February 2014- Focus on Spreading Joy to Others

On The LevelSt. Joseph Parish

In ActionLiving The faith

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Susan Underwood, who has served in many ministries as well as being the parish secretary for many years, says so much of her life has been given to the Church because, “God is everything - the reason we’re here - and without God, who are we?” Thoughtfully, she adds, “We live our lives here on earth, eternally hopeful that we will be with God at the end.

So how could God not be important when we know our destiny is to be with him?” A lifelong parishioner for her 71 years, Sue has taught PSR and Pre-Cana classes, been a member of Parish Gardeners, as well as doing work for the Vincentians, cooking for St. Joseph Shelter and singing with both the holiday and funeral choirs. She has also been a Eucharistic Minster for 24 years. Many of her ministries have been served along side her husband Jerry who passed away seven years ago. One project she remembers especially was when she and Jerry wrote grants to provide beds for the St.Joseph Shelter. “They just had flimsy cots that broke down after you slept on them, but we heard of a catalog where we could buy the heavy steel bunk beds used in jailhouses. We not only got a grant, we also got matching funds from a community group, and the day the beds arrived, Confirmation students showed up to help us assemble them. After that, the shelter could sleep 30 people, and the beds are still in use to this day. Having worked in the parish office as secretary and personnel manager for 11 years, as well as having grown up in the parish, has given Sue a unique view of the changes that have occurred in the last half century. She remembers attending St. Joseph School when it was in the old San Spring building and when two grades were taught in the same room by Sisters

Alone With God If you’d like to prepare yourself for Easter during a one-on-one retreat with God, the Poustinia being held this Lent may be something you want to consider. This overnight retreat focuses on 24 hours of silence, solitude, prayer, fasting, and Scripture. In Russia, Poustinia originally met a small, sparsely furnished cabin or room where one could be in the presence of God without any distractions, as Jesus was in the desert. The desert has always been a symbol of austerity, poverty and utter simplicity, and no one’s soul can survive in the desert without nourishment from God.

Sharing Blessings

How can children who are blessed with warm homes, healthy meals and loving families understand the needs of children who aren’t so lucky? First graders at St. Joseph Schoolnot only understand this, they also found a way to help. Throughout December students brought in donations like kid-friendly cereal, shampoo, paper plates, lip balm, and healthy snacks, which they gave to Blessing House, a place where children in crisis can find temporary housing. The students first learned about Blessing House

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of Notre Dame. “While one class was on duty doing active lessons, the other class was reading or doing problems, then we would rotate. We were involved in charitable acts even as little youngsters,” she says, remembering the mission boxes placed by the feet of a statue of Mary in each classroom. “We were told that sharing was a way of living, and I put some of my 25¢ allowance each week into the box to help children in other countries that didn’t have food or clothing.” She remembers the old Tenney Avenue Church being “extremely hot in winter because they fired the furnace with coal, and extremely hot in summer because only a small section of each window would pop open. And there were a lot of people packed into that small church. We would all stand around after church and shake hands and talk because we all knew each other back then, being from a small town.” That’s one thing she has not seen change in the church of today - the friendly, family feeling of our parish. “I still see people standing on the sidewalk and talking. We may not be the best of friends, we may only be acquaintances, but we still have things we want to share. That gives you a warm and very comfortable feeling, knowing you are a part of a family - your spiritual family.” Another change she has seen in the parish is the way it has “expanded its outreach to the town and even beyond in a more active way than it did when I was a child. We now have organizations that support people in times of trouble like those for widows and we have education classes like Pre-Cana and RCIA. I think this is not only a good thing, it is a necessary thing, because Father cannot be everywhere at once, not even when we have two priests. They need the help and participation of the whole congregation to achieve the goals of our parish - I don’t see how they would do all the things we do without our support.” Today Sue still keeps busy with her ministry work as well as mowing the lawn, playing the piano, reading, and working with Amherst Senior Citizens and Friends of the Amherst Library, as well as being grandmother to four and great-grandmother to eight.

Catherine Doherty, author of the book Poustinia: Encouraging God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer, says this is a chance to leave behind the harried pace of daily life and to remember that “we never pray alone, and never for ourselves alone.” Our Poustinia will meet in March (watch On The Level and the Church bulletin for specific date, time and place) Participants will meet for dinner at 6 pm on a Friday, followed by a session on how to spend your time. Then everyone will retreat to an room wherethey can contemplate their relationship to God for 24 hours, eating only the provided bread and water.

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in Kindergarten when they made stuffed animals for the residents there. And remembering these children who need extra love and attention, they decided to do something for them. As their teacher, Amy Makruski, explained, “They wanted to help someone that was most like them - they are children helping children.” Blessing House was the dream of Sr. Mary Berigan. She has been running this temporary home for children for almost ten years, and has seen nearly a thousand children pass through its doors. She and her 20 staff members rotate throughout the day and the week to make sure that children are always cared for 24 hours a day, are fed, clothed, and transported to and from school. Children have a safe place to play in the big backyard, complete with sandbox, bicycles and playground equipment. Inside they read books and do craft projects. And always present are golden retriever therapy dogs, like Moses - the 3-legged dog - who is a comfort to children who naturally need someone to love, pet and give hugs to, or “for cleaning up dropped cereal under the breakfast table, or even waking up sleepy children in the morning to get ready for school,” says Sr. Mary. Formally known as Blessing House - God’s Project of Hope - Safe House - Safe Child, it is open to children from infancy to 6th grade, for stays of a couple of days to a month depending on family needs. Check out the website at www. blessinghouse.org to see how you can donate to children in need.

(You may bring bottled water if you prefer.) Russian pilgrims in past centuries went to Poustinia with provisions for only one day, as Christ told his disciples to do. The retreat will end on Saturday at 7 pm with another dinner. If you’re wondering how you could fill 24 hours with prayer, some suggestions are praying for your sins, for mankind, for peace, for missions, and for unity among Christians. You are also reminded that prayer is simply union with God and does not always need words, so simply sitting in solitude or reading the Bible is also a way to pray. Cost will be about $65, but if you cannot afford this donation, please come anyway and the parish will provide for you. Please bring your own bed linens, towels and soap, any medications you take, journal with pencil or pen, a Bible, crucifix, any intentions people have asked you to pray for, and an icon if you have one. Do not bring any clocks or electrical devices or any work from your job, home or school. For more information contact the parish office at 988-2848 or fathermichaeldenk@gmail.com.

This month we focus on Citations CCC 1145-1148 which describes how we celebrate with signs and symbols.

Our liturgical celebrations include washing and anointing, breaking bread, and sharing the cup, but all these things also originated as signs of daily living. The Catechism reminds us that there are signs and symbols all around us in our human world. And because we are both body and spirit, we can perceive spiritual realities through these physical signs and symbols. “God speaks to man through visible creation . . . man’s intelligence can read traces of its Creator in the material cosmos . . . light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both His greatness and nearness.” Even though February takes us into the

darkest part of the year, let us try to find signs and symbols of our Creator in the earthly home he has given us. Then let us see the spiritual side of these signs when we participate in the liturgy.

Do you have a favorite Bible passage on which you like to reflect? I know I have one, and it came to me unexpectedly in the middle of a priest’s homily one Sunday a couple of years ago. Three simple words - “complete my joy” struck me as being the perfect reflection of how I want God to be in my

life. I didn’t know where the words came from, but I repeated them over and over until I could get home and “google” them. It turns out they are from Philippians 2:1 (Take a look at the whole passage and you’ll see why I think they are so special.) Do you have a favorite quote from the Bible? Did you memorize it, add it to your prayers, perhaps print it out and put it on your bulletin board or refrigerator, or maybe made a bookmark out of it? It’s a little thing, but it can carry you through the day. Why not compare your favorite passage with someone else’s and start a conversation about God.

8th Graders at St. Joseph School led the way this past Christmas in bringing spirituality and joy to their classmates. Throughout Advent, students researched the events and people of our faith, created ornaments for a Jesse Tree, and took turns reading their findings over the PA to all students in the mornings and afternoons. At the last Mass of the year, 8th graders surprised classmates with a special performance to the music of "Mary Did You Know.” Dressed in black and using only slim sticks and translucent white cloth as props, the students acted out the song in a silent dance. And just before school ended on the last day, 8th graders celebrated national “Go Caroling Day” by leading the school in “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Jingle Bells” in a group sing over the PA from the front office.

Leading the Way

St. Joseph School students raised $179 for the local Kiwanis Club in a "Shoot Down Tetanus" activity. Students donated $1 each to shoot 10 baskets, and winners were awarded prizes in each class. The Kiwanis program provides tetanus shots for children and new mothers in underprivileged countries throughout the world.

Shoot Down Tetanus

“Mission trips aren’t just about remodeling buildings, or cleaning streets, or hugging orphan kids. All of that happens, but more important is the spiritual growth of everyone involved,” says John Sabo, who went to El Salvador last spring with the St. Joseph Mission Team. The team has scheduled its next mission visit for April 5-11 and invites anyone considering the trip to join the team for its meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 7 pm in the school library. Here are some of John’s heartfelt thoughts on the Mission Team’s work. “Going on a mission is about building relationships with people, helping them in ways that are meaningful and lasting, sharing the Gospel, and transforming the lives of those who go. It changes how you view the world.” “Besides building relationships with our Salvadoran families, we explore the complex history of El Salvador. We visit homes and communities to share in the hopes and joys, struggles and fears of the people of El Salvador. We visit the sacred sites of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero, the four American churchwomen, and six Jesuit priests. We learn of its civil war, poverty, and the injustices that plague its people. We experience Salvadoran culture, customs, and its rich traditions.” “Obviously, spending a week serving in a community crippled by extreme poverty will not reverse a hundred years of oppression, but that was never the intent. The real purpose is to show Christ’s love through service.” “You learn a lot about yourself on a mission trip; you learn about your world and find out what you are really made of. You find out if you really

A Mission-Style Life

have a servant’s heart. You find out if you have a good work ethic. You find out how much you really care about other people, their cultures, and customs. You find out how deep your faith is. And, when you know more about yourself, it gives you the opportunity to grow to new levels. It’s a great blessing to invest relationship capital even if you may not be comfortable in a foreign culture.”

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21st Century Tech Meet Andy Flynn. Some of you may know Andy as an SJS graduate of 2001, or as the son of Kathy Flynn in our parish office. But now meet Andy Flynn who is taking our parish into the 21st century on a wave of technology. Have you seen the new parish website at http://stjosephamherst.com? Andy built it from scratch and launched it in conjunction with the kickoff or our parish’s 150th anniversary. It’s colorful, user friendly, animated and is a resource that every parishioner will find useful in learning about events and ministries. He is working with Parish Council and the Stewardship Ministry to make the parish website accessible to more people. He’s begun showing ministry leaders the different pages and functions of the website so they can begin updating information themselves. Some of the ideas he hopes to incorporate are embedding videos and digitizing forms that are currently only available in paper form.

Andy has also taken on the task of freshening the school’s website. His goal there is to make the layout more uniform and user friendly. And being an enthusiastic alumnus of the school, Andy has also signed on to help with the new marketing plan with a view to increasing enrollment, insuring retention of current students, and making the school more visible to the area community. His jobs for the church and school have also launched Andy on a new career, that of marketing consultant and web designer in his new company - Savvy Solutions (andy@websavvy.me). “It’s great to be able to give back to the church and the school. I hope I bring a new perspective in making them more visible in today’s technology and social media.” After attending Lorain Catholic and graduating from Elyria Catholic, Andy triple-majored in marketing, management and logistics at John Carroll University. He’s worked for both Sears Corporate in Chicago and for General Electric in Cleveland doing social media marketing and website marketing. But after four years in the corporate world, Andy decided to come home to Amherst and start his own company.

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•Attend one of the 150th Anniversary events and talk to our older parishioners about their memories of the Church.

•For those of us who are blessed with jobs and enough to eat and warm homes, let us share those blessings by buying at least one thing extra at the grocery store every week and bring it to Mass so that our Vincentians can pass the blessings along to those who are cold and hungry. There are about 800 families who come to church each week, just imagine 800 canned or boxed goods going onto the Vincentian pantry shelves every week!

•Designate an annual clean up, fix up, planting day at our cemetery and donate a healthy perennial plant(s) day to coincide with that.

•Read more Scripture - have any of us gotten all the way through the Bible or the Catechism? What about reflecting on the day’s readings, especially Sunday’s readings?

•Make our parish more beautiful - participate in decorating the church for Christmas or Easter; pick up litter when you see; donate a plant or a tree; help the Sacristans clean the church.

•Reach out to someone you don’t know - say, “Hi,” introduce yourself to someone after church or at Hospitality Sunday.

•Attend one of the special events that celebrate our Liturgical Year like Adoration, Stations of the Cross, and Advent or Lenten service, Communal Reconciliation

•Signup for a new ministry during Commitment Sunday, and remember you don’t have to wait until October to volunteer - here’s the link for signing up anytime of the year: http://stjosephamherst.com/stewardship-commitment-form/

•Help a student at St. Joseph School - tell Father you’d like to donate part of a tuition fee or give money to the school’s Endowment Fund

•Use your “person skills” to teach a class in RCIA, PSR or Confirmation.

•Make prayer a habit - before meals, at bedtime, first thing in the morning.

We’ll be updating the Bucket List as new ideas come in. So if you have an idea or two that you would like added to the Parish Bucket List, please send them to Diane (dpeabodysjs01@oh.rr.com), and we’ll be sure to add them!

The dictionary says a bucket list is a list of things you want accomplish in your lifetime, but this can be adapted to our church as a list of things we want to accomplish not only in our lifetime, but in our faith, and especially during this year of our anniversary.

Parish Bucket List

“Jesus gives us the freedom to go into our mission and service trips with the goal of just plain ministering. We don’t have to achieve certain results to justify our investment. Are you willing to move out of your comfort zone, sacrifice yourself, your sleep, your routine, your wants, your desires for that of the Savior’s? If you want to have your world enlarged just go on mission trip. You’ll see your world, and your faith, in a whole new light. And you will find that when you get back home, your priorities will change and you will adjust your way of looking at life.” (Read more about the Mission Team and its “Journey to El Salvador” in the May, June, September, and November issues of On The Level.)

Outside of work, Andy loves to travel, saying one of his best experiences was the four-month study-abroad experience he had in London, which included backpacking through 10 European countries. He also likes to read, do crossword puzzles and build military models. “This summer I started a garden and grew all kinds of chili peppers - I even tried my hand at canning the peppers because I like spicy food,” he says. So welcome home, Andy, and thanks for the help you’re giving our parish and school!

Editors Note: Starting with this edition, Andy has taken on the duties of Layout Editor for On The Level from fellow parishioner Rick Hobson. We are very grateful to Rick for all his hard work over the years!

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The Parish Community of St. JosephFather Lawrence Martello, PastorFather Jamie Mazanec, Associate Pastor200 St. Joseph Dr.Amherst, OH 44001Office: 440-988-2848Convent 440-988-2621School: 440-988-4244

WEBSITE www.stjosephamherst.org

This newsletter is brought to you by

St. Joseph’s Stewardship Team

Diane Yale-Peabody, Editor

Email: dpeabodysjs01@oh.rr.com

“Stir Into Flame the Gifts God Has Given You”Mass Schedule: Saturday 4 pm; Sunday 8 am, 10 am & Noon

Reconciliation: Saturday 3-3:30 pm

“Thy Kingdom Come” ... together we build the kingdom Matthew 10:6

Mass schedule: Saturday 4 pm; Sunday 8 am, 10 am, & NoonReconciliation: Saturday 3-3:30 pm

The Parish Community of St. JosephFather Lawrence Martello, PastorFather Michael Denk, Associate Pastor200 St. Joseph Dr.Amherst, OH 44001Office: 440-988-2848Convent: 440-988-2621School: 440-988-4244WEBSITE: stjosephamherst.com

This newsletter is brought to you bySt. Joseph Stewardship Team

Diane Yale-Peabody, EditorEmail: dpeabodysjs01@oh.rr.com

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In the face of poverty and violence, we must believe that the way to a better life begins through educating our young people. This was what a young nun in Ireland devoted her life to in the 20th century. Mary O’Farrell became a teacher and was renamed Genevieve when she became a sister of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul when she was 15 years old in 1938. As a teacher in Northern Ireland’s war-torn section of Belfast she struggled to get government support for the female students in her school. For 25 years in the 1960s through 1980s, Genevieve saw too many of her students walk to school through riots and talk of fathers and brothers who had beenimprisoned or killed in the Irish troubles. Many had to drop out of school and take menial jobs to support their families. But she was steadfast in refusing to let the militant IRA close her school for hunger strikes or to bow to British soldiers who fruitlessly searched the school for weapons - she would not let her girls be caught up in the war machine of Northern Ireland. Sr. Gen, as she was known to her beloved students, slowly turned the tide, and enrollment at the school began to rise. Instead of graduating to only find work in the linen factories or in stitching hankies, her girls went on to become teachers and journalists. In 1978 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her work with students. She died in 2011 at age 78.