September 8, 2019 – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

I.  Grandparents Day is September 8! Celebrating generations of beautiful faith, rooted in the love of Christ, grandparents bestow upon their grandchildren the strength and wisdom that time and experience have given them. They make traditions live and offer them as a promise to their grandchildren. The active, living faith of a grandparent can tremendously impact a young person in ways unimaginable.

           Grandchildren bless their grandparents with a youthful vitality and innocence which helps them stay young at heart forever. The younger generation is reminded that older people often have a greater perspective, depth of experience, and appreciation of life’s profound rhythms that are part of wisdom. Grandchildren and grandparents are God’s gift to each other!

II.  The Largest Small Group Ever!  While  it may be an “oxymoron” [examples: proud of humility, sounds of silence, delighted sorrow, a big shrimp, civil war, cruel kindness (Hamlet), cheerful bravery (Julius Caesar), good mischief (The Tempest)], there will be an informative and important meeting with wine and cheese for small group members on Mon., September 9 at 6:30pm in our Community Ctr. Small Groups help support, challenge, & grow your faith.

          If you are part of a small group or would like to be, come to our “Largest Small Group Ever.”

III. Ministry on the Sidelines:  Peter Claver (1581-1654), a Spanish Jesuit priest, spent his life tending to the needs of African slaves in Columbia. While serving as a missionary, he ministered to the slaves by providing them with food and medicine, washing their wounds, preparing them for Baptism, and witnessing their marriages. He actively pursued lawyers to plead the cases of imprisoned slaves and prepared criminals for death. He also preached missions to plantation owners and sailors. Join the community for daily Mass (7am or 12:05pm) Monday to celebrate this humble servant of God. St. Peter Claver, help us to cleanse ourselves of prejudice and racism. Pray for us.

IV.  Raffle Ticket Sales Are Booming! Over 240 of the 300 packets (10 tickets, $10 each) have been signed out, with 59 sold packets already returned to the office. Once you sell your packet of tickets, kindly drop them at the office or in the collection basket. We’d love to have the tickets returned to the office by Monday, September 16. Packets are at the doors of the church. Tickets give you a chance to win Three cash prizes, one week at New Smyrna Beach (Florida) or Panama City Beach (Florida), a weekend Getaway at a Lake Cumberland cabin, overnight and dinner at Farmer and the Frenchman in Henderson, Symphony tickets plus $100 GC for dinner at Famous Bistro, $100 GC at Owensboro’s new Malco Theater, and the best of all “Dinner for Four” hosted by Fathers Sinoj and Jerry. The lucky names will be drawn at our Dedication Dinner on Saturday, September 21 after the 5:00pm Mass.

V.  Financial Accountability: at the doors of church you will find an account of how the parish spent God’s money for the fiscal year, July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019, as well as the budget for the current fiscal year which began July 1, 2019 and ends June 30, 2020, This report was reviewed by our Finance Committee and sent to our Parish Pastoral Council for approval. Thank you for your generosity!  You make the ministries and mission of St. Stephen Cathedral possible; it takes all of us doing our part. On behalf of our faith community, I would like to thank Eddy McFarland for doing a super job as our Business Manager, and members of our Finance Committee: Ed Cecil, Joe Connor, Jim Tony Fulkerson, Bill Goetz, Joyce Gruenewald, Mark Heinz (council liaison), Kristine Henning, John Kurtz, Tom Neal (chair), and Chris Warren (vice-chair). Do not hesitate to direct any questions/concerns to any of the people above.

 “. . .anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”