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For Priests > Inspirations and Initiatives
| Inspirations and Initiatives |
A message from Sandra Archer, Office Administrator from St. Gerard's in Yorkton:
"This weekend we included a pamphlet in the bulletin titled "Five Ways to Support My Parish Priest". It's a great read, which I had ordered from
OurSundayVisitor.
Yorkton Event
We had a Pot-Luck supper on the "stormy Sunday" with 170 people present, including children.
Before and after supper we had people tell personal stories about a 'A Priest in my life'. Here are some examples:
- An RCMP who joined the Church in 2003.
- One family with 3 boys who were all baptized in Yorkton but by different
pastors.
- A relative (nephew) of Father Charles
Gibney.
- A person who did Lay formation and their experience of the priests on that
journey.
- 2 families shared about their sons who are priests.
- A family whose five 5 year old child died of cancer and Fr. Basil’s connection.
- A story was told about Father Novak when their family lived in Sturgis.
The pre-schoolers sang a few songs and an 8 year old played two songs on his violin.
We had 3 different $50 gift certificates to Yorkton restaurants as door prizes - one from CWL,
K of C and the Parish. We also gave away the package of Archdiocesan 100th Anniversary Clothing as
door prizes.
Everyone was so elated with the evening and the most repeated comment
was, “We should do this again. I know of someone who would tell about so and so....etc.”
This did not take a lot of organizing - poster in bulletin and 4 people planned
the evening and sought the speakers. When we asked 4 weeks prior, we did not
get very positive responses but the week before when we had the program
lined up, we had parishioners call to say if we still needed someone...etc....
well by then we had agreed that we would keep the evening from 5:00 to 7:30 because
we wanted the families and children to come.
Definitely, we recommend doing this in any parish.
and...... what a special event to go with the theme - "Year for the
Priest"
MaryAnn Scherr
Children’s Activity
Thank you to Denise Toeckes from Climax for the coloring page of St. John Vianney
(PDF) which can be used for children’s catechesis.
Read about St. John Vianney.
Year
For the Priest Coloring Contest.
Testimonies
The Holy Family Spiritual Enrichment Committee will be hosting a vocation testimony and adoration once a month starting Monday, November 9 at 7:30
pm at Holy Family, 1021 McCarthy Boulevard N., Regina.
It will continue to be on the second Monday of every month. Each evening will consist of a 20 min. testimony from one of our Diocesan priests, followed by adoration from 8 - 9 p.m. with specific prayers for our priests. Our first speaker is Fr. Brad Fahlman.
Everyone is welcome.
Prayers
A number of requests for “Prayers for Priests” were received. Some folks plan to pray for priests on their anniversary of ordination
(sample
calendar - PDF) and some have also celebrated with a cake!
Vocation Magazine
Copies of VISION, the 2010 Catholic Religious Discernment Guide from the US are available from the Vocation office and a copy will be sent to each parish with the next issue of the ARCH. Some of the parishes already receive this magazine. The articles are excellent, i.e., What Being a Priest Means to me by Fr. Lawrence Freeman osb.
Vocation 'Priest' Cards
These were created by Bill Rieger and friends from Balgonie a number of years
ago with the photo on one side and biography on the other.
Please contact Bill
to obtain further information about this project. E-mail
or call 781-2809.
Fr. John Weckend suggested children be invited to collect the cards like ‘baseball cards’ – maybe package them with some bubblegum or
candy. View sample cards.
Parish Initiative
Thank you also to Laura O’Reilly from Regina for this initiative: “Denise Toeckes
encouraged me to
send the
initiative that our K4J Summer camp did this August. The virtue the kids actually focused on throughout the week was the virtue of
initiative and praying to Jesus in the Eucharist for the grace to put our initiatives into action.
We had 84 take part in the camp. Our mission for the week was to raise money to purchase mass kits for missionary priests (not sure how much yet as I haven't counted all the
money) and then the kids put together a spiritual bouquet for Fr.
Tonny. Each K4J team made paper flowers on stems and wrote or glued on different prayers for Fr.
Tonny. We presented him with 5 vases full of prayers that included "I pray that Fr. Tonny would love his vocation" "That Fr. Tonny would be happy", etc.
During the week the kids also made Fr. Tonny thank you cards that they slipped under his office door and at the end of the week we handed out a
year
for priests card
(PDF) to each family with Fr. Tonny's picture on it and different ideas of how to appreciate him.
Enlarge
Denise Toeckes has made a bulletin insert using Laura O'Reilly's K4J example and
is willing to make one for any parish that would like to use it. Email
Denise your priest's name and photo if they have one.
Denise will return a print-ready handout PDF.
“Fostering the Baptismal Priesthood in the Year for Priests”
This title was one of the points about which Cardinal Mahony from Los Angeles spoke during his
September 18 speech on the priesthood at the University of Notre Dame.
A quote: “The priest is ordained to be a leader within a community of co-responsibility, all of whose members are given gifts in baptism, strengthened in confirmation and nourished week by week or day by day in the celebration of the Eucharist.
The exercise of the priestly ministry today calls for an awareness of the importance of participation on the part of all who make up the body of Christ, the church.” (Origins Oct. 1, 2009, Vol. 39, #17.)
We give thanks for these inspirations and initiatives,
Sr. Bernice Daratha
Vocation Coordinator
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