FATHER JIM'S JOTS - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord - January 12, 2025

 St. Elizabeth Catholic Church

The Baptism of the Lord

January 12, 2025

FATHER JIM'S JOTS

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord!  If your child, under the age of 8, needs to be baptized, please contact the Parish Office so that we may meet with you and schedule their baptism.  If you or your child who is over the age of 8 needs to be baptized, please see the contact information on the other page of this bulletin to get started.

If you have attended one of the Capital Campaign House Meetings that took place over December and January, please turn in your pledge card if you have not done so.  You can turn this in by mailing it to the Parish Office or via the collection on Sunday.  Please make sure that your pledge card is attached to your first initial contribution so that we can add it to our records.

If you were not able to attend one of our house meetings that took place in December or that will take place later this week, please join us for this meeting on January 19th after both Masses in the Parish Hall.  We will share the most recent status of Our Campaign For Tomorrow as well as have your pledge card ready to pick up, if you have not already done so.  For more information, please contact the Parish Office or see the other page of this bulletin.  There will be coffee and doughnuts!!

Our Capital Campaign will be coming to end come March as Lent gets started.

2025 marks the start of the Jubilee Year as well as the third year of the National Eucharistic Revival.  For more resources on these two events, please see this bulletin.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim, Pastor

~ Image Source

 St. Elizabeth Catholic Church 

Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

January 5, 2025

 

FATHER JIM'S JOTS

Happy Epiphany!  This week marks the end of our Christmas Celebrations and we return to Ordinary Time.  I would also want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  Our parish has grown so much.

We now have 206 registered families and 530 registered individuals!

In 2024, we gained 17 new households.  This past year we had 16 Baptisms, 17 First Communions, 6 Confirmations, 2 Catechumens go thru RCIA and 66 newborns of our families were born.

After next week, the quiet phase of our Capital Campaign will be coming to an end and we will be starting the next phase.  If  you were not able to attend one of the house meetings that took place in December or that will take place later this week, please join us for this meeting on January 19th after both Masses in the Parish Hall.  We will share the most recent status of Our Campaign for Tomorrow as well as have your pledge card ready to pick up, if you have not already done so.  For more information, please contact the Parish Office or see this bulletin.

2025 marks the start of the Jubilee Year as well as the third year of the National Eucharistic Revival.  For more resources on these two events, please see this bulletin.

As a reminder:

- Our Campaign for Tomorrow will be running until the start of Lent; all information regarding the campaign will be updated on our website here:  stelizcc.org/our-campaign-for-tomorrow/

Blessings,

Fr. Jim, Pastor

~ Image Source

FATHER JIM'S JOTS - St. Elizabeth Church - Feast of the Holy Family - December 29, 2024

 St. Elizabeth Church

Feast of the Holy Family

December 29, 2024

 

FATHER JIM'S JOTS

This past week, we all celebrated Christmas!  I hope that your celebrations with your family and friends were wonderful!  Our Christmas services at the church were wonderful and I would like to say a special thanks to all involved with our liturgical ministries!  I would also like to congratulate all of the children on their performance of the Nativity.  They memorized all of their lines and worked very hard, rehearsing many times in preparation.  Also, a big thank you to Liz Wiznerowicz, our Director of Religious Education, for directing this production and all of those who worked to assist with the play and get the children to their rehearsals.

Please note that we have a Vigil Mass on December 31st at 5 p.m. for the Solemnity of Mary.  For more information and to sign up for the potluck please see the other page of this bulletin.

This year we had over 15 Baptisms...  Wow!!  If your child needs to be baptized, please contact me or the parish office!  The Children's OCIA (formerly known as RCIA) program has started and has now met a few times.  The Adult OCIA program will start soon.  If you are interested in becoming Catholic or have not received all of your Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Communion, or Confirmation) please see the information on our website or in the print bulletin to get in contact with our program director.

As a reminder:

- Our Campaign for Tomorrow will be running until the start of Lent, all information regarding the campaign will be updated on our website here:  stelizcc.org/our-campaign-for-tomorrow/

Blessings,

Fr. Jim, Pastor

~ Image Source

Christmas Morning at St. Elizabeth Church - December 25, 2024 ~ Photo by Ken Wall

 Christmas Morning

St. Elizabeth Church

December 25, 2024

The Advent Wreath became the Christmas Wreath

~ Photo by Ken Wall

 

FATHER JIM'S JOTS - Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 22, 2024

 St. Elizabeth Catholic Church

Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 22, 2024

FATHER JIM'S JOTS

Today is the last Sunday of Advent.  We have spent the last few weeks preparing ourselves for Christmas and now it is only a few days away.  The Christmas season can be stressful for many because it is easy to get caught up in the small details of our holiday celebrations and forget the important blessings we are given to enjoy.  This year let us see the family and friends surrounding us and the blessing of their presence.  May we remember those who are no longer here to celebrate with us and recall the love and joy they brought to our lives.  Let us allow Christ to be the center of this Holiday season so that we may not worry about "making everything perfect" but truly enjoy the gifts that our Heavenly Father has bestowed on us.

I am looking forward to our celebrations this week.  Our Christmas Schedule is outlined in this bulletin.  The children of our Parish are putting on a Christmas Nativity Play that will take place during the 5 o'clock program before the Christmas Eve Mass at 6 p.m.

I would like to say congratulations to Steven and Naomi on the baptism of their second child this Sunday!  Our parish has grown significantly this past year and we are so grateful for how much the Parish has flourished with new families.  If you have not registered to be a member of the Parish, you can do so by filling out one of the forms located by the front doors and returning the form to the Parish Office.  In the coming New Year, we will share some updates on how the parish has grown and on the Capital Campaign.

As a reminder: 

- Our Campaign for Tomorrow will be running until the start of Lent; all information regarding the campaign will be updated on our website here:  stelizcc.org/our-campaign-for-tomorrow/

Blessings,

Fr. Jim, Pastor

 

FATHER JIM'S JOTS - Third Sunday of Advent - Gaudete Sunday - December 15, 2024

 St. Elizabeth Catholic Church

Third Sunday of Advent

"Gaudete Sunday"

December 15, 2024

FATHER JIM'S JOTS

Happy Gaudete Sunday!  Gaudete is the Latin word for rejoice.  Advent is the season for preparing for the arrival of the Lord Jesus, and by the third Sunday of Advent, we are most of the way through the season.  Thus, it is appropriate to rejoice as we see the goal of the season approaching:  "The Lord is near."

You are invited to the Opening Mass for the Jubilee Year of Hope with Bishop Knestout on Saturday, December 28th, 2024, at 5 p.m.  The Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and will include additional rites promulgated by the Vatican for bishops, including a Procession and Opening Prayers, the Commemoration of Baptism and the placing of the crucifix in a position of prominence in the sanctuary.  The crucifix will be kept in the sanctuary of the Cathedral for the entire year, as a symbol of hope, for veneration of the faithful.

As a reminder:

- Our Campaign for Tomorrow will be running until the start of Lent, all information regarding the campaign will be updated on our website here:  stelizcc.org/our-campaign-for-tomorrow/

Blessings,

Fr. Jim, Pastor

Advent Retreat - December 14, 2024 - St. Elizabeth Catholic Church ~ Photos by Sr. Beulah ~ Provided by Connie Hom

"WAITING FOR THE LORD" 

Advent Retreat

St. Elizabeth Church

December 14, 2024

Sr. Anns and Sr. Elena Henderson
Retreat Leaders

Inspiration for preparing oneself for the Birth of Jesus.

~ Photos by Sr. Beulah