November 19, 2017 - | 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH

203 EAST MAIN ST., PO BOX 730, TEUTOPOLIS, IL 62467

Parish Office 203 E. Main St., P.O. Box 730, Teutopolis, IL 62467-0730 Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9:00 am-4:30 pm Phone: (217) 857-6404 Fax: (217) 857-1031 Parish E-mail: stfrancischurch@mchsi.com Parish website: stfrancischurch.com

Submit written bulletin notices by noon Monday.

Diocesan website: www.dio.org

Diocesan Child Abuse Reporting and Investigation Number (217) 321-1155

Parish Pastoral Team Fr. Joe Carlos, OFM, Pastor Fr. Ken Rosswog, OFM, Associate Pastor Fr. Thinh Tran, OFM, Associate Pastor Dan Williams, Director of Music Ministry Emilie Esker, Director of Discipleship Anita Broom, Bookkeeper Jane Miller, Part-time Secretary Ron Ruholl, Maintenance

Religious Education: Sr. Ann Siemer, SSND, Gr. Sch./Jr. Hi. DRE: 857-6477/3015 Lisa Siemer, Youth Director & Sr. High CRE: 857-1500 Carlene Rauch, Part-time Rel. Ed. Secretary: 857-6477

Parish Council Steve Kroeger Lois Meinhart Sharon Waldhoff Rich Niebrugge Karen Runde Cory Wermert Toby McMahon Donna Niemerg Mark Willenborg

St. Francis of Assisi Parish – Teutopolis, Illinois page 2

From the Pastor

One of the best ways to celebrate Thanksgiving Day is to come together with your family to Mass. Eucharist means giving thanks. We have two Masses on Thanksgiving morning: 7 o’clock and 9 o’clock. We will have a collection for Cath-olic Charities at both Masses, and if you wish to donate a food item, please place it in containers near the Blessed Virgin al-tar. The food will be taken to Catholic Charities offices, and it will be distributed from there. We have so much we take for granted and so much we need to be thankful and appreciative for. Two trips to Arcola this week! I’ll be going to Arcola Sunday afternoon with the more mature members of our par-ish for the show that is presented up there. And then on Thanksgiving morning I will be driving to the local Catholic parish in Arcola for Mass at 9:30. The priest asked if someone from here could help him out so he could get away. Confirmation is fast approaching. Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will be here to administer the sacrament of Confir-mation on Wednesday, 29 November. Please keep our confirmandi in your prayers as they prepare for this once in a lifetime sacrament that completes their baptism and initiation into the life of Christ. Because of a wedding on Saturday, 18 November, I am excused from the meeting in Springfield to vote on the 4th Synod. Our parish representative, Mike Tipton was planning on going, and I’m sure he was there Saturday if he were able to. I hope we can get a summary from him to share with all the parishioners. As you know, in the history of the diocese there have been only 3 synods or major meetings. The last one was in the early 1960’s around the time of the Vatican Council II.

Monday, November 20, 6:30: Vincent Huelsing Monday, November 20, 12:10: Frank & Florence Uthell Tuesday, November 21, 6:30: Betty Koeberlein Schottman Tuesday, November 21, 7:55: AID Wednesday, November 22, 6:30: Carolyn Poe Wednesday, November 22, 7:55: Lawrence Ruholl Thursday, November 23, 7:00: Josephine Hatke Thursday, November 23, 9:00: Mert McMahon Friday, November 24, 6:30: Cecelia Habing Friday, November 24, 7:55: Don Broom Saturday, November 25, 8:00: Mrs. Jack Koester Saturday, November 25, 4:30: Joe Buscher Sunday, November 26, 6:30: Pro Populo Sunday, November 26, 8:30: Dean Matteson Sunday, November 26, 10:30: Matilda Bierman

Mass Intentions

Protecting God’s Children

St. Rose, Montrose, will be offering a class on Thursday, November 30, 6:30 pm

Call 821-4626 to register.

Still being prepared. This parable today is of tal-ents, trust, and service. New Testament “talents” are big piles of money. But in this story, they are God-given free gifts and baptismal charisms. Given to be used. For the benefit of others. Not to be hidden. Fear of doing some-thing wrong can lead to inactivity. Lack of action and playing it safe are not kingdom of God behaviors.

How does God make me worthy?

What does God have in store for me?

How will I stay busy (not be lazy)?

World Day of the Poor – November 19 - In his apostolic letter to close the Year of Mercy, Pope Fran-cis suggested the Catholic Church set aside one day each year when communities can “reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel.” He designated this day as the World Day of the Poor and it will be celebrated on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time each year. How can you celebrate? 1. Pray for those living in poverty. 2. Practice the Corporal Works of Mercy. 3. Make caring for the poor part of your routine. 4. Learn about the causes of poverty and work to change them. 5. Support the Church’s outreach to the poor. Learn more at crs.org/worldday-poor.

Thanksgiving Day Masses will be at 7:00 and 9:00 am. A monetary collection for Catholic Charities will be taken up at the Masses. Food items for Catholic Charities are to be placed in from of the Blessed Virgin altar before or after Mass.

Needed. We are in need of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for the 7:00 am Mass and the 9:00 am Mass on Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd. Please come to the sacristy before Mass and see where you are needed. Thank you for your help.

Liturgy Schedule 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

November 20- 26 Monday, Mass at 6:30 am & 12:10 pm

Tuesday, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mass at 6:30 & 7:55 am

Wednesday, St. Cecelia Mass at 6:30 & 7:55 am

Thursday, St. Clement I St. Columban Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Thanksgiving Day Mass at 7:00 & 9:00 am

Friday, St. Andrew Dung-Lac Mass at 6:30 & 7:55 am

Saturday, St. Catherine of Alexandria Mass at 8:00 am & 4:30 pm

Sunday, Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Mass at 6:30, 8:30, 10:30 am

Confession Schedule Saturday, November 25 -- 3:00-4:00 pm

Liturgy of the Hours with Friars Monday-Friday -- 11:45 am & 4:45 pm

Stewardship of Treasure Sunday Total Fiscal 11/12/2017 Year 262 Adult envelopes $7,735.00 $160,582.00 Other $907.42 $14,773.28 TOTAL $8,642.42 $175,355.28 Assisi to Africa $313.00 $12,270.00

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Monday, November 20

Jr. High Choir practice 6:00 - 7:00 pm Adult Choir practice, 7:00 pm DeColores mtg., 7:00 pm, Mus. Meeting Room Wednesday, November 22

No Jr. High and HS Religion Rosary, 8:00 pm, Chapel Thursday, November 23

Happy Thanksgiving! Parish office is closed Giving trees go up. Friday, November 24

Parish office closed Saturday, November 25

Confessions, 3:00-4:00 pm

Parish Calendar

Please remember in your prayers: Jack Hardiek, Lucille Worman, Devin Mette, Harold Hardiek, Margaret Pruemer, Will Niccum, Joe Ruholl, Bill and Rosie Myers, Emily (Heuerman) McCabe, Lorraine Deters, Claude and Geraldine Brumleve, Craig Lindvahl, Scott Repking, Andrea Wernsing, Elizabeth Weidner, Paula Spencer, Betty Borries, Jody Furlano, Mark Roedl, JoAnn Deters, Elizabeth Waldhoff, Linus Willenborg, Cheryl Woodard, Norma Weber, Pat Poston, Kathryn Wesselman, Philip Wendt, Charlotte Miller, Cheryl Huber, Ruth Walk, Peyton Esker, Dorothy Gardewine, Martha Thoele, Marty Kuharich, Alice Watson, Rose Walsh.

Pray for the Sick

Homebound Ministry Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Commun-ion to the Homebound for Sunday, Novem-ber 26th are Donna Spannagel 618-793-2000 and Mary Jane Koester 857-3697.

Donations for Flowers We are ac-cepting donations for flowers for Christmas and special occasions during 2018. Please put your donation in an envelope marked “FLOWERS”, and place it in the collection basket, or drop it off at the parish office. If the donation is being made in memory of a loved one, please note this on the envelope also.

Please Note: The parish office will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 23 and 24 for the Thanks-giving holiday.

Attention Altar Servers and Parents: I am in the process of working on the Christmas altar server sched-ule. If you are able to serve any of the following Masses, please contact me as soon as possible. I am needing: 4 servers (Gr. 5-12) for the 4:00 pm Mass on Sunday,

December 24, Christmas Eve 4 servers (Gr. 5-12) for the 6:00 pm Mass on Sunday,

December 24, Christmas Eve 4 servers (Gr. 7-12) and 12 torch bearers (Gr. 4-8) for

the 10:00 pm Mass on Sunday, December 24, Christ-mas Eve

4 servers (Gr. 4-12) for the 9:00 am Mass on Monday, December 25, Christmas Day

Thank you for any help you can give me. Barb Runde (821-9950)

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Religious Education News

GRADE SCHOOL Grade 1 children will be viewing the Personal Safety vid-eo in the East open area on Monday, November 20. Those not viewing will meet in room 1M.

Grade 3 children in rooms 3K and 3S will assemble in the Chapel area for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and children in rooms 3C and 3D will assemble in room 3C for the Thanksgiving video on November 20.

Grade 4 children will assemble in room 4S for a Thanks-giving video on November 20.

PRE/K Sunday morning classes take place in the Museum Dining Room during the l0:30 Mass. Children have begun practicing for the Christmas/Epiphany program which is to take place on Sunday, January 7. There will be No Pre/K Class in the Museum Dining Room on Sun., November 26.

Giving Tree Dates Our Giving Trees are going up on Thanksgiving. Gifts will be due back on December 10. We will sort and dis-tribute them on December 11 to the various homes.

2018 March For Life - Any high school student who is interested in the diocesan bus trip to Washington DC, please contact Lisa Siemer at 857-1500 or Angie Es-ker 857-6276 immediately. Busses depart the evening of January 17 and arrive home the evening of January 21; cost is $360. Form and deposit of $125 are needed asap; donors will help with the remainder of the $360 total if desired. If seats are available after November 30, there is a price in-crease of $25. Please consider being a part of this inspiring pilgrimage!

JUNIOR HIGH There are no classes on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and on Wednesday, November 29, when Bishop Paprocki will be here at St. Francis for administering the Sacrament of Confirmation to the Sophomore students.

CHWC News! We have student and chaperon spots available on our CHWC Crew that is headed to Philadel-phia June 9 - 16, 2018! All high school students and older are invited to serve the poor, elderly, and disadvantaged in the city of Philly. Check out the parish website under What's Happening for more information regarding the trip!

Thanksgiving Prayer This Thanksgiving, let us remember all the good things, and people, who have come into our lives. We focus on thanking each one who has helped us, and ultimately thank God for the good gifts of this world. Let us pray... God our Father, Graciously accept from your humble people a thankful heart and spirit. Everything we have and are able to share with others ultimately comes from your love of your creations. Often we think that everything we have is our own creation; we ask you this day to create in us a spirit of gratitude, that we may always know that all good gifts come from you. We ask this through Christ our brother, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Scrip Cards make great Christmas Gifts! CHWC youth are selling scrip cards after weekend Mass-es, now through Christmas. They will be in St. Clare hall-way. You can also pick up your cards at Niebrugge Finan-cial through the week and at the parish office on Saturday mornings. Scrip cards are gift cards to places you normal-ly shop already, but they also give a benefit to our youth. Please consider stopping by to pick up your scrip gift cards today!

Taste of T-Town is set for January 13, 2018. If you have a recipe you’d like to showcase and offer a booth at the Taste of T-Town, please call the parish office and talk to Anita!

Tickets are now available with any Catholic Heart Work Camper, the parish office and at the Dieterich Bank (Teutopolis Branch).

Attention Parishioners There are 104 children in Grades 1 and 2 preparing Christmas Shoeboxes filled with gifts for the poor children of the world. The cost to mail these is $9.00 per box totaling $936.00. If anyone would like to help the children in these two grades ship their shoeboxes, please consider placing your donation in an envelope marked “Shoebox” and drop it in the collection basket on the weekend. If writing a check, please make the check out to St. Francis Church and in the memo write “Shoeboxes”. This way you can take part in the Shoebox project along with the children. Thank you greatly for your help.

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Monthly Prayer Vigil for Life will be held at St. Anthony of Padua in Effingham on Monday November 20th. Praying the scriptural rosary will begin at 6:00 pm followed by Mass at 6:30 pm. Everyone is encouraged to join us in prayer for respect of all life and to give thanks for the gift of life. The business meeting will follow in the parish center. Tami Shull, Executive Director of the Family Life Center will be the featured speaker for the evening. She will be talking about the changing regulations and trends for preg-nancy centers and what services are offered at the center.

ASSISI FOR AFRICA Fr. Damien writes: “I received a telephone call from a distant hospital informing me that our runaway had been in a car acci-dent. I had to hire a taxi … Thanks be to God, we found him resting in the hospital bed, his head bandaged up because of a deep wound, and almost crying because of the pain in his arm and back. We hurried back to Kolwezi and to the emergen-cy room of our Mining compa-ny where the doctors affirmed his stable condition and gave us medicine to sooth the pain and avoid infection. Thanks be to God, Matthew is back; we pray he will stay put now. He has decided to continue his studies in 5th grade elemen-tary school.” Many thanks to all for your donations and prayers – so Fr. Damien receives what is needed to pay for needs such as Matthew’s, who is pictured.

Catholic Charities is in need of men and women volunteers for the Food Pantry. Assistance is needed with putting away food received from Food Banks on the 1st and 4th Tuesdays of the month from noon to 2:00 pm. Help is also needed on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and other times throughout the month. Volunteers willing to assist one or two days per month are welcome. Please contact Sr. Sandra Sudkamp at 217-857-1469 or 217-840-2438 for details. Catholic Charites Food Pantry Wishes for the Holiday. Catholic Charities needs your help to purchase turkey breasts weighing approximate-ly 5 pounds and the following food items for the holidays: boxed pota-toes, boxed stuffing, jelly, canned pumpkin, pie filling (apple, cherry), peanut butter, canned soups, canned fruit, canned vegetables. If you are able to help, please drop off the food items and/or monetary donations at Catholic Charities.

Keep Us Informed Changes ~ Please help us keep in touch by letting us know of any changes in your address, e-mail, and phone num-bers. Also, if you are snowbirds for the winter, please let us know if you would like your mail forwarded. Homebound and Nursing Home ~ If you or someone you know is in the nursing home or hospital, let us know, so we can make a visit. Call the parish office at 857-6404 or send an email to parishoffice@stfrancischurch.com.

Courses for all Catholics - University of Dayton Online Learning – Cycle 1 begins January 2018. The Virtual Learning Community for Faith For-mation (VLCFF), is a program of the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives at the University of Dayton which offer adult faith formation classes. Our partnership with the Univer-sity of Dayton allows the people of our diocese to take these classes at half price. These adult faith formation courses support the Church's catechetical ministry and are for all Catholics. This means that you can deepen your faith at a time and place convenient to you via the inter-net. Courses may be taken for undergraduate credit (for an additional fee) and all courses qualify for credit in our diocesan Catechist Formation Process. Classes for the 2018 year (Cycle 1) starts on January 14 through February 17, 2018. Registration for Cycle 1- 2018 begins October 25, 2017 through January 10, 2018. For more infor-mation, visit the VLCFF web site (vlcff.udayton.edu) or contact the Office for Catechesis, 217-698-8500.

13th Annual Effingham County Thanksgiving Day Dinner sponsored by Effingham County FISH Organiza-tion will be held on Thursday, November 23 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Effingham.

This free dinner is open to all Effingham County residents and their families who would like to enjoy Thanksgiving with others. The dinner will be on Thanksgiving Day starting at 11:30 am. Home delivered meals will be available for homebound individuals. There will also be transportation available to pick up and take home those people in need of a ride.

RSVP by November 20 by contacting Susan Elke at 868-5913, Harold Heth at 686-2854, or the Effingham Senior Center at 247-5569. Please let them know when you RSVP if transportation is needed.

Volunteers are needed. Please call Susan Elke at 868-5913 if you can help in any way.

Can you list 100 Blessings in your life?

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Area Events

Holiday Craft Fair today, November 19th at the Dieterich High School Gym, 12:00-4:00 pm. Free Admission. Holiday Cookie/Candy Sale on Saturday, December 2 from noon to 7:00 pm and on Sunday, December 3 from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm at St. Anthony's Parish Center in Eff-ingham. This year, in addition to the cookies, candies, and snack mixes, there will be holiday breads and coffee cakes.

Marriage Requirements If you have your wed-ding scheduled at St. Francis, you will be required to at-tend the following for preparation:

Pre-Cana: (Following are dates and places scheduled)

In Springfield at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Decem-ber 2. Please register online at www.dio.org.

In Teutopolis, St. Francis Parish, January 28, 2018. Call 217-857-6404 to register.

FOCCUS: Scheduled dates at St. Francis are as follows:

January 6, 2018 April 7, 2018 July 7, 2018 October 6, 2018 All sessions begin at 5:30 pm in St. Clare Hall. To register call 857-6404. Natural Family Planning (NFP) 2018 sessions are scheduled as follows: February 10, 2:30-4:00 pm, at St. Anthony March 24, 9:00-10:30 am at St. Francis April 20, 6:00-7:30 pm at St. Isidore May 4, 6:30-8:00 pm at Sacred Heart June 2, 10:00-11:30 am at St. Francis July 21, 9:30-11:00 am at St. Isidore August 24, 6:00-7:30 pm at St. Anthony September 21, 6:30-8:00 pm at St. Francis October 20, 9:00-10:30 at Sacred Heart November 10, 1:00-2:30 pm at St. Isidore Call Kate Pruemer at 217-821-1840 to register for NFP.

Baptism Prep Scheduled dates for Baptism Prep: Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at St. Isidore,

call 821-9178 to register; Thursday, January 4, 2018 at St. Francis,

call 857-6404 to register; Thursday, February 1 at St. Rose,

call 217-924-4554 to register; Thursday, March 1 at St. Francis

call 857-6404 to register.

God Bless Those Serving our Country.

Anthony Vahling, Jeremy Deters, Cody Bushue,

Jared Apke

Holy Humor An unbeliever sneered, “So many things in the world are made wrong. Look at that little acorn on that big tree and that big pumpkin on that little vine! Peo-ple talk about an all-wise God at the head of this universe. Now if I had been doing it, I would have put that acorn on the vine and the pumpkin on the oak.” Just then an acorn fell and hit him on the head.

GOSPEL MEDITATION 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time "But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money." This servant was scared. He didn't want to take any risks and just wanted to play everything safe. As he confesses to his master, "Out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground." And the master was not pleased. The other servants who invested the money he gave them were richly rewarded for their efforts to produce more. But this servant was punished for letting his fear rule the day. What factors are keeping us from making a return on God's investment in us? He has given us all life, and each of us also has a special collection of "talents" to make use of. We have certain gifts, skills, experiences, resources, and abilities that (though we may not often think about it) come from God. He calls us to make the most of these things, not just to take them for granted or bury them in the ground, so to speak. Our gifts are meant not just for our own enjoy-ment, but to help others, to spread truth and goodness and beauty to the world around us. Sometimes, however, we fail to really capitalize on our po-tential. Laziness, distraction, or self-pity can get in the way if we are unwilling to put in the hard work to improve our natural gifts, if we allow ourselves to zone out with enter-tainment or frivolous pastimes instead of making good use of the time entrusted to us, or if we wallow in negativity by focusing on what we don't have instead of embracing what we do. Each moment is a gift from God. May we seize every op-portunity to multiply the investment God has made in us so that we may be worthy to hear God tell us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."