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 2013

Volume XX 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. The second Vigil Liturgy, at 6:15 pm, will begin with our children dramatizing the Christmas story. This liturgy has become very popular, especially for families with younger chil-dren. 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 4 (Wed - 7 pm) St. Mary in Pinckney Dec 9 (Mon - 7 pm) Holy Spirit in Hamburg Dec 11 (Wed - 7:30 pm) St. Augustine in Deerfield Twp Dec 12 (Thurs - 7 pm) St. Joseph in Howell Dec 15 (Sun - 3 pm) St. Agnes in Fowlerville Dec 16 (Mon. - 7:30 pm) St. Mary Magdalen Dec 19 (Thurs. - 7:30 pm) St. John in Hartland

Dec 21 ( Sat. – 9 am) St. Patrick in Brighton

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

from the FINANCE COUNCIL July 2013 - June 2014

For Month Ending October 31, 2013

Actual Actual Fiscal Annual Fiscal INCOME Oct 31 Year to Date Budget Church 101,965 448,729 1,383,725 Capital Campaign 35,639 131,020 350,000 Religious Ed/Preschool 14,160 41,672 103,000 TOTAL INCOME 151,764 621,422 1,836,725

EXPENSES Church 32,288 216,706 840,925 Building Mortgage 41,801 167,205 620,300 Religious Ed/Preschool 15,672 96,188 375,500

TOTAL EXPENSES 89,761 480,099 1,836,725

INCOME/(LOSS) 62,003 141,323

REMAINING BALANCE 12/1/13 - Building Mortgage - $3,984,399

The Members of the Finance Council

from the TIME AND TALENT COUNCIL

Our 2013-14 Time & Talent Council did not meet in November because of Thanksgiving. We will have Novem-

ber\December meeting on Thursday, December 5, at 7 pm.

The Members of the Time and Talent Council

from the PASTORAL COUNCIL

The Pastoral Council had a very long meeting on Wednesday, November 20. While our agenda was short, it had two very important matters to discuss. The first item was a document from the Vatican on Marriage and the Family which will be used by world’s bish-ops at their next Synod a year from now. Pope Francis has asked for a broad consultation on the document before it comes before synod so that a wide range of opinions might be considered. Our bishop has asked all the Pastoral Councils in the diocese for their comments. The document itself was not long, just a few pages, but it came with a list of questions which the Council answered. All of these comments will be passed on to the diocese to be included in our diocesan response to the document. The second task was to do a final review of Vision 20\20. There are 7 goals with each having a series of strategies for how each goal might be achieved. We reviewed all our work and polished the text. At the January meeting we will decide how we will put present the plan to our parish leadership in a Directions Gathering.

The Members of the Pastoral Council

Rob Cooney Karen Tuthill Darlene March Ralph Hazen

Jodi Williamsen Cindy Finelli Ted Eisenhut Ginger Bosn

Patti Conahan Kelly Blazo Eileen Denhard Sr. Maryetta Churches

Mary Alice Galloway Debbie Dehanke, Secretary Fr. David F. Howell

Eric Silvestri Madelyn Gostomski David Grinnell Anne Marie Lawson

Dick Walker Bob Henderson Chris Topley David Williamsen

Debra Barker Dianne Hardy Ed Weber Jim Panning

Bookkeeper, Dave Wisniewski Fr. David F. Howell

Don Powell

David Williamsen

Dianne Hardy

Ed Bixler

Eileen Denhard

Jill Saxton

John Finn

Katie Panczak

Kristin Turner

Rob Kehn

Don Terns

Sherrie Kunkel

James Chevalier

Dan VanTiem

Father David Howell

COUNCIL COMMENDATIONS The Council would like to commend Dave and Valerie Mammo who generously donated a generator for our build-ing. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated especially when we will lose our power. We are truly grateful! The Council would like to commend Darlene March and Denise Domanik for all their work, their time and their talent to provide such a memorable Halloween gathering. It was a wonderful evening of fun, food and games.

RELIGIOUS FORMATION from Mary Mahar

CONFIRMATION We congratulate the 61 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:

Alyssa Albanelli

Emma Allen

Dylan Anderson

Sofia Anderson

Garrett Anthony

Hayley Baerwalde

Ryan Baravik

Emily Barr

Thayne Bilicki

Katherine Black

Peter Black

Donald Carruthers

Jacob Celmer

Joey Cesarz

Olivia Clark

James Devine

Jessica Fedewa

Julianna Greenleaf

Paul Grisdela

Eric Habarth

Richard Heaman

Kathleen Heilig

Cassie Hoisington

Matthew Holthus

Emma Kehn

Daniel Keiffer

Morgan Ketelaar

Allison Knapp

Jonathan Kowalski

Cameron Kraning

Keegan Kroll

Abigail Krzwiecki

Hailey Kunath

Michael Leech

Kristen Linck

Eric Lindberg

Matthew Loniewski

Leo Lopez

Matthew Matras

Matthew Meredith

Ethan Monte

Elliott Nazarowff

Joshua Nickerson

Nicholas Operti

Heather Reilly

McKenna Resconich

William Robinson

Jonah Schulte

Matthew Schutz

Michael Slattery

Amanda Smith

Wilfred Stokes

Brady Suszko

Adam Switala

Isabella Vincent

Brian Weber

Nicholas Williamsen

Gabrielle Wink

Emily Wolfe

Caroline Wright

Alexandra Wyeth

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!

4 2nd

Grade Parent Penance Activities 4:30/6:30 5 2

nd Grade Parent Penance Activities 5:30

4, 11, 18 Nativity Practice 6-6:30 11/12 2

nd Grade First Penance

16 Regional Penance Service here 7:30 19 Nativity Dress Rehearsal 5-7 pm Mass time on Christmas Eve, 6:15 22-Jan2 No Classes Jan 5 Classes Resume

from MAGDALEN’S LITTLE PEOPLE Kathie Anderer, director The Christmas Season is here and the anticipation and excitement is in the air. We start the busy month of

December off with our Christmas Program on Dec. 8 at 2 pm. 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. 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 remem-ber a few favorite gifts received over the years. I don’t remember how they were wrapped or how many things I re-ceived. I do remember having family around and singing Christmas songs and the special time spent with my grand-parents. It is wonderful to take in the excitement that the children are so willing 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 cel-ebrate Christmas… because of the special gift we all received—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, Dec. 23 through Jan. 5. We return on Monday, Jan. 6 and we will be talk-ing about winter, Sun, Moon, and stars, working on student evaluations and how much we are loved by Jesus.

NEW TO OUR PARISH IN NOVEMBER

YOUTH NEWS from Margaret Callaghan

The end of the year, the last month of 12, is here; soon 2013 will be over and a new year will start. The year 2013 will be one on the books. We don’t just flip over the page, we actually have to get a new calendar, getting rid of all that was to start anew, fresh, at the beginning. We wonder, “What will 2014 bring? How can I make next year better?” STOP! Take a deep breath and read on…. Thanksgiving was a month of just that, taking time to be thankful for all of God’s goodness, to reflect on all of God’s bless-ings for our family, for us as individuals and us as a community. We post online about the blessings of friendships, good health, a job and insurance coverage. We post about memories of loved ones and laughter with friends the night before. Whether 2013 has been a good year, a sad year or a year of struggle and changes, why be so glum about a new beginning? Shouldn’t we fo-cus on doing things better and being positive? Yes! Again, take a deep breath and read on…. December. Now this is a month worth celebrating! Everyone is happy and generous; the lights are beautiful and the smells are delicious. We notice a joy in our own steps and the tendency to smile more. December, yes is the last month of the year, the end of a year but, this year let December be your beginning. Let the birth of our Lord and Savior change you. As we cele-brate the birth of Jesus celebrate all that has been great in 2013. Reflect back at your struggles and ask, “How am I stronger now?” Give praise to God for giving you strength. Reflect back on changes that took place and ask, “How am I better now be-cause of what happened?” Give glory to God for helping you see the good in all things difficult.

Reflect on your friendships this past year and ask, “Who has been there, made a difference; is a new friend or an old friend?” Pray in thanksgiving for a true gift from God that which is friendship and acceptance. So now when you then celebrate New Year’s Eve, you can ring in the New Year with a feeling of accomplishment. January 1 is not just a new beginning but ra-ther a continuation of all that was that made you who you are today. You can start 2014 with gusto knowing that God was with you in 2013 and not all was lost but with God at your side, January 1 and 2014 is another day of your journey in relationship with Him. Let 2014 be a year for the both of you! Our Winter Weekend Getaway (WWG) will be here before we know it, January 23-26. We will travel up north to the Cadil-lac area and stay at Edgette’s Lodge for the weekend; we will laugh, have fun, ski, laugh and learn about Dog Man again. The cost for the weekend is $100. It includes lodging and all meals. I am taking a nonrefundable $50 to reserve your spot. If you have already paid it, I am asking for the balance due by the end of the month. Be sure to check out http://www.edgettslodge.com/ to see where we are staying. We are selling pizza magnets for $20 for a free pizza from Guido’s when you order an XL. The code on the magnet is good for an entire year! There are locations both in Hartland and Brighton. Contact Margaret Callaghan at yminister1@gmail.com to purchase one. The money the teens earn from this fundraiser will be used to help with the weeklong service trip in the summer, the Winter Weekend Getaway, Cedar Point and other scheduled events.

EDGE NEWS [for 6 - 8 graders] We only meet once in December so be sure to come and join in our celebration

of Christmas EDGE style on Dec 9 from 7-8:30. We will meet three times in January to make up for us not seeing everyone our normal two times.

Francis Wilhelm

Brighton

Christine & Chad Barringer

Alaina

Brighton

Kathleen & William Lanava

Brighton

Michelle & Leland Raven

Marissa & Leland

Howell

Christina & Denny DeGrand

Brayden & Collin

Brighton

Laurie DuBay

Lauren

Hartland

Marilyn & John Robison

Brighton

Maryanne & Brett Swanson

Fenton

CHARITY & JUSTICE from Sue Weir THE GIVING TREE This year we have Eight Charities: including St. Anne’s in Detroit; Brown Evangelical Ministries in Detroit; 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 affiliated with St. Agnes Par-ish in Flint. (The Cornerstone School is a program for adults with mental and physical handicaps.) If you would like to help those who are less fortunate, Please take a tag from the Tree and place your donation back under the tree no later than Dec 16! We cannot guarantee the charities receiving the gifts before Xmas, if left after that date. PLEASE MAKE SURE THE TAG IS TAPED, AND SECURED TO YOUR DONATION, SO WE KNOW WHICH CHARITY IT GOES TO Only Gifts for St. Agnes & Cornerstone School should be wrapped. Please leave all other gifts unwrapped. Gift cards for all the charities should be unwrapped. The gift Tags for Cornerstone list clothing size when known, and other gift suggestions. So you can choose what to get the individual The Giving Tree is a Great way to involve the entire family in a very worthwhile project. If you have any questions please contact Dianne Sweeter @ dsweeter@yahoo.com or 248-842-7762. The next Charity and Justice meeting is December 10 at 7 pm All are welcome.

OF FAITH AND SERVICE from Sr. Joyce Hoile, OSF

On the weekend of December 14-15, during and after all Masses, we will be join-ing St. Paul's in their annual Christmas Cookie Walk. Cookies will be chosen individually and will be purchased by the pound. If you bake your own Christmas cookies, you can expand the variety of cookies you serve. Remember, cookies freeze well. For those of you who signed up to bake cookies, please bring them to the church kitchen

on Saturday between 9am and 3pm or if that time does not work for you, bring them to the parish office on Friday before 4:30 pm. If you did not sign up to bring cookies, it is not too late. Just bring your batch to church as described above. ADVENT FAITH SHARING: Come for any or all. Come to learn and share. No pre-planning needed.

(3) Wednesdays, December 4,11, 18 During 4:30 Religious Education - Library Coffee, cookies, conversation (your topic or spiritual)

(3) Thursdays, December 5, 12, 19 During 5:30 Religious Education - Library Coffee, Cookies, Conversation (your topic or Spiritual)

(3) Thursdays, December 5, 12, 19 7 pm - Library Catching Fire Becoming Flame: Spiritual Transformation

( Facilitator - Sr. Joyce )

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 Sacraments : With Father Dave Howell begins January 13. Explore the history, background and meaning of the sacraments which bring us into an encounter with the Risen Lord. Mondays 7-8:45 pm

Christianity in America Mr. Daniel Moulton will trace the threads of Christianity in American history and explore its ongoing role in the fabric of American society.

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 op-portunity to make clear for yourself the why and how the Church can grant an annulment. Do you know when an annulment cannot be granted? Mark your calendar for Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7pm for an evening of explanation and discussion. Your ques-tions are welcome. Every person’s situation is unique. Please call Sr. Joyce any time with ques-tions you may have.

THANK YOU SOLO WOMEN Advent By Candlelight was planned and organized by this group of women from our parish. Thanks to Mary Switzer and Claudette Wilkinson who orga-nized it; Richard Switzer who wrote and rehearsed the play, and the Knights of Columbus helped with the stage set up. Members of our Youth Group and parishioners from St. Paul Church contributed to the events of the evening. Thank you to the generous hostesses who made the evening beauti-ful and delicious!

CATHOLICS RETURNING HOME Do you know someone who does not come to Mass regu-larly and could use some encouragement? Would you invite those you know who have doubts, questions or concerns about the Church to have the opportunity to have them addressed? Are you willing to come with them for at least some of these sessions? Perhaps they would like to make a new start this Christmas? This could be the best Christmas gift given to God and to ourselves. It will run on Mondays, 6:30 – 8:45 pm, January 13, 20, 27 & February 3, 10, 17. Soup & sandwiches & dessert provided Please contact Sr. Joyce if you would like to be on the Team &/or to help.

Muchos Gratias!

BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD !

Many thanks to the engineers who designed St. Mary Magdalen’s Anniversary Float and the many hands that worked to complete it. Your many hours of labor is appre-ciated. The float was beautiful! You made our parish proud! Christ is our Light in the World.

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 printed 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 indi-cated 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 cherries 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 broken 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

As we approach the Christmas Season, we hope that our dreams of everlasting life will someday be fulfilled. But how can we rejoice and be happy in the Lord, or expect anything from him, if he is far from us? Pray that God may not be far. If he is, that is our fault. Love, and he will draw near; Love, and he will dwell within us.

The Lord is at hand so have no anxiety. Are you puzzled to know that he will be with us if we but love? God is Love! So what do we mean by love? It is that which enables us to be loving. What do we love? A good that words cannot describe, a good that is forever giving, a good that is the Creator of all good. Delight in him from whom you have received everything that delights you, for everything good comes from God.

I pray that you and yours will have a blessed Christmas Season.

SERVANT OF MANY from Gary Prise

He is coming! Who you may ask? Christ! Advent is upon us, are you ready? Are you giving something up for Advent? Candy, TV, or smoking? Whoops wrong season. How are you preparing for Christ’s coming? It is a time of great expectation. Our culture is focused on Christmas, not the birth of Jesus, but the buying of gifts, send-ing out cards, decorating our homes, entertaining family and friends and being entertained. We’ve been bombard-ed with the stuff of Christmas since September, it may have been even earlier. But how are we preparing our hearts for His coming? It is a time of peace, joy, hope, and love. It is an opportunity to draw closer to our Lord.

I encourage you not to become so wrapped up in the commercialism of the season that you lose sight of the deeper meaning of this pre-Christmas time. Spend some quiet time with the Lord. There are lots of good reflection aids available to help you reflect on the spiritual meaning of this season. Take some time each day in prayer, re-flect on the readings of the day, just go to the parish web page and you can access them. Peace, joy, hope, and love are gifts that can last long after the tree is down, the gifts are unwrapped, and the food and drink are gone. Ultimately they can bring us closer to one another and to God; more than anything we can buy. Merry Advent!

OF FAITH, HOPE & LOVE from Devon Wolfe

Advent is the time when we as God’s people focus on the second of the three theological virtues: Hope. In a Christian sense, hope doesn’t mean a wish, like “I hope I win the lottery,” but instead, hope means confidence and trust in the Lord as the one who walks with us on life’s journey, and in whom we place our eternal destiny. No matter how many bad things happen in our lives, if we have hope, we can be confident that God is with us.

The single best way to incorporate hope into our lives is to deepen our conversation with the Lord, through prayer and through spending time reflecting on the Word. We have to let the Lord into our lives to be able to be filled with the confidence and trust that he can give us.

As we enter Advent, we can best experience the season if we set aside a little time to spend with the Lord. Using the Little Blue Books is a great way to do this. Another way is to light an Advent wreath at family meals and briefly discuss its meaning. And, we can also mark the season by concluding our prayers with “As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ” – a line used by the priest in a prayer called the embolism just be-fore we conclude the Our Father at Mass.

May you be filled this Advent and Christmas with the hope that comes from the Lord who came to live among us and now lives within each of our hearts!

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 Isra-el as it longed for the Messiah. By attuning our lives to the Scriptures that antici-pate and describe the first coming of Christ, we personally enter into the expectan-cy 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 Advent 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 salva-tion. In this season of watchful longing, we might ask ourselves, "What are our deepest 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 answered in new and surprising ways. On Dec. 1, the first Sunday of Advent, at the 11 am Liturgy we, the Community of God’s people welcomed with great joy and love 6 adults and 3 children into the Church. They are on the journey 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

Josie Doucette Karen MacDonald Debbie Dehanke Sandi Phillips Dan Tuthill Mark Wolfe Kathleen Gehring

KNIGHT’S KORNER from Ken Anderer, grand Knight Our council has donated two cases of new coats from the K of C Coats for Kids program. Deacon Jim delivered the coats to Love Inc., just in time for the winter weather. We are also in the midst of our annual sweatshirt drive for Holy Cross Children’s Services. Each year purchase and wrap new sweat-shirts for the children at HCCS to insure that they have a present to open at Christmas. Our council will be gathering on Saturday, December 14, to go Christmas Caroling to local residents who are home bound. Let me know if you would like to join us or you know of someone that we could visit and bring a little holiday cheer to their day. Our council also lent a hand with the construction of the Festival of Lights float. For information about our or-der or our council, please contact me.

THANKS & PRAISE from Sr. Maryetta Churches

We thank and praise all the 9th graders and their families for the lovely reception that they put on after the Confir-mation Liturgy, Nov 16!. All of you did a wonderful job & made the celebration so memorable. We also give thanks and praise for all of our volunteers who do mailings for us. Everything is always organized and done in a timely manner. Thanks 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 Josie Doucette sect1@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 9) 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 Monday morning.

CELEBRATING the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE Monday - Dec 16 7:30 pm Communal Celebration Thurs - Dec 19 from 4 pm to 5 pm & at 7:30 pm A Communal Celebration at St. John, Hartland Fri - Dec 20 from 11 am - 12 noon Saturday - Dec 21 9 am Communal Celebration at St. Patrick Saturday - Dec 21 from 11 am to 12 noon Monday - Dec 23 from 11 am to 12 noon & 6:30 to 7:30 pm

CHRISTMAS LITURGIES

++ 4 pm - Vigil Mass ++ 6:15 - The Vigil Mass ++ (with the Children re-enacting the Gospel before the Liturgy)

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

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

NEW YEAR’S DAY Wednesday, 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 5 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. 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 encouraged to spend time in prayer.