Picture and Origin of our Vatican II Altar ~ Information and photo sent by Kay Grappone

1966 Altar

Kay Grappone has sent us this 1966 photograph of the main altar and its history.

"This is a photo of the front altar that my father, Rudy Zich, built for St. Elizabeth after Vatican II.  My father was an antique reproduction furniture builder by trade.  He built the altar and lectern for the church and the altar for the nuns' chapel in the convent where they celebrated daily Mass each weekday morning.  The convent was on Fourqurean Lane next to the school, both behind the church.  My father built these and my mom's family (the Sties family) donated them to the parish in memory of my grandparents, Bernard Joseph and Fannie Barnes Sties."


~ Photo provided by Kay Grappone

St. E's Parking Lot gets a Facelift! ~ Photos by EJCooley

Just what we needed!

New St. Elizabeth Parish Blog and Wedsite!

Take a look at the new parish website and its blog!  George Strother is doing a fine job placing our St. Elizabeth parish family in a more professional setting and adding lots of photos of parish events and information.  Let George know if you have articles or photos that you would like to have published on the new blog.  You can reach George at the following address:  gstrother@strotherweinberg.com


The new St. E's website address is  http://www.stelizcc.org/

The new blog address is  http://www.stelizcc.org/blog/


The old blog will continue at this location for awhile at least, since we own the domain name until next year sometime.  However, I will concentrate on Sunday reflections for the most part and let the new blog fill in the rest.  I hope we will be able to save the blog archives for the several years this blog has been active.  It would be a pity to lose all the old photographs of parish events. 

Changes at St. E's!

We have been assigned a new priest by the Diocese.  Fr. Jim Arsenault received a rousing welcome on Sunday by his new parish family.  Fr. Jim is no stranger to our parish because he has come to celebrate Mass with us occasionally in the past when our priest was not available. Even though he is also parochial vicar in two other parishes in the city, his main responsibility will be St. Elizabeth's.

Fr. Jim is excited to be here and we are pleased to have him!

Photos by Ethel Cooley of recent parish events!.

Please check out these lovely pics that Ethel has posted on the St. E's Facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/StElizabethCatholicChurch?sk=wall&filter=2&notif_t=wall

Leadership Meeting with Bishop DiLorenzo, July 21, 2011 ~ from Minutes by Ethel Cooley

Fr. Francois, members of Parish Council, Finance Council and other parish leaders met with Bishop DiLorenzo on July 21, 2011 in our parish hall. We had as our guest, Mr. Enoch Pou, Jr. who represented Chestnut Commons, LLC and spoke to the development of the old St. Elizabeth School. The property has been purchased from 5th Street Baptist Church. The group proposes to gut and renovate the school into 18 apartments, mostly 1 bedroom apartments. The plan is to build 46 additional apartments on the property.

Rezoning has to be completed and then financing obtained. There was a question and answer period with Mr. Pou. He stated that the projected rent would be the market rate of between $600-$900 per month. Section 8 applications would not be denied but those applying would be expected to pay the market rate.


Bishop DiLorenzo inquired as to how the parish of St. Michael and St. Elizabeth were working together. He was informed of the assistance that the Knights of Columbus would be giving us for our annual Food and Jazz Festival. He also learned that parishioners of St. Michael's are assisting in the program at Overby-Sheppard School. The St. Elizabeth Gospel Choir has been invited to sing at an upcoming Mass at St. Michael's.

He considers the "health" of St. Elizabeth to be strong and our parish is considered a "home" parish for our people.




~ The information in this article was taken from the minutes of the meeting with the Bishop, as written by Ethel Cooley, Office Assistant, St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.

~Photos by Ethel Cooley

Changes to the Mass! Here is what you want to know!

Here is what you want to know about the changes to the Mass that will go into effect on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. Click on the image above and you will link to the official website for the New Roman Missal. The site will explain all you wish to know about the whys and wherefores of the changes.

For the specific changes in the People's responses and prayers during the Mass, please click HERE... These are the changes that will directly affect YOU!

There have been several Diocesan and local workshops held during the past several months to prepare parish leadership and others to help implement these changes within the parish. There will be other training opportunities in the coming months. There will also be handouts available to help everyone understand the changes so that we can adapt to the changes quickly.

If you have any questions about the changes, Frances Pope or other members of the Liturgy Committee (Phyllis Booth, Mary Walker, Mary Ann Allen) will be happy to respond to them.

Leadership Changes at St. E's

Congratulations to our old and new parish leadership!


St. Elizabeth Parish Finance Council:

Barbara Vaughan, Chairperson
Maeola Strother, Vice-Chairperson
Katrinia Murray, 1st Secretary
Sharon Morton, 2nd Secretary
Jay Schwermer
Peter Thompson




St. Elizabeth Parish Council:

Shelton Jones, Chairperson
Mary Ann Allen, Vice-Chairperson
Mieko Timmons, 1st Secretary
Almetia Strother, 2nd Secretary
Phyllis Booth
Lula Lamb
Ken Soistman
Vivian Sullivan
Barbara White

World Religions in Richmond

Virginia Commonwealth University has a project online with the title of World Religions in Richmond. St. Elizabeth Church is one of the Catholic churches that has been profiled. Unfortunately, our parish information is a bit old, so many of our newer outreach ministries are not featured.

Here is the link: World Religions in Richmond...

Welcome to our New Administrator!

Welcome to our new Administrator! Fr. Francois Babulu officially begins his ministry to us here at St. Elizabeth tomorrow, July 1st, though he has already officiated at the funeral of our parishioner, Doris Taylor. This evening, he also celebrated our Wednesday Mass for us.

There will be a reception to welcome Fr. Francois into our parish family after Mass on Sunday, July 11th in the parish hall. We hope you will join us that day to introduce yourselves to our new priest and help him to feel at home with our usual St. Elizabeth's welcome.

Pastoral Planning Update ~ by Phyllis Booth and Mary Ann Allen

The Central Vicariate met last Saturday at St. Michael's Parish Hall. The meeting opened with prayer by Monsignor Barrett. Beth Neu presented a Power Point presentation on the progress made during the last 10 months by parishes in the Central Vicariate which includes Richmond, Petersburg and other towns in Central Virginia.

St. Elizabeth's was well represented among the parishes whose parishioners attended this meeting. Your representatives this day were Ethel Cooley, Rita Hatchett, Phyllis Booth, Barbara Vaughan, Frances Pope, Barbara White and Mary Ann Allen, as well as our priest.

LPA (Local Planning Area) 11, to which our cluster of parishes belongs, has what may become a model for some parishes. This cluster includes St. John in Highland Springs, St. Patrick and Holy Rosary. They are currently sharing a business manager, an MRE and a Secretary. Sacramental Preparation is done at Holy Rosary.

Fr. Wayne Ball explained this canon law process of sharing as a "Juridic Person." The juridical person must develop a relationship or build a relationship. This relationship cannot be forced. It takes time and there needs to be a natural affinity or something in common among the parishes. Occasionally a "marriage" or "merger" occurs; but there must be respect for the individual personality of each parish so that they do not lose their individual identity.

Paulita Matheny, the business manager of this cluster, spoke about the structure and benefits of this relationship among the parishes. A group of parishes working together can more easily attract and share qualified professional persons through their contract negotiations. A group of parishes can also leverage their buying power so they can buy in bulk at a cheaper rate. The challenges in this relationship among parishes include schedule conflicts, competing priorities between parishes and the relationship between larger and smaller parishes.

Bill Murphy, Diocesan Auditor related four stages most parishes go through in working together as a group:

1. Shock or "Why is this happening?"
2. Survival or "Are we going to close?"
3. Sharing or "What are our common interests?"
4. Sustaining or "We can work together."

Ed Hanzlik, former Diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee member said Communication was a vital key. Some pastors meet monthly; staff meet every other month and contact information is sent by email. Agenda items are shared, as well as liturgical information, reconciliation, confirmation events and youth ministry.

Recommendations that came from the small group discussions are as follows:

* Coordinating Committee of the DPPC needs to continue the vision
* Review what is being done; especially regarding sharing of resources
* Encourage quarterly meeting of Councils, Priests, Staff and Laity. Finance councils meet with Diocesan Finance Council.

* Make available consultation services from the Diocese where parishes are not clustering
* Clustering by two priests serving several parishes rather than one
* Need for welcoming activities between clustering parishes
* PARISHES MUST ACCEPT DIVERSITY/HERITAGE OF OTHER CATHOLICS!

Coming Soon! 1st Annual Jazz and Food Festival

St. Elizabeth Catholic Church
2712 Second Avenue
Richmond, VA 23222


1st Annual Jazz & Food Festival

Date: Saturday August 1, 2009
Time: 12 Noon - 5 PM
Place: St. Elizabeth Church Park Grounds

Directions: Next to the Fire Station on Second Avenue

Join us for a fun-filled afternoon for both the young and young at heart. Enjoy:

1. Music - jazz, and a disc jockey
2. Food - American, Soul, and West Indian cuisine
3. Raffle drawings - numerous items
4. Games and activities - for children and adults
5. Items for sale - crafts, clothes, jewelry, books

Mr. Frank Salotti - + July 12, 2009

Please pray for the repose of the soul of long time parishioner, Mr. Frank Salotti, who died Sunday, July 12, 2009. His family called the parish house to thank our priest and parishioners for the pastoral care and concern he received during his last illness. May he rest in peace.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time. Please check the Times-Dispatch for visitation times and date of the funeral.

Catholic Virginian Article Features St. Elizabeth Parish Family

The April 6, 2009 issue of The Catholic Virginian features our parish this week. Don't miss this fine article by Steve Neill. Click HERE to read the article.


~ Photo by Steve Neill , Editor of the Catholic Virginian ~

Catholic Life Experience begins Tuesday, Feb. 10th

Sr. Maureen T. Carroll, SBS will begin a Catholic Life Experience Series here at St. Elizabeth Church. This adult Christian Education program will be held every second and fourth Tuesdays of the month from 6:30 to 7:30. There will be time before and after classes for additional reflection and study.

Sr. Maureen writes in the introductory letter to our parishioners: "Have you ever wished that you had an additional opportunity to renew your own spirit-life? What does our church teach? What's new in the Catholic Religious experience? What makes the Catholic Church unique and our life in a community so grace filled? Living in the Presence of God, enhancing an adult experience of a fuller life of the holy Spirit and walking through Scripture brings a deeper life-peace."

The schedule is as follows:

Scripture:

1. February and March - Acts of the Apostles
2. April and May - Gospels according to Luke and John
3. June and July - Letters of John

Catholic Doctrine (Throughout the classes)

~ Seven Sacraments
~ Ten Commandments
~ Eucharistic Liturgy
~ Nicene Creed
~ Jesus, the Man, the Son of God
~ God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth
~ The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete

Prayer

~ The Trinity
~ Common Prayers of the Catholic Church
~ Praying with Scripture
~ Praying with one another in community
~ Praying in one's heart

Each person needs: a Bible and a journal book for reflections and a folder for notes. St. Elizabeth will order and have these available at the first class.

Cost: $15 for the first set of classes. After that: $5 every two months.

Time each meeting: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Room will be available 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after class for reading, etc.

Our New Mission Statement!

We, the members of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Highland Park in the City of Richmond, embrace our ethnic and cultural diversity and are called to grow in our relationship with God and one another through formation at all levels.

With our Christian goal of social justice, we will continue to work towards unity and diversity in support of all our ministries, to evangelize and to be good stewards of our resources.


~ January 2009 ~

Advent Activities at St. Elizabeth Church

Our Theme for Advent: "I am a Gift to Jesus."

Community Outreach: No later than December 14th ~ please bring gifts for the girls and boys of Overby-Sheppard School. New items including socks, hats, gloves, sweaters and underwear, sizes 5-14. Please do not wrap the gifts. Place in the collection box next to the Jesse Tree.

Pennies for Haiti: The large penny jar is now next to the Jesse Tree. Any coins you drop in will be donated to The New Jerusalem Orphanage in Haiti.

Nativity Scenes: Needed before December 21st ~ If you have an extra Nativity set at home that will fit in a church window, please consider lending it to the church for Christmas. It will be returned after January 4th. A sign up sheet is in the vestibule.

Poinsettias ~ donate a flower in memory of a family member. Forms are on the bulletin table.

Christmas Cards ~ There are boxes to deposit your Christmas cards for church members and a special box for each of our "homebound" members.

Tree Ornaments ~ Needed for the parish Christmas Tree. Please place ornaments with a Christian theme in the designated box in the back of church.

Congratulations to our Administrator!

Announced at church this morning: Fr. Andrew has been named Administrator of St. Elizabeth Church! Wonderful news for our parish family! Congratulations to our new administrator!

Our grateful thanks go out to Msgr. Walter Barrett of Holy Rosary Church for his administration of our parish during the last couple of years.

Phase 2: Clustering Recommendations To Be Sent to the Diocese

The last Planning Area 11 Meeting took place last week. The final recommendations that will be sent to the Planning Commission places St. Elizabeth in Cluster C which will also include St. Bridget, St. Paul and Church of the Redeemer. These four parishes will be served by 4 priests.

Cluster C recommends the following:

1. One pastor and one parochial vicar for St. Bridget
2. One pastor for Church of the Redeemer
3. One pastor for St. Paul and St. Elizabeth

Other information from this cluster includes:

~ Liturgy schedules are yet to be determined by each parish. St. Bridget and Church of the Redeemer will maintain their existing Mass schedules.

~ St. Paul and St. Elizabeth have unique Sunday activities surrounding religious education and visitation of the sick. Because of these existing ministries, each parish will need to determine an appropriate Mass schedule to facilitate Sunday liturgy and other important ministries. It is important that the Eucharist continue to be celebrated at least once on Sunday at St. Elizabeth.

~ In an effort to begin the process of resource needs and ministry collaboration, each parish in this cluster will be meeting in the month of June with religious education and music ministry staffs to see where synergies exist.


Next Steps

Following approval of this Local Planning Area plan, the next steps include:

~ Solidifying Mass schedules in each cluster arrangement;

~ Determining the resources (staffing, facilities) that should be shared across the cluster;

~ Determining resources and strengths that can be leveraged across the LPA for the benefit of all parishes;

~ Devising a transition plan for each parish and cluster group to make the change as relevant and easy as possible.

The Voice of the People Meeting

After Mass today, Frances Pope and Barbara Vaughan, who are our representatives to Local Planning Area 11, met with the Church to discuss the progress of the planning group and to answer any questions parishioners might have about plans for St. Elizabeth's future.

It is to be noted that any changes to be made will not be implemented right away; but that in 2009, the 5-year plan will begin to take effect. There are concerns about the health and welfare of our priests who are already going from one parish to another to celebrate Masses where there are no priests available.

But the changes will be farther reaching than just the liturgies. We can expect much more collaboration among parishes and sharing of ministries, not only on the parish level, but also, for example, in hospital and prison ministries and schools and universities. On the parish level, youth ministries in several parishes could be combined; ministries to the sick and shut-ins could also be combined. Staff people could be shared.

Our area reps were asked to take the following concerns back to the next planning meeting:

1. Because we are a small parish that draws our parishioners from all over the city and the neighboring counties, there is a great need for St. Elizabeth's to have a Sunday Mass celebrated each week so that we can keep our parish intact.

2. To address the reason for grouping St. Elizabeth's together with parishes with whom we have little in common.