May has been a busy month of activities for the parish. We participated in the annual ACTION banquet, the Filipino community and our Youth Ministry celebrated the annual May Crowning and we were privileged to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with Dr Myreen Tomas.  In addition, the parish family celebrated the Baptism of two infants and First Communion with three second grade boys!  In all these are signs of new life in the parish family!

May 2nd 2010 was the day;

We had several of St. Edward youth gather for “Things beginning with ‘M’” spring meeting.  Tony, Val, Hanna, Logan, Ryan & Dominic participated.

We started the meeting by taking part in the May Crowning ceremony.

Afterwards we went to Room ‘B’ for pizza and some discussion of the May events: Mother’s Day, May Crowning, May Pole, Messiah, Mary & Marriage.

To wrap up the meeting we all made wrist rosary with beads and stretchy string (or ribbon).  The youth enjoyed the challenge and fun of beading and ended up with a great gift to give to their own mother next weekend – made by their own hands.  Domonic found that he has some latent skill in jewerly making and Tony finally found something he wasn’t so good at (his words, not mine).

Check out pictures from the May Crowning and the Meeting in the slide show below or view them on Picasa by clicking here.

When you have lost someone very dear to you, the most difficult obstacle to cross is getting through the holidays. Surviving the days where everyone around you is celebrating and spreading good cheer, while your mind is filled with memories and your heart is heavy with loneliness. It’s difficult just making it through what used to be the happiest days that were once shared with a soul mate, and today carries only emptiness. The greatest challenge is to remain in the company of others who love you, when you really want to be alone with your sadness.

A Grief Education/Support program, sponsored by the Ministry of Consolation of St Edward parish, has been organized for all who are grieving the death of a loved one. This program will be held on MONDAYS: 19 April,   3 May and 10 May 6:30 PM

Topics to Include:
• STAGES OF GRIEF
• SURVIVING STRESS AND LONELINESS
• FEELINGS. EMOTIONS– DENIAL, BARGAINING, GUILT, ANGER, DEPRESSION
• SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS OF GRIEF AND HEALING and THE VALUE OF MEMORIES

After a major loss, it is not uncommon to question our faith. We may ask why this has occurred, we may feel angry at God, or we may feel nothing at all toward God. Such feelings are normal. True faith, as R.S. Sullender reminds us, is not a matter of feeling, but of the courage to go on believing and hoping.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

For everything there is a season,and a time for every matter under heaven. . . .a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance. . . .

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is secure parking available. For more information or to RSVP please contact Sister Therese Ann Rich at 330.743.2308, 330.501.3038 or by email — tarich@theursulines.org

Fr Shori began his presentation last evening with this selection from Everyone’s Way of the Cross

Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

Christ:

Can you be brave enough my other self to wipe my bloody face?

Where is my face you ask?

At home whenever eyes are filled with tears
At work when tensions rise
On playgrounds, in slums, at the courthouse, the hospitals, the jails

Wherever suffering exists there is my face
I look for you to wipe away my blood, my tears

All:
Lord, live in us, act in us, love in us so that we may reveal your glorious face

Fr Shori’s presentation focused on why people of faith need to be concerned about acting to transform the world

• Our faith calls us to it. The Gospel and church teaching place our service of the poor and vulnerable and our work for justice at the center of Christian witness.

• Our nation needs it. Too many Americans, especially children, are growing up poor in the richest nation on earth. The blessings and burdens of American life are not being shared fairly.

• Our world requires it. More than 30,000 children die every day from hunger, deprivation, and their consequences. Disease and debt, corruption and conflict are threatening the lives and dignity of millions in our increasingly globalized world.

• Our salvation demands it. In Jesus’ description of the Last Judgment, Matthew 25:31ff the critical question is ‘What did you do for the least of these?’ Jesus identified himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the imprisoned, and the stranger, insisting that when we serve them we serve him.

• Our actions can make a difference.

The questions for us today:
• What are you doing personally and what do you see others around you doing to serve the poor and vulnerable?

• What is our church doing to serve the poor and vulnerable?

Here is a hand-out that can help you in your prayer and action in serving our neighbors- Transforming the World Action Plan

On March 12th, 2010 the St. Edward Parish Youth Ministry group presented the Living Stations of the Cross.

Through the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit the Youth Ministry group enacted a moving and spiritual portrayal of the 14 Stations of the Cross to an audience of approximately 50 lenten pilgrims at St. Edward Parish.

The “cast” comprised of 11 youth:

• Jesus – Ryan Cox
• Pilate – Anthony Thomas
• Chief Priest / Judas – Joe Hosa
• Roman Guards – Noah Patoray & Greg Ferechak
• Mary -Valerie Thomas
• Simon of Cyrene – Anthony Thomas
• Veronica – Hanna Rhiel
• Weeping Women of Jerusalem – Logan Hunkus, Amanda Leone, Halee Sepulveda, Anna Marie Thomas
• Joseph of Arimathea – Joe Hosa

Pictures of the Cast:

View Photos on Picasaweb:

Living Stations 2010

We were privileged to have Fr James Walker as our second speaker in our Lenten series on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 .  Fr Walker’s presentation focused on Living Well the Word. Father offered us the invitation to be transformed by Living God’s Word daily.  Some people study the Bible. They can tell you chapter and verse, the literary structure, the historical background. But they cannot seem to understand that God deeply desires to be in relationship with us. These people read the Word with their mind but not with their heart.

We are called to hear the Scriptures with both mind and heart, to be transformed by God’s Word. One way to be transformed by God’s Word is to allow the community of faith to guide us. A reputable Bible study group, the Sunday homily, sharing the Word with a friend are but a few of the ways to hear God’s Word with our hearts and be transformed.

The true test to hearing God’s Word is how we are living. Living well in response to God’s Word means that what we allow what we hear in Scripture to guide every dimension of our lives.

Fr Walker invited us to hear God in the messy diapers, in our jobs, in our households, in our finances, in our friendships. God’s Word is present in all of life.

So the question I ask today: How do I live well through hearing God’s Word? How do I read the Scriptures with my heart?

Tuesday evening, Fr Kevin Peters kicked off our Lenten Speakers Series by helping us to reflect on how we keep Sabbath.  I was reminded of the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Many of us live to work, rather than work to live, because productivity and achievement are at the heart of our work ethic.

Our days and our weeks are consumed by activity as we rush from place to place, task to task, one more meeting, sports event, call to make, item to buy, thing to do.  Fr Peters reminded us that we all hunger for rest; that keeping Sabbath offers us the God-given gift of rest whereby we deepen our relationship with God, ourselves and others. During Sabbath, we switch to “God time”, the quality of our time for each other.

Finally, Fr. Peters suggested we live with the attitude of keeping Sabbath each day and see how our life changes. Adopting a Sabbath attitude keeps us balanced throughout every facet of our lives. It allows us to see the work we do as part of the big picture, to know we are more than our jobs, more than the roles we play; we are God’s blessed creation.

How do you mark the Sabbath in your home today? In what ways are your practices like those in your home while growing up?

What would you like to change in the way you celebrate Sabbath?

Jim Merhaut began our Parish Mission talking about holiness. To be holy is simply to be like God.  And God is Love. So holiness for a family is mainly about loving.

For three evenings, Jim helped us to develop a way of thinking that connects what we celebrate as a parish with what we live as a family.

Here are some pictures of our Parish Mission 2010.

Click here for March 2010 Parish Events

Often the topic of immigration brings up strong emotion in people.  Some think that anyone entering the country illegally needs to be immediately sent back to their homeland, in a swift and harsh manner.  Some only think that these immigrants are stealing their jobs and therefore have no place in our country.  I admit, those emotional responses can be challenging to look past, but they are not the loving, Christian response that God calls his people too.

Because of our life of faith, through our baptismal call and our confirmation of beliefs (and acceptance of Catholicism) we must move past the basic emotional response and see the human dignity in the broader world of our international brothers and sisters.

The question of Comprehensive Immigration Reform is about more than politics – it is about people.  People who have lived in deplorable conditions with no means to make changes, people who left the ones they love to make an (often lethal) journey into the unknown to possibly make a little money that they may send back to support their families.  For the most part, these people didn’t want to make that decision.  They wanted to stay in their home country, to work, to live, to raise their family.  Breaking up their family and risking their life was not their ideal future.

We, living here in the “Land of Opportunity” easily forgot (most likely have never known) what it means to be oppressed, to be starved, to be hopeless with no government agencies or parish support available.  Sure, we have tough times – especially in the past 2 years, but we have our families, our government, our parish and community support.  We have places to turn to.  We will be treated with dignity.  Others in the world deserve that same dignity!  That is what Christ told us, what the Bishops tell us and what our own heart tells us.

Take the step to move past the emotional and media response.  Take a look inside your faith, you can get plenty of information at the USCCB established website JusticeforImmigrants.org .

If your spirit speaks to you, please join in the postcard campaign to our elected officials.  You can sign the postcards after mass on March 7^th in Vincention Hall, obtain one from the church office, or print one off from the website here.

Direct Resource Links:

Immigration Q&A

Catholic Bishops Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Immigration and Catholic Social Teaching

Immigration and the Ecomony