First Sunday of Advent December 2, 2018 THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT A Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent God of light and life, give us hope as we wait for your coming again. When we are tempted to be grateful to have found you while others are lost, send us out into the darkness in search of those who need you most. Amen Celebrate Advent Communal Penance & Taizé Prayer Thursday, December 6, 7-8 pm, Church Advent is a me of “preparaon” for the Solemn Feast and Season of Christmas and it is customary for the Faithful to parcipate in Communal Reconciliaon as part of that preparaon. This year we will again be offering opportunity for individual reconciliaon within the communal context of Taize Prayer. Take a peaceful hour away from the swirl of holiday fesvies to center your heart in the divine giſt that is the In- carnaon of God’s Word. Encounter the quiet mystery of God’s abiding love, wrapped in a beauful tapestry of sung prayer. And, should you desire it, celebrate the giſt that is God’s compassion and forgiveness through the sacrament of individual reconciliaon. Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saturday, December 8, 10 am Celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Concepon, Patroness of our Naon, next Saturday, Dec. 8 at 10 am. The Immaculate Concepon is Patroness of our Naon and a Holy Day of Obligaon. At this year’s Mass we have the added privilege of ob- serving Jesuit novice Adam Bryan celebrate his first vows in the Society of Jesus. Let Your Light Shine Children’s Liturgy of the Word is in the need of a few more leaders to help with this awesome ministry. High school teens are WELCOME to parcipate too! Offered during 10:30 Sunday Mass, CLW is for children in grades K-4, and designed to bring the Word of God to children on a level they can easily understand. Its ritual seng is reflecve of the adult liturgy yet sensive to the needs of the child, engaging them in the lessons of scripture. Training, lesson plans, and a liturgical format are provided. If you enjoy children and want to share the Word of God with them, this ministry is for you! Contact Brian: 651-227-7669 x 311 or [email protected].
Transcript
First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2018
THE FIRST SUNDAY
OF
ADVENT A Prayer for the
First Sunday of Advent
God of light and life,
give us hope as we wait
for your coming again.
When we are tempted
to be grateful to have found you
while others are lost,
send us out into the darkness
in search of those
who need you most.
Amen
Celebrate Advent Communal Penance & Taizé Prayer
Thursday, December 6, 7-8 pm, Church Advent is a time of “preparation” for the Solemn Feast and Season of
Christmas and it is customary for the Faithful to participate in Communal
Reconciliation as part of that preparation. This year we will again be
offering opportunity for individual reconciliation within the communal
context of Taize Prayer. Take a peaceful hour away from the swirl of
holiday festivities to center your heart in the divine gift that is the In-
carnation of God’s Word. Encounter the quiet mystery of God’s abiding
love, wrapped in a beautiful tapestry of sung prayer. And, should you
desire it, celebrate the gift that is God’s compassion and forgiveness
through the sacrament of individual reconciliation.
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saturday, December 8, 10 am Celebrate the Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception, Patroness
of our Nation, next Saturday, Dec. 8
at 10 am. The Immaculate Conception
is Patroness of our Nation and a Holy
Day of Obligation. At this year’s Mass
we have the added privilege of ob-
serving Jesuit novice Adam Bryan
celebrate his first vows in the Society of Jesus.
Let Your Light Shine Children’s Liturgy of the Word is in the need of a few more leaders to
help with this awesome ministry. High school teens are WELCOME to
participate too! Offered during 10:30 Sunday Mass, CLW is for children
in grades K-4, and designed to bring the Word of God to children on a
level they can easily understand. Its ritual setting is reflective of the
adult liturgy yet sensitive to the needs of the child, engaging them in
the lessons of scripture. Training, lesson plans, and a liturgical format
are provided. If you enjoy children and want to share the Word of God
with them, this ministry is for you! Contact Brian: 651-227-7669 x 311
Rooted in the Gospels and formed by Ignatian spirituality,
the mission of the Catholic Community of Saint Thomas More
is to glorify God by our lives.
Building the City of God Here and Now Capital Campaign & Annual Stewardship - THANK YOU! We received many commitments to the annual stewardship and capital campaign. A special thank
you to those who returned their commitment cards and the many volunteers who gave of their
time! If you have not returned your commitment cards, please do so as soon as possible. The Cam-
paign Committee will be following up with those who we have not heard from. Additional commit-
ment cards are in the parish office if needed.
An announcement will soon be made regarding stewardship and capital campaign totals, as well as
next steps in our building renewal effort.
Please continue praying for God’s guidance throughout this process as well as the campaign volunteers and entire Saint
Thomas More Catholic Community. This is an important moment in our parish’s history and we thank you for your interest!
Get Your Coffee Fix While Supporting STM Students St. Thomas More 8th graders will be selling Dunn Brothers coffee after the Masses on the weekends of Dec. 1-2, 8-9, and
15-16 with proceeds funding the students trip to Washington D.C. in April of 2019. Coffee can be ordered as whole bean or
ground; come in three flavors: French Roast, Peruvian and Decaf and costs $15 per pound. Orders will be delivered by STM
students in early January. Please support our STM students as they work to raise funds for a great learning experience in
our nation's capital. For questions or to place an order, contact STM parent Kathleen Murray at [email protected] or
call 218-780-5800.
Cana Dinner Planning Meeting
Tuesday, December 4, 5 pm, Parish Center We are holding a Cana Dinner next February 9 in celebration of the gift of married love in our parish. If you would like to
help plan this wonderful and fun event, please come to our 5 pm meeting on December 4 in the parish center. For more
information, contact Carol Arend, [email protected] or 651-227-7669 x 305.
It’s Almost Festival Choir Time! If you would like to participate in the Festival Choir for our 10:30 am Mass on Christmas Day, mark your calendar now and
plan on coming to our Festival Choir rehearsals on Wednesday, December 5, 12 & 19. We start at 7 pm and are finished
by 8:30 pm. Enter the church through the parking lot ramp door. Festival Choir is for singers in grades 9 and beyond. In-
strumentalists are also welcome to join in the work and the fun. Please let us know if you plan to sing with the Festival
Choir this year so we can prepare a music folder for you. Questions? Contact Mary Ann at [email protected]
or leave a message with Dana at 651-227-7669 x 306 and Mary Ann will get back to you!
Exploring the Gospel of Luke - A Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary Theology Day
Thursday, December 6, 6-9 pm, St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Maple Grove If asked, many would rank the Gospel of Luke as their favorite among the New Testament writings. With its attention on
outcasts, women, and salvation history, Luke features some of the best stories in the New Testament, displaying topics
foundational to the development of the Christian Tradition. Underlying these colorful themes lies the Gospel narrative’s
primary focus - Jesus’ cosmic battle with the Devil. Presenter: Fr. Michael Patella, OSB, free event; registration required:
320-363-3560, www.collegevilleMN.com/theologyday or [email protected].
Two Important Requests from the Free Store Team We’re looking for some additional volunteers to work at the store on Saturday, December 15. We open early, 11 am, that day to
accommodate guests who are shopping at the Toy Drive Distribution sponsored by the Women’s Club. To sign up, visit the STM
parish website and click on “Volunteer at STM Free Store” under Events on the right hand side of the page. Scroll down to
December 15… or Email [email protected] or call Mary Beth, 708-805-0151 or Lisa, 612-242-9032. Winter
items now needed include clean, gently used coats, boots, sheets and warm blankets/comforters. Thank you for your support!
The STM Women’s Group Thanks You! Thank you to all who baked and bought
items at the Bake Sale on Nov. 17/18! Your
support and participation in this activity
enriches our community and contributes to
the mission of St. Thomas More - we raised
$925! These funds directly support the St.
Thomas More Dorothy Day Ministry. Special
thanks to the volunteers on who helped
selling the baked goodies. Many hands
make light work! ~ Myriam Grady and
Gloria Wilkie, Women’s Group Co Chairs
Greening Gratitude In Christian tradition, “greening” is a term used to describe the activity that prepares our worship environment for the
Advent/Christmas seasons and there’s been a lot of “greening” going on this past week. Thank You to the Boy Scouts and
Cub Scouts for their gift of wreaths and garland festooning the church and campus grounds. Thank You to our maintenance
crew for hanging wreaths and draping garland. Thank You to the Sewich family for greening up our Summit Avenue Urns,
they’re BEAUTIFUL! And Ttank you to the helpful elves (STM friends, parishioners and our faithful maintenance crew) who
worked to create our Advent forest - hauling heavy boxes into place and assembling trees. We are sincerely grateful to
everyone who, in a spirit of community stewardship, worked to enhance our Advent/Christmas prayer with the beauty of
the season.
November Harvest of Souls Concludes Our prayers were enriched last month by remembrance of deceased loved ones now counted among the great Communion of
Saints professed and witnessed to by our faith. Pictures that were on display at our Paschal Candle during the past month
are available for pick-up this weekend. They have been relocated to the table at the ramp door entrance in the church.
Online Giving Cards Available
Located at the 2 Entrances in the Front of Church & the Gathering Space in the Back of Church If you give by EFT you are welcome to pick up and place this card in the offering basket during Mass. It allows you to join in
the ritual act of offering your gift of treasure at the Altar of Christ’s sacrifice in support of the ministries of Saint Thomas More
Catholic Community - all for the greater glory of God.
Saint Thomas More School News! Recently, the STM community gathered together and met in their Houses! The purpose of Houses is to build community
relationships and promote faith and service throughout our school. As we met in our Houses, the theme was about how sin
is a lack of gratitude, a belief shared within the Jesuit Community. The children had the chance to think about sins they
have witnessed, then they thought about how they could turn that sin into gratitude! Some ideas were: sometimes I fight
with my sister when she borrows my things. We turn that sin into gratitude by being thankful to have a sister to play and
share with, and how someone broke a window, but the neighbor was very kind and forgave them! They were grateful for
being forgiven! They created a flip heart to show sins they have witnessed and how they turn that sin into gratitude. What
a great way to show how important gratitude is in our lives!
Saint Thomas More School is Seeking a Part Time Coordinator Saint Thomas More School is looking for a Part Time Extended Day Coordinator starting January 7th. The hours are 1-6 pm,
Monday - Friday. On school release days, once a month, the applicant would need to be available by 11:30 am. This posi-
tion is year-round so the applicant would need to be available during school vacations and in the summer. Rate of pay will
depend on experience and qualifications. Please send resumes to Barb Larkin: [email protected] or call her:
651-224-9312.
Saint Thomas More Preschool is Seeking Assistant Teachers Saint Thomas More Preschool is looking for two assistant teachers to work Monday/Wednesday from 8:30 am-12 pm, and
Tuesday/Thursday from 8:30 am-1:30 pm, starting January 7th. Duties will include assisting classroom teachers with day to
day activities. Pay will depend on qualifications and experience. Please call Barb Larkin: 651-224-9312 or send resumes to
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