"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