The Community of St. Malachi Newsletter  

· Remember: Sun. Nov. 6, Liturgy At 11:30 A.M.
· Parish’s Anniv. Celebration Preparation
· Mass of Remembrance
· Christian Formation News
· Coffee Hours Serving Fair Trade Coffee
· Sympathy and Prayers
· Health Department
· Special Prayers Roster
· Bethlehem Christian Families Hand Carved Olive Wood
· Prayer Walk For Peace - Every Wednesday
· Christmas Choir To Begin 
· ‘Protecting Our Children,’ How We Can Support SB17
· Observations About  State of Liturgies In Diocese
· Council Meeting Minutes
· Malachi Center’s Entertainment Book Fundraiser

Newsletter Editor: Mary Englert MTEnglert@juno.com

  The Community of St. Malachi – First Personal Parish of the Diocese of Cleveland
Celebrating Faith in God and in the Future! 

39th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 23, 2005

A REMINDER! DON‘T FORGET!  

Our CSM Council approved this one-time change to cooperate with St. Malachi Parish’s celebration of its 140th Anniversary and the Feast of St. Malachy. Its 9:30 a.m. Mass that day will be celebrated by Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, and a reception will follow in the hall. There will not be a 12:30 p.m. Mass that day.

Relative thereto, here’s a

“Your help would be a blessing! 9:00 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Cleaning, dusting and polishing (candlesticks and pews) to prepare the church for the parish’s 140th Anniversary Celebration on Nov. 6. Please do come!” - K.V.

“Wednesday, Nov. 2 - We are inviting families and friends of those who have been buried from St. Malachi this past year to a Mass of Remembrance at 7 p.m. We are also offering a light supper at 5:30 p.m. that day. If you can help with food preparation, set-up and/or clean-up, it would be greatly appreciated. Call me at 440-871-5868.” - K.V.

Members of the High School Christian Formation class, Joe Wingenfeld, Patrick Horning, Ellen Brinich and Kevin Garven, will be traveling with Karen Duffy and Rick Zimmerman to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, from Oct. 27-30. They ask to be kept in our prayers as they share their faith with 25,000 other young people from around the country.

“We are now serving Fair Trade Coffee at our coffee hours and would appreciate it if people would consider increasing their financial contributions at these to help offset the increased cost. The coffee hour operates at a deficit and we all need to increase our contributions to make this transition to Fair Trade products successful.” - J.G.

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CSM SYMPATHY AND PRAYERS    –   
   for the family and friends of Pauline Flaherty, mother of Flaherty and grandmother of Lisa.

CSM HEALTH DEPARTMENT –  Please keep in your prayers

CSM SPECIAL PRAYERS ROSTER  –  Please keep in your prayers all the victims of warfare, both military and civilian, as well as these young people now in military service, and their families:

Let us pray, too, for the bishops and cardinals who are delegates to the International Synod on the Eucharist, that the Holy Spirit will lead them to recognize the rich diversity of Jesus’ call to ‘feed my lambs…feed my sheep.”

For sale after all Masses this weekend:

Hand Carved Olive Wood from the Holy Land,

Nativity Scenes, Crucifixes, Rosaries, Christmas Ornaments

Income from the sales will go to the support of the Christian Wood Carvers of Bethlehem, members of 150 Christian families whose livelihood and homes are endangered by the current turbulence and interruption of tourist trade. Items can be viewed at www.shepherdsgifts.com

• Prayer Walk for Peace - Every Wednesday, with group gathering at 7:15 p.m. in St. Malachi parking lot for prayerful walk to Public Square and further prayer there. All ages welcome.

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• Liturgy Planning Meeting - A combined meeting of the liturgy committees of the Community of St. Malachi and St. Malachi Parish will be held in the hall at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Topic will be plans for the Advent/Christmas season and the entire liturgical year. Representatives of all CSM standing committees have been invited to participate. The meeting is open to all.

“Can you believe it’s time for Christmas Choir to begin? We will rehearse this year from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursdays in the church. Note that this is a different time from what has been previously published. We have found that it works better to keep the CSM Sunday choir time at 7:30 p.m. and begin Christmas music at 8 p.m. As always, absolutely all are welcome! For information call me at 216-398-9219 or 216-781-3110.” - C.M

“Last year the CSM Task Force on Sexual Abuse circulated a petition for a senate bill, SB100, which added clergy to the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse. SB100 passed in the Ohio Senate last session by a slight margin but was not voted on in the Ohio House and therefore did not become law. This session SB17, ‘Protecting Our Children,’ was introduced with two additional provisions regarding the statute of limitations and a one-year ‘look back window.’ The task force again strongly supported this bill. This year it passed unanimously in the Senate but is again stalled in the House. The CSM Task Force on Sexual Abuse will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the rectory to discuss how we can support SB17. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. If you cannot attend but have ideas, please call Kathy Burke, 216-228-6787, or e-mail me, Marty Miller, at mgm@stratos.net - Thanks.” -

“Fr. J-Glenn Murray, SJ, director of the diocesan Office for Pastoral Liturgy, has provided us with his observations about the state of liturgies in our diocese. This summer he attended liturgies at 13 churches. What follows are his positive and negative statements of critique.

“First, the positive ones. He experienced hospitality in all the places. He was made to feel welcome. Secondly, the environment rated good marks: ‘noble, sacred and beautiful’ were his words about the worship space. Thirdly, reverence was not a lost commodity. Lastly, the roles of the lay liturgical ministers were executed well and the gathered assemblies were prayerful and attentive.

“But there were some concerns and some need for further education. Singing. while not dead, was soft and weak in contrast to the ‘full, conscious and active participation’ of the congregation after Mass. Dress or attire needs some serious attention. Lastly, some places disregard the instruction to stand during the Communion Rite. Some that were in accord with the proper procedure had people who did not understand the rationale for the rubric.

“As a catechesis to the last point, he drew on a work by Benedict XVI that deals with ‘standing, walking and kneeling before the Lord’ at the Eucharist. ‘Standing’ signifies our openness and solidarity with others as a public act. At Holy Communion, we stand side by side before and for the Lord. ‘Processing’ to Communion, we walk to and with the Lord. This signifies walking away from our private, isolated self. And lastly, we kneel. We stand and sing while Communion is being received. When everyone has received, then we ‘kneel.’ This is our personal, private time.

“So where does the Community of St. Malachi fit in this critique? Definitely, all the positive notes apply. Each one of us needs to reflect on the negative concerns he expressed. Most important, do we know why we do what we do when we do it?

“This year, the CSM Liturgy Committee is taking a serious look at the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and will address its posture toward our specific practice. We intend to share some of our work in future editions of our CSM Newsletter/Communio. If anyone wishes the full text of Fr. Murray’s essay, please contact me.” Jmichaelpetit@yahoo.com.

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The council met Tuesday, Oct. 4. 2005, in St. Malachi Center, chaired by Council President Bill Johansen.

2005-2006 Council members present: Bill Johansen, Fran DeChant, Fr. Tony Schuerger, Diane Brinich, Mike Petit, Barb Pistillo, Joyce Geib, Nicky Stary, Jackie Bluett, Jennifer DeJohn, Marie James, Mary Carol Lucic, Marty Miller, Jim Connell. Also, staff present: Karen Duffy, Ed Suzynski.

Others present: Mary Englert, Bob Simoneau, Gene Kramer.

Fr. Tony introduced Ed Suzynski, the new seminarian intern who will be with us through the end of April. Ed shared a little information about himself.

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Nicky Stary led the opening reflection on Philippians, Chap. 4:6-9

Bishop’s Letter Regarding Lay Direction: The first two discussion items were linked together for part of the discussion. Gene Kramer reviewed a series of documents that he had put together to serve as a chronicle of the Community’s History. Although the documents do not specifically state “lay-directed,” it is implied in many aspects of the various documents. Positive comments were shared regarding Gene’s efforts. Discussion took place regarding the need to respond or not to respond to the diocese. It was determined that some response should be given, but that we are not interested in fostering a legal discussion. It was determined that some response is needed and that it should be a response that it affirms the value we place in the baptismal call of every Christian and our sense of stewardship. Gene Kramer, Jim Connell and Marty Miller will draft a response to be brought back for the next council meeting.

FutureChurch Letter: It was determined that the letter from FutureChurch should be attached to a future CSM Newsletter since it was addressed to the Community. Marty Miller will prepare a summary to be shared at the time the letter is shared so that the Community will have a context for the letter. It was determined that there is a need “to bring to a closure” this discussion.

Gathering of Parish Leaders: Central West District Discussion: The group that attended the last Central West District meeting shared information about the discussion and activity of the meeting. The main program was the presentation of a video that focused on change. The main message of the video was that change is often good, depending upon one’s perspective. The program focused on moving into phase two of the Vibrant Parish Life Initiative. More education needs to be done. It was determined that a series of articles would be shared with the Community over the next couple of months. Jim Connell will do the first article that will focus on two questions:

What is the Central West District? What is the Vibrant Parish Life Initiative? The Community is going to need to answer the question: “What role does it play in this initiative?

November 6 CSM Liturgy Time Change: Bishop Pilla will be celebrating the 9:30 a.m. Liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 6, in recognition of the parish’s 140th anniversary. Changing the Mass time to 11:30 a.m. and canceling the 12:30 p.m. Mass will allow for more time for celebration. A motion to make the change was passed. Over the next several weeks the changes for Nov. 6 will be communicated to the congregation.

Reporting Items:

Pastor’s Report: The report was presented in writing. Two items in particular were discussed. The first focused on interest in participating in a district-wide Seder at St. Augustine. There was interest, cost did not seem prohibitive, but there was sensitivity for the Community members who had planned the Community Seder. Some discussion will take place with them. No additional information other than what was printed was available regarding “twinning” with a parish in Mississippi destroyed by the hurricane.

Finance Council: No Finance Council report was given in the absence of Ed Shemo.  

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Committee Reports:

Christian Formation: Diane Brinich reported that classes have already started and Karen Duffy indicated that so far 111 students are enrolled. Diane mentioned that a lot needed to be done to get the school ready for those classes. Karen also indicated that six members would be attending the National Catholic Youth Conference.

Spiritual Development: Nicky Stary reported that the committee is planning a poetry scripture program. It will likely be held Dec. 4, between 2 and 4 p.m., most likely at River’s Edge. The committee will be suggesting a number of good books for reading during Advent. Suggestions will be given prior to Advent. The men’s retreat currently has an enrollment of 32. A women’s one-day afternoon retreat is currently being planned. Plans are also being formulated to secure two speakers prior to Lent.

Social Action: Joyce Geib reported that beginning Sunday, Oct. 16, 2005, the Community will be purchasing and using Fair Exchange coffee for the coffee hour. The coffee also will be available for sale at Malachi Mart. The Social Action Committee will once again work with the Heifer Project.

Hospitality: Bill Johansen indicated that he thought we should consider getting some assistance to help with this committee, or co-chair the committee. He will talk with Stephanie.

Liturgy: Mike Petit shared information about a talk he attended where Bishop Trautman from the Erie Diocese shared his thoughts on the Eucharist. The bishop recently had an article published in America magazine. His main message was to “approach the Eucharist with a sense of joyful hope.”

Membership: Barb Pistillo shared some information regarding the distribution of information at the Sunday Host Table at coffee hour. The committee is planning not to distribute renews or commitment forms at that table. Individuals will be given an invitation to attend a Prospective Member meeting. Some discussion took place regarding that practice. Although the Community is interested in an act of commitment as part of the enrollment process, some council members felt that we need to maintain an openness to individuals seeking membership in the Community. There was also some discussion about software available for the committee’s use and the notification of pastors from former parishes when a person joins the Community.

Communications: Jim Connell asked each committee chairperson to look over the Community Handbook to see if the information is accurate for their area of responsibility. The committee will also be reviewing our procedure for maintaining the Community archives. In addition, the committee wants to put forth some discussion regarding the need for a plan for Community public relations/media sharing.

The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. The closing reflection was a prayer written by Thomas Merton.

Submitted by Jim Connell, Communications Chair

“The Entertainment Books are in! Yes, it’s time for the St. Malachi Center’s Annual Entertainment Book Fundraiser. Please help support the programming at St. Malachi Center by purchasing this year’s Entertainment Books. Buy one for yourself and buy some for your friends. They make GREAT gifts! The books are filled with coupons and offers of up to 50% discounts at many fine restaurants, deli’s, fast-food stops, movies, sporting events and attractions in the Northeast Ohio area. Thousands of dollars in savings. The cost is only $25.00. Please purchase them after Mass at the back of the church, or at coffee hour, at Malachi Mart, or call Jackie Bluett at St. Malachi Center, 216-771-3036.

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Oct 24: Kielbasa 
(no sauce)

Oct 31: Potluck

Nov 7: Chicken

Nov 14: Beef Stew

Nov 21: Thanksgiving Donations

Nov 28: Rigatoni

Dec 5: Italian Sausage (no sauce)

Dec 12: 
Kielbasa (no sauce)

Dec 19: Chicken

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