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The Community
of
St. Malachi
Newsletter
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The Community of St. Malachi – First Personal Parish of the Diocese of Cleveland
Celebrating Faith in God and in the Future!
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Feast of Christ the King
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November 24, 2002
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About your response to a
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couple of important issues…
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I) S.O.S. - Sign On Sunday – That’s TODAY!
It’s a cooperative effort of the St. Malachi Task Force of the Universal Health Care Action Network
(UHCAN) "Faith Project in Cuyahoga County" as well as the Ohio Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs and the St. Malachi Social Action Commission.
Some 100,626 signatures are needed to get the Prescription Drug Fair Pricing Act
before the Ohio State Legislature. The 2.2 million Ohioans without prescription drug coverage need our support. And time is short. All registered voters are asked to please sign the petitions offered today outside the church and at the coffee hour.
II) HAVE YOU RETURNED THE ADDENDUM?
An addendum to the diocesan Vibrant Parish Life Survey has been, and still is, available at the back of the church and in the rectory. It specifically concerns life here at St. Malachi – our strengths, problems and dreams for the future. With a check mark you can indicate to which parish you belong, the Community of St. Malachi or St. Malachi Parish. As noted on the sheet, "Your thoughts and ideas are important. Please keep this process in your prayers." The addendum should be returned, in the collection or to the rectory, by next Saturday, Nov. 30. (See a VPLCC update on page 4 hereafter.)
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CSM Traditional
T H A N K S G I V I N G E V E
L I T U R G Y
7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27
This year, our Liturgy Committee asks that for the "special collection," you bring men’s socks. Questions? Pam Pulizzi, 216-941-5054
Thanksgiving Day Mass will be at 9 a.m.
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- Advent Brunch and Wreath Making –
sponsored by CSM Spiritual Development Committee, 12:15-1:45 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1, St. Malachi Center. Led by CeCe Miller, certified pastoral minister.
Come and make a birdseed/bread dough wreath for the Advent season then, on Christmas Day, hang it out to feed the birds. Cost of supplies: $5 per wreath. Reservations required by today, Nov. 24. Family names and children’s ages requested. See or call: Stephanie Pritts, 216-228-6272.
- Church Decorating for Advent –
10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 30. Info: Kay Vine, 216-521-5836.
- L’Arche Community –
Bake sale in the hall following all Masses here today.
- CSM Sexual Abuse Task Force
– Meeting, 12:15 today, Nov. 24, in the hall.
Needed for annual Children’s Christmas Boutique (Dec. 18): new or "like
new" gift items for parents, teens, young children and toddlers. Children served by center will then "shop" at no cost. Please bring items to the center by Tuesday, Dec. 17. Info: Kim Smith, 216-771-3036. Entertainment 2003 books for all of Greater Cleveland still available in back of church; at coffee hour; at the rectory, mart and center; cost: $25 before Dec. 2 and $30 thereafter.
Malachi Mart – will be open the day after Thanksgiving and will feature opening of special
"Holiday Room" filled with reasonably priced gifts, cards, wraps and decorations. Hours: weekdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sundays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Proceeds benefit St. Malachi Center programs.
SAVE THE DATE… AND JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS…
Help will be needed to distribute holiday fruit baskets to Lakeview and Riverview hi-rise residents.
Noon-2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15. To volunteer, call Sr. Francis, 216-861-5343.
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11/3/02 CSM COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
(This report is from Luis Gutierrez, CSM Council vice president and Communications Committee co-chair.)
Finance Council: Annual audit of the fiscal year 2001-2002 conducted. No major problems discovered though there were two discrepancies: a posting error that does not affect the balance and a discrepancy on the Fair Share. Bill McLaughlin will check the records and advise Jim Vine of the outcome. Bill reported that currently the finances are down but currently our expenses are fixed. There is not much money left over. Bill is publishing a letter regarding this in the newsletter this weekend. The biggest impact will be on next year’s budget as there is much we do not have control over. An additional finance issue that will be discussed at their next meeting is should a chair of a committee or person responsible for finances have a cap on the amount of spending that occurs.
Spiritual Development Committee: Chairperson Miriam Robinson reported that there is some concern that there are different goals between the parish and the community spiritual development committees. She was trying to work in the spirit of "Rejoice and Renew" but currently the parish is only working on the "We Are the Church" retreat and community is requesting more. Stephanie Pritts was also present to provide history and clarification, A motion was made to state that the Community of St. Malachi Spiritual Development Committee is separate from that of St. Malachi Parish. After several amendments, the motion, which passed unanimously, read as follows: "Like all committees established by the Charter of the Community of St. Malachi, the Spiritual Development Committee is separate and independent from any other spiritual development committee. The charge of the Community Spiritual Development Committee is to enhance the spiritual growth of the Community of St. Malachi as a whole. The vehicle for working with the parish on joint spiritual development activities is the Rejoice and Renew Spiritual Development Committee."
Council Goals: Council reviewed the four goals decided upon at the last meeting. Discussion regarding addition of a fifth goal that evolved around listening to all members. The fifth goal will read as follows: To listen and respond to the many voices of the Community of St. Malachi. Putting feet to the council goals: after discussion it was decided that each councilperson will set one concrete way to act on the above goals by the January meeting. A motion was made by Kathy Burke that each councilperson come up with one concrete measure to move our goals to reality by the January 7 meeting.
Council Retreat: Council members shared highlights and strengths of the retreat and the pros and cons for application. There was a suggestion to add a link and a chat area to our web site that would focus on the upcoming week’s gospel and give people an opportunity to offer reflections.
Mancuso’s Mission Work: Fred Leonard will find out when we will be able to have a second collection to meet the goal of $1000.
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Sexual Abuse Task Force: Kathy Burke reported that, per Bill Denihan, there
will be another draft to Bishop Pilla in the next 30 days and the
committee continues to meet monthly.
Pastor’s Report: Prayers are requested for John Retar (who
served as a seminary intern at St. Malachi, Damien Ference (who had his
field education experience here) and their classmates who were ordained deacons
Oct. 27. We will be hosting two seminarians from Slovakia in January.
Update on Buildings and Grounds Projects: the work
on the rectory offices is complete. A concrete ramp has been built up to the
rear entrance of the rectory and the Backdoor Ministry entrance to improve
accessibility for people with disabilities. We have abandoned the idea of building a ramp to the front door of the rectory. In addition, we built new steps to the rectory basement, moved the bread for the Backdoor Ministry from the front of the house to the back, opened a doorway from the kitchen to the laundry area, and moved the washer and dryer into the new laundry area. This should make the Backdoor Ministry work more efficiently and make it easier on our volunteers. We still hope to be able to proceed with the work of removing the steps to the old church and rebuilding the retaining wall before the winter weather makes it impossible.
St. Wendelin Church begins its 100th Anniversary year celebration Oct. 20; St. Patrick, which is the "mother church" of St. Malachi, will begin its 150th Anniversary celebration on St. Patrick’s Day. The call to develop a "collaborative mentality" invited us to be aware of our neighbors and the important events in their faith communities.
St. Malachi Center is selling "Entertainment 2003" books filled with discounts at many area restaurants and stores. Cost is $25 until December, $30 thereafter.
Please pray for those participating in the RCIA journey of Faith, from the Parish, the Community, St. Wendelin, St. Colman and St. Patrick, especially as they prepare for the rite of Entrance into the Catechumenate or Candidacy for Full Communion with the Church.
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CSM SYMPATHY AND PRAYERS
for the family and friends of Mary Craft, friend to many
at St. Malachi.
CSM HEALTH DEPARTMENT - Please keep in your prayers Anthony Kmieck, Bea
Donofrio, Dennis
Stramel, Dave Starre, Jan VanLier, Lucy Balser, Walter Culkowski, Florence Dick, Nancy
Eliason, Ray Centa, Marilyn Bohn, James Piar, Mary Uschlbec, Charles Russo, Mark
Tejchman, Matthew Forkas, Maureen Miller, Mary Beth Gibbons, Maureen Cooney Flanagan, Bernadette
Bluett, Megan Reilly Torres, Judie Flynn, Sheri Glassman, William Reiser, Jim Harrison, C. J.
Finohr, Anthony Ayers, Nancy Smith.
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CSM GREETINGS to the new CSM members who have completed the Fall Welcome Series:
Pat Burns * Cade, Chris and JoDee Coulter * Nancy Mura * Mary Ryan
Craig Salyers * Judy and Jim Slivka * Terri and Taylor Slivka * George and Mary Smith
James, Nocolina, Dawn and Carrie Stary
(JoAnn Kramer, who with husband Gene hosted the series, invites us all to "Be sure to say hello at the coffee hour!" And, she says, "We should add a ‘thank you’ to Jackie Bluett and Cynthia Bender, who assisted with the series, as did representatives from CSM committees and ministries. Thanks to all!")
CSM CONGRATULATIONS to this year’s honored recipients of the West Side Catholic Center’s
Dorothy Day Awards: Kay Eaton and Fr. Don Dunson.
And Congratulations, too, to Rachel, Beth and Alan Mancuso, who are being commissioned
to serve in Bolivia with the Franciscan Mission Service during a Liturgy this afternoon at the Washington Theological Union.
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St. Patrick (Bridge) – Holy Hour, sponsored by Social Action Committee, 7 p.m. Friday,
Nov. 29, rectory chapel, to pray for "A Compassionate End to the Death Penalty." Also sponsored by Social Action Committee: handicrafts made by Third World artisans exhibited by Ten Thousand Villages after 8:30 and 11 a.m. Masses today (Nov. 24) St. Pat’s Club, 3610 Bridge.
An Update from the
VIBRANT PARISH LIFE COORDINATING COMMITTEE (VPLCC)
The VPLCC met Nov. 19th in the rectory. Most of the discussion centered on the status of the survey conducted the first weekend of November. Luis Gutierrez reported that over 600 surveys were completed, with more coming in each weekend. It was stressed that it is not too late to have your voice heard – you can still fill out a form either online at
www.vibrantparishlife.org or by picking one up at the back of the church. Everyone 14 years or older is encouraged to fill one out. Everyone is reminded that if you want to comment more fully on any aspect of life at St. Malachi, you can do so by filling out a survey addendum, also available at the back of the church. We are still looking for people to help with data entry; if you’re interested you can call Luis at 216-226-7726 or e-mail him at
redcuban@yahoo.com. As you can imagine, processing all this information is a big job, and it is the first step in a process that is expected to take several months. The VPLCC is determined to conduct this self-study efficiently and deliberately. Look in the CSM Newsletter for regular updates.
All results will be shared with the entire St. Malachi community.
Here’s this week’s excerpt from Bishop Anthony Pilla’s VPL pastoral letter:
"A vibrant parish reaches out to the world around it and genuinely cares about the needs of the poor and those who are less fortunate. A vibrant parish must inspire in its parishioners a care for its members and its neighbors. We know that the ‘neighbors’ of any parish include the surrounding community with its many different people, the Diocese, the nation, our universal Church and the whole of the society in which we live. We must be a sharing community to bear the name Catholic. The Church in the City initiative has further defined this call t serve the common good of our cities and region. It is also clear to us that as Church, and especially as individual members and local communities in the Church, we must be involved in forming a just society."
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- InterReligious Task Force on Central America –
Annual commemoration of the Central American Martyrs, Sunday, Dec. 8, with 3:30 p.m. fair trade sales, 4:30 p.m. interfaith prayer,
5:30 p.m. dinner and 7 p,.m. speakers Dr. Juan Romagoza and Amilcar Martinez, Beaumont School, Cleveland Heights. Tickets: advance, $20; at door, $25; groups of eight or more, $18; speaker program only, $10. Call 216-961-0003.
St. Malachi Book Club – November/December meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, home
of Sara and Karl Toth, 7614 Regall Pkwy, Middleburg Heights (440-826-3144). Book: "The Fountain of Age" by Betty Friedan. Details: Casey Stangel (440-234-8766) or Syndie
Eardly (216-228-6328).
Near West Theatre – Musical "Scrooge" – running thru Sunday, Dec. 8, St. Pat’s Club
Building, 3606 Bridge Ave. Tickets: $5. Details: Laura Hammel, 216-658-6002.
Catholic Charities Disability Services – Annual "Journey to Bethlehem Mass" – 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7, OLA/St. Joseph Center, with Bishop Roger Gries celebrating. Info: 216-781-5530
St. Vincent De Paul Society – Possible end-of-year tax deductions available thru donations of
cars, vans or trucks, with free towing. Details: Larry Lauter, 216-696-6525, Ext. 3580.
St. Malachi Church Maintenance Fund – Ongoing collection of empty PC inkjet cartridges for
recycling by Planet Green Co. and $1.50 refund to benefit fund. Containers in church, rectory, hall.
Monday Night Meal Menus:
Nov 25: Thanksgiving Dinner * Dec 2: Beef Stew
Dec 9: Chicken * Dec 16: Kielbasa * Dec 23: Christmas Dinner
Dec 30: Potluck
Deadlines:
For Dec 8 CSM Newsletter, Dec 1. For Dec. 22 Communio: Dec 8.
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