|
This will be my last Wednesday update.
The Palm Sunday Masses were almost full (as full as possible with social distancing) last weekend and it was wonderful to see so many people at Mass. The 10:30 am Mass for Easter Sunday is almost full with reservations, but there is plenty of room at the 8:00 am yet. Thank you to all those who have reserved a spot for the Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter services. If you have not yet done so, please call the parish office at (414) 453-3875. Walk-ins will be allowed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Livestream and prerecorded services will be available on our website for those celebrating at home. The “Living the Gift of Sunday” booklet from the diocese will be passed out this weekend. Watch for information on how we will use one chapter at a time for reflection. Videos of parishioners talking about what Sunday means to them will also be shared. I thank the Formation and Evangelization Commission for their work on this. Thank you for reading these updates. May the next three days be a spiritually enriching preparation for our celebration of the resurrection. Have a blessed Easter and stay safe. I have received word that on April 23rd, the “Martyrs of Quiché,” where our sister parish is located (Quiche, Guatemala), will be beatified. They died for the Faith in 1980 during a civil war, which raged between 1960 and 1996. I have asked if there is a picture that we can put in the sister parish area in the back of church.
The “Little White Book” for Easter will be available beginning this weekend. At the Easter services, a “Living the Gift of Sunday” booklet from the diocese will be passed out. The Formation and Evangelization Commission is planning how we can use that for adult formation. The last Wednesday update will be this coming Wednesday, March 31st. Have a good week and stay safe. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Plans are underway for celebrating the rituals of Holy Week in a way that their meaning shines through, even though the execution will be different. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday will be livestreamed. Thank you, Bobby Pantuso, for generously sharing your time and talent with the community in doing this. One change we will experiment with during Holy Week and Easter is to have two Eucharistic Ministers, one on each side. Communicants will still come up single file, social distancing, so it should be just as safe. If it works well and helps communion move along better, we will continue it afterwards. Given the updates I include at the beginning of my bulletin letters and our ability to place updates in the weekly e-mail that is sent out on Sunday, I will discontinue these updates, the last one being on March 31st, the Wednesday of Holy Week. Have a good week and stay safe. Are you interested in becoming more involved in your parish or do you know a fellow parishioner who would be? We are seeking nominations for Parish Trustee and Pastoral Council and ask that you prayerfully consider nominating someone who would be a good leader, including yourself.
Completed nomination forms may be placed in the offertory basket or turned into the parish office. Nominations can also be submitted online at http://bit.ly/PiusX21Nominations or emailed to frpaul@stpiusparish.org. Persons who are nominated will be contacted and invited to participate in a discernment session to give them more information on the commitment. For more information on the Pastoral Council and Parish Trustee positions visit www.stpiusparish.org/pastoral--finance-councils.html. Schedule for the 2021 Nomination Selection Process
Leaders should have the following:
Nominees must meet the following requirements:
Thank you for your nominations. Please pray for the blessings of the Spirit on our discernment and selection of parish leadership. We are halfway through Lent already! I hope it is a spiritually productive time for you.
So far, I have received no comments on my question last week about discontinuing these updates, since there are updates in my bulletin letters. Any thoughts? The diocese is giving us a booklet, “Living the Gift of Sunday”, to distribute at Easter. A challenge is reaching those who are not practicing their faith (often we end up “preaching to the choir”). The Formation and Evangelization Commission is discussing various ways of reaching out to parishioners who ordinarily do not come to Mass. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in our deliberations. Also, remember to register for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter by calling the parish office (414) 453-3875. If you get our voicemail, please leave a message with your name, which services you would like to attend, how many will be attending each, and your phone number. The Palm Sunday and Easter Masses will be prerecorded and posted to our website, Facebook and YouTube pages just as we do for every Sunday Mass. Services for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday will be live streamed, watch for more information as we get closer to Holy Week. Have a good week and stay safe. I hope your Lent is going well.
Please plan to “attend” the diocesan retreat on “The Gift of Sunday" tonight between 7:00 and 8:30 pm. The link is www.archmil.org/Lenten-Missions. There are several parishes that are live streaming the event. Also, remember to register for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter by calling the parish office (414-453-3875) starting Monday, March 8th. If you get our voicemail, please let a message with your name, which services you would like to attend, how many will be attending each, and your phone number. The staff has been discussing the various methods of communication we use and if any changes should be made. One suggestion was to end these Wednesday updates since I have updates at the beginning of bulletin letters. If something big happens, a special announcement can be made. Any thoughts or reactions? Let me know. Have a good week and stay safe. I hope you are off to a good, spiritually fulfilling observance of Lent. I thank the 30 parishioners who attended the Reflection and Adoration hour last evening.
So far, we have not received a matrix for Holy Week services from the diocese. We are planning on live streaming Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. I thank Bobby Pantuso for being willing to do that. Realizing that there might be more people than we can safely accommodate, we will also be having registration for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter. Registration will open on March 8th. Watch for information in the future. Enjoy the couple days of balmy weather. Have a good week and stay safe. Today is Ash Wednesday. We celebrated Mass this morning at 8:00 am. If you were unable to attend, please join us this evening at 7:00 pm. Click here to watch the Mass online.
Our Salvatorian Provincial, Jeff Wocken, has appointed me to another 6-year term as pastor of St. Pius X; the appointment has been approved by the bishop. I am pleased to be able to continue being a part of this wonderful, life giving community. The 99 Experience will continue with two study groups on the handbook, which is a follow up to having participated in watching and discussing the videos. I thank all those working to make this happen! Living Waters is off to a good start. I am particularly pleased that we are partnering with other Salvatorians to build a well in the Kenyan village of seminarian Simon Muema, in addition to continuing our support of the projects in Tanzania. The Formation and Evangelization Commission is exploring how we can bring the Easter booklet, which the diocese will issue on the “Gift of Sunday,” to all parishioners in a productive way. Please keep this project and all out Lenten efforts in your prayers. I am already enjoying the Little Black Book. I hope you are, also. Have a good week and stay safe. Imagine having to walk for miles looking for water. Then, after finding it, imagine the water being unsafe to drink because it is contaminated.
These are issues faced every day by so many in our world. Through the Living Waters Campaign, beginning on Ash Wednesday, we are asking for your help to in providing clean, safe water to those in need. With your generous gifts in 2020, six wells were built in rural Tanzania, helping over 11,000 people. Will you help us build even more wells in 2021? Donating is easy: · Use the envelopes provided in the back of church · Mail your donation to the parish office (labeled Living Waters) · Donate online at https://bit.ly/StPiusXDonations Thank you for your generous gifts in providing this basic need to those who in need! Click here for more information on the Living Waters project. As of February 8th, our Salvatorian Sunday collection totaled $4,752. I thank all who so generously responded in supporting my community. God bless.
The 99 Experience has been going well for the two groups who will finish this week. A study group on The 99 Experience Handbook is being planned. I thank the leaders for their commitment to helping parishioners grow in faith. The Formation and Evangelization Commission meets this evening and will discuss the “Gift of Sunday” materials being presented to us by the diocese. Please keep this meeting in your prayers. Lent is upon us: Sue Haertel will present the Living Waters Campaign at Masses this weekend and the Little Black Book for Lent also starts this Sunday, with three days of information and reflections leading up to Ash Wednesday. The reflection book (and a Little Purple Book of activities for children) are available in the back of church or at the parish office. After Ash Wednesday, they will also be outside the main door of the church for pick up. Ash Wednesday Masses are at 8:00 am and 7:00 pm and will also be on our Facebook and YouTube pages. Have a good week and stay safe. LAST NIGHT THE COMMON COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT!
Congratulations and thanks to our Director of Operations and Finance, Dean Weyer, for his work on this. The next step is making sure the project details fit the city’s requirements. As of February 1st, our Salvatorian Sunday collection totaled $3,957. I thank all who so generously responded in supporting my community. God bless. Wauwatosa Catholic School hosted their virtual open house last week. Families who attended met the staff and learned about all that the school has to offer including the International Baccalaureate Programme. Please continue to promote our school whenever you can. The Pastoral Council meets this evening. I ask that you keep this intention in your prayers. Have a good week and stay safe. Don’t forget! Wauwatosa Catholic’s virtual open house is tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm. Please join us and learn more about our wonderful school! Click here to register.
The bishop has issued a theological reflection to be used “for prayerful reflection” with the people of God in the diocese. It reminds us of the importance of Sunday worship and of taking a day to rest and to be with family. (Some of you have mentioned to me that one positive of the lockdown has been more family time!) There is also a “personal study and group reflection” guide accompanying it. After consulting the Parish Leadership Team, I have referred these materials to the Formation and Evangelization Commission for study and recommendations, possibly for doing something in the fall when, hopefully, restrictions are in the past and we can gather again. Please keep this process in your prayers. The next update will be Wednesday, February 3rd. Have a good week and stay safe. Sunday is the deadline to sign up for The 99 Experience. I urge you take advantage of this opportunity to grow in your faith life and connect with other parishioners. Please pray for its success.
Great news about the development project! It was presented to the Wauwatosa Common Council last evening and no one from the public spoke in opposition. As is normal, it was referred to the Community Affairs Committee for their meeting this coming Tuesday. Additional public input will be accepted at that meeting and they will debate the merits of the proposal. Options there include sending it back to the Common Council with an up/down recommendation or holding it to that committee’s next meeting to allow Cardinal Capital additional time to address any issues or concerns the committee may have. The project has previously received the support of the City Staff (assuming normal contingencies are met) and of the city’s Plan Commission. Please continue to pray for the success of this project. I thank Dean Weyer for all his work on this. Good job! We pray for our new president today, that he may find a way to lead us to unity and care for the most vulnerable. The next update will be Wednesday, January 27th. Have a good week. Stay safe. Things continue to go smoothly, thanks to all the ministers who contribute to our liturgies (live and virtual), those who continue their ministries and meetings by ZOOM, and those who financially support the community. May God bless you.
Please consider signing up for The 99 Experience, which will be held virtually later this month. More information on the program can be found at http://bit.ly/The99Experience. The Formation Commission is meeting this evening by ZOOM and one item of discussion will be how to offer other faith formation opportunities to parishioners during this time. If you have any ideas, please share them with me. The Liturgy Commission met last evening to discuss Lent and Holy Week services. The diocese has promised new guidelines for how to conduct services, but we have not yet received them, so most decisions were put off until the March 8th meeting. The timing for Holy Week and Easter services will be the same as last year. The next update will be Wednesday, January 20th. Have a good week. Stay safe. |
|
|