SAINT AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH DECEMBER 18, 2016

Birthday List Dec. 18 Parker Balvich, Beverly Shuster, Annalise Yeager Dec. 19 Marie Oliver, Elizabeth Pickett, Francisco Romo Jr., Leah Trammel, Sophie Ulana Dec. 20 Steven Hatch, Michael Manis, Stephen Walter Dec. 21 Joseph Deno, Isaac Hillan, , Michael Kanne, Rosie Nagel, Carol Zacek Dec. 22 Margaret Steinke, Susan Whitaker Dec. 23 Kennedy Kosta, Caroline Lucero, Tully Lynch-Pastoor, Doris Myers, Mary Pitstick Dec. 24 Hollie Lintner

Minister Schedule for December 24 & 25 Saturday 5:00PM Greeter– Please Volunteer Lector– Jacob Hall Ministers Front: K/J Benner, J/M Oliver, M. Rodibaugh Ministers Back: D. Reichert, S. Dobson, J. Messman Servers– Reegan Leeper, Amzie Maienbrook & Alexis Oliver 10:00PM Greeters– Please Volunteer Lector– Sharon Blasky Ministers– D/B Hollerman, ML Potts, E. Stath, C. Sue Servers– Hunter, Audrey & Connor Davisson Sunday 10:00 AM Greeters– Please Volunteer Lector– John Groppe Ministers– B. Worden, Please Volunteer Servers– Please Volunteer

Care Ministers for Dec. 18-24 Dec. 18– A. Nagel Dec. 19– G. Garrity Dec. 20– D. Lanoue

Dec. 21– ML Debb

Dec. 22– C. Hanna Dec. 23– G. Schenk Dec. 24/25– N. Myers

You have a wonderful Catholic heritage. Pass it on!

Just as we insure financial health for our families, we must plan for the health of our faith families. Your planned gift to the St.

Augustine Catholic Parish Fund will provide financial support forever. You have a wonderful Catholic heritage. Pass it on!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18 7:30am For the Parish 10:00am Mr. & Mrs. CH Craig MONDAY, DECEMBER 19 8:00am Communion Service 8:30-3:30pm Eucharistic Adoration TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20 5:30 pm Kent Mahnesmith WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21– St. Peter Canisius 8:00am Bob Reichert THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22 8:00am Don Kreilkamp & Family FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23– St. John of Kanty 8:30am Dennis Anslover SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24– Christmas Eve 5:00pm Anna Healy 10:00pm Kim Doolin-Balch SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25– The Nativity of the Lord 10:00am Living/deceased of the Schreeg & Davisson Families

The church office will be closed for Christmas vacation from noon on the 23rd through the 29th. If you have an emergency, please call the office

and leave a message for Father Don. The phones will be monitored. Thank you!

Dec. 24- Christmas Eve: Masses at 5:00pm & 10:00pm

Dec. 25– Christmas Day: Mass at 10:00am ****There will not be a 7:30am Mass

Dec. 31– New Year’s Eve: Mass at 5:00pm

Jan. 1– New Year’s Day: Masses at 7:30am & 10:00am

Stewardship

Total for 12/4/16 $ 6086.00

Envelopes/checks & Loose Collection $ 4829.00

Automatic (Online) Giving (weekly average) $ 505.00

Total for 12/11/16 $ 5334.00

Thank you for your continued generosity!

Second Collection for Seminarian Fund Thank you for your generosity to the Diocesan Seminarian Fund.

Collections for this fund totaled $2,600.00. Our parish is responsible for our total goal of $4266.00. The balance will be paid

from our general fund. Thank you!

Blessing Prayer for the Christmas Tree Lord of the Forest, Maker of the Trees, we honor You as we dedicate this tree,

that it be a sign of Christmas in our home. Green as life are its braches;

Soft as compassion are its needled leaves; Strong as love is its trunk.

May all trees be for us Christmas Trees and Trees of Life as they become incarnations of God

in our own garden of Eden. As Christ died upon the Tree of the Cross

that we might be gifted with Life, may we then remember

that the gifts soon to be placed about this tree are but reflections of the gifts that came

at the foot of the Tree of the Cross. As sons and daughters of Adam and Eve,

let us rejoice in this Tree of Life; may the spirits of kindness and love rest upon it; may the Spirit of Christmas ride in its branches,

this season and for all seasons. Amen

Please note that there will not be a Communion Service or Eucharistic Adoration the Monday following

Christmas and the Monday following New Years.

There will not be Coffee and Rolls on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The regular

schedule will resume January 8th.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 219-866-5351 OR www.saugustine.org

Believe in the power of prayer! If you would like to add someone to the

prayer list, please contact Sharon Davisson at 866-4675. If you would like to

join the St. A email or phone Prayer Tree, please submit your email address to sharondavisson@gmail.com or call 866-4675.

Are you a Basketball Fanatic?? Miss your days of playing or coaching St A

basketball? 4th & 5th grade basketball home games are about to start. Please come join us for a game! Home game nights in December: 12th, 19th & 20th; in January: 10th, 19th, 26th, 30th & 31st. It's a great

atmosphere for all ages! Contact Dan Yeager at Dan.Yeager@rcsc.k12.in.us if you'd be interested

in working the concession stand or taking admissions. The Giving Tree

TODAY is the deadline for returning gifts to the Giving Tree. Gifts must be returned by the end of the 10:00 AM mass with the ornament attached. This will ensure that each individual

will receive his/her gift before Christmas. If you have lost your ornament, have forgotten your

gift, or are unable to fulfill the need, contact the parish office @ 855-5351 or Sarah Mahnesmith @ 866-2650, and let us know so that we will be

able to take care of the gift. Thank you all for your help, and we wish everyone a very merry

and blessed Christmas!

Sending Christmas Cheer Campaign The Evangelization Committee is sponsoring a

“Send Christmas Cheer” event. We will purchase sixty- $25.00 gift cards from Walmart, Family

Express, and Strack and Van Til. These will be available for distribution at no charge

following all masses the weekend of December 18th. We will ask members of our parish to take a gift card, put it into a

Christmas card and send it to someone in the community/parish who could use assistance or cheer this holiday season. The Christmas card should be signed “From your friends at St.

Augustine Catholic Church.” You are not to sign your personal name. We believe this is a great community out-reach program.

We are asking that anyone who would like to help fund this program, contact Bill & Dianne Hollerman, 157 W. Emmet Ave,

Rensselaer (219-866-0037) or put your donation into the collection basket marked Christmas Cheer donation. Thank you for any

assistance you might be able to donate.

Reaching Out this Holiday Season Did you know that St. Augustine has an

ongoing card ministry? Periodically, greeting cards are sent out to those in our

community/parish who might need a little cheer or support. If you know of someone who would benefit from a personal note from our

parish family, please contact Phyllis Mingear at 866-3283.

SASBUCK$ NEWS: Holiday shopping? Consider giving the gift of scrip gift cards, which in turn give the gift of rebates to the school. If you order gift cards on shopwithscrip.com, you’ll find that many popular merchants, like Amazon, iTunes, Panera, Starbucks, and Target, offer low-denomination gift cards that are convenient for holiday gifts. One particular scrip gift card that can make a great gift for local families: Willow Switch, which is December’s Merchant-of-the-Month. If you have already earned this year’s commitment of $50 of SAS Buck$ for St. A., then the whole 10% of the Willow Switch rebate goes toward tuition reduction for your St. A student next year. Questions about SAS Buck$? Call the school (866-5480) or church office (866-5351). The 18th is the last day to order in time to receive cards prior to Christmas.

Salvation Army Bell Ringing Help Needed St. Augustine Church volunteers will be ringing the bell and

accepting donations in front of Walmart for the Salvation army on Dec. 21 from 5-8pm Dec. 23 from 5-8pm

Shifts will be 1/2 hour. Please contact Cheryl Hillan at 869-3384 or the church office at 866-5351if your family

would like to take a shift. Shifts will go fast so please call early to get a convenient time.

Looking for a Good Book? Saint Augustine parish has compiled a mini-library of religious and spiritually uplifting books. These books can be borrowed from the large cabinet in

the church basement (next to the television). Simply sign the book out using the notebook located next to the cabinet. We will continue to grow our library with new releases

from popular authors. There are a few audio books available for check-out also. Thank you to Dubie Reichert for organizing and

overseeing this project!

Fruitful Harvest 2016 The Fruitful Harvest campaign is coming to a close. If you have yet to return your card, please do so today! Contact the church

office with questions.

Calling all Angels, Lambs, Shepherds and Nativity Cast Members!!!

We are seeking children who would like to participate in this year’s Christmas Vigil

Children’s Pageant. This will take place during the 5pm Mass on Dec. 24th. If you

are interested, please call Jana Drone at 219-228-0169 or email janadrone@me.com to reserve your part. Rehearsal for the pageant will

be December 21st at 6:30pm.

Longest Night Service

The Longest Night service will be at Burr Oak Mennonite Church on December 21st at 7:00pm. This service is designed to be a positive worship time for anyone having difficulty celebrating the

holiday season. Join them for an oasis of God’s healing quiet and love. Sponsored by RAMA and Franciscan Home Health/Hospice

Saint Augustine now has a new portable stage! All funds for the new 8’ x 12’ portable stage came from grants

awarded to the school from Jasper County REMC and the Jasper Foundation. Thank you to our former principal, Anne Dumas for writing the grants. The stage had its debut at this year’s Bazaar and was used this past week for the school Christmas program.