"These are the Best of Times"

Dear Parishioners,

In the past month it has become clear that our expected offertory income has not been hitting the mark so far in this fiscal year. This, honestly, causes me much stress. However, with the advice of the Administrative Council, we will make a plan to deal with this issue. Being a pastor can be a daunting thing, but after reading Archbishop Vlazny's current column in the Catholic Sentinel, I was able to see much bigger picture and I encourage you all to read it too. No matter what struggles we have as a community, God will give us the grace to fulfill his will. With the eyes of faith, these days can be seen as the "best of times."

Each week, the Catholic Sentinel publishes the Archbishop's Column in their publication and e-mail's it out to those who wish to subscribe to their e-list. In this week's column, Archbishop Vlazny reflects on his eight years of being our chief shepherd. I was so encouraged by his words that I have decided not to write my own reflection, but rather let him do the talking... writing.

Each week's e-column can be found on the Catholic Sentinel's own web site.

You can also subscribe to his column via e-mail by clicking this link: http://www.sentinel.org/ecolumn/

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Archbishop Vlazny:

"THE WORLD STILL NEEDS OUR GREAT GIFT: CHRIST'S CALL TO CONVERSION"

How quickly Advent hurries by. For me it went by even more quickly eight years ago. It was then, back on Dec. 19, 1997, that I was installed as Portland's 10th archbishop. Roses were still blooming in the cathedral courtyard. How could I help but like my new home!

As I look back upon these eight years of service, I see that God had a plan, and I am grateful that he did not reveal it to me at the time. The first two years were a honeymoon. Clergy, religious and laity were welcoming and supportive. Problems were few. I had died and gone to heaven, or so I thought. But in late 1999, on the eve of the third millennium of Christianity, I was abruptly brought down to earth. Earth certainly isn't like heaven, but it's not bad.

This good earth of western Oregon has been the scene of many struggles over the past six years, ever since the first of many allegations of child sexual abuse by our priests was brought to my attention. We have struggled together, trying to do our best in a seemingly impossible situation. Right from the start I was intent upon being fair and compassionate with victims while at the same time making every effort to safeguard the mission and the good name of our church.

The mission continues, not without some trepidation, but, sad to say, our good name has been besmirched time and again. Some would say deservedly so. As the father of this family, I am deeply saddened by this development. You good people have every right to your reputation and the respect of our neighbors. I have not succeeded in protecting your honor and I am sorry.

The personal attacks directed at me and those who have assisted me in archdiocesan leadership have been hurtful, but not totally unexpected. Others had warned me but, in my naiveté, I thought that our track record and good intentions would be transparent enough to overcome whatever hard feelings could accompany such a scandal, not of our own making. I thought there might be more sympathy for those of us dealing with the misdeeds of a former generation, so overwhelming in their number and gravity. Wrong again.

Bankruptcy is often described in the media as a choice we made. There was no choice. We were out of funds. Critics point to restricted funds and parish funds as assets that should have been available on demand. Can you imagine the President of these United States trying to govern this land according to the laws of Brazil or France or China? Yet that was what was expected of me, or so it would seem. The lack of respect for church law in our secular culture is incredible. But it is happening and is a powerful tool in the hands of secularists and anti-Catholics who would delight in derailing our evangelizing mission.

In spite of it all, I assure you that my coworkers and I are resolved to continue every effort that is humanly possible to deal with all the victims of these terrible past crimes justly and compassionately while at the same time doing our best to safeguard the rights of our church and our people.

Most of the victims are looking only for what is fair, and I applaud them for that. Some of them have been further victimized by those who would exploit them to advance their own agendas or promote their own well-being. It's useful in these moments to remember that we still live in a world that is far from perfect and greatly in need of the proclamation of the kingdom and the call to conversion which Jesus Christ brought to us nearly two thousand years ago.

But these last six years have not been exclusively the "worst of times" for the ministry of your archbishop and the mission of our church.

Even though many folks, including estate planners and attorneys, discourage contributions to the Catholic community of western Oregon at this time, you good people contributed more money to this year's Annual Archbishop's Appeal than you did last year. I am humbled and gratified by that meaningful gesture.

We have more seminarians studying for the priesthood now than we've had in recent times. Their number has nearly tripled since my arrival. Our young people are still attracted by the person and message of Jesus Christ and remain eager to give their lives for a higher purpose.

When I made my rounds in our parishes, I find you still joyful and prayerful at Sunday worship and eager to welcome newcomers to the faith, witnessed by the huge numbers who are received into the church each and every Easter.

The work of the church has become more collaborative and more focused as pastors work with pastoral councils and finance councils to establish plans and priorities and the archdiocese as a whole is more committed than ever to promoting faith formation at all levels, youth and young adult ministry and multicultural evangelization.

For all these reasons and many more, it can be said, in spite of the darkness, these are the "best of times."

The final week of Advent is before us. A new year is just around the corner. I didn't know the future eight years ago, and we don't know the future this December. But we do know that God will continue to walk with us and provide for our needs. A leaner church is not necessarily a weaker church. Now more than ever is the time to lean on Jesus, whose birth in Bethlehem nearly 2,000 years ago we shall soon once again celebrate.

We are not Catholics merely because of what we believe but because of whom we believe. It is Jesus who is the reason for the season, the reason for our faith, the reason for our church. We can live as people of faith without many things but not without Jesus. I know he has not abandoned us, and I entrust this local church once again to his providential care as we journey together to Bethlehem once again this year. God bless us all with greater unity in our struggles and renewed commitment to our evangelizing mission. Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel, please come!

For more information and to offer suggestions, please contact us:
Catholic Sentinel
(503) 281-1191 (Portland area)
(800) 548-8749 (outside Portland)
http://www.sentinel.org

"Attention Shoppers"

Dear Parishioners

Commercialism
As of this writing, there are only 21 shopping days left before it's too late! Or is that just a rouse being perpetrated by our commercialized society in order to get you to buy more stuff? Think about it. Does your local department store really care about the true meaning of Christmas? Better yet, do we? Would it help to know that the commercialization of Christmas would be foreign to peoples just 200 years ago? So, why do we do it? Could it be that maybe that "gift" you're thinking about buying is not being done freely, but out of a sense of obligation, an idea planted and fertilized by the advertising of powerful retailers who are telling us that love can only be expressed by spending money on our loved ones? Where does love reside in such gestures? Maybe we need to free our hearts from the fierce Christmas advertising puppet strings and realize that Christmas is not the only season for giving? Could it be that now is always a good time to give that person in your life the gift you wish to give them? Could it be that the greatest gift is something that cannot be bought but something that comes with the words, "I am sorry" or "I love you" or "I thank God for you in my life" ?

Gifts Given from the Heart
This Advent, prepare your hearts so that Christ may be born again in your heart. Don’t listen to the voices that say the only way to show love is to buy them the most expensive thing you can. Not everything we want should we have. Besides, how many of you still have last year’s gifts or remember what they were? So, instead, spend time with your loved ones. Consider carefully to buy less stuff and spend more time with each other. Do not get sucked into obligatory gift giving, for love is not love when it is not done with a heart that is not freely giving. I don’t mean that one shouldn’t give any gifts, but rather to let go of the obligation and see it as an opportunity... and give from the heart not the pocket book. Consider putting your money into charitable ventures that might impact the poor of our society.

Faith-filled Decorating
As you put up decorations, pray as you go. Bless each thing and ask that God will enlighten your heart to his love. Prepare with purpose not just with presumption. Be mindful of the reasons for each thing. Clear out things that are mere sentimentality and replace them with spirit-filled significance to the faith. Make your home a place where Christ is likely to visit. If his second coming occurred on Christmas Eve 2005, what would he think about your home as he walk through your front door? How would he react when he approaches your Christmas tree?

Putting Your Heart in the Wrap
Wrap your packages with care as you would wrap the child Jesus in his infant blankets. Consider the person for whom you give the gift and pray for them as you tie the bows. Think hard about the person for whom you wish to give the gift, for too many times have people received gifts that have no meaning to them or are unable to fully receive (ie. food allergies). Don't assume that they will like something just because you like it. Spend time thinking about the person and their interests. And when that person seems to have everything, realize that they are the perfect target for love beyond Christmas giving: offer your time or write them a letter describing why they mean so much to you. By the way, experience has taught me that a loving letter written to Mom is the best gift I have given and she has received.

Un-Wrapping with Jesus
When you open the presents under the tree, consider carefully the rituals you employ. Will it be a mad dash, a free-for-all, a frenzy of paper shredded packages? Or will it be something more respectful of the ones who gave the gifts? Could Christ be allowed into this time and sanctify it by starting with a family prayer of thanksgiving?

Your Heart: A Manger
Prepare your heart as you prepare your home. Make it a manger for Christ where he can reside once again. Then, like a shepherd he will feed his flock; in his arms he will gather you, his lamb, carrying you in his bosom, and lead his loved ones to heaven with care. (adaptation of Isaiah 40:11)

Come Home For Christmas
Finally, if you know of someone who has been away from the church or will be alone during this season, consider inviting them into your home and bring them back to church. Let them know that for all our flaws, all our sins, Christ still makes his home here. Be that open hand of welcome to someone who needs it the most. Maybe it's you. Come home for Christmas.

O Come Emmanuel!

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

"Entering a Season Close to Our Hearts"

Dear Parishioners

Thanksgiving
I hope you have a joyous time with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. Anticipation mounts as many parishioners prepare to offer our first Thanksgiving Dinner for the general public. I am so proud of Linda Wardenburg and Becky Pettit who have been so instrumental in making it all happen. Way to go ladies!

Our Thanksgiving Day Mass at 9 am will kick off a day of love in action. If you plan to come to that Mass, try not to come empty handed. The collection taken on that day will be directed to our local St. Vincent de Paul who is in serious need. Because the Oregon Food Bank has redirected many of its resources towards victims of the hurricanes in the South, we have been receiving a fraction of food stuffs that we need. Therefore, please consider making an effort to also bring some nonperishable food items as well as toiletries to Mass which we will gather at the foot of the altar during the Preparation of the Gifts. I hope that our sanctuary will be full of gifts for the St. vincent de Paul. What great symbol that will make of our willingness to help out those less fortunate. We may not be able to solve the world's hunger problem, but we can sure make a dent here locally.

Pope John Paul II TV Program
A week from Thanksgiving, ABC will be airing their version of the life of our late Pope entitled, "Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II.". Amidst the constant blast of immoral programs on TV, it's nice to see something wholesome and positive about the faith. You may notice that the program is being aired at the same time as our Advent Mission (see below). My advice is not to miss the mission and dust off that VCR of yours. So you need not pit one event against another. Besides, that way you can fast forward through the commercials. I heartily encourage you to consider watching this program when you can. While I haven't seen it myself, it reports to be a "reverent" view of his life.

Advent and Preparation
This coming Sunday, we begin Advent, the time to prepare for the great solemnity and season of Christmas. Commercially, Christmas arrived immediately after Halloween, but we Catholics recognize that Christmas is still a month away. The Advent season is our way of spiritually preparing ourselves.

As a parish, we will be offering many opportunities in which you can prepare your family. This Sunday, we are offering our Advent Event where you can get involved in crafts that will create a more festive environment at home as well as prepare your own advent wreath for prayer. We will also be hosting Br. Robert Rodriguez, OFM as he guides us through our parish mission which begins this Tuesday. Our younger members will be presenting a Christmas play and go caroling to the local Good Shepherd homes in our area. Finally, we will be offering two chances at our parish to celebrate communal reconciliation services. Make sure to check out the dates for all these activities in our bulletin or go online to our parish calendar.

Please make this Advent a special one by slowing down, focusing on the things that are most important, avoiding the commercialism of the season, and nurturing your relationship with Christ and your family. May this Advent offer you a new chance to prepare your heart for the coming of Christ.

O Come Emmanuel!

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

"Stewardship"

Dear Parishioners,

Gearing Up
Our fiscal year has begun, and once again I am asking each of you to participate in the financial planning process of St. Anthony’s through our annual Parish Offertory Program. Plain and simple, it’s the best form of financial stewardship we know about. By asking parishioners to contemplate and commit to giving to the parish, we can make informed decisions about the present and plan for the future.

Offertory Program
At all Masses on the weekend of October 22-23, I will ask each parish household to make a specific commitment to weekly offertory giving. The involvement on that weekend, and the follow-up process to contact those who do not respond, will stress the necessity of having every household contribute regularly using “Sunday envelopes.” This will allow us to plan our financial expectations for the year ahead.

This annual process does not simply ask for an increase in giving. Rather, it asks each of us prayerfully to: 1. consider what God has given to us, 2. decide if what we return each weekend is enough, too much, or not enough, and then, 3. decide whether to increase, decrease or continue the commitment we are currently making.

Stewardship
This year, we are expanding the reflection to include other ways you may feel called to serve that do not necessarily include money. Stewardship is a more holistic way of reflecting upon our response to God’s call in our lives. It involves not only money, but also how we give of our time and talent.

I hope that each of us will accept the call to reflect upon whether our financial support and other gifts represent an adequate thanksgiving for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us. If together we join in this planning process and project our support for the year ahead, St. Anthony’s can continue to expect a very bright future for years to come.

If you have any questions about this program or our budget, please call the parish office, and I will be happy to answer them. Then, please respond to this request with charity and love.

Prayerfully yours,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

"St. Anthony's Alive!"

Rummage Sale
This past weekend, the parish, under the leadership of Becky Pettit and her cochair, Floralee Stadelman, opened our parish hall and let in the wider community for our Rummage Sale. It was a big hit. Thank you ladies! First and foremost, it was another opportunity for us to put forth our mission of welcoming others. I believe that the environment was indeed friendly. People felt comfortable coming in and all seemed to leave with a smile, hopefully finding a great deal on an item for which they had been searching for a long time. It was also a financial success. The money raised has been designated to assist in paying our bills associated with being part of the Committee of Parishes. This committee serves as the voice of our parish, as well as 76 other parishes, in the bankruptcy proceedings. A BIG THANK YOU needs to go to all the volunteers who prepped, staffed, and cleaned up the event. A thank you also needs to go to Angela Jones who graciously let us store many of the donated items until the actual event. Please know that some items of clothing were put aside and designated to be given to charities. Near the very end of the sale, the remaining items were combed through by local charities who were given a free reign to take anything they thought useful. Finally, those things that were not sold or taken by charities were given to the Goodwill.

New Schedule & Kickoff
I must say that our new 9:30 am Mass was vibrant and full of life. From my personal point of view, the responses within the Mass felt more alive as there were more people, thus more energy being brought out in the acclamations. Bravo!
The kickoff to coffee and donuts was also a huge success! I don’t know when as many people have come over for food and fellowship after Mass. It just felt, pardon the repetition, alive! The Pastoral Council came early and did a great job with the balloons, tables, and food. The wonderful balloon arches were made by Claudia Bermejo and her friends. Lani Vandehey was especially busy and did her best to offer a variety of drinks other than our standard coffee and juice. She also cut up countless fruits to offer instead of just donuts.

Parish Picnic
The weather couldn’t have been any more perfect! It was ideal. Thank you to Pete VanDyke for the smoker-bar-b-que’s as well as Ed Stadelman for arranging for the electrical. The balloon arcs were moved over to the park which made an especially festive feeling about the event. Moving tables to the park seemed to go smoothly as well. Fun, food, and fellowship seems to have been had by all.

This past weekend was full of activity. While frenetic and exhausting for many, I believe that these events will be moments for all to treasure. I know I already do. I am so proud to be part of such a warm and friendly parish. God bless all of you who helped make it all happen. Most of all, all praise and glory must be given to our Lord who made it all possible.

Blessings,
Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

"Things Are A-Happenin'"

Dear Parishioners,

The school year is under way, the days are getting shorter, and the football season has returned. Ah, Fall! We at St. Anthony’s have also been busy trying to gear up in order to offer old and new opportunities to grow in our faith.

CONSTRUCTION:
Construction is nearly completed in St. Anthony House. Three walls have come down, plumbing has been rerouted, dry rot damage has been repaired, the walls have been painted, and new carpets have been installed. All of this has been done in order to offer larger and more inviting spaces for gatherings.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
We also have many events planned. Just this month we have the 5th Annual Mexican Dinner, our first ever Rummage Sale, our very popular Fall Bazaar, and our annual Parish Picnic. I hope you can make it to these events.

FAITH FORMATION:
Discernment continues with regard to ways to offer new and compelling adult educational opportunities. Our religious education for our children, now called G.I.F.T. (Growing In Faith Time), is getting organized. We also have many people of various ages who are investigating Catholicism through our RCIA. Youth ministry is concluding CSI (Catholic Scripture Investigation) and now preparing for their first youth group night.

NEW LITRUGY SCHEDULE:
Most obvious, we are changing our liturgy schedule which will be effective Sept. 25th. This change was made after much reflection and prayer by the Pastoral Council, discussions with the Administrative Council, several listening sessions with parishioners, and a survey conducted at Mass. This new schedule creates an evening Mass on Sunday evening with a focus on teens, though families and people of all ages are welcome. If you haven’t made it to the Life Teen Mass, please do so. We’ve been hard at work in order to keep the length more conducive to our common expected length and we’ve added more explanations for the variations that happen during that celebration. Finally, the music group and the teen involvement continues to develop. So, please make an effort to come.

LIFE TEEN MASS:
In order to accommodate the Life Teen Mass in the Sunday Evening slot, one of the morning Masses had to be moved. Caution has been voiced about overcrowding at the morning slot, but data gathered from two year’s worth of attendance counts indicates that we should be able to seat everyone. Rarely have we used the balcony in our recent history. But, with this new schedule, we expect the need to dust off the pews in the balcony and let the additional people get a more bird’s eye view of Mass. During Christmas and Easter we will need to have special schedules. These will likely return us to our previous schedule which will add an additional Mass in the morning to handle the larger numbers of people.

COFFEE & DONUTS:
Plans are still underway to look harder at the time after our 9:30 am Mass and rethink our common “Coffee and Donuts.” This means that we may be offering other food items to encourage more people as well as the possibility of hosting occasional breakfasts. Opportunities for adult education and/or guest speakers may also sprinkle those gatherings. Bottom line: We need to gather more as community and build our relationships as well as make new ones.

So, things are a-happinin'! Changes are afoot. We are all looking forward to a dynamic year of exploration, education, and deepening in our Catholic faith. Get involved and be a part of an exciting year!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor