On the Level - March 2014

8/12/2019 On the Level - March 2014

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St. Joseph Parish Celebrates the Workers is thetheme of our 150th Anniversary Potluck Dinner to be heldMarch 19 (our patrons feast day!) from 6 to 7:30 in thesocial hall.

The St. Joseph School Parent Club is sponsoringthe dinner for ANY AND ALL volunteers - whether youvolunteer a little or a lot - this is the time to celebrate allthe great work you do in our parish.

Those

attending shouldbring a dishto share astheir last nameindicates: A-K:Pasta/Soup/ChiliL-R: Salad and/or Bread S-Z:Dessert. TheParent Clubwill providebeverages andpaper products. Please RSVP to the parish ofce (988-2848) by March 7 if you will be joining us.

This is the schedule for our evening festivities: Setupat 5 pm (any help is welcome); 6 pm doors open; 6:15opening prayer and dinner; 6:45 entertainment (TBA);7:15 closing prayer; 7:30 clean up (any help is welcome).

March 2014- Focus on Lenten Renewal

On The LevelSt. JosephParish

In Action

Living Thefaith

(Living the Faith Continues on page 2)

ASHWEDNESDAYMarch 5 Mass at 7 am, 9 am, and 7 pm with Noon Word Service

ADORATIONSONWEDNESDAYSMarch 5 - April 16 after 9 am Mass until 7 pm Mass

STATIONSOFTHECROSSMarch 7 - April 11 at 7 pm and at 1 pm on March 14 and 21 and onApril 4. The Stations of March 28 will be performed by Elyria Catholic Teens as a Living Stations ofthe Cross.

PALMSUNDAY

April 13Solemn Procession of Palms at 8 am Mass and Parish Lenten PenanceService at 1 pm

CHRISMMASSApril 15at 7 pm in the Cathedral

HOLYTHURSDAYApril 17Morning Prayer at 9 am and Mass of the Lords Supper at 7 pm, to befollowed by Adoration until Midnight

GOODFRIDAYApril 18Morning Prayer at 9 am and Liturgy of the Lords Passion at 3 and 7 pm

HOLYSATURDAYApril 19Morning Prayer at 9 am, Blessing of Easter Food at 1:30 pm, andEaster Vigil at 9 pm

EASTERSUNDAYApril 20Mass at 8 and 10 am and Noon

Lent & Easter Schedule

CelebrateUs

and projects he has volunteered for. Service is the most important part of being a Catholic Christian, Joe says.And for him the best way to offer service is through the Knights of Columbus.

Our local chapter, Joe points out, raises money for clergy scholarships throughits annual clambake, offers a Free-Throw tournament for students, collects moneyfor the Lucy Idol school in a Measure Up Campaign, supports Scouting anddonates money to PSR and St. Joseph School to buy books and Bibles. Whenthe school was renovated in 2007, it was the Knights who showed up to removeall the windows before upgrades were installed. In fact, any time a parish event

or fundraiser needs manpower, youll nd the Knights of Columbus there- youveprobably seen them at the annual Reverse Rafe and Night at the Races.

When it came time to takehis photo for this story, JoeMiller had his two sons hopon his lap, because thatswhat Joe is - a family man.

From his rm support forCatholic education to his 20years service with Knightsof Columbus, Joe believesthat his faith has helped him

focus on his family, and byextension, on the families atSt. Joseph Parish, and onthe families associated withall the charitable foundations


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( Living the Faith Continued from page 1)

Explaining more about the Knights of Columbus, Joe says, Its an excellent opportunity to practice yourfaith because we focus on four principals: charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. All our activities supportthose things. It gives you the chance to spread your wings and have an impact; it gives you a plethora ofopportunities to exhibit your love for the Catholic faith and your community.

For those who think they cannot spread themselves any thinner and are hesitant to join another ministry,Joe points out that K of C asks that members attend only one of the 12 meetings held each year and giveonly two hours of service on one of its projects. So if youre already involved in another ministry or even aone-time event at the parish, why not do it as a Knight, because there are nancial and fraternal benets aswell.

When you join, you automatically get a basic life insurance policy for free, and you can also takeadvantage of investment opportunities and other kinds of insurance such as disability and long term careat very low costs. Nobody can touch the insurance rates and investment returns that Knights give to theirmembers, Joe says. Because if you believe in living your life around the four principals, youre not livingyour life at risk so the cost of insurance is lower and returns are higher. And it only cost $20 a year to join. As far as the fraternal benets, monthly meetings can be a great way to meet other men who believe inthe things you do. And if youre into softball, basketball or bowling, Knights send members to tournamentswhenever they have a big enough team.

We need more young men to get involved, Joe says. Currently, our local chapter has 70 members,down from an all-time high of 96. Weve never been able to break that hundred mark, Joe adds ruefully.So he encourages the men of the parish to think about joining K of C because its a great opportunity tosupport your family, the church and the community.

Besides his work with the Knights of Columbus, Joe has assisted with bingo and Reverse Rafe andcoached Kindergarten CYO football. He also is a councilman-at-large for the City of Amherst, a varsitybasketball ofcial, a certied golf pro, and a member of the Amherst Democrat Organization. He teachessocial studies at Firelands High School, is an adjunct professor of American National Government throughLorain County Community College at the high school campus, and is the Student Council advisor at FHSas well.

A lifelong parishioner, Joe, who is in his mid 40s, is husband to Kelly, a special ed teacher in theFirelands School District, and father to Joseph, 8, and Jordan, 6, both students at St. Joseph School. Speaking about St. Joseph School, Joe says, I want somewhere my sons can be educated and bereinforced in their Catholic faith. Here theyre taught compassion and love for their neighbor. I like the ideathat theyre in a smaller setting than is offered by public schools, and I know they will ourish in their faith aswell as in their academics. This is where theyll get their foundation.

The severe drought in Africa in the mid 1970s led to widspreadhunger among the poor African nations of Ethiopia, Eritrea,Djibouti and Somalia. In response Allentown, Pennsylvaniachurch leaders among the Catholics, Jewish, Presbyterian,Episcopal and Lutheran faiths formed an ecumenical programto collect money for a relief effort. Each Tuesday the localnewspaper printed the menu for a simple meal and a prayer, andfamilies who participated in the relief effort placed the moneythey had saved by eating such a simple meal into a bowl, whichwas decorated with a cross and a Star of David. They calledit the Rice Bowl Program. It was so successful, that one of itsfounders, Msgr. Robert Coll, asked the Cardinal of Philadelphiato continue the program as Operation Rice Bowl. Since thenparishes and school children throughout the U.S. have droppedmoney into the little fold-out cardboard containers they receiveat Lent. The rice bowls are brought to Mass at the end of Lentand the donations are used in development projects amongpoor nations and to alleviate hunger in local diocese. Since itsinception Operation Rice Bowl has raised $167 million.

Another Lenten tradition of giving originated over 70 years ago when U.S. bishops created an agency to helpresettle European survivors of World War II. Their agency was called Catholic Relief Services. As Europebegan to recover from the war in the 1950s, the bishops decided to expand their efforts to other regions.Today CRS aids more than 100 million people in 100 countries and on ve continents. It has responded towars, droughts, genocide, hurricanes and earthquakes. The fourth Sunday in Lent is designated for a specialcollection for Catholic Relief Services.

Lenten Giving


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Even the wisest of us can be afraid. Even the wisest can hesitate. Even if you are wealthy, a respectedstatesmen, a man in a position of power, you may not at rst be willing to come out of the shadows andstand in the light of your faith. But if we follow Joseph of Arimathea, we will see that even though he wasafraid and hesitant, he nally declared himself for Christ, and so may we.

Born in Palestine, tradition relates that Joseph was a relation of Jesus, that he had far-ung wealth,including tin mines in British Cornwall, and that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme councilof Jews in Jerusalem.

He was also a secret follower of Christs, probably from the Lords rst preaching in Judea, accordingto the Gospel of John. Its said he did not declare his allegiance because he feared those who did notacknowledge Jesus kingship on earth. And although he was not yet ready to declare his faith in theLord, neither could he take part in condemning him to death, so he was not present when the rest of theSanhedrin handed Jesus over to Pilate.

But the gospels say that after he saw the crucixion,Josephs love for Christ and his faith in Him gave himthe courage to step out of the shadows. He went toPilate and asked that the Body of Jesus be released tohim for burial. He and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus bodyin spices and ne linen and laid Him in Josephs owntomb, carved out of rock in a nearby garden.

Joseph of Arimatheas feast day is March 17 in thetraditional Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, but he isnow listed, along with Saint Nicodemus, on August 31in the Martyrologium Romanum. He is the patron of allthose involved in funerals.

This month we focus on Citations CCC 2184-2187 which explainshow we should observe the Sabbath as a day of rest.

The Catechism says human life has a rhythm of work and rest, andthat we should remember that the Lords Day is one of rest. In fact itis a day of grace, because we should spend it worshipping God andbeing joyous in experiencing all His creation and all His people. Threefacets of this day of grace are: 1. Spend time cultivating familial,cultural, and social lives to relax the mind and body. 2. Set aside

time for reection, silence, and meditation, which furthers the growthof the Christian interior life. 3. Be mindful of those who cannot restfrom work and avoid making demands on those in such situations(remember how stores used to be closed on Sundays so no one had

to miss out on family events because they had to work). The Catechism also reminds us that employers havesimilar obligations to their employees.

Stepping Out Of The Shadows

Its not too late to think about joining the group of St. Joseph parishionerswho will be journeying to Italy this spring on a pilgrimage to celebratethe canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. The 10-day tour is April 23 - May 2 with Fr. Michael Denk as chaplain. Cost

is $3,999 and is inclusive of airfare, hotel stays, bus trips and guidedtours, breakfasts, and dinnerswith wine.

What better way to celebrate the cold lastdays of winter than with one of the heartand tummy-warming soup suppers of St.Joseph Parish. We meet on Wednesdaysin the Social Hall at 6 pm to share soup andconversation, and all are welcome to stayfor Mass at 7 pm. Bring in your favoritesoup and join us on March 12, March 26,and April 9.

The tour includesattractions in Rome,

Assisi, Florence,Venice, San Gimignanoand the Vatican.

Contact [email protected] or855-842-8001 for moreinformation.

Italy Trip


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Everything you want to know about St. Joseph Parish is at your ngertips - thats what our new parishwebsite is offering since it went live last September to coincide with 150th anniversary celebrations. Under the direction of Andy Flynn, life-long parishioner and St. Joseph School graduate, the website canbe found at stjosephamherst.com. Ross Maenza, who has worked with Andy on the website, explainedthat they looked at a lot of other parish websites to see what was working well and what was visuallyattractive.

Both Ross and Diane Yale-Peabody, who is the schools webmaster, emphasized how easy the webtools are, even for novices. User-friendly was a phrase that was mentioned often, not only for thosebuilding and updating pages, but also for the general user who is looking for information. Even though the website has well over a 100 links, pages, documents, and pictures, it will becomeeven more dynamic in the coming months as heads of the different ministries are introduced to how theycan customize their pages on the website. Andy and Ross began rolling out these functions to groups ofministry leaders in mid January and are also offering one-to-one training for those who want to managepages for their group.

Ministry leaders have seen how they can announce events and fundraisers; ask for volunteers; educate theparish on their mission; display photos from past events; and get the word out to others in their ministry aboutupcoming needs. They can also post electronic forms which can be lled in online, with all data automaticallyforwarded and collated into spreadsheets. Some ministries have latched onto the benets of beingonline by posting schedules forEucharistic Ministers or lessons

and service opportunities forConrmation groups. Andas ministries customize theirpages, they can also getfeedback on how many areviewing their posts so theycan realize when theyve beensuccessful or what areas theyneed to work on.

Olivia Sliman and her family have kicked off their third clothing drive in hopes of sending needed itemsto those less fortunate than we.

In 2012 Olivia spearheaded an effort that collected over a thousand pairs of shoes in the Soles4Soulsprogram, and a year later organized a drive which collected 735 pounds of T-shirts which were distributedto over 3,300 people. We all received so many new gifts for Christmas, Olivia says, while others would be more than gratefulfor the items we dont use anymore. So I am challenging each of you to do an early spring-cleaning andgive what you dont need to those who do.

Some of the statistics that Olivia has gathered to remind us of how we in the U.S. have more than weneed are that each American discards an average of 65 pounds ofclothing every year, and that 85% of all clothing in the U.S. ends up

in landlls instead of being recycled.The St. Joseph Parish Mission Team will be hand deliveringsome of the donated items to El Salvador in April. Olivia says thatif she gets a good response on donations she will also send itemsto Clothes4Souls, which is a nonprot that distributes to areas ofthe world that need them the most. Otherwise, Olivia will takedonations to the St. Joes Thrift Shop in Lorain, which is connectedto the homeless shelter, and to the battered womens home inCleveland. We are taking ANY clothing, Olivia says, mens,womens, childrens, winter or summer - anything! So please, helpus to help others.

sharing clothes

(Sharing Clothes Continues on page 6)

Parish Goes High Tech

(Parish Goes High Tech

Continues on page 6)


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Last month we introduced the Parish Bucket List and asked you - our parishionersto submit your own ideas, here are some of the ones weve received:

Are you ready togrow closer to God?He is ready andwaiting for you! TheLiving the Eucharistprogram has severaloptions available foryou this Lent. Youcan be involved in asmall group that will meet weekly during Lent. Youcan use a daily reader/journal. A family program isavailable for families to do at home. Theres alsoa program for teens. Check our parish website athttp://stjosephamherst.com/living-the-eucharistto preview materials or sign-up. You can sign up atthe Information table in the Ofce lobby or by callingEvelyn Caffarel (440-452-4361) or Tony Alessandro(440-452-3727).

Lenten Reflections

As a part of our Lenten renewal, we ask that eachmember of our parish family commit to saying thisprayer each day throughout the coming year. Lets

join our voices to gain these favors from our HeavenlyFather:

(It may be inspirational to note that according to GusLloyd of the Catholic Channel on Sirius XM, abortionnumbers in our country are going down. There ismuch power in prayer!)

Loving God, you called us each byname and gave your only Son to redeem us.In your faithfulness, you sent the Holy Spirit tocomplete the mission of Jesus among us. Open our hearts to Jesus. Give us thecourage to speak His name to those who areclose to us and the generosity to share His

love with those who are far away. We pray that every person throughoutthe world be invited to know and love Jesusas Savior and Redeemer. May we come toknow His all-surpassing love. May that lovetransform every element of society. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of our Parish

Our newly landscaped cemetery has an updated pricelist that went into effect in February. If interested inpurchasing a gravesite, please contact the parish

ofce at 988-2848:

$750 Grave/Plot$775 Interment$250 Cremains$175 Single Marker Footer$250 Double Marker Footer$75 Military Marker Emblem$125 Military Maker Footer$975 Disinterment

Cemetery NewsMark Your CalendarMens Retreat Weekend: March 22 - 23 forfellowship and spiritual renewal. Contact DennisZemanek at 440-864-9052 denniszemanek@

eaton.com or Justin Hunker at [email protected].

Reverse Rafe:May 10 in the social hall. Theplanning committee is looking for more help.Please contact the ofce at 988-2848 if you canhelp with our springtime fundraiser.

Pot Luck Dinner:March 19 in thesocial hall - a150th Anniversarycelebration for allwho volunteer or

work for the parish!

Spring Break:March 24 - 28 for St. Joseph School students.

Parish

Sign up for an adult level faith formation event. A class, a retreat, afaith sharing group, etc. We are never too old to learn more about ourFaith! Thats why we are practicing Catholics.

Take an online religion or theology course. There are many options,just ask the DRE!

Help out at one (or more) of the holiday masses in the Pavilion overthe summer (Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day).

The bucket list is ongoing, so you can still submit your ideas! Please sendthem to Diane ([email protected]). If youve already sent us an idea,keep your eye open - they may appear in the next issue!


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Andy says, the website is constantly being updated and will continue to have new content, especially asmore ministries get involved updating their specic pages. So I would ask parishioners to be sure to keepchecking back regularly as new content and features become available.

Another great feature Andy is offering the ministries is to post their upcoming events on a scrollingbanner on the homepage in order to maximize coverage and attendance at workshops and fundraisers.Taking us one step farther out into the ethernet, Andy makes sure information, photos, and videos that areposted on the website are also automatically forwarded to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, andFlickr. Besides having a dynamic search eld, the website also has numerous drop-down windows to let youget to a specic ministry; nd contact information for priests and staff members; look at calendars andchurch bulletins; learn how to take part in the sacraments; link to the school website or to archives of theparish newsletter On The Level; and much more.

So take a look at the new website and give us some feedback. We need to know when weve beensuccessful so we can keep up our good work, and we need to know what were missing so we can ll inthe gaps. Remember - were just a click away! Email Andy at [email protected]

The collection ends March 20. Drop off box are located at our church and St. Joseph School, at NativityParish, Main Street Amherst, Amherst Public Library, Slimans Jeep, Curves in Elyria and all Amherstschools. If you need someone to pickup donations please contact Olivia at 440-670-5933 or [email protected], Olivia graduated from Kent State University last May and did an internship with TheEllen DeGeneres Showin Los Angeles. Since then she has been working in the familys car dealershipbusiness.

(Parish Goes High Tech Continued from page 4)

(Sharing Clothes Continued from page 4)


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Thy Kingdom Come ... together we build the kingdom Matthew 10:6

Mass schedule: Saturday 4 pm; Sunday 8 am, 10 am, & Noon

Reconciliation: Saturday 3-3:30 pm

The Parish Community of St. JosephFather Lawrence Martello, Pastor

Father Michael Denk, Parochial Vicar

200 St. Joseph Dr.

Amherst, OH 44001

Ofce: 440-988-2848

Convent: 440-988-2621

School: 440-988-4244

WEBSITE: stjosephamherst.com

This newsletter is brought to you by

St. Joseph Stewardship Team

Diane Yale-Peabody, Editor

Email: [email protected]

NON PROFIT

US POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT 58

AMHERST OH

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Bringing God to men during war sometimes means putting your life on the linejust as soldiers do. Thats what Fr. Vincent Capodanno believed when he wasa U.S. Navy chaplain during the Vietnam War. He took God right on to thebattleeld, and eventually died while ministering to fallen soldiers. Born in NewYork in 1929, Vincent spent only one year in college before entering MaryknollMissionary Seminary in 1949, and his rst years as a priest saw him ministeringto aboriginal natives on the island of Formosa (now known as Taiwan). But in1965 he felt called to serve those who were sacricing their lives during theVietnam War and became a chaplain. He would be nicknamed the Grunt Padrefor his willingness to live under the same tough conditions of the Marines aroundhim. Soldiers who served in the same unit said, that seeing him working alongside them under the same dangerous conditions reinforced their faith. On Sept.4, 1967 Fr. Capodanno was with a company of about 500 Marines when theirunit was ambushed by some 2,500 North Vietnamese. While administeringlast rites to the men in his company, his right hand was shattered and his leftarm torn to shreds during two different rie and mortar attacks. He refused tobe evacuated and went to help a wounded medic only yards from an enemymachine gun. Fr. Capodanno placed himself between the machine gun and themedic to protect him, and was killed in the next burst of gunre. For his valiantefforts, he was awarded the militarys highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.He has also been honored with a Sacrice Window in the National Museum ofthe Marine Corps and had a U.S. naval frigate named after him - the rst ship inthe U.S. eet to receive a papal blessing by Pope John Paul II. Many chapels,streets and buildings have also been named in honor of Fr. Capodanno, whowas declared a Servant of God in 2002, the rst step toward canonization.

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On the Level - March 2014