Parish Activities

St. Valentine Parish Council Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Kathy Parish Activities

Meeting was opened at 7:30 PM with a prayer from Fr. Henry

 

Old Business

· Fund Raising

· Discussion of Events

· Raffle (Action Item: Ron to explore possible arrangement with local dealerships)

· Horse Racing  (Action Item: Ron to discuss with Mike Kelly)

· St. Vincent De Paul Fundraiser will be held at AOH Hall on 13-Jan-2018.  Irish Night

 

Commission Reports

School Advisory: Rachel Damuth

· Father Socorro indicated that a Catholic School Advisory Board; will be formed

· Participants: Two people from School, Principal, two other people from parish

· Goal to develop a new strategic plan (last one was completed 5 years ago)

· Part of money from School Outreach Funds will be spent on new Window covers. Will assist in fuel cost and glare reduction in classrooms

· Vicariate News:  Closing of Ladywood High School (Current enrollment is 166 students; 33 in freshman class)

· Academic School Advisory is looking for new math assessments

· Worship Commission is working with school on three events

· Catholic Schools week (Last week in January) activities

· Retirement Home door decorating

· Parable projects – Dramatic parables

· Hymn Sing-along

· Mr. Cushman (Athletic Director) reports that there are 5 basketball team for 2017-2018 season

 

Christian Service: Rosemary Fox  (email)

· Giving tree was a big success; All tags were taken and returned (plus 25 more)

 

Pastoral Update: Fr. Henry

· We are in need of a volunteer to maintain the Notice Board in the vestibule of the church

 Worship: Mike Nowak

· The Prayers of the Faithful will continue to be read by the Deacon when he is present at Mass

 Vicariate:  Walt Bankowski

· Best practices will be shared by parishes starting in the March 2018 meeting

 Meeting was closed at 8:16 PM with a prayer from Fr. Henry

 Next Meeting is January 16, 2018—7:30 PM


Future City Wrap Up

We send our congratulations to the 8th grade class on their 2nd place finish at the 2018 Future City Competition—Michigan Region held January 22nd at the Suburban Collection in Novi.

Although they didn’t come in 1st they were a very strong 2nd and came home with a Special Award titled, Quality Improvement Award, sponsored by The American Society for Quality, Greater Detroit Section 1000.

Congratulations to the presenters, Ariyon Toney, Malena Smith and Edward Austin on their fine presentation and to their teacher, Mrs. Meghan Ciechanowski, mentors Mr. Dan Brooks and Mr. John Danic. Well done! Your school and parish are proud of all of you.

Third Sunday of Advent

Kathy Parish Activities, Weekly message

The Third Sunday of Advent is often referred to as Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday. The title comes from the beginning of the Latin introit for this Sunday, “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete” (“Rejoice in the Lord; again I say, rejoice,” Philippians 4:4, from the second reading for this Sunday).

  With only one more Sunday before Christmas, the liturgy takes on a more eager and urgent sense of anticipation. The option of rose vestments and a rose candle for the third candle of the Advent wreath help heighten this emphasis. It is not surprising that the verbs “sing” and “rejoice” (synonyms for a musician) are heard over and over in the readings for this Sunday.

 Right from the first reading, we hear this note of rejoicing from the prophet Isaiah. He is rejoicing because God had shielded him in all the ways.

 Paul, in the second reading, begins by telling us what we must do at all times. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). At all times and in all circumstances we must rejoice, pray and give thanks. He adds that this command reflects the will of God for those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ we know that life on earth is not always rosy, but life after death is bliss. Our hope is not in this life only. That is why we are able to rejoice in good times and in bad, as Jesus himself did.

 Paul invites us to be holy. The life of holiness to which Paul invites us this Advent is the life of God in us. It is God in us who makes it happen. Our part is mainly to say yes to God, to surrender totally to Him. It is hard for us to live a life of rejoicing always, but the One who calls us to this life is one who always gives us what He commands. He is faithful, and He will do it in our lives.

Waiting for The Lord.

Fr. Henry

 

St. Valentine Parish Council Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, November 21, 2017

 

Old Business

Selection of New Officers:

Chair/Vice Chair : Mary Anthony and Ron Fron discuss and decided that Ron would be Council Chair and Mary would be Vice. There was no objection

 

Fund Raising

● Gym was open for the dates discussed in previous meetings (Lisa to send dates)

● Ideas for events

○ Silent Auction (Is this event sustainable every year?)

○ Craft Show (OLL is doing in 2018, St. Valentine will consider in years that OLL are not)

○ Dinner dance (Didn’t raise enough by itself, but was good source of fellowship)

○ Raffle (Action Item: Ron to explore possible arrangement with local dealership)

○ Horse Racing (Action Item: Ron to discuss with Mike Kelly)

 

Commission Reports

Pastoral Update

· Synod – Father has implored the council to read the Synod letter as it contains a lot of directives that need to be addressed in coming years

http://www.unleashthegospel.org/

● The Parish Mission Statement needs to be addressed in 2019

● Fr. Socorro has selected the 5 people to attend seminar for leadership

● 16 new altar servers have been trained (10 from the school and 6 from Faith Formation)

 

Finance

● Committee meeting met last month

● We are about 2% to the good on the budget so far this fiscal year

● We have paid down $22,000 from the debt so far this fiscal year

● Total debt is now ~$260,000

● The committee will produce a 1 page summary for the parish in the coming months

● The council agreed that this was a success story that needs to be shared more with parish as a whole

Worship

● Mike asked council members to take advantage of the many activities during Advent

· “Lessons and Carols” service will be held on January 7, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

 

Rountable

● December meeting will be changed to the second Tuesday due to the school choir concert on the third Tuesday

● Jeff indicated that he was involved in the Confirmation Retreat that our confirmation class attended at St. Kenneth. There were 18 attendees from St. Valentine who along with their teacher (Megan) represented our parish very well. We should be proud of this group.

· Frank wished to thank the school for installing enthusiasm for the Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey. His grandson watched the entire mass with enthusiasm. Great Job to the school for installing this enthusiasm.

 

Next Meeting is December 12 – 7:30 PM

Second Sunday of Advent

Kathy Parish Activities, Prayer Opportunities, Weekly message

 As I was reading some reflections, I came across this thought from a preacher named Daniel Houghton and it piqued my interest (since I know nothing about hunting) when he described the difference between turkey (or deer) hunting, and pheasant hunting. In one you sit and “wait passively” in a concealed “blind,” and hope a target comes along. In the other, you get out there to be seen, “actively wait” for a target while walking the fields, and make things happen.

 In this weekend’s readings we hear two commands from the Lord: Give comfort, and prepare the way for the Lord. One is from a prophecy of Isaiah, the other from Mark’s gospel quoting Isaiah. Both are commands, calling us to be “active,” not passive involvement in the work of living and spreading the Good News.

 According to Daniel the preacher, “active waiting” for the Lord would mean taking our prayers and turning them into action. Active waiting turns our prayers for the hungry into food boxes, our prayers for the homeless into soup kitchens, or helping the needy accordingly. Active waiting turns our prayers for the sick and the lonely into visits and invitations. Active waiting transforms individuals and parishes into doers of the Word, and not just hearers only.

 St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Whatever you do in your family, for your children, for your husband, for your wife, you do for Jesus.”  Every night when we go to bed, let us ask ourselves, “Where have I found Christ today?”  The answer will be God’s Advent gift to us that day. By being active and waiting we will receive an extra gift:  Christ himself.  Let us remember the saying of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Without God, I can’t.  Without me, He won’t.”  

 Happy Advent, Happy waiting.

 Penance Service:

 This coming week we have a wonderful opportunity to take part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as we will have the Advent Penance Service on December 13th at St. Valentine Church. This service will begin at 7 p.m. with a little preparation followed by individual confession. Besides Fr. Henry and myself there will be Fr. Rick Hartmann and Fr. Sal Briffa from the Clergy Village and Fr. Pat Brennan from St. Paul of the Cross. Advent is a good time to heal all that keeps us from experiencing the divine love and mercy.

 

Christmas Collection:

 This is my yearly gentle reminder about your Christmas Contribution. Every year I was surprised by the amount we collected at Christmas. You always surprise me. I want to thank you for your contributions throughout the year and especially at Christmas. As you know we get to keep 100% of this collection whereas we only keep 93% of the regular collection. So this year too you can serve and honor God with a special gift for the Christmas, and I ask you to be as generous as your situation allows. Know for sure that every dollar you contribute will be used for the good and betterment of St. Valentine Parish Community. Thank you in advance.

 Blessings,

Fr. Socorro

 Evening Prayer Reminder – Sundays During Advent

Prepare for Christmas; and join fellow parishioners as we pray:

  “Come Lord Jesus, Come”

Where: School Chapel—please use the Dow street entrance.

When:   5pm on these Sundays:  December 10 and 17

 

Check this Out!!! – Continued Video Presentation Today

Today we will be viewing Religious Mysteries, Volume 1, Episode 1, The Secret of Bernadette. (47 minutes)

December 17th: The Story of the Nativity. (The story is told as if the events were happening for the very first viewers, the Jewish people, and it connects every event with the prophecies foretold in the Old Testament. 59 minutes)

We will take the Christmas holiday off and resume on January 7, 2018.

Parish Office Hours Christmas/New Year 2017-2018

The parish office will observe the following schedule during the Christmas Holidays.

Monday, December 18— Thursday, December 21: 8:30 am – 4:00 p.m.

Friday, December 22— Tuesday, December 26:  OFFICE CLOSED

Wednesday, December 27: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Thursday, December 28: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Friday, December 29— January 2 : OFFICE CLOSED

Wednesday, January 3 – Resume office hours of 8:30 am—4:00 pm

The parish office has a voicemail system that will take messages when the office is closed. Messages will be returned in a timely fashion. Please speak slowly and clearly when leaving a message. Thanking you in advance for your understanding and patience.  The office phone number is 313-532-4394.

 If you have an emergency, please, enter extension 106.

Staff phone extension directory:

Fr. Socorro – 105

Fr. Henry – 102

Mrs. Sue Daly – 100

Mrs. Bonnie Danic – 101

Ms. Kathryn Potts – 103