Good News for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us of two things—one with a frown and the other with a broad smile. He scolds us like a first grade teacher would scold a student for muscling his/her way to the front of the line, as if first place belonged to him/her. It’s not that we take our place in line, but that the line has a place for all of us. And Jesus smiles and says that the line is so long that there is enough room for people from east and west, north and south. And it's not the place we choose for ourselves, it's the place we are given.

As KidsRelig starts to fill up its registration for the coming year with new First Graders, First Timers and all our Old Timers, we are reminded by Jesus that in the Kingdom of God there are no "insiders." What makes the kingdom God's Kingdom is the invitation and welcome to all us "outsiders." And that's our first job at KidsRelig--to put out the "Welcome Mat."

OPENING DAYS for KidsRelig

KidsRelig will begin on Tuesday, September 28, Wednesday, September 29 and Thursday, September 30. The weekly schedule remains the same

Tues. 2:45-3:45 (Bell) 3:45-4:45 (Westorchard)

Wed. 3:45-4:45 (Grafflin)

Thurs. 2:45-3:45 (Seven Bridges) 3:45-4:45 (Roaring Brook)

REGISTRATION for KidsRelig

On the HomePage of the New Parish Website (http://sjsmrcc.com/), click on Religious Education in the links column on the left. This leads to a “Welcome! Letter” from KidsRelig and an explanation of the registration process for 2010-2011. The letter explains that First Graders and First-Timers in upper grades must begin the process by emailing the following information to kidsrelig@optimum.net:

· Child’s Name

· Grade & School

· Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Name(s)

· Address &Phone

REGISTRATION EMAILS

On Thursday, August 19, the first of the Registration Emails were sent to each KidsRelig Family with a child in Grades 2 thru 8, who was enrolled in KidsRelig last year. Registration Emails also began for Families with First Graders or First Timers, who have notified us by email that there is a new KidsRelig kid on the way. (That’s why those emails for First Graders or First Timers are so important. If we don’t know you’re coming and we don’t have you in our KidsRelig Address Book, you won’t receive a Registration Email.)

And what is a Registration Email? These emails include a link to the New Online Registration Form , fee information and an explanation of this year’s simplified registration process.

A separate email with bus information will be sent to KidsRelig Families in Seven Bridges, Westorchard, Grafflin and Roaring Brook within the next two weeks.

MORE LINKS on PARISH WEBSITE'S RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PAGE

In the links column for the Religious Education page, you will find links to Confirmation Information and Registration, CYO Registration and the KidsRelig Blog. This will soon be the home of other important links.

As I post this Blog, I have sent out approximately 150 Registration Emails, and many have already replied. Our enrollment spreadsheet is filling up with the names of our kids and all the needed data. Thanks so much for your cooperation.

Love,

Deacon Charlie

Good News for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel moment, a pregnant Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, and the Church is born. For the first time, people of faith, who believe “that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”, gather in the real presence of Jesus. And what happens? A hymn breaks out, praising God for his faithfulness to us.

If you want to know what the curriculum is at KidsRelig, read today’s gospel: Church is Eucharist, a thanksgiving for Jesus alive among us, who is proof and promise of the story of God’s faithfulness to us; tell the story and retell it, until everyone finds their own place in it and sings, “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

OPENING DAYS of KidsRelig

KidsRelig will begin on Tuesday, September 28, Wednesday, September 29 and Thursday, September 30. The weekly schedule remains the same:

Tues. 2:45-3:45 (Bell) 3:45-4:45 (Westorchard)

Wed. 3:45-4:45 (Grafflin)

Thurs. 2:45-3:45 (Seven Bridges) 3:45-4:45 (Roaring Brook)

REGISTRATION for KidsRelig

On the HomePage of the New Parish Website (http://sjsmrcc.com/), click on Religious Education in the links column on the left. This leads to a Welcome! Letter from KidsRelig and an explanation of the registration process for 2010-2011. The letter explains that First Graders and First-Timers in upper grades, must begin the process by emailing the following information to kidsrelig@optimum.net:

· Child’s Name

· Grade & School

· Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Name(s)

· Address &Phone

Then, Registration Emails will be sent to all KidsRelig Families, including First Graders and First Timers, later next week. These emails will include a link to the New Online Registration Form and fee information. (I promise; the new form is very simple—only a few boxes and a few clicks.)

A separate email with bus information will be sent to KidsRelig Families in Seven Bridges, Westorchard, Grafflin and Roaring Brook.

MORE LINKS on the RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PAGE

of the PARISH WEBSITE

In the links column for the Religious Education page, you will find links to Confirmation Information and Registration, CYO Registration and the KidsRelig Blog. This will soon be the home of other links, especially the KidsRelig Calendar.

Love,

Deacon Charlie

Good News for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

With all the talk in this week’s gospel about getting ready, I’m almost wondering if the Lord isn’t leaning over my shoulder and nudging me, indeed, to get ready. I can feel him breathing down my neck, as I count all the kids from last year, move the 4^th to 5^th Graders to Bell or Seven Bridges, assign classes and classrooms, figure out which teachers are returning or retiring, finalize this year’s online registration form, bus registration and annual calendar. OK! OK! I hear you. We’re getting ready.

Then, something very interesting hits me about this week’s gospel. Hidden in all the “get ready” talk, Jesus twice slips in something about food. For those who are ready, the Master will invite them to “recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.” Again, Jesus says that his faithful servants are those who share with others “the food allowance at the proper time.”

As we get ready for KidsRelig, I, too, must slip in something about food, only because Jesus makes it clear that without this food we will never be ready. Try, as we should, with all the other stuff, nothing is more important than Sunday Mass. So, we will continue this year to make the connection between KidsRelig and Sunday Mass with the weekly Gospel Newsletter the kids get to bring home and our Gospel Time during each KidsRelig session. As a parish family of families, we have to keep trying to make that connection and follow the Lord’s command: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

FIRST GRADE AND NEW KIDS REGISTRATION

For students entering First Grade or being enrolled in KidsRelig for the first time, please EMAIL the following information to kidsrelig@optimum.net

· Child’s Name

· School

· Grade

· Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Name(s)

· Phone Number

· Residence Address

KidsRelig Weekly Schedule Unchanged

Tuesday

2:45-3:45 BELL

3:45-4:45 WESTORCHARD

Wednesday

3:45-4:45 GRAFFLIN

Thursday

2:45-3:45 SEVEN BRIDGES

3:45-4:45 ROARING BROOK

New Parish Homepage and KidsRelig

Thanks to Rich Diefenbach, our Parish Homepage has been rebuilt. It’s got a great new look with more and more information we all need to know. The Homepage address is:

http://sjsmrcc.com/

The Religious Education (KidsRelig) Page is there and will soon be filled with all kinds of information for the next year: registration instructions, bus information, weekly schedule, annual calendar and more. An email blast will let you know when it is ready. As the old hymn says, “Soon and very soon.”

Love,

Deacon Charlie

BACK-TO-SCHOOL OUTREACH--August 7 & 8

A reminder about one of the most important Outreach Appeals of the year. This weekend August 7 & 8, is our Annual Back-to-School Outreach. As the 2010-11 school year fast approaches, there are so many families who need the basics in school supplies to get their kids started for the new year. These items are not only needed tools to do the job in the classroom, they are also boosters of self-esteem. We can help make sure that kids don't have to worry that their backpacks are empty or missing, and they don't have to explain away that embarrassment to anyone.

Here's what's needed:

thin & thick line markers & erasers

pencils and pencil pouches & loose leaf paper

3 and 5-subject notebooks & pocket folders

marble notebooks (different colors) & binders

plastic lunch bags & scissors

pens (black & blue) & colored pencils

inexpensive calculators & backpacks

crayons - regular & “fat” (for small hands) & glue sticks

tissues (large boxes) & index cards

small notepads (for homework assignments) & rulers

Please bring these items

to any of the Masses this weekend.

And thank you for your generosity!!!

Good News for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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And this week’s gospel says, “Rich in what matters to God.” I spent the week going over the names of all the kids in KidsRelig—names from last year and new ones arriving this year. I’ve put classes together, assigned classrooms, taken the measure of how many teachers we have and how many we need. As I read and re-read, counted and re-counted all the names, it hit me. Indeed, we are rich in what matters to God!

FIRST GRADE AND NEW KIDS REGISTRATION

For students entering First Grade or being enrolled in KidsRelig for the first time, please EMAIL the following information to kidsrelig@optimum.net

· Child’s Name

· School

· Grade

· Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Name(s)

· Phone Number

· Residence Address

KidsRelig Weekly Schedule Unchanged

Tuesday

2:45-3:45 BELL

3:45-4:45 WESTORCHARD

Wednesday

3:45-4:45 GRAFFLIN

Thursday

2:45-3:45 SEVEN BRIDGES

3:45-4:45 ROARING BROOK

Email is Best

You can always find me at kidsrelig@optimum.net

Love,

Deacon Charlie

Good News from KidsRelig--Again!

KidsRelig took some time off. So, everybody in the parish got a little vacation.

Now, it’s time to get back to work and prepare for the coming year. As we prepare, I hear the final words of yesterday’s gospel: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" I’m sure the Lord would agree that maybe we’re not always the best, but none of us is wicked. He’d also agree that if anything we know how to give good gifts to our children. We are generous that way, but God is even more generous. So, as we prepare for the fall at KidsRelig, pray that we may have a generosity of spirit filled with humility and enthusiasm inspired by God’s Spirit whose gifts and generosity are endless.

KidsRelig Weekly Schedule Unchanged

The weekly schedule will remain the same:

Tuesday

2:45-3:45 BELL

3:45-4:45 WESTORCHARD

Wednesday

3:45-4:45 GRAFFLIN

Thursday

2:45-3:45 SEVEN BRIDGES

3:45-4:45 ROARING BROOK

FIRST GRADE AND NEW KIDS REGISTRATION

For students entering First Grade or being enrolled in KidsRelig for the first time, please EMAIL the following information to kidsrelig@optimum.net

· Child’s Name

· School

· Grade

· Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Name(s)

· Phone Number

· Residence Address

ENROLLMENT AND MORE NEWS FOR

OLDTIMERS

The Email Blasts and BlogPosts will start coming this week. There will be news about start-date, schedules and a streamlined re-registration. And much more. So, watch your email inbox and check for all the Good News from KidsRelig right here at our KidsRelig Blog and in the Weekly Bulletin.

One Email Blast has already gone out to all the parents of our new Fifth Graders who moved up from Roaring Brook. KidsRelig needed to know their Middle School assignment. If you haven’t replied, please email kidsrelig@optimum.net as soon as possible.

Summertime Altar Servers

There is no summer altar server schedule. But servers are always needed at the Table of the Lord. So, when you come to Sunday Mass, pack your cassock and surplice in the car. When you get to church, check with the priest or the deacon to see if servers are needed. Odds are the answer will be “yes.” And so, you’re on!

Love,

Deacon Charlie

OUTREACH SUNDAY--JUNE 13TH

JUNE OUTREACH

NEEDS OUR SUPPORT

Please bring to all Masses this Weekend (or during this week)*

CHILDREN’S CEREALS

DIAPERS/BABY WIPES

CANNED TUNA FISH

Plus these other items: APPLE JUICE-JELLO/PUDDING MIXES--FRUIT ROLLUPS--SPAGHETTI SAUCE--CANNED SOUPS & STEWS--DRIED BLACK BEANS--CANNED VEGETABLES--CEREALS (hot and cold)--PASTA/MACARONI & CHEESE--CANNED FRUIT--PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY--RICE

*Items may be dropped off in the Parish Center kitchen any time during the week of June 7^th. Please mark them “For Outreach”.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED GENEROSITY!