. Adult-child relationships that build mutual respect and self esteem


If you think this is something for you, or you have questions, call Sue at 253-2904 to reserve your space today!
************************************************************************************************


Name _____________________________________ Phone ___________________


E-Mail address _______________________________________________________


How old are your children? _____________________________________________

The Month of Mary

As the calendar turns to May, I can't help but remember Mary. As a child, this month brought May Altars to our home and praying of the rosary. We would take great care to put a beautiful cloth on the bookcase at the end of the hall and then set our plastic Mary statue on top of it. Through out the month, we would adorn the altar with home made tissue flowers, dandelions, or lilacs. It was an act of reverence to the Mother of God that holds meaning to me this day. At school there would always be a special prayer service where we would process with flowers, ending up at a large Mary Statue which would be crowned with a ring of flowers.

During this month of May, take some time in your household to remember and connect to Mary. There are more than a dozen stories in the Bible where Mary appears, acts, or speaks. Read one of them and see what new insights you can gain about Mary. Perhaps you would like to create a Mary Altar of some kind in your house. Commit to saying the rosary (or 1 decade) once a week. Maybe you could pray the Hail Mary in place of your meal prayer this month. Another fun activity would be to do a search on line titled "Images of Mary" and see a number of different ways that artists portray Mary. However you choose to do it, spend a little time this month remembering this wonderful follower of Jesus. Let her life inspire you to say yes to God like she did.

Other6

Some of us find God at church on Sundays, but puzzle to find God the other six days of the week.  Other6 is a community dedicated to helping each other experience God at all times, in all things.

Inspire others and be inspired.  See God in others and be seen in God.

Holy Week is almost here!

As we enter the holiest week of the year, you are encouraged to spend a little time in thought, reflection, and prayer. We have a number of church service that you are welcome to participate in.

• March 26th, 6:30 p.m. - Stations of the Cross


• March 26th, 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. - 4th/5th Grade Retreat


• March 27th, 10:30 a.m. - Reconciliation Service in Church


• April 1st, 7:00 p.m. - Holy Thursday Liturgy


• April 2nd, 1:00 & 7:00 p.m. - Good Friday Services


• April 3rd, 8:00 p.m. - Holy Saturday Liturgy


• April 4th, 8:15 & 10:15 a.m. - Easter Liturgies

All of these events are wonderful ways to observe this week. At Home you might want to eat a meal in candle light and talk about how important shared meals are (Jesus last meal). You might want to watch a movie or read the scriptures about the passion (Good Friday). On Holy Saturday you might want to prepare Easter eggs and talk about how eggs are a sign of new life. Perhaps you can share some of these symbols with other. What ever you do this Holy Week, be sure to pause and ponder the awesomeness of this story of our faith. It is truly an act of love by our God.

Images and the movie from the GIFT Stations of the Cross

Here are the images and the movie that we used during the GIFT presentation this past weekend:

This icon is called The Virgin of Vladimir.  No one knows it's painter.  Click here for more information on the Virgin of Vladimir.

 This is a Russian icon of the crucifixion of Jesus.  I haven't found it's author or any other information.



Video from Youtube of the sixth station

May these images bless you during Lent!

MINI-WORKCAMP

Mini-Workcamp is scheduled for Saturday, APRIL 24th!

Mini-Workcamp is a day long service project where adults and teens from the Cooperating Churches of Sussex (of which St. James is a part) do Spring clean up for area senior citizens. We need all of you to pray that it doesn't rain!!! Unfortunately last year was a washout with pouring rain, thunder and lightening but we're hoping for a more favorable forecast this year.

Seniors in the area could use help with some Spring cleanup projects such as raking, gutter cleaning and window washing. Teens in Grade 7 and up are needed to provide this service along with some adults who will help facilitate small groups of youth in accomplishing their assigned tasks.

Youth Gr. 7 and up who would like to participate in Mini-Workcamp can pick up a pink form at the Information Booth, and Adults wanting to help can pick up a blue form after weekend Masses. For your convenience registration forms are also available on the BLOG at

http://www.stjamescf.wordpress.com/

All registration forms should be mailed to Greg Zyla (as shown on the registration form) by APRIL 9th.

If you have any questions about Mini-Workcamp feel free to call Diana in the Christian Formation Office at 251-0897 ext. 200.

CHECK OUT FACEBOOK!

Are you on Facebook!?!? Did you know you can keep up with the latest events/news at St.James by becoming a fan at www.facebook.com/stjamescongregation

EASTER BASKETS

St. James is in need of at least 10 more Easter Baskets for our parishioners that are homebound. Your family could help by creating a self-contained Easter Basket, that could include items like Note Cards, Puzzle Books, Lotions, Non-Skid Socks, Spring or Easter Decorations. Anything your family can create would be appreciated. ...... Please drop off your Easter Basket by Sunday, March 28th in the back of church.

4th & 5th Grade Retreat Information

Your fourth or fifth grader is invited to a retreat at St. James on Friday, March 26th.  Check out the flyer below for more information:

Praying your Way through Lent

How is your household doing with the practice of Prayer this Lent?

Are you finding the time to pray each day?

• Here are a few suggestions of some moments/methods of prayer that you might try.

Try keeping a prayer jar or bowl with all the people, events, intentions, and requests that you want to pray for. Try to add to your jar once a day.

Sing your favorite hymn from Church while driving in the car or taking a shower.

Pray for the person in need when you hear an Ambulance siren.

Say a short prayer of hope such as, "God help us to use the give of this day to its fullest" when you wake up or wake up your child to a new day.

Pray at bedtime for someone who did a kindness to you today. (ideas taken from Tom McGrath's "Raising Faith Filled Kids")

What is your favorite way to pray? Maybe you can share it here. Whatever form your prayers take, the most important thing is to keep praying!

District 4/5 High School Senior Retreat (2010)

Do you know a high school senior who would be interested in a retreat crafted just for them?  Check out the flyer below:

District 4/5 High School Senior Retreat Flyer 2010

Contact Isaac in the CF office for more information.

2010 Lenten Cluster Mission Video

Cluster Mission is in a few weeks! Please watch this video for more information. Hope to see you there!

Become a Fan of St. James!

Become a Fan of St. James....did you know that St. James has a Facebook Page?? We have two actually a Friend Page and a Fan Page. Follow the link and become a Fan of St. James, keep up with the parish happenings, special mass times and other events.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Menomonee-Falls-WI/St-James-Congregation/463410145789

A Reminder...

Yes, Mini GIFT is Happening!!!

Sunday, February 21st at 11:30 a.m.&

Tuesday, February 23rd at 6:30p.m.

All children/youth will meet in their usual class room with their catechist.

The only exception is 2nd grade - Parents and children will

meet together in their class room.

Adults will meet in the church on Sunday,

and the Community Center on Tuesday.

We look forward to this time together!

February Household Activity

In preparation for Valentine's Day write a letter, a note or tell someone in your family why you love them.

Parish Cluster Lenten Mission

Four Saints and a Good Shepherd Cluster will host the Lenten Mission on Sunday, March 7 through Wednesday, March 10 at St. Agnes Parish in Butler from 7:00 - 8:30 PM.

The theme, "Unleashing the Reconciling Power of Jesus in Our Lives", will focus on our need as Catholics to experience reconciliation. This three evening session will examine a unique view of reconciliation. The mission will conclude with a reconciliation service on Wednesday.

Presenters are Fr. Don Hying, Rector of St. Francis Seminary and Sr. Fran Cunningham, SSSF, Director of the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Office of World Mission Ministries.

If you are unable to attend in the evening, there will be an 8:15 liturgy each morning at St. Agnes, followed by a light breakfast and video repeat of the previous night's presentation.

For further information contact Sr. Carol Ann Jaeger at 251-0897 ext. 203 or Mike George at 414-358-2833.

Fasting with Friends

On Ash Wednesday, February 17th there will be a Soup Supper before and after the 6:00 pm liturgy. Serving time will be from 5:00-5:55 and then again from 6:45-7:30. All are welcome to attend this event. Through fasting, prayer, and giving of alms (sacrifices & money) we will honor the beginning of Lent.

Come to church to pray with the community at 6:00 pm and either before or after prayer come to the community center to fast with a simple meal of homemade soup, bread & beverages. To give alms, donations can again be made to Operation Rice Bowl throughout Lent. Any questions you can call Sue Devine-Simon at 251-0879 ext. 201.

If you would like to help with the soup supper or contribute ingredients for the soup please call Sue. Items needed for the soup are vegetable broth, carrots, celery, broccoli, onions, velveeta cheese, noodles and other frozen vegetables. Donations can be brought to the CF office by February 14th.

Monthly Mission - February: Paint the House

Monthly Mission is a great opportunity for high school students to get involved and serve at St. James and the wider area community. This month we will paint the inside of a home that will go to a family in dire need. See the flyer below for more information, or check out the Facebook group page and event page:

Monthly Mission - February 2010

View more documents from St. James GIFT.

If you have any questions, please contact Isaac in the CF office (info on the flyer / in the Facebook group).

GIFT Video - January 10/12

Here is the presentation Daryl gave on Sunday, January 10th about baptism:

GIFT - January 10, 2010 from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

GIFT VIdeo - November 8/10

It is a little late, but here's the video from the GIFT session from November 8/10:

GIFT - November 8, 2009 from St. James Parish on Vimeo.

FOOD FOR HAITI

EMERGENCY FOOD PACKAGING EVENT FOR HAITI

At the Waukesha/Sussex Exit off I-94 
(see mapquest link below)

JAN 28th & 29th from 6-9 PM and 
JAN 30th from 9-3

Kids Against Hunger provides dried food packages that feed a balanced diet of basic nutritional needs for six people each. Participants assemble packages in a supervised, sanitary setting in an assembly line fashion in 90 minute shifts. To date, over 40,000,000 Kids Against Hunger meals have been distributed here in the U.S. and around the world. We plan on packaging 500,000 meals during the 3 day event. Transportation and a destination in Haiti has been arranged, waiting for this life saving food. You can help bring healing and save lives. You must call the number listed below to register.

WHO? Any person, whether a child or a senior citizen, if able to sit or stand for up to 90 minutes filling bags on an assembly line, can help fill the packages although children and teens must be accompanied by an adult. This is a great family service opportunity!

WHEN? Thursday, Jan 28 from 6-9 PM Friday, Jan 29 from 6-9 PM Saturday, Jan 30 from 9-3

WHERE? Westwood Business Center W229N1420 Westwood Dr Waukesha, WI 53086 (Next Door to American TV near I 94)

REGISTER BY PHONE AT 262/251-9870 (Phone line will be active starting Thursday Jan 21st) You will be signing up for a 90 minute shift. You must register to reserve your place. Each participant should bring $25 to cover the cost of the food and materials used for the food, packing and shipping. The $25 donation is tax deductible. Checks can be made payable to Kids Against Hunger, a 501c3 non-profit corporation. If the cost is more than you can afford at this time, we have pledge sheets available on the table outside of the CF Office that you can pick up or I can attach a copy through email upon request. The pledge sheet would be a way of involving friends and neighbors in covering some of your participation cost.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP BUT CAN’T COME YOURSELF, consider a Tax Deductible Donation made to: Kids Against Hunger at PO Box 442 Sussex, WI 53089 Or you could sponsor someone else to work!

Directions: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?address=W229n1687+Westwood+Dr+Ste+E&city=Waukesha&state=WI&zipcode=53186 

More information at Facebook http://bit.ly/KAHHaiti 
Email info: Pastor Tom Kent, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church
Office: 262/246-6537
Cell: 414/531-8006

Monthly Mission - January: Valentines for Prisoners

Monthly Mission is a great opportunity for high school students to get involved in the community at St. James and in our service.  This month we will stay indoors and create Valentines for prisoners.  See the flyer below for more information:

Monthly Mission: Valentines for Prisoners

View more documents from St. James GIFT.

If you have any questions, please contact Isaac (info on the flyer or in the bulletin)