Hello all,
I hope you are having a terrific Tuesday and that you have had a chance today to thank God for all the blessings He provides each day of our life (see the tip of the week below for more on thankfulness). We are in the first full week of Lent and I hope you have taken some time to reflect on your Lenten journey and that it will be a time of growth for each of us as we focus on prayer, giving and fasting.
NEXT WEEK, Wednesday, February 24th and Thursday, February 25th we DO NOT HAVE Religious Education classes due to several of the teachers attending the Religious Education Congress in Anaheim. Classes will resume the following week on March 2nd & 3rd.
Reminder, during Lent we are participating in the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl program. Each child received a rice bowl and Lent calendar that goes with it during classes last week. We are asking each child/family to consider saving change during Lent and turn in the filled bowl at class the week of March 16th & 17th. There is an app available for download to follow along as a family for daily reflections. The app is called: CRS Rice Bowl.
Biblical Studies Conference, THIS Saturday, February 20th Held in the parish hall from 9:00am to 3:00pm. No cost to attend. Optional lunch available for $6. To RSVP for a lunch contact: Trent Benedetti at 922-4881. The topic for the day is The Bible, The Family and the New Evangelization. The speakers are: Dr. Michael Barber and Dr. John Kincaid. (attending one of the talks counts as a Faith Growth opportunity for RE parents of year 1 & year 2 Communion students.)
Vacation Bible Camp 2016: SAVE THE DATE. We will be having Vacation Bible Camp July 18-22 from 9:00am to noon each day. Registration forms will be available in March.
Early Registration for classes 2016-2017: We will begin the early registration process in March for classes that will begin in September. When you register early, you receive a $5 discount for each child registered. The other benefit is you have one less thing to have on your summer to do list. J
The next activities for Communion Year 2 parents is a Parent Meeting. Topic: First Communion Retreat & Mass:
option #1 Monday 3/14/16 @7:00-8:00pm-parish hall
OR option #2 Wednesday 3/16/16 @7:00-8:00pm- parish hall
(one or both parents attend ONE or the other of these meetings. 2 options offered for convenience)
1st Communion Retreat: Saturday 4/16/16 @ 8:30am-noon in the parish hall. All year 2 Communion students attend the retreat.
1st Communion Rehearsal for Thursday classes: Thursday 5/5/16 @ 6:15-7:15pm in the church (during class time)
1st Communion Rehearsal for SLDM school: during school day the week of 5/2/-5/6/16 with Mrs. Fuller & Mrs. McLoughlin
1st Communion Mass for Thursday classes & school: Saturday 5/7/16 @ 10:00am in the church (children arrive at 9:00am)
1st Communion Rehearsal for Wednesday classes: Wednesday 5/4/16@4:00-5:00pm in the church
1st Communion Mass for Wednesday classes: Saturday 5/7/16 @ 1:00pm in the church (children arrive at noon)
Thought for the week: “Thankfulness is the soil in which joy thrives.”-Randy Kilgore
Tip of the week: The Ease of Ingratitude (an excerpt from Our Daily Bread by Randy Kilgore). The windshield wipers slamming back and forth trying to keep up with the pelting rain only added to my irritation as I adjusted to driving the used car I had just purchased-an old station wagon with 80,000+ miles and no side-impact air bag protection for the kids. To get this station wagon, and some badly needed cash for groceries, I had sold the last “treasure” we owned: a newer model care with less miles and air bag protection for the kids. By then, everything else was gone. Our house and our savings had disappeared under the weight of uncovered medical expenses from life-threatening illnesses. “Okay God,” I actually said out loud, “now I can’t even protect my kids from side-impact crashes. If anything happens to them, let me tell You what I am going to do…” (gulp). I was instantly ashamed. In the previous 2 years God had spared both my wife and my son from almost certain death, and yet here I was whining about “things” I had lost. Just like that I’d learned how quickly I could grow ungrateful to God. The loving Father, who did not spare His own Son so I could be saved, had actually spared my son in a miraculous fashion. “Forgive me, Father,” I prayed. Already done, my child. How easy it is to let the trials of the moment strip us of the memory of God’s protection and provision.
Blessings to all,
Kelly
Kelly McLoughlin
Director of Religious Education
Junior High Ministry
St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church
Proud member of NACYML www.nacyml.org
And NCCL www.nccl.org
