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Issue 11 Spring 2014

Holy Trinity/St. Michael Spring 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

I received good feedback from the book Rediscover

Catholicism that was given out at Christmas. The

book, by Matthew Kelly, reminds us of the beauty

of our Catholic faith and the universal call to

holiness.

A beautiful part of our Catholic faith is the season

of Lent, which begins with the blessing and

imposition of ashes. This year, we have a late start

to Lent (March 5th) but hopefully, it will guarantee a

warm, pleasant Easter (April 20th).

The ashes are symbolic of the shortness of life and

the call to prayer, fasting and weeks of service and

mercy. Masses for Ash Wednesday are 6 a.m. and

7:45 a.m. at Holy Trinity and 6:30 p.m. at St.

Michael. Stations of the Cross and area wide

Penance Services are also a prayerful part of Lent.

Stay tuned to the bulletin for dates and times.

May Lent 2014, be a meaningful time for all of us

to rediscover Catholicism. Several books are still

available, if you lost yours or didn’t receive one. It

is a great book highly recommended by Bishop

Donald Hying.

A blessed Lent,

Fr. Ed Kornath

Holy Trinity School News

It’s hard to believe that we have just finished

the first semester, which means the school year

is half over. Our 3rd

, 5th

and 7th

grade students

are preparing to take the Iowa Basic testing the

beginning of March, so please keep them in

your prayers during this time,

Catholic School’s Week: The week started out

with two days off due to the cold weather, but

we still managed to have a great week. The

Spelling Bee (Grades 5-8) was held on

Wednesday, January 29th

, and the top two

spellers compete in the district bee in February.

Congratulations to Reagan Dricken 1st,

Dominic Zillmer 2nd

, and Everett Quissek

(alternate). Thursday started out with Mass and

was dress your best day. The students looked

wonderful all dressed up. Thursday evening the

Holy Trinity students had their science fair

projects displayed in the church basement for

everyone to see. The week ended with an all

school trip to Lighthouse Lanes for a fun-filled

afternoon of bowling! Thanks for your support

of Catholic Education.

Chili Dinner: It was a successful event. A hot

bowl of chili with sides and dessert along with

good fellowship made the chilly weather more

bearable. We brought in $851.00.

THANK YOU!

Congratulations: Kate Butschlick in 3rd

grade

earned a 2nd

place finish for her Dig Deep

poster in the Conservation Poster contest.

Athletes: As the basketball season comes to the

end, we would like to congratulate the boys and

girls who played and practiced hard. Several

trophies were added to our trophy case this

season. Go Wildcats!

Kindergarten Open House: A special open

house for the 3K, 4K and 5K was held on

Thursday, February 6th

.

Registration: It is registration time for the

2014/2015 school year. We have a wonderful

School Family incentive program this year. If a

school family enrolls a new family to Holy

Trinity School, both the new family and the

school family receive a $500 Drexel Building

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Supply voucher and a $500 Tuition credit. So

now is a great time to enroll at HTS.

Again we would like to thank you for your

continued support of Holy Trinity School.

Without your help, all this would not be

possible.

The caring, supportive community of Holy

Trinity School might be just what you’re

looking for-an environment where your child

can thrive.

A Catholic education offers many benefits,

including:

Personal attention

Opportunities for spiritual growth

Academic excellence

It’s never too late to enroll in Catholic school.

Call us and find out why Catholic education is

the answer!

Jodi Casetta, Principal

262-626-2603

casettaj@archmil.org

Holy Trinity Buildings & Grounds

Our broken central vac has been replaced and

paid for. Money for this unit came from four

members of our parish, whose names will be

kept anonymous with the highest amount being

$500.00 and the other three paying the rest. We

thank those that helped out and give yourselves

a pat on the back. THANKS

Cleaning the first part of January, which was a

good crew that came in, we found that we could

use a vacuum with a hose on it to clean up the

hard to reach areas. A lot of salt was brought in

and it gets to areas that can’t be reached with

the other vacuums. One of our small vacs went

on the blink and it is not worth fixing per the

vacuum people in West Bend. A new one

would be $60.00. We use these small hand

vacuums for stair areas. So if there are some

good working vacs available, drop them off in

the Narthex furnace room. It would be

appreciated.

Thanks to Jim L., the small water heater was

replaced in the sacristy closet. It lasted about

11 years. It was replaced with a 2-½ gallon

one. The former was a 6 gallon one. It is used

to wash the Mass chalice and cups.

We have another problem with a leaking

heating pipe in the church boiler room. Andy

P. has temporarily patched part of the pipe and

we are hoping that the leak don’t get too bad so

we can repair it later, after the heating season.

Thanks Andy for staying on top of these

problems. He also indicated there is a water

pipe in the school basement that needs

attention.

We have a couple months of Winter left and

then it’s Spring. Yeah!

H.T. Human Concerns Committee

HT first graders adopt seminarians.

A recent item in the bulletin caught the eye of

Leann Butschlick, and because she acted on it,

all the current seminarians at St. Francis

Seminary have now been adopted by members

of Holy Trinity parishioners.

In the past, adults have volunteered to step up

and write to the seminarians. Butschlick

wondered if students at Holy Trinity could

participate in the program and spoke to Human

Concerns member Judy Harlow about the

possibility.

Harlow was delighted with the idea, especially

considering the wonderful experience it would

be for the children and how the seminarians

would respond to cards and prayers from little

children.

Is Catholic education the

answer to your prayers?

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Butschlick got the green light to proceed from

principal, Jody Casetta, and got started,

volunteering the first grade, which includes her

daughter, Mara.

Just before Christmas, Mrs. Tammy Duff, who

was subbing while the class’ regular teacher,

Betsy Simon, was out on maternity leave,

explained the project. The children were eager

to help out.

Duff said the children made some beautiful

Christmas cards and, “They know these men

are going to become priests.”

There are seven kids in the first grade, and the

boys adopted one of the candidates and the girls

the other, according to Butschlick. In January,

Butschlick planned to help the class write

letters to the seminarians, and “In February we

are sending Valentines,” she said, adding,

“Beyond that, I don’t know.”

Recently, the children were asked how they

thought the seminarians would feel when they

get their cards. David Zillmer responded by

saying, “I think they will feel good because I

said, “I love you and you will be an awesome

priest.” “Adopting a seminarian makes me

happy because we are helping people” said

Anna Amerling, while Maddie Marquardt said

“I feel great because we will have a new

priest.”

The other participants included: Luke Okrent,

Landon Daniel, Mara Butschlick and Emily

Melzer.

Butschlick also spoke to Fr. Ed about

expanding on the idea of teaching the children

about how men prepare for the priesthood. “I

had talked to Father Ed before his vacation, and

he said after he returned, he was going to talk to

the class about being in the seminary.”

Because of cancelled school days, Fr. Ed has

not been able to visit the class but says he still

plans to do so. Fr. Ed wholeheartedly

applauded the list of children adopting the

seminarians.

Already Butschlick has had a note from one of

the candidates. He responded to a cover letter

she sent along with the children’s cards.

I think they will get a kick out of it, especially

if we keep it going” Butschlick said and

concerning the possibility of attending the

ordination of these men added, “That would be

really neat!”

Joint Human Concerns

As we are now in Ordinary Time and life has

settled back into a daily routine, it is a good

opportunity to praise God for the generosity of

parishioners of Holy Trinity and St. Michael

through projects sponsored by the Joint Human

Concerns committee. The winter Clothing

Drive provided gently used winter clothing for

several organizations. Among the

acknowledgements received, the School Sisters

of Notre Dame provided a written thank you for

the generous gift of clothing including coats,

suits, slacks and blouses. The letter ended with

the following prayer: “May God fill your days

with love, hope, and a thankful heart.” May He

indeed!

Through the Advent Giving Tree project, you

provided hundreds of Christmas gifts to a wide

variety of people including elderly in care

facilities, retired sisters at St. Joseph Convent,

underprivileged children, homeless families,

and members of our sister parish in Nicaragua.

The Sisters and Staff at St. Joseph Convent

expressed their thanks with a lovely Christmas

card thanking our parishes for supporting the

Sisters over the past year.

Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, the

recitation of the Rosary was added at Holy

Trinity as a weekly devotion prior to the 7:30

a.m. Sunday Mass. More leaders are needed so

that this devotion can continue each week of

the year. For more information, contact Sharon

Ellefson at 262-629-5670.

As the committee has done for several years,

we will again be collecting hygiene items

during Lent for distribution to the needy. These

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items are distributed to residents in Milwaukee

through the St. Ben Clinic program and to our

sister parish in Nicaragua. We look forward to

the generosity of both parishes again this year

in participating in this project that provides

basic necessities to those less fortunate.

Parish members will be offering Lenten

Devotions (Stations of the Cross) for the

residents at Kettle Moraine Gardens each

Wednesday during Lent. If you would like to

participate in this worthwhile program or for

more information, please call Sharon Ellefson

at 629-5670. Materials are available for use so

there is no need to provide your own. Further,

we recite the Rosary with the Kettle Moraine

Garden residents during May – anyone

available for this devotion can call the above

number as well. If you have lived in

Kewaskum for a while, many of the residents

are probably your friends and former neighbors.

Participating is a great way to connect with

them again.

Please remember to join your fellow

parishioners at Holy Trinity the third Sunday of

each month for Fellowship in the church hall

after the 7:30 a.m. Mass. On February 16th

,

Christian Women will be hosting and they look

forward to seeing you there! On March 16th

,

Home and School will be the hosts.

The Human Concerns committee welcomes

new members from both Holy Trinity and St.

Michael at any time. Working on the

committee together is a great opportunity for

couples to serve others and spend time together.

Meetings are generally held at Holy Trinity at

7:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month

(excluding July and December).

For more information about upcoming meetings

or more information, contact Vicki Heideman

at 626-1317. However, there is no need for

regular meeting attendance to be a committee

member. We are currently looking for new

leaders to organize Sunday morning Fellowship

at Holy Trinity and the Giving Tree project.

Both activities are well organized and training

for new leaders will be provided. Taking over

a successful and well-established project is a

great way to get involved! Again, contact Vicki

at 626-1317 or at viche@bertramwireless.com

for more information.

Birthday List

Feb. 20 – Irma Reindl

K.M.G. I – Apt. 203

1038 Fond du Lac Ave.

Kewaskum, WI 53040

Mar. 22 – John Schoofs

The Sterling House Ste. 18

1001 Primrose Lane

Fond du Lac, WI 54935

Mar. 24 – Jeanne Staehler

K.M.G. #2 – Rm. 11

1040 Fond du Lac Ave.

Kewaskum, WI 53040

Thank You Notes!

Dear Holy Trinity Catholic Church,

Thank you for the lovely gifts you gave to the

residents at the Beechwood Rest Home. The

residents were overjoyed to receive these

presents.

The CD’s that were given are played at meal

time in the dining room; all the residents

benefit from the music.

The markers that were given are used at craft

time, also, used by everyone.

A blessed New Year to your congregation.

Sincerely,

Carolyn A. Beimborn ADC, AP-BC

Activity Director

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Dear Holy Trinity Congregation,

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness

concerning the residents at Kettle Moraine

Gardens. If I understand correctly, some of

your parishioners buy a Christmas gift to help

lift the spirits of each resident.

Both my parents now reside at the Gardens and

each received a Wisconsin Badgers throw

(blanket). They love them, especially since they

are alumni.

Please thank the wonderful people who

participated, especially the people who bought

the very thoughtful gifts for my Mom and Dad!

Sincerely,

Sue Chesak

*My parents are Walter and Phyllis Bade*

Spiritual Lending Library

Perhaps with this very frigid and snowy winter,

you have some extra time for reading. There

are always books added to the library. Take a

look! Anyone from either parish is welcome to

sign out books. There are also CD’s on the

right bookcase to listen to. Many are talks from

the Light House Media. These are very

inspirational.

Several books about the saints have been

added. Also, our one Great Act of Fidelity –

Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist by Fr.

Ronald Rolheiser, The Gift of Peace by Joseph

Cardinal Bernardin and Opening the Gift –

Rediscovering the Joy of Being Catholic by

Father E Eschweiler, The Day I Died by

Melanie Pritchard, as well as many others.

After Ash Wednesday, books pertaining to Lent

will be on the top of the bookcase.

Don’t forget to take a look at the books for the

children. Also feel free to use any of them

during the Mass. There are also some books

for Pre-Teens and Teens. When we need to

remove books because of space shortage, they

are offered for anyone to take, on the lower

level near the elevator.

Family Promise

Our next host week in Kewaskum is March 2-9.

It’s been a busy time at Family Promise this

winter. The Day Center recently took over the

responsibilities of answering and responding to

the Homeless Hotline in Washington County.

They have been inundated daily with phone

calls from folks in need of help. Stringent

guidelines and requirements prevent them from

being able to help all, and families are always

given priority. Please remember these people

in your prayers.

Exciting events for Family Promise of

Washington County are on the horizon as

Spring knocks on our door.

- March 13 is Match Day. This is an

online giving opportunity sponsored by

the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

Anyone interested in giving to Family

Promise of Washington County can go

online to www.matchdaymke.org on

this day and donate any amount. Your

amount will be proportionately matched

with total proceeds staying local to our

organization. Last year over $20,000

was raised just for Family Promise of

Washington County. This money does

not go to the homeless families directly;

it is used to support the program

services to help the families get back on

their feet.

- April 1 is Moving Day (hopefully) The

Day Center will be moving its offices,

along with Habitat for Humanity and

the Youth and Family Project, to its new

facility in the former Restat building

across from Holy Angels School in

West Bend. Renovations are underway

- now and hope to be completed by April

1st.

- May 10 is FP 5th

Annual Golf Outing at

Scenic View Country Club. You

golfers who are looking for an early

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season outing, this is the one for you!

This unique outing comes with

unlimited Schwai brats served at the

turn and steak dinner after golf. A

special early bird team fee of $350 is for

participating host and support churches

(that’s us) who sign up before April 1.

Flyers will be posted at Holy Trinity

and St. Michael, but contact Rhonda

Faehling if you want information sent to

you. There’s a surprise gift for the

Volunteer Coordinator (that’s Rhonda)

who brings in the most golfers!

Consider volunteering with Family Promise in

early March when the homeless families come

to Peace Church. A couple hours in the

evening serving food or talking with the guests

is all it takes. Overnight volunteers are always

in short supply so if you don’t mind sleeping on

an air mattress for the night, become an

overnight volunteer. Meals and food donations

are always welcome. It’s a great activity to do

with your family because the children in the

program love to meet and play with new

children. Often it is impossible to distinguish

between our guests and our volunteers. These

folks are everyday normal people in a tough

spot in their lives. Contact Rhonda to help:

rfaeling@gmail.com or 262-626-4071.

Holy Trinity Finance Committee

Holy Trinity Parish has finished updating our

accounting records to December 3l, 2013. This

is half way through our year which ends June

30, 2014. So far this year we are operating (on

a cash basis) at a surplus of $37,743. This

compares with a surplus at December 3l, 2012

of $64,532. We currently have a little over

$75,000 in unpaid bills including insurance and

the annual assessment to the Archdiocese of

Milwaukee. As we reported in December 2013,

parishioners increased their pledge amounts by

32%. We encourage you to fulfill these pledges

as soon as you can, but definitely before June

30, 2014. Also due to our tuition falling below

our budgeted amount for the 2013-2014 year,

we strongly encourage you to increase your

tithing amounts during these next 6 months to

help cover this shortfall. We currently have

$25,000 in the parish checking account

compared to $60,000 at the same time last year.

We do not have any unrestricted savings. We

do have funds that are restricted for certain

specific causes and can’t be used to pay bills.

Tithing collected through December 31, 2013

was $226,446. Tithing through the same period

last year was $226,767. We did have a Parish

financial appeal in fall 2012 that raised

approximately $35,000.

Most Parish expenses through December 31,

2013 are similar to the same period of the prior

year. We have been hit hard by substantially

higher utility bills ($20,677 for 6 months this

year), plus repairs and replacements of doors

and roofing this year ($7,000).

As Father Ed so beautifully stated in his year-

end pledge card report: (Please accept my

sincere gratitude for all you continue to do for

our faith community. I feel privileged to be a

witness to faith in action. We promise to be

responsible stewards of the financial support,

time and talent you give to the work of our

parish ministries. Thank you, Lord, for the

goodness of Your People.”

Religious Education

Good things are happening with your children

in the CCD and CYE Programs. On Sunday,

January 12, Holy Trinity and St. Michael

Parishes witnessed the Confirmation of 20

young adults. Congratulations to our

Confirmation class. Thanks to Bishop Hying,

Fr. Ed, Deacon Ralph Horner and Deacon Mark

Jansen, the choir and the many liturgical

ministers and all who donated their time and

talents to make this day special.

First Communion is scheduled on Sunday,

May 4. Parents will have the choice of either

the 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. Michael or the 11:00

a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity. The First

Communion Parent’s Meeting will be held on

February 12 from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at

Holy Trinity Church. At least one parent must

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be present for the meeting. The First

Communion Activity Day is April 26. Parents

will choose between an activity day at St.

Michael from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with Mass

included or a bus trip to the Shrine of Our Lake

of Good Hope in New Franken, WI. The

Shrine of Our Lady of Good Hope is the only

validated Marian Apparition Shrine in the

United States and is only 17 miles from Green

Bay. Practice for First Communion will be

May 2 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Michael and 6:30 p.m.

at Holy Trinity.

Ash Wednesday class for both the CCD and

CYE students will be attending the 6:30 p.m.

Mass at St. Michael. Attendance will be taken

in the church hall. The CCD students will be

released to parents after the Mass, however, the

CYE students will continue with a 30-minute

class immediately after the celebration of the

Mass.

The Sophomores will present the Shadow

Stations at Holy Trinity Church on April 16.

This will take the place of the CCD and CYE

Classes. All are welcomed to share in this

Spiritual Way of the Cross.

The CYE classes will include Adoration and

Benediction on March 19, and a presentation of

Divine Mercy and the Canonization of Pope

John Paul II on April 23. All CYE students

have received a copy of the book, Rediscover

Catholicism by Matthew Kelly and we hope to

read and discuss several chapters time

permitting.

The last day of CCD and CYE is April 30 with

a Mass and a wrap up program.

I am looking forward to working with the

families of the Religious Education Program.

If you have any questions or concerns, please

contact me at the Religious Education Office,

262-626-2650.

Marie Joers

Interim DRE

Nicaraguan News

Greetings to all. Now I remember why I spend

my winters in Nicaragua. This is my first

freezing experience since I retired and left for

the missions in 2006. I will not return to

Nicaragua this year but Ann Neumann, from

Holy Trinity, will travel to Waspam and the

surrounding area. Ann will fly to Managua on

February 17 and onto Puerto Cabezas the

following day. Costina, the only inland plane

company, has canceled their flights to Waspam

so now everyone has to fly to Puerto Cabezas

and then take a four + hour road trip to

Waspam. Unfortunately, the rains have hit hard

and longer this year and the dirt road is now a

mud, pothole ridden, sad excuse of a road.

Good luck Ann. I do not envy you.

Ann will join Padre Elvis on a mission trip

down river. She will visit Miskito communities

including Klampa, Uran, Sih, and Utla Mahta.

Padres Elvis and Ann will then travel by road to

several more communities with Indian names

such as Tee Kiamp, Kuiwi Tingi, Tasba Pain

and Wisconsin. Yes, there is a community

called Wisconsin, approximately two-hour

drive from Waspam. I have never visited

Wisconsin so this will be a new experience

from one Wisconsinite to another. Ann will

bring a map with her showing the distance

between Wisconsin, USA to Wisconsin,

Nicaragua. Ann returns home on March 10.

Our prayers are with her for a safe and dry

journey. Pictures and a write-up on her

experiences will follow.

Our two 45 foot containers have arrived to their

destinations in Nicaragua. The containers were

packed in May and October 2013. The barrels

and boxes, furniture and all goods traveled by

semi to an American port, by boat to Honduras

and through customs, trucked to Managua

where they were examined by Nicaraguan

customs and held in a warehouse. They are

then sorted and trucked to the outlining mission

sights. Word has come from Bishop Paul

Schmitz, Padre Elvis and Padre Chistobal

(Waspam), Padre Nilo (Puerto Cabezas), Padre

Jifer (Seminary Minor in Bluefields) and Padre

Floriano, (Rector of the Cathedral in

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Bluefields) and the Sisters of St. Agnes that the

much anticipated items have arrived. Thanks to

all who have donated household, blankets,

religious items, candles, furniture, food, school

supplies, and so much more to the needy in

Nicaragua. During the May 2013 Scholastic

Book Fair at Holy Trinity School, parishioners,

parents of Holy Trinity students and CYE

Students purchased books from the book fair.

The book fair held a “buy one book and get one

free” sale. Many families donated their “free”

books to Nicaragua. The 45 picture storybooks

are written in Spanish and will be shipped to

Nicaragua this June. Sister Rose Kowalski,

Congregation of St. Agnes, Fond du Lac,

oversees the school library. Under her care, the

430 students (Kindergarden-6 grade) have the

only library in Waspam and the surrounding

400 miles of the Rio Coco. She has been

asking for children books, which are either hard

to find or are very expensive to purchase in

Managua. This library is open to all children in

the Waspam area. On behalf of the students,

Mucha Gracias…Tingki Pali…Thank you.

Marie Joers

Athletic Association

The basketball season is winding down.

Fall volleyball signup for the 5th

-8th

grade girls

will be held sometime in May.

Holy Trinity Athletic Association has their cash

raffle going on. If you need tickets, you can

pick them up at Holy Trinity parish office or

the school office. The drawing will be

Tuesday, March 4th

, for the raffle.

HT Cemetery Committee

In 2013, Holy Trinity re-established the

Cemetery Committee to look into controlling

the costs of maintaining the four cemeteries that

Holy Trinity is responsible for, namely Holy

Trinity East (old cemetery on the East side of

Kewaskum), Holy Trinity West (new cemetery

west of Kewaskum), St. Bridget Cemetery

(across the road from the old St. Bridget

Church), and St. Matthias Cemetery (adjacent

to St. Matthias Chapel). The goal is to reduce

our expenses by 10 to 15% from their current

level, without affecting the quality and care of

these cemeteries. In 2013, we reduced our

maintenance expenditures by $549.35, which

was an 11.67% savings over 2012 expenses.

Since 1998, our expenses have exceeded our

income by an average of $l, 833.72 a year.

During the past 16 years, we had a surplus in

cemetery funds that allowed us to cover the

excess expenses. That fund is now depleted,

down to the Archdiocese required Perpetual

Care Fund (15% of all cemetery sales) that has

to be maintained and placed in a protected bond

fund. Because of our financial situation, we

had to raise the price per gravesite to $500 and

curtail some summer mowing. Your cemetery

sextons and caretakers are doing everything

possible to hold down maintenance costs and at

the same time give the cemetery the care,

respect and dignity required and deserved.

Please direct questions and concerns to:

Cemetery Sextons: Holy Trinity East and West

– Zachary Stoffel (626-4852), St. Bridget –

John Amerling (626-2581), St. Matthias – Alex

and Jenni Bolek (626-8208) or Committee

Chair – Al Weiland (334-4152)

Men of Christ Conference 2014

When: Saturday, March 15, 2014

Where: Milwaukee Theatre

Again this year we will be able to provide free

bus transportation to and from the conference.

Early bird pricing is $43 for an adult; after

February 17 adult tickets go up to $48. Student

pricing is $22 until March 10th

.

You can either purchase your tickets online at

www.menofchrist.net or get them from Men of

Christ parish leaders

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Stewardship

You are probably wondering why Holy Trinity

is receiving so many donations for our

stewardship initiatives. As we grow in

numbers and our presence in the Kewaskum

community becomes prominent, our

commitment to stay in personal touch with our

parishioners remains unchanged. With our

mission focused on bringing souls to Christ, we

have always understood the value in staying

connected with our church family; keeping you

informed with a sense of unity with Holy

Trinity Parish.

We have about 800 parishioner members, with

about 37% very active, another 30%

somewhat active, and final 33% is fairly

inactive. With our Phone Tree system in

place, we can accomplish more of our

communication goals and maintain an

individual connection to each of our

parishioners. Father Ed’s messages are filled

with hope and warmth.

With our Christmas book program, we are

helping our parishioners rediscover

Catholicism. Central to the beauty and richness

of our faith is that it is constantly in need of

being rediscovered. Not because it changes,

because we change. In Matthew Kelly’s book,

Rediscover Catholicism, one of the most read

Catholic books of our time (other than the

Bible), Kelly grips his readers and takes them

on a life-changing journey to rediscover the

genius of Catholicism. Kelly proposes that

Catholicism is not a lifeless set of rules, but a

way of life designed by God to help each of us

reach our full potential.

Because 32% of people today go to Christmas

Mass or Easter Mass only, these are our best

opportunities to re-engage them and re-energize

our Kewaskum community. Parishes that

participate in this program experience a 9.1%

increase in parishioner engagement. These

books cost $2 each and were covered by a

parishioner donation. We had many volunteers

who personally handed 1,000 of Matthew

Kelly’s book to parishioners, visitors, teachers

and students this past month.

This book has been shared with hundreds of

thousands of Catholics nationwide. Here are a

few things people have to say:

- “This book brought my son back to the

Church!”

- “I have been away from the Church for

twenty years, but last Christmas

something drew me to go. On the way

out of Mass, everyone was handed a

copy of a book and for some reason I

read it. I came back to the Church

because of this book.”

- “A great book can transform a life. This

Book Program can transform a parish.”

We would like to do an Easter Book Program

using another widely read book from Dynamic

Catholic. If you would like to be a part of this

stewardship initiative, please contact Father Ed

or send a check to the Parish Office or place in

collection basket and mark it Easter Book

Program. Cost per book again is $2.

Our new website

www.kewaskumcatholicparishes.org is full of

information about our parish. It includes Mass

schedules, bulletins, ministry schedules,

newsletters, and membership and minutes of

committee meetings. Also included are bible

readings, daily prayers, family activities,

recipes and many links to Holy Trinity School

activities and other local Catholic parishes.

Please go to this website, you will be pleasantly

surprised at the beauty and clarity of it.

Our message on the Billboard south of

Kewaskum, Welcome Christ Into Your

Family, is a 24-hour, 7 day a week invitation to

our community to welcome Christ into our

lives. 57,000 vehicles drive past this billboard

every week. With these many outreach

messages, we are beginning to see increased

engagement of parishioners and also many new

families attending Mass at Holy Trinity.

Research shows that over 70% of visitors to a

church are because of a personal invitation.

People will usually stick with a church because

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they have personal relationships. These

relationships are usually through small groups.

We have many committees and bible study

groups now, and will be creating a Ministry

Guide to help parishioners find a group where

they feel welcome and can share their talents.

Please help us welcome new members to Holy

Trinity. Studies show that only 12% of people

who try out a new church come back a second

time. The main reason listed for not coming

back is they didn’t feel welcome. So please

smile and make your new neighbors at Holy

Trinity feel welcome.

If you like what the Stewardship Committee is

doing with these many innovative efforts,

please contact Jim Wessing, Chair at

jwessing@kondex.com or 262-626-4321. We

are constantly looking for new ideas to

welcome Christ into our parishioners’ lives, and

our local community. Thank you to all for so

many large donations in these first 6 months of

our committee’s existence.

Stewardship Committee Report: We have

completed four All-Committee/Stewardship

planning meetings during the July 1- December

31 time-frame. We achieved the following

accomplishments.

We successfully completed our Enhanced

Offertory Program with a Commitment

Weekend on October 19/20th

. Masses included

over 60 students serving in many different

roles. All students in both the Religious

Education Program and Holy Trinity School

did sidewalk art, painted pumpkins and created

posters; outlining what their Catholic faith

means to them. Parishioners took these items

home, and the young artist was added to their

prayers.

We had a successful turnout with our Enhanced

Offertory Program as 296 parishioners

completed financial pledge cards. This is a

23.3% improvement over the 2012 pledge

campaign. Secondly, the total dollar amount

pledged was 32.2% higher than last year, which

should greatly help Holy Trinity to balance our

2013/2014 budget. Thank you very much for

your generous financial support.

The total cost of printed brochures, prayer

cards, and envelopes for our Enhanced

Offertory Program was $2,180 and was covered

by a donation from a generous parishioner

family.

Through a generous donation of $1,859, we

purchased a Phone Tree Voice Wave Plus

automatic messaging system. This system is a

one-time cost and works with our current

software. Father sent out a wonderful message

of hope and blessings for both the

Thanksgiving & Christmas holiday. This is an

on-going strategy to connect Father more

closely with all parishioners through outbound

messaging. Father will send another message at

Easter.

Through many hours of hard work, Al Weiland

collected telephone numbers that now bring our

Holy Trinity database from about 50% of

parishioners’ numbers to over 90%. Thank you,

Al, for this work.

Through a donation of $1,640 by Father Ed and

a generous Holy Trinity family, 830 books by

Matthew Kelly titled Rediscover Catholicism

were given to parishioners, visitors, teachers,

and students. Also, through a generous

donation of $550, bookmarks and refrigerator

magnets with our newly remodeled website

www.kewaskumcatholicparishes.org were

given to all parishioners. All Holy Trinity

committees chairs, minutes, meeting dates and

times, members and contact information are

now listed on our website.

Through special efforts by Deb Nevsimal, a

beautiful new logo for Holy Trinity Parish &

School was developed and unanimously

approved at our November 26th

meeting. This

logo will help to unify our parish, school and

all ministries around a common theme, thereby

strengthening our local community

identification. All Holy Trinity letterheads,

envelopes, clothing, etc. will eventually use this

new unified brand and logo.

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Through a generous donation of $6,500 a

billboard has been contracted for all of 2014.

This is our second major outreach ministry into

our local community. The message of

“Welcome Christ Into Your Family” has

been favorably received in our community and

ties well with Mathew Kelly’s major theme in

his book.

Sandwich signs have been ordered through

another generous donation of $412 and we have

regular outreach messages to our community

and those who drive past Holy Trinity church.

We are currently on our third message. This

one encourages young parents to register their

children now for the 2014/2015 Holy Trinity

School year.

We have facilitated a list of physical needs that

exist at Holy Trinity Parish. This list includes

things such as repairing/replacing the

Clavinova (wearing out), new electrical service

for Holy Trinity kitchen (circuits fail during

funeral dinners), repairs/improvements in

numerous classrooms at Holy Trinity School,

replacement of Holy Trinity parking lot, etc.

Recently we received wonderful news as a

Holy Trinity family has offered to donate the

money required to replace our Clavinova, in

loving memory of their daughter. Thank you

very much.

Also, we have already raised $1,000 towards

the electrical improvements needed for Holy

Trinity kitchen. If you support this important

capital project, please provide Holy Trinity

with a donation. Also if you are an electrician

and can provide donated services, please

contact Father or Jim Wessing, so that we can

get this project completed.

In 2014, our stewardship focus will be on

efforts to plan and implement a Ministry Guide,

a Welcome Packet, and a Ministry Fair so that

parishioners can learn about some of our

wonderful ministries here at Holy Trinity.

And finally I wanted to share this quote from

Father Ed in his December 20th

letter to all

parishioners:

“I am truly grateful for all the ways you support

parish. Your prayers and financial support are

the life-blood of our parish. Again, thank you

very much.”

Holy Trinity parishioners are very appreciative

of Father Ed’s dedication to our parish. On

behalf of all parishioners, Father, thank you.

Semi-Annual Pastoral Report: Welcome…hospitality…community. These are

words that we use often when talking about our

parish.

Community and faith thrive when the sick and

elderly receive the Eucharist in a home visit,

when children learn about their faith, when

families in need receive help from our outreach

ministries and when we worship together in

times of joy and times of sorrow. All of the

ministries that are the heart and soul of

“community” here at Holy Trinity are alive

because of your generous and consistent

support.

Our parish is a faith community with members

called by baptism to build the kingdom of God.

Here are some of the ways your support is

helping to build this kingdom. Our parish

operates on a July 1 – June 30th

reporting year.

During the first half of this year, from July –

December, we engaged in the following

ministries:

Welcomed 15 newborn Catholics into

our midst.

United 2 couples in the sacrament of

Matrimony.

Assisted 20 young people to accept their

faith as adults in Confirmation this

January.

Prayed with and comforted 8 grieving

families as they commended their loved

one into God’s care.

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Preparing 20 children to receive our

Lord in their First Communion this

Spring.

Brought 12 new members into our Holy

Trinity faith community.

Helped over 250 children and teens

grew in their faith through our Christian

Formation and Holy Trinity School

programs.

Distributed approximately 1,000

Matthew Kelly’s book titled Rediscover

Catholicism to Holy Trinity

parishioners, visitors, teachers and older

children.

Our healing hands touched lives at St. Ben’s,

Family Promise, St. Vincent DePaul, & through

our many Human Concerns projects. And, we

also provided help and support to our sister

parish in Nicaragua. So, the Kingdom continues

to grow in many countless ways, every day,

with our 800-strong member community of

Holy Trinity.

Thank you for your continued support of our

parish and its many important ministries.

Kewaskum Community Food Pantry

Temporary Volunteers Needed – the Pantry is

in need of a couple volunteers to fill in

temporarily, starting mid February—Tuesday

mornings 9 to 11 a.m. and Tuesday and

Thursday afternoons 4 to 6 p.m. If interested

please call Barb at 626-4448.

Items in immediate need; Cereal, oatmeal,

white rice, jams/jellies, all types of chunky

soup, cream soups-chicken-mushroom-potato-

celery, canned pastas, spaghetti sauces,

hamburger helper mixes, ramen noodles, all

types of canned fruits, canned chicken, canned

beef stew, juices, sugar, flour, boxed potato

mixes, all types of pasta, peanut butter, boxed

rice mixes, packaged flavored noodle mixes,

and canned tuna.

Remember, one can, box or jar can make a

difference – PLEASE CHECK YOUR

DONATIONS FOR EXPIRATION DATES,

AS WE ARE UNABLE TO USE ITEMS

THAT HAVE EXPIRED.

Store Hours:

Tuesday – 4:15 - 6:00 p.m.

Thursday – 4:15 – 6:00 p.m.

Address:

1504 Reigle Drive, Kew., WI 53040

From Holy Trinity Parish Office

If you have received tithing envelopes that you

no longer need, we have use for them at the

rectory and would appreciate if you can drop

them off.

Please let the parish office know if you use

WeShare for your tithing and no longer need

envelopes so we can remove your name from

our envelope reorder list.

Also, if you are having problems signing up on

WeShare please call the rectory at 626-2860 or

E-mail: htkewaskum@alexssa.net or Ben

Schickert at 262-305-1451 or E-mail:

ben.schickert@gmail.com.

Phone Numbers of Parish Members

If you no longer have a land line and have

switched to a cell phone number, please contact

the Parish Office with your new number so

your records can be updated. Thank you.

13

Paczki

What is all the fuss about paczki

(poonch’ke)?

Most of us are more familiar with the term

Mardi Gras that is loosely translated as Fat

Tuesday—a day from French influence to binge

on all sorts of foods that we ordinarily would

not eat during our long forty-day Lenten fast.

Our Anglican brothers and sisters would call

this day Shrove Tuesday. Because Lent is a

time to examine our lives and give up

something we like during Lent to focus our

thoughts more intently on what happens on

Easter, we like to have something we know we

really, really like one last time before the long

period of Lent.

Here in the Midwest there is an abundance of

Polish immigrants; Chicago has the largest

Polish community outside of Poland, and this

pre-Lenten treat has become a mainstay of a

religious practice that has moved to mainstream

secular society. In Chicago and Milwaukee,

long lines begin to form early in the morning,

in front of Polish bakeries for this sweet

Tuesday before Ash Wednesday treat.

Paczki are made of everything that we are told

is bad for us, in great quantities. It is a round

ball of sweet dough, usually filled with a fruit

preserve that is then deep fried and coated with

powdered-sugar or icing. A simple Internet

search for” paczki recipe” will help you to

enjoy your pre-Lenten treat this year.

Lenten Disciplines of Fasting and Abstinence

Here are the rules for fasting and abstinence

on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday:

Fasting consists of eating only one meal, with

the possibility of two smaller snacks that do

not add up to a single full meal.

Catholics in good health ages eighteen to fifty-

nine are required to fast and to abstain from

meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and

to abstain from meat all other Fridays in Lent.

Youth thirteen and older are to abstain from

meat on these days.

Abstinence from meat on Fridays: Canon 1251

specifies that Catholics refrain from eating

meat on all Fridays, as an act of penitence. In

the US, Catholics are permitted to substitute

another penance outside of the season of Lent.

During Lent, however, all Catholics are obliged

not to eat meat on Fridays.

Penance during Lent: The season of Lent is a

penitential time and should also be marked by

some additional form of self-denial.

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Holy Trinity Parish

P. O. Box 461

Kewaskum, WI 53040-0461

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