601 Jennings Road ~

Van Wert, Ohio 45891

Pastor Rev. Stanley Szybka

Deacon Deacon Andrew McMahon Principal Dan Metzger

Coordinator Religious Ed. Cheryl Freewalt

Office Manager Angie Renner

Masses: Saturday: 4:00 p.m. Sunday: 8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Weekday: Tuesday 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 8:45 a.m.

This Week in Our Parish

Sun Dec 3:

Tue Dec 5: Wed Dec 6:

Thu Dec 7:

Fri Dec 8:

Coffee and Donuts After Mass Bible Study (HFR) 9:30 am Pound Class (Gym) 5:00 pm Bingo (K of C) 6:15 pm

School Council (Library) 7:00 pm SOR 6:45—8:00 pm Youth Group (HFR) 6:45—8:00 pm

Pastoral Council (HFR) 6:00 pm Bingo (K of C) 6:15 pm Mass (Vigil) 7:00 pm

Immaculate Conception Mass 8:45 am Mass 7:00 pm Adoration 9:00 pm-1:00 am

December 3, 2017

ST. MARY OF THE

ASSUMPTION

Catholic Church

OFFICE HOURS

Monday– Friday

8:00am—3:30pm

St. Mary of the Assumption, Van Wert Page 2

Liturgical Schedule

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 8:30 AM St. Mary’s Parish 10:30 AM John and Heather Metzger

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4 + ST. JOHN DAMASCENE No Services

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5 5:30 PM Benediction and Evening Prayer

6:00 PM Carmen Jacobs

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6 + ST. NICHOLAS 8:45 AM John Marshall

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7 8:45 AM Fr. Paul Faroh 7:00 PM St. Mary’s Parish

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 + IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 8:45 AM Alice Hoblet

7:00 PM Helen Schemmell

9:00 PM—1:00 AM Adoration in Chapel

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 4:00 PM Josh Bragg

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10 8:30 AM Kenny & Lela Brenneman

10:30 AM L & D Members of the Sylvester & Johanna

Klima Family

Servers, Eucharistic Minister, Lector & Usher

Schedules for December 9 & 10, 2017

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 4:00 PM Servers: Matt & Joel Schrader, Shay Wehner

E. M.: T Heckler, G Hirzel, T Marshall, D Mathew,

C Mowry, T Reinhart, A Renner

Ushers: T Turnwald, D Michael

Lector: Mary Yackey

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 8:30 AM Servers: Alexa Gearhart, Austin & Addie Sorgen

E. M.: M Dickman, L Fox, J Keipper, G Kulwicki,

J Plas, L Vonderwell, B Wolke

Ushers: Frank Minnig, S Pollock, R Say, D Kleinhenz,

P Shoppell, D Carter

Lector: Bruce Oliver

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 10:30 AM Servers: Sam, Anna & Maggie Cassidy E. M.: C Freewalt, L Freewalt, M Geesey, L Kill,

B Laing, L Lawson, L Pratt

Ushers: J Robideau, D Klosterman

Lector: Trina Shultz

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS: Please come forward

immediately when the prayers for extending Peace

are offered. This will help substitutes know they are

needed and allow sufficient time to be ready at the

altar. Also, please watch for a total of 8 with Father,

Deacons and yourselves.

“BE WATCHFUL! BE ALERT!”

These words that Jesus spoke to His disciples at the beginning of this weekend’s Gospel, may well

be addressed to us. In the midst of all the activity of

this season, we CAN become distracted and lose our

way.

How can we avoid this? To remember that

we, too, prepare and wait for the second coming of

Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the multitude of Christmas preparations, we

CAN see excellent opportunities to live more fully

our Christian calling. Decorating with lights

reminds us that Christ is the Light of the World.

Evergreen trees and wreaths call to mind our goal of

eternal life. Christmas caroling bids us to shout out

our joy so all the earth may hear the Good News.

Gift giving focuses more on the other, to delight

them with the perfect gift. Christmas greetings unite

friend and stranger in the love of God.

To help make better use of the time we have,

you will notice that a brief commentary of the

weekend readings will be offered before Mass

begins. Preparing our minds and hearts for what we

will hear, we will begin reflecting on all the Sacred

Scripture we have been pondering. To help empha-

size the passage of time, the offertory gift bearers

will light the candle on our Advent Wreath.

I call your attention to the Solemnity of the

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

a Holyday of Obligation. Masses include the Vigil

of Thursday, December 7, at 7:00 PM and two

Masses on Friday, December 8 at 8:45 AM and 7:00

PM. From 9:00 PM until 1:00 AM we will observe

the National Night of Prayer for Life when we will

beg our Blessed Mother to pray with us to heal our

land and fill us with grace and holiness.

If you may wish to reach out to others in need,

I call your attention to the SOR Cookie Sale this

weekend (proceeds to the Catholic Charities) and to

their Fall and Winter Collection; to the Giving Tree

(benefiting people in our community); and the Food

Drive (supporting our local food pantry).

It is my prayer that God may bless us and lead

us safely home!

Fr. Stan

St. Mary of the Assumption, Van Wert Page 3

SCHOOL NEWS

Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s: Before we left for

Thanksgiving break we were able to have our annual

Thanksgiving meal and go a Turkey

Hunt. A special thanks goes to Mrs.

Koenig, her daughter Shelby and Mrs.

Fetzer for make a great meal.

Effort Life-skills Awards Recently our students focused on ways that

they could show Effort in their everyday

activities. At the end of two weeks each

teacher selected a student from their class that

they felt best demonstrated effort both inside

and outside the classroom. Congratulations to

the Effort Award Winners and keep up the

great work: Nate Drerup, Stella Hoskins,

Malibu Dickerhoff, Lauren Jarrett, Mary Claire

Kopack, and Alyssa Knittle

Religious Education Connection

A New Liturgical Year Means a New Liturgical Calendar

A new Liturgical Year has begun and this new year is tracked on a churchwide calendar. Just like any good calendar, the Liturgical Calendar records all our most important memories of the past as well as keep-ing our current activities before us. But how does one keep a calendar that spans 2000 years?

One way is to rank events according to importance. For example, the birth of Jesus is more important than the birth of John the Baptist. The Second Vatican Council made the classifications simple by using three ranks—solemnities, feasts and memorials.

A solemnity holds the highest rank. Solemnities celebrate and glorify God in the most significant events of Catholic faith. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, the Assumption of Mary, and St. Joseph, too, are a few examples of the 24 days marked as solemnities. In addition to every Sunday, there are certain so-lemnities, which are considered so important that our attendance at Mass is expected (holy days of obli-gation). Some solemnities have “fixed” dates, such as Christmas on December 25. Others are “moveable” depending upon the date of Easter. When a solemnity falls on a weekday, the celebration is much like Sunday with three readings, the Gloria and the Creed.

Feast days usually honor a particular saint, one of the apostles, or an important event such as the Holy Angels, the Transfiguration, the Holy Family, etc. Most feasts are fixed dates on the calendar.

Memorials most often focus on the pious life of a saint. Some memorials of saints are especially celebrated in a particular locale. For instance, St. Thomas is especially honored in India while St. Teresa of Avila is very honored in Spain. Just as every country honors her founding fathers and heroes, the Church also celebrates its heroes, who have lived and died for the faith.

St. Mary of the Assumption, Van Wert Page 4

Dec 3

Dec 7

Dec 10

KITCHEN WORKERS

Report By 4:30 PM

Dec 3 Brian and Amy Kopack

Dec 7 Laura Rhoades and Jennifer Schrader

Dec 10 Geri Haigh and Carolyn Kesler

St. Mary’s Bingo—K of C Hall

425 Woodland Ave.

Doors open at 4:00 PM for games-

Warm-Up Bingo at 6:15 PM

RESPONSE TO THE LORD FOR NOV 19, 2017

ADULT OFFERING FROM 141 ENVELOPES $14,102.12

TOTAL ANONYMOUS 319.00

CHILDREN OFFERING FROM 13 ENVELOPES 9.00

TOTAL $14,430.12

RESPONSE TO THE LORD FOR NOV 26, 2017

ADULT OFFERING FROM 133 ENVELOPES $5,186.00

TOTAL ANONYMOUS 454.00

CHILDREN OFFERING FROM 3 ENVELOPES 6.00

TOTAL $5,646.00

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Shirley Straley, ED FOX, Lisa Burk,

Chelsea Reindel Neil Smith, ED FOX, Jamie Dickinson,

Jennifer Hammons

Patrick Horstman, ED FOX, Tim Korte,

Mark Spieles

PENSION PROTECTION ACT Extended for 2017 and future years.

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SOR Fall/Winter Collection

Now thru December 13

Collection of the following: boxed and canned food items (no perishables, expired, partially used, please) personal care items (such as toothpaste, body wash, deodorant, etc.) new stocking hats, gloves/mittens, socks new or used, clean coats in no need of repair

As items are brought to the classrooms, the students will give thanks and pray for those who donate and distribute the items and pray for those who are in need of the items. Items will be distributed to those in need through the Salvation Army.

BEST ADVENT EVER

“Tis (almost) The Season.”

Sign up for this free daily email and beginning the first

Sunday of Advent (December 3), you will receive

short inspirational videos, practical tips and real-life

stories of hope that will help you live out the great works

of mercy during the Advent season.

We prepare for everything we consider important in life.

And that includes Christmas. This year, slow down ad

focus on what matters most and get ready for the BEST

Christmas of your life!

To learn more or sign up visit

DYNAMICCATHOLIC.COM/ADVENT

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

***The next study will begin on Thursday,

January 4th at 9:30 am (following Mass).

The study will focus on Symbolon on the

Formed website.

***The 3rd Annual Taste of St. Mary’s will

take place on Saturday, February 3rd. More

info will follow!

St. Mary of the Assumption, Van Wert Page 5

John Basinger, Steve Dietrich, Pat

Fellers, Stacie Golliver, Connie

Hofmann, Jon Jarrett, Megan

Klosterman, Kourtney Kohnen, Mariam Lamb, Mary

Alice Louagie, Tom Metzger, Joan Miller, Tyler

Priest, J R Reinhart, Bob Say, Mary Say, Tom

Stachler, Luke Sung, Russ Waltmire, Anne Wells,

Bobbie Whittenbarger, Dan Williamson, Bob Wolters

The sick person or a close relative are the only

ones who should call to add or remove name(s) to

this list.

Readings for the Week of December 3, 2017

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Next Sunday:

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

MASS SCHEDULE

Thursday, December 7th

Vigil 7:00 pm

Friday, December 8th

8:45 am & 7:00 pm

*************************************

NATIONAL NIGHT OF PRAYER FOR LIFE

December 8/9—9:00 pm—1:00 am

This is the 27th Annual Night of Prayer and will follow

our Immaculate Conception Mass. December 8th is an

appropriate time for us to unite as a nation to pray to

establish a Culture of Life. Through the intercession of

Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mercy, we call upon

her to heal our land! For more info, go to National-

nightofprayerforlife.org.

GIVING TREE

You are invited to take an ornament from the Giving Tree to help people in our community. The teddy bear tags are for the **Salvation Army. Apples are for local nursing homes,

parish/school families and Crisis Care Center. Please return all gifts by DECEMBER 17 with the ornament firmly attached. If you have more than one gift, please securely attach gifts together or put in a large bag to insure that the gifts stay together. Thank You!

**DO NOT WRAP SALVATION ARMY GIFTS

Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7/Ps 80:2-3, 15-

16, 18-19 [4]/1 Cor 1:3-9/Mk 13:33-37

Is 2:1-5/Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9/

Mt 8:5-11

Is 11:1-10/Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 [cf.

7]/Lk 10:21-24

Is 25:6-10a/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 [6cd]/

Mt 15:29-37

Is 26:1-6/Ps 118:1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a

[26a]/Mt 7:21, 24-27

Gn 3:9-15, 20/Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 [1a]/Eph

1:3-6, 11-12/Lk 1:26-38

Is 30:19-21, 23-26/Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

[cf. Is 30:18d]/Mt 9:35--10:1, 5a, 6-8

Is 40:1-5, 9-11/Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

[8]/2 Pt 3:8-14/Mk 1:1-8

Christmas Poinsettias

Take this opportunity to remember someone special through purchasing a poinsettia that will be used to decorate the church. You may pur-

chase a 6 1/2” poinsettia for $12.00 or a 7 1/2” poinsettia for $20.00. The 7 1/2” flower is approximately twice as big as the 6 1/2” flower. After January 8, you may have the size poinsettia you purchased. Your remembrance will also be listed in a special insert the weekend after Christmas. The deadline for memorials is Monday, December 18, 2017. You may put your requests in the collection basket marked

Christmas Poinsettias or send it to the Parish Office.

In Memory/Honor of:______________________ (circle one)

_______________________________________

From:___________________________________

DECEMBER CHOIR NEWS

All are invited to sing with St. Mary’s Parish Choir. Meet in the Music room:

December 10th at 9 am (We will sing at the 10:30 Mass)

& December 24 at 3 pm

(We will sing at the 4pm Mass)

OH DEER!

It’s that time of year again! You’re busy with holiday gift shopping and meal planning, you don’t need to add “fundraising” to your “to-do list.” Shop with SCRIP for all your holiday needs and earn money for our Parish!

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206

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