Dec. 12, 2021

A Catholic Community guided by the Holy Spirit to proclaim Christ’s love in worship, service and life-long learning

Church

8535 SW 19th Ave Portland, OR 97219 503.244.1037 Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9am - 12:30pm & 2 - 4pm office@saintclarechurch.org www.saintclarechurch.org Follow us on Facebook at St. Clare Catholic Church

Pastor Fr. Don Gutmann 101 Deacon Dcn. Bill McNamara 108 Business Manager Shelley Worrell 102 Pastoral Associate Pia de Leon 103 Children’s Faith Formation Kim Zea 104 ECHO Apprentice Lexie Wasinger 105 Administrative Assistant Laurie Zupsic 100

School

1807 SW Freeman St Portland, OR 97219 503.244.7600 info@stclarepdx.org www.stclarepdx.org

Principal Chris Harris Office Manager Donna Parker MacNeur

Preschool

1812 SW Spring Garden St Portland, OR 97219 503.244.5458 nancy@stclarepreschool.org

Director Nancy Melzer Administrative Assistant Jeanne Raffety

Reconciliation Saturdays with Fr. Don Gutmann from 4pm - 4:30pm in the church. Social distancing will be practiced. Please wear masks.

Matrimony Six month preparation required. Contact Deacon Bill McNamara

Baptism for Infants Contact Deacon Bill McNamara.

Faith Formation & Sacramental Preparation for Adults & Teens Contact Pia de Leon (Adults) or Lexie Wasinger (Teens).

Faith Formation & Sacramental Preparation for Children Contact Kim Zea.

Sacraments - Please visit www.saintclarechurch.org for more information on sacramental preparation.

A Warm Welcome To All Who Worship with Us

Whether you are a long-time parishioner and need to update your information or newly arrived in the parish and not yet registered, please complete the information below and place in the offertory basket or mail to the parish office.

Name: ____________________________________________ Phone: ( ) ________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________ City: ______________________________ Zip: _____________ □ New Parishioner □ Returning Catholic □ Moving (please remove from parish directory) □ New Phone Number □ New Address □ Please send Sunday Offertory envelopes

Weekend & Daily Mass:

Saturday - 5pm Sunday - 8:30am & 10:45am Weekdays except Tuesdays - 8:30am

Masks required. Social distancing is available in the main church; regular seating allowed in the transepts. All doors open for entry.

Visit www.saintclarechurch.org to view pre-recorded Sunday Mass.

Weekly Reflection

3rd Sunday of Advent Dec. 12, 2021

Shout for joy! When was the last time you ever felt like doing that? Fear, uncertainty, pressure, negativity, disappointment, and a myriad of other human experiences can rob us of joy. We can never predict what life will bring. As unsettling as that can often seem, life’s unpredictability is also the very thing that allows it to be exciting and adventuresome! We know that life can be difficult, and it is unrealistic to expect it to be otherwise. God never promised an easy road. But, when a person truly falls in love with God and discovers the peacefulness and assurance of God’s presence, then a depth of understanding will be brought to everything they do and experience. Nothing will be able to rob them of joy! When we realize that God, the King of Israel, is in our midst and with the beauty and wonder of God’s gift of joy today as we ready ourselves, even more excitedly, for the coming of our Savior. Do not fear and do not be discouraged. There is a power and presence within us, our God, who has made us, who loves us and who will keep us. What more do we need? Rejoice! ©LPi

Week-at-a-Glance

Saturday, Dec. 11 4:00pm Confession Church 5:00pm Mass +Philip Cuomo Church

Sunday, Dec. 12 3rd Sunday of Advent 8:30am Mass For the People Church 10:45am Mass +Ruth E. Prissel Church 4:00pm Advent Prayer Service until 4:30pm Church

Monday, Dec. 13 8:30am Daily Mass Church

Wednesday, Dec. 15 8:30am Mass +Sr. Dolores Doohan, BVM Church

Thursday, Dec. 16 8:30am Daily Mass Church 7:00pm Advent Penance Service Church

Friday, Dec. 17 8:30am Daily Mass Church

Saturday, Dec. 18 4:00pm Confession Church 5:00pm Mass +Anita Jasper Church

Sunday, Dec. 19 4th Sunday of Advent 8:30am Mass For the People Church 10:45am Mass Church

Fr. Don’s Musings . . .

Christmas is only two weeks away. Exciting times, especially for the children. When I was a child, I remember counting down the days until Christmas. Let’s all try to keep the core of Christmas central to our celebrations. Santa, reindeer and trees adorned with tinsel are a fun part of Christmas, but the core of the season is Mary giving birth to our best friend and God-made-human, Jesus.

Our Christmas Masses will be on Christmas Eve at 4:00, 6:00 & 10:00pm, and Christmas morning at 10:00am. Our crowds for Christmas will be bigger than our Sunday Mass crowds, so we will remove the blue tape that blocks off some pews to fit everyone in. I don’t expect the huge crowds we had before COVID, but I still expect bigger than usual crowds. We won’t have the children’s choir or pageant at the 4pm Mass, but we will still have children helping to lead the singing and we will have some choir members at the other Masses. Our Christmas Masses will be joyful celebrations! See more details below.

We continue to evaluate how to do Sunday Masses during the pandemic. We want to be safe and we also want the best celebrations we can. After Christmas, we plan to begin having altar servers again, having ushers do the collections and having the gift procession again. We, also, hope to start up the Little Children’s Liturgies during the 8:30 and 10:45 Masses. The Pastoral Council and church staff are constantly re-evaluating our protocols and adjusting them to try to get us back to “normal” as best as we can while still being safe.

Enjoy this holy season. ~Fr. Don

Start Making Plans Now for Attending Christmas Mass . . .

Christmas Eve ~ 4pm 6pm 10pm

Christmas Day ~ 10am

What to Expect in the Church ...

- All doors will be open for entry.

- Masks will be required.

- Sign-up will not be required.

- Seating capacity will not be limited; however, no extra chairs will be available; only pew seating.

- Social-distanced seating will not be available.

- Masked choir members will be leading us in song.

- Windows will be open to promote healthy air flow, so be sure to dress warmly.

FINAL Donation Drop-off Events - Parish Office Garage Sunday, Dec. 12, 9am - 1pm AND Tuesday, Dec. 14, 7 - 9pm December 12, 2021

Important Giving Tree 2021 Dates

Drive-thru Drop-off Donation Sundays Nov. 28, Dec. 5 & Dec. 12 9am-1pm Parish Office Garage

Drive-thru Drop-off Tuesday Evenings Dec. 7 7-9pm Dec. 14 7-9pm Parish Office Garage

Donation Sorting All Volunteer spots are filled! Thank you! Friday, Dec. 10 4pm Tuesday, Dec. 14 7-9pm Wednesday, Dec. 15 7-9pm Thursday, Dec. 16 7-9pm Friday, Dec. 17 9am & 1pm

- Be sure to wear your masks. - Meet Theresa Duda downstairs at the Parish Office. Enter through the lower back door.

Delivery Day Saturday, Dec. 18

- Box Pick up at Parish Office Garage every 15 minutes 9am-12pm - Masks for ages 2+ are required. - Sign up is mandatory by emailing Theresa at pntduda@gmail.com

After our three previous Drive-thru events, dishwasher and laundry soap are the items most needed along with 25 more small turkeys and 10 more Hams. * Shampoo * Toilet Paper * Toothbrushes & Toothpaste * Christmas Candy & Nuts * Checks payable to St. Clare

Church. Write “Giving Tree” on the memo line.

* Donations also accepted online via the parish online giving link https://www.osvhub.com/saintclarechurch/funds/giving-tree

* Much appreciation to all who donated turkeys, hams and funds for purchase. Turkeys and hams may be brought to the Dec. 14 Drive-thru Drop-off or the parish office lower back door during any of the sorting times on Dec. 15-17. (See side bar). Knock or ring door bell and a volunteer will come to collect your donations. Please do not leave them unattended at the front porch of the parish office. Questions or to donate turkeys and hams, contact Mary at marybunday@yahoo.com .

More Delivery Volunteers Requested Saturday, Dec. 18, 9am - 12pm Parish Office Garage Time slots for pick-up will be assigned every 15 minutes.

Delivery drivers will use a drive-thru procedure to pick up boxes entering from SW Spring Garden Rd and exiting onto SW 19th Ave.

Drivers will not exit their cars; volunteers will load items into cars.

Delivery drivers do not need to enter homes or apartments.

For more details or to volunteer, email Theresa at pntduda@gmail.com

Weekly Offertory Report

collection totals for Dec. 5 will be included in the Dec. 19 bulletin.

Children’s Faith Formation

Scripture Readings

4th Sunday of Advent Dec. 19, 2021

Reading 1 - MI 5:1-4a Psalms - PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

Reading 2 - HEB 10:5-10 Gospel - LK 1:39-45

For daily readings, please visit www.usccb.org

Children in the 2nd grade are invited to join the preparation classes for

the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

- Registration packets are available on the parish website at www.saintclarechurch.org.

- Registration forms are due by Monday, Dec. 20. - Classes will begin on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.

Questions? Please contact Kim Zea, Children's Faith Formation Coordinator, at kim@saintclareschurch.org or ext. 104.

We are offering a family program for the religious education of children in grades, K-5. Our hopes are to gather in person once a month and give your family resources for the remaining weeks. If you are uncomfortable meeting in person at this time, other options such as Zoom sessions or receiving curriculum to work on at home are available. Please contact Kim with any questions you may have.

Thursday, Dec. 16 7pm Church

Come and join us for a brief prayer and reflection followed by an abbreviated form

of individual confessions. This is great preparation for Jesus’ birth.

Other Confession Times with Fr. Don after 8:30am Daily Mass from 9-9:30am on

Monday, Dec. 20 Wednesday, Dec. 22 Thursday, Dec. 23

and from 4-4:30pm on Saturday, Dec. 18

For confession by appointment, please contact Fr. Don at 503-244-1037, x101.

On December 9, 1531, Our Lady appeared to a simple Aztec Indian who had converted to the Catholic faith, Juan Diego. Three days later, at Juan Diego’s request, Mary provided a sign so the local bishop would believe that she actually had appeared. Roses grew out of the cold winter soil, and

when Juan Diego opened his cloak to show the bishop what he had found, an image of Our Lady appeared on the fabric. These occurrences led to the conversion of most of Mexico and remain today a strong sign of Our Lady’s concern and love for us.

Church-approved Marian apparitions always point to her Son, Jesus. For many of us with a strong Marian devotion, Mary is a pathway into a stronger relationship with our Lord. Her generosity shown to Juan Diego is the same generosity shown to each of us that choose to ask her intercession. Families pray for one another and she is a very prominent member of our family. May the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe be a sign of warmth for you in the cold of winter and of Advent hope for a Christ Child that has redeemed the world. ©LPi

Advent Prayer Service TODAY

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Comforting the Poor

Sunday, Dec. 12 4-4:30pm Church

Join us for Reflection, Outreach and Hot Cocoa