ADVENT: THE SEASON OF PRAYERFUL WATCHING

The Season of Advent was added to the Church calendar in the sixth century, as a mini-Lent to prepare us for the coming of Christmas through prayer, fasting and works of charity. Although the penitential character diminished over the years, Advent was still a season of penitential practices until the liturgical reforms of 1969.

Changes to the Lectionary and the liturgical calendar have transformed Advent into a season of prayer-ful watching. At the start of the season, we await the second advent or coming of Christ, the King of the Ages. Only when He does not return in glory do we then turn our attention to His birth, the first coming of the Lord.

The Sacrament of Penance is an important part of our preparation for the coming of Christ. By cele-brating the reconciliation Christ gained for us, we open our hearts and lives more fully to His love. During Ad-vent there will be eight communal celebrations within the county and several times for the individual celebra-tion of the Sacrament of Penance. (Please consult the back page for additional times.)

DECEMBER 2014

Volume XXI Issue 12

A newsletter of

ST. MARY MAGDALEN PARISH

C H R I S T M A S : A C E L E B R AT I O N O F J OY

The original liturgical celebrations of the birth of Christ began in the Holy Land with customs which eventually spread to the rest of the Church. Three special Liturgies proclaimed the good news. The first was celebrated in Bethlehem during the night. Afterwards the participants walked by torch light to Mt. Zion near Jerusalem for a second Mass around dawn, called the Mass of the Shepherds. Later in the day, a third Liturgy - the Mass of the Word Made Flesh - was celebrated in the Church of the Tomb of Christ. For 1700 years, these three separate Liturgies marked the birth of Christ.

In 1969, the liturgical reforms added a fourth celebration: the Vigil Mass. We will have two Vigil Liturgies on Christmas Eve, the first will be at 4 pm and the second at 6:15 pm, At these two Liturgies the children will act out the Gospel Story as it is proclaimed. These Liturgies are very popular, especially for families with younger children. The Mid-Night Mass, which will begin at 10 pm, is the primary Liturgy of Christmas and is especially beautiful. Imitating the Christmas Liturgy of the fifth century, it begins in semi-darkness. Three readings from the Old Testament remind us of how the promise of a Savior guided God's people and prepared us to hear the Good News of Jesus' birth. The morning Mass of the Shepherds (10 am) is much simpler, also very beautiful.

COMMUNAL CELEBRATIONS

of the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

Dec 10 (Wed- 7 pm) St Mary in Pinckney Dec 11 (Thurs - 7 pm) St. Joseph in Howell Dec 15 (Mon - 7 pm) Holy Spirit, Hamburg Dec 17 (Wed - 7:30 pm) St. John, in Hartland Dec 20 (Sat. – 9 am) St. Patrick in Brighton Dec 22 (Mon. - 7:30 pm) St. Mary Magdalen

Liturgies of Christmas Eve: 4 pm + 6:15 pm + 10 pm + Christmas morning: 10 am

from the FINANCE COUNCIL July 2014 - June 2015

For Month Ending October 31, 2014

Actual Actual Fiscal Annual Fiscal INCOME Oct 31 Year to Date Budget Church 102,870 419,170 1,386,000 Capital Campaign 31,740 109,909 350,000 Religious Ed/Preschool 13,212 38,459 110,000 TOTAL INCOME 147,823 567,538 1,846,000

EXPENSES Church 122,431 447,153 928,370 Building Mortgage 41,801 167,205 530,875 Religious Ed/Preschool 35,200 99,486 386,755

TOTAL EXPENSES 199,433 713,844 1,846,000

INCOME/(LOSS) (51,610) (146,306)

REMAINING BALANCE 12/1/14 - Building Mortgage - $3,674,976

from the TIME AND TALENT COUNCIL

Our Time & Talent Council did not meet in November because of Thanksgiving. The Members of the Time and Talent Council

from the PASTORAL COUNCIL

The council did not meet in November. Our next meeting is Wed., Dec. 17

The Members of the Pastoral Council

Chair: Mary Alice Galloway Ginger Bosn Emily Wolfe Darlene March

Eileen Denhard Ralph Hazen Clarence Kroll Rob Cooney

Peter Kelly Jodi Williamsen Kelly Blazo Mike Rhoads

Tim Mulcaster Jillian Killian, Sr. Maryetta Churches Fr. David F. Howell

Eric Silvestri Dominic DiCicco Robert Sinke Anne Marie Lawson

Marsha McBride Bob Henderson Holly Moltane David Williamsen

Debra Barker Dianne Hardy Matt Uphoff Jim Panning

Bookkeeper, Dave Wisniewski Fr. David F. Howell

Don Powell Ed Bixler Eileen Denhard Jill Saxton John Finn

Katie Panczak Kristin Turner Rob Kehn James Chevalier Dan VanTiem

Mary Kay Edoff David Rychlick Mike Olsem Father David Howell

COUNCIL COMMENDATIONS The Pastoral Council would like to commend Katheryne Friske for her willingness to accept the challenge of creating the children’s choir. What a great gift to our parish and for the children in our parish! The Council would also like to commend Adam Van Gieson for creating the fire-pit by the cross as you enter the par-ish. Your creativity and allowing for a sacred space for prayer is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Adam

PRAYER FOR

THE YEAR OF MARRIAGE Heavenly Father, your Son, Jesus, once part of a family, is a blessing for husbands and wives, for fathers and mothers and their chil-dren. Help our moms and dads to be faithful to each other and open to new life, your gift to them. Guide them to raise their chil-dren to be good citizens of both heaven and earth. Pour your Holy Spirit upon married couples to strengthen their bond, upon all families that they may face the challenges of our times with strength that comes from the Gospel, and upon our homes that they may be places of love and joy and thus a source of blessing for our Church and our society. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

RELIGIOUS FORMATION from Mary Mahar

CONFIRMATION We congratulate the 51 youth of our parish who took the final step of their

Sacrament of Initiation and were confirmed! These youth and their parents worked very hard on their journey towards this Sacrament. They attended classes; worked hard at fulfilling their service hours, attended retreat and learned that together they can scale any obstacle. They prayerfully made their decision to be confirmed and accept the seal of the Holy Spirit. I would also like to thank the Confirmation team for all their hard work with our youth, led by Elizabeth Milatz. Please pray that the Spirit continues to grow in our youth and guides them in all that they do. Those confirmed are:

Nathan Ansbro

Adam Badalucco

Eric Ball

Ryan Beaver

Cara Betz

Shawn Brannigan

Autumn Brown

Emily Chmielewski

Amanda Ciuizicki

Michaela Conrad

Nicholas Daniels

Allison Darish

Benjamin Dumond

Emily Dunn

Meghan Economou

Murran Fenrich

Justin Ferris

Chase Glasser

Lucas Hardy

Connor Harris

David Hollinshead

Christopher Holthus

Jamie Johnson

Sarah Keeling

Raymond Kennedy

Kyle Luce

Madison Malkowski

Lindsey McKaig

Kayla Meabrod

Logan Neaton

Margaret Nied

Christopher Pajtas

Megan Peetz

Veronica Pezzoni

Brandon Riffle

Daniel Sapp

Dayna Schaefer

Jon Smith

Sarah Stadler

Nicholas Stokes

Patrick Tucker

Benjamin Van

Heusden

Nicolai Vincent

Olivia Walters

Shannon Walus

Alec Warda

Bryce Watson

Rebecca Wyeth

Joseph Zawisa

Maxwell Zawisa

Alyssa Zremski

ADVENT HANDOUTS Be sure to pick yours up after each Liturgy! After Liturgy, some of our hospitality will be offering not only color handouts for our youngest to help them remember what Mass was all about, but for the season of Advent they will have a family handout as well. These handouts will have the background to the weekly readings, faith sharing ideas and ways to get more involved to help live the read-ings each week! There are prayers for you to use as you light your Advent wreath at home as well as other infor-mation about this wonderful season!

December Dates to Remember: During Advent, all classes will gather in Church for prayer and to light the

` Advent wreath at the beginning of class - all are welcome to join us!

3 2nd Grade Parent Penance Activities 4:30/6:30 4 2nd Grade Parent Penance Activities 5:30 10/11 2nd Grade First Penance 22 Regional Penance Service here 7:30 Dec. 21-Jan. 1 Christmas break. Classes resume Wednesday, Jan. 4!

from MAGDALEN’S PRESCHOOL Kathie Anderer, director Christmas Blessings from Magdalen’s Preschool…

The Christmas Season is here and the anticipation and excitement is in the air. Behind us are the Hallow-een parties, our first field trip (Ann Arbor Hands on Museum) and our Thanksgiving Celebration. We start the busy month of December off with our Christmas Program on December 7th at 2 p.m. We are very busy practicing our songs. We hope to have a wonderful afternoon filled with many memories to treasure for years to come.

We will fill in the short month of December making presents and talking about Baby Jesus and His birthday. December is a busy time of the year for all of us. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle please try to remember the reason for the season and remember to count your blessings. Remember to share your time and make memories for your child. Looking back I can only remember a few favorite gifts received over the years. I don’t remember how they were wrapped or how many things I received. I do remember having family around and singing Christmas songs and the special time spent with my grandparents. It is wonderful to take in the excitement that the children are so willing like to share. They are little for such a short time. I hope everyone receives that “one special gift” they’re wishing for. Please remember the reason we celebrate Christmas… because of the special gift we all re-ceived—the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We wish you and your family a “Very Merry Christmas!” and all of our best wishes to you and yours in the coming New Year!

We will be on Christmas Break from Monday, December 22nd through January 4th. We return on Monday, January 5th and we will be talking about winter, Sun, Moon, and stars, working on student evaluations, and learning about how much we are loved by Jesus.

OF FAITH AND SERVICE from Sr. Joyce Hoile, OSF

Advent Themes or Topics of Choice Thursdays during Advent December 4, 11 and 18 7 – 8:30 pm, East Room Sr. Joyce will be available to facilitate conversations or address any questions or con-cerns you may have. Advent prayers will begin the evening. Week#1 What does the

Advent Season mean for you? Week#2 What are your favorite memories or Traditions? Week#3 Christ’s Birth and Today. Childcare is available. Our Parish is offering childcare in order that parents with small children can par-ticipate. Please indicate on the Sign-Up Sheet at the Adult Formation Board the ages of your children who will be coming. ***Note: Children’s Choir meets at the same time in Chapel.

School for Discipleship: Winter Offerings We are always learning something new, whether it is reading, tak-

ing a class or living everyday with purpose. In order to grow in our faith, in our service and in our relationship with God, we offer you the following six week classes:

The Gospels : Father Dave Howell Mondays 7-8:45 pm beginning January 13 Explore the writers, the audience, the times and the message for all the Gospels and your own response. This class gives credit to Catechists in Formation.

World Religions Part I Mr. Derek Day Thursdays, 7 – 8:45pm beginning January 15 This Course will enlighten you from the formations of religion from Abraham to the evolutions of Christianity.

Registration is on our website: www.saintmarymagdalen.org OR by filling out a brochure at the Adult Formation table in the gathering area.

ANNULMENTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH This is a very misunderstood action in the Catholic Church and mostly among Catholics. Take this opportunity to make clear for yourself the why and how the Church can grant an annulment. Do you know when an annulment cannot be grant-ed? Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 21, 7 pm for an evening of explanation and discus-sion. Your questions are welcome. Every person’s situation is unique. Please call Sr. Joyce any time with questions you may have.

SENIORS 50+ PRAYER, FUN & LUNCH Mark your calendars and reserve the date for Pray-er, Fun & Lunch, Wednesday, December 10, 10am – 1 pm in the Community Room. In the past this has been a monthly event and now we see a need to keep connected on occasion. Come and help us make plans for future events. Let Sr. Joyce know if you plan to attend.

CATHOLICS RETURNING HOME Do you know someone who does not come to Catholic Mass regularly and could use some encouragement? Would you go forward to ask & invite those you know, who may need their doubts and concerns addressed? Are you willing to companion them for at least some of these sessions? Perhaps they would like to make a new start in this New Year. This could be the right timing and a gift to someone. Mondays,7 – 8:45 pm January 12, 19, February 2, 9, 16 Please contact Sr. Joyce if you have someone to invite, or if you would like to be on the Team &/or to help.

THANKS AND PRAISE from Sr. Maryetta Churches We give thanks and praise for all those who helped in any way during the Diocesan Convocation. Your sense of gift-edness made the conference a memorable occasion. THANK YOU, THANK YOU,THANK YOU! We also give thanks and praise for all those who helped assemble Thanksgiving baskets for the very special holi-day. We are so blessed by your generosity to all!

ADVENT ... A TIME OF CHANGE ON THE JOURNEY from Diane Kubus

Advent is the season in which we reread and relive the experience of ancient Israel as it longed for the Messiah. By attuning our lives to the Scriptures that anticipate and describe the first coming of Christ, we personally enter into the expectancy and deepen our longing for his coming again. Christ, who was born into our world, also comes to us in countless ways, and will come to us again in the fullness of his glory. Over the four weeks of Ad-vent we prepare for these three comings of Christ in our lives. It is a time of expectant longing and joyful anticipation. We wait and hope. Advent is also an opportunity to explore the darkness of our world and our lives. By reflecting on

the shadows and pains within our life experience and that of others, we open our lives to watch and stand ready for the workings of God. The gradually increasing light of the season, represents the emerging light of Christ. He is the One who shines on those in darkness, is the light for the nations, the bright star that shines in the night, the dawning light of salvation. In this season of watchful longing, we might ask ourselves, "What are our deep-est yearnings?" It is the time to move from longing to hope. By coming to understand more deeply what God has already done for us, we are able to deepen our hope for the certain coming of Christ to us every moment of every day in our lives. The Advent prayer of the early Church, "Come, Lord Jesus!" is still an-swered in new and surprising ways. On Nov. 30, the first Sunday of Advent, at the 11 am Liturgy we, the Community of God’s people wel-comed with great joy and love Liam, Savanna, Sierra, and Jennifer, into the Church. They are on the jour-ney of faith preparing to receive the Easter Sacraments. Together we will enter into this new church year with joyful anticipation and a deepening longing for our God to touch our lives in so many ways, to nourish us, guide us, and transform us on our Journey of Faith! "Come, Lord Jesus!"

We wish you a very Blessed Christmas and New Year

From the Staff † St. Mary Magdalen

Fr. Dave Howell Sr. Maryetta Churches Sr. Joyce Hoile Dave Scharf Jim Chevalier Gary Prise Devon Wolfe

Mary Mahar Margaret Callaghan Diane Kubus Steve Schulte Dave Wisniewski Kathie Anderer

Jillian Killian Karen MacDonald Debbie Dehanke Sandi Phillips Dan Tuthill Mark Wolfe Kathleen Gehring

KNIGHT’S KORNER from Ken Anderer, grand Knight The Thanksgiving Holiday signals the beginning of the Christmas Holiday Season. It is hard to believe that we are near halfway through the Fraternal Year! We had another very suc-cessful Mom-to-Mom Sale in September. Watch for news of the next sale, set for April 11. Our Keep Christ in Christmas Poster contest is open to children of the parish. The rules are posted at Knights Corner in the Gathering Space. Results of the judging will posted on December 14. Our recent Membership Drive saw 7 men of the parish join our Order; Joshua Gruben, Mario Mara-volo, Joe Nashar, Joe Joyce, Jim Dahany, Bill Gawlowski, and Harold Allen. Welcome gentlemen! The strength of our numbers makes it possible to accomplish so much more good than any of us could ac-complish on our own. The K of C truly exemplifies strength in numbers. If you are a Catholic gentlemen, 18 years of age or older, I encourage you to join the K of C. Having a good time, doing good work. Ken Anderer/GK Kanderer65@gmail.com

NEW TO OUR PARISH IN NOVEMBER

YOUTH NEWS from Margaret Callaghan With the season of Advent upon us this month, there are many things to celebrate and get ready for. As we prepare our homes and yards for parties and gatherings, we need to also pay just as much attention to our spiritual self as well. Keep God alive in your conversation at the dinner table as you light the candles of your Advent wreath; ask each other where they found God hiding in the reflection of your day. When we are actively seeking God in all we do and say, we see God in our life everywhere and in everything! We hear his voice in conversations we have with friends, feel his loving arms around us from the hugs we receive from loved ones and know his healing touch when we are cared for in times of sickness. May God be alive in your heart this season as we enter into the season of Advent! Last month we started a prayer project that asks the youth to be open with struggles they are going through. Each teen wrote anonymously their struggle. Then at the end of our meeting, each teen who wrote a request picked up, anony-mously, another teens prayer and promised to pray for them throughout the week. Prayer is powerful and when we are open to God's hand in our lives, great things can happen and struggles can be handled. Thank you to Emily Wolfe for bringing this to the group. It is something we intend to carry all year long. We have started a Christmas project that we hope will last this whole year through. We asked everyone to bring in a box to wrap and leave it in the youth room under the tree. Then every week until our Christmas celebration, we asked everyone to write at least three affirmations for someone and slip them into that person's box. At the end of the season everyone will have a box to open full of positive statements from their peers to read and keep! If you didn't make a box, let me know and we can wrap one for you. Our last meeting of 2014 and also our Christmas celebration will be this month Sunday December 21. Please bring in your balance of $50 for our WWG (Winter Weekend Getaway) scheduled for Friday January 31-Sunday February 2nd.Everone should be registered by now. If you haven't yet paid, there is a $5 late fee. The total cost for the weekend is $100 ($105) plus the cost of skiing and rentals if you chose to do that. We will go up to Caberfae in Cadillac. Visit www.caberfaepeaks.com for details about pricing and www.edgettslodge.com to see where we stay! It's beautiful and so much fun!! We will meet three Sunday evenings in December, the 7th, 14th and 21st in the youth room from 7-9pm. Any and all high school teens are welcome and encouraged to join us. We have had many new faces every week since we started in September and it has been awesome getting to know everyone one new! Our leaders and veteran youth group teens have really stepped up and taken the lead. I have seen great and awesome growth in each one that I am blown away! I see the spirit alive in them and the joy that comes from within these leaders is inspiring! From my heart to yours, I wish everyone a blessed and joy filled holiday season!

EDGE NEWS [for 6 - 8 graders] Our last meeting for 2014 will be our Christmas EDGE, we are going to have

an ugly sweater/most gaudy dressed EDGE'er contest and award two prizes, one to the worst dressed up boy and the other to the worst dressed up girl. Start putting together your holiday wear now! The uglier, more gaudier the better!! That EDGE meeting will be our only meeting in December on Monday the 8th. May your Christmas celebrations be filled with all things good: food, friends, family and love. Should you be missing a loved one this season, may God fill your heart, conversations and gatherings with happy memories.

Patricia and Ralph Holmes

Howell

Diane & Curtis Ranger

Eliana

Brighton

Diane & Don Schmid

Fenton

Rebecca & David Libler

Brighton

Kristine & Chris Fenton

Brighton

Magdalena & Jeff Marriott

Jan

Howell

Katrina Bray

Brighton

Melanie Wollenhaupt

Brighton

Angela & Leo Hanifin

Brighton

Laura & Diab Rizk

Liam

Howell

Isabel & Tim McCarthy

Joey & Eddie

Mary Ann & Russ Impelllizzeri

Brighton

CHARITY & JUSTICE from Sue Weir The Advent Giving Tree went up in the Gathering area on November 22. The Charities include St. Anne’s De-troit; Brown Evangelical Ministries; Livingston County Catholic Charities (Formerly Catholic Social Services); LACASA; W J Maxey Boys Training School; Magdalen’s Kitchen & Parish; Pregnancy Help Line, and the Cornerstone School affili-ated with St. Agnes Parish in Flint/Clio Michigan. The Cornerstone School is a program for adults with mental and physi-cal handicaps. If you would like to help those who are less fortunate, please take a tag from the Tree and place your do-nation back under the tree no later than 12/15/14 Your generosity benefits the poor, disabled and seniors in our commu-nity.

THE DEACONS BENCH from Dave Scharf

When a man’s tire blew out on a remote road up north, he discovered he had a spare tire but no jack. So he print-ed a sign which read “NEED A JACK,” and held it up. For three hours, cars and trucks just passed him by. As the story goes, a van finally pulled over. The Good Samaritan driver spoke no English but his daughter did. He indicated he could help. Then, the tire iron broke while he was removing the blown tire. The van driver’s wife drove to the nearest town, bought a new one, returned within 15 minutes, and the job was soon done.

Inquiring about the family, the man was amazed to find out they live in Mexico; they were in Michigan picking cher-ries in the Traverse City area. As the story goes, this man also found out that this family, undoubtedly poorer than just about everyone else on that highway, managed to take a couple of hours out of their day to help a stranger on the side of the road. When the man tried giving this Good Samaritan $20 for his trouble, he smiled, shook his head, and said in bro-ken English, “Today you, tomorrow me.”How many times have we (me) passed up the opportunity to help someone?

Imitate what is good. (3 John 1:11)

THE OTHER BENCH from Jim Chevalier

How many of us have, at some point, thought that we would like to find more time for our prayer life, but we are just too busy? Perhaps we would do well to ask ourselves the question: Whose time is it, anyway? With this reality, we would realize that it is all God’s time. Time is a gift from God, and only God knows the total amount that we really have left. We have often heard about the three “Ts” – time, talent, and treasure. To be honest with ourselves, time begins with the recognition that all time belongs to God and that our responsibility is to use it faithfully. We need to take God’s time and spent at least a small sum of it in his presence through prayer. Making time to pray is, first and foremost, a decision of faith. If we believe that, then God will give you all the time you need. If you believe that God’s love for you is real, your relationship needs your gift of time just as any other loving relationship does. Time in prayer is about putting yourself in the way of Jesus – the way of love. Wish Him a Happy Birthday! Have faith, and make time to pray!

SERVANT OF MANY from Gary Prise

On November 19th and 20th our parish was the host site for a huge diocesan conference on the “New Evangelization”. Every nook and cranny was taken up with stuff. I always thought of evangelization as that scary experience of being at home and hearing the doorbell ring. Me going to the door, peeking out, to see two people (typically men dressed in white shirts and ties), and then making the decision whether or not to open the door or continue to hide. So I went to this conference with some preconceived ideas which were less than positive or healthy. What is new about evangelization anyway? As Catholics we don’t take the hard sell approach. I came away from the conference with some new insights and the feeling that we at Saint Mary Magdalen are already doing many very good things related to evangelization. Something I will be doing as a result of my experience will be engaging the people who already come to church. There are many people who I have not met. Instead of standing in the back of church, before Mass starts and shaking hands and saying, “Good morning, how are you doing,” you may find me coming over to you, sitting down for a few minutes and finding out who you are. Evangelization is about relationships; relationship with our Lord and with one another. Don’t be scared.

OF FAITH, HOPE & LOVE from Devon Wolfe

As I mentioned last month, we’re now in the first month of this special Year of Marriage, in which we celebrate God’s gift to us of this sacramental union that is the foundation of our families and our society.

The Sunday after Christmas this year is the Feast of the Holy Family. This year it is the first of five special Sundays where we will focus on marriage in the Liturgy. One of the amazing things about the Incarnation of Jesus is that he was born into a family. He was entrusted to a married couple who would care for him, raise him, and form him into the man that God had sent him to be. So just as the fact that Jesus entered into our humanity makes us all holy, the fact that Je-sus was born into a human family makes our family life and our marriages holy as well.

For all of us who are married or who have children, we must always remember marriage and parenthood are sacred trusts that God has given us to do his will and to build his Kingdom in this world. For Catholics, marriage and parenthood aren’t primarily about our own personal happiness or satisfaction (although that’s a desired by-product), but instead they are about loving and serving our spouse and our family with the love that Christ has bestowed upon us. If we do that, we model ourselves after the original Holy Family who loved God, each other, and Jesus their son.

As we celebrate our Lord’s birth this month, let us also especially remember that just as we live out our family life every-

day with its joys and struggles, Christ also experienced that same life as a child of a devoted and loving married couple.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

SAINT MARY MAGDALEN PARISH

2201 South Old US 23 Highway Brighton, Michigan 48114-7609

(810) 229 - 8624 www.saintmarymagdalen.org

PASTOR Fr. David F. Howell pastor1@saintmarymagdalen.org

PASTORAL MINISTER Sr. Maryetta Churches, O.P. pastmin2@saintmarymagdalen.org

FORMATION & EVANGELIZA-

TION- ADULTS Sr. Joyce Hoile, O.S.F. pastmin1@saintmarymagdalen.org

EDUCATION & FORMATION-

YOUTH Mary Mahar, Director mmahar@parishmail.com Karen MacDonald, Adm. Assistant sect2@saintmarymagdalen.org

RCIA AND LITURGY Diane Kubus rcia@saintmarymagdalen.org liturgist@saintmarymagdalen.org

DEACONS H. David Scharf deacon1@saintmarymagdalen.org James Chevalier deacon2@saintmarymagdalen.org Gary Prise deacon3@saintmarymagdalen.org Devon Wolfe deacon4@saintmarymagdalen.org

MAGDALEN’S PRESCHOOL Kathie Anderer, Director preschool1@saintmarymagdalen.org

YOUTH MINISTRY Tom & Margaret Callaghan youth1@saintmarymagdalen.org

PASTORAL MUSICIAN Steven H. Schulte steve@colleengleason.com

SECRETARIES Jillian Killian sect5@saintmarymagdalen.org Debbie Dehanke sect3@saintmarymagdalen.org Sandi Phillips sect4@saintmarymagdalen.org

BOOKKEEPER Dave Wisniewski bookkeeper@saintmarymagdalen.org

MAINTENANCE Dan Tuthill maint1@saintmarymagdalen.org Mark Wolfe Kathleen Gehring

THE PASTORAL STAFF

MARKING THE CALENDAR

The FEAST of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION - Monday (DEC 8) Our national holy day honors

Mary, who was especially graced from the first moment of life to be the Mother of the Savior. Liturgies for this holy day will be at 9 am and 7pm.

CELEBRATING the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE Dec 15 Monday - 7pm Communal Celebration Holy Spirit, Hamburg Dec 17 - Wednesday - 7:30 pm Communal Celebration St. John, in Hartland Dec 20 - Saturday – 9 am Communal Celebration St. Patrick in Brighton Dec 22- Monday - from 11 am to 12 noon and 7:30 pm Communal Celebration Dec 23 Tuesday - from 11 am to 12 noon and from 6:30 to 7:30 pm

CHRISTMAS LITURGIES

++ 4 pm - Vigil Mass ++ 6:15 - The Vigil Mass ++ (Children act out the Gospel at these Liturgies)

++ 10 pm - The Mid-Night Liturgy ++

++ 10 am - The Mass of the Shepherds ++

NEW YEAR’S DAY Thursday, Jan. 1 is the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God and a holy day of obligation.

There will be two Liturgies for the beginning of the new year: 5 pm New Year's Eve and 10 am on New Year's Day.

THE EPIPHANY - Sunday, January 4 This Feast celebrates the revelation of Jesus as the Savior of the

world. By the light of a star, magi, the first Gentiles, found Christ. This Feast celebrates our hope that we will be led by the Light of Christ as well. Adoration: After the 11 am Liturgy, the Eucharist will be exposed on the altar until 4 pm, when we will end with Evening Prayer. Everyone, especially our Ministers of Prayer and Eucharistic Ministers are encour-aged to spend time in prayer.