 On Sunday, April 17, volunteers will be traveling to Louisa, Kentucky for one week to help our brothers and sisters in Appalachia. At this time there are seven volunteers who are planning on making this trip. If you are interested in joining us, please contact the Parish Office as soon as possible so that appropriate paperwork can be completed.
Our first assignment this trip will be the home of a family in Inez, Ky. At this home, we will be repairing and replacing flooring, repairing exterior walls, replacing a bathroom window and replacing their kitchen sink and cabinets. If you have any questions regarding our work with the Mission Center, please call Jan and Larry Duckart at 717-367-1546.  Throughout his life, Pope Francis has been an amazing and humble witness to living simply and caring for others. From the beginning of his papacy, he has shown us how to use the gifts God has given us to care for one another and the world. Pope Francis speaks of stewardship with language that is fresh and fitting for the modern world, and yet the call to live out good stewardship is as ancient as the Scriptures themselves.
The command that we live as stewards was first given to us in the Book of Genesis, where we are told God made every good thing for us and then entrusted it to us so we would care for it. None of us is exempt from this command, for all of us have been given great gifts from our heavenly Father. With the new year upon us, and Lent quickly approaching, this is an ideal time to reflect on your personal stewardship efforts. Have you been using the gifts entrusted to you wisely and sharing them generously? Does your faithful stewardship bear witness to the love of Christ? This beautiful photo was captured during a wedding a few years ago.  We would like to express our gratitude to this week's bulletin sponsor, Simmons Motel. Thank you for your continued support!   Just a few updates about things happening in the parish:
1. John Triscik, our Youth Group Leader, is currently our Interim-Director of our Religious Education Program. He will be in this position until the end of REP. John is doing a great job and I thank him on behalf of the parish for taking on this second responsibility. I encourage all our young people to become involved with LIFETEEN (our high school youth group) and EDGE (our middle school youth group). 2. We closed on the house behind the convent right before Christmas and are in the process of renovating it to become the home of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy. The Sisters are happy with the house (how would you like to houseclean 10,000 sf?) and their new home should be ready for move-in sometime in the early spring. The Knights of Columbus have been a great help in getting the “new” convent ready for the Sisters. 3. We will be looking at the present convent next to see how best we can use it for parish activities, organizations and ministries. A few people have asked whether we will keep the chapel. The answer is YES. It will be great to have a small prayer and worship space for smaller groups. There are 14 rooms upstairs (with a bathroom in between each) that will make great office space and some very large rooms on the first floor and basement which will be great for the parish. Growth has its challenges but when all is said and done, it is a very good thing! Father Al The parking lots are slowly emerging from the massive amounts of snow that covered the church grounds.     Severe weather and blizzard forecasts can give rise to many questions regarding the obligation to attend Mass.
Canon law of the Catholic Church (1247) states that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the mass. However, the law does not expect the impossible nor can the fulfillment of the obligation according to the norm of the law be burdensome or dangerous. There is no obligation to attend Mass if weather and/or road conditions are unsafe or make travel dangerous or difficult, or, if one is unable to get out of their driveway or parked space. If there is snow emergency in place by the state or local authorities, traveling for Mass is illegal, imprudent and immoral, as it risks your life as well as the lives of others, and becomes a danger to those trying to clear the roadways for future safe travel; thus, the obligation to attend Mass would also not be in force. Those persons who are unable to attend Mass this weekend may view the celebration of Mass on television, depending on local television schedules. Some time should be given to private or family prayer in order to sanctify the Lord's Day. Prayers should be offered for those affected by the storm. Specific decisions about individual parishes and Mass schedules will be determined by the Pastors of those parishes in areas affected by the weather conditions. The information about those decisions will be communicated locally. Like 
 Annual Contribution Statements will be mailed on 1/25/2016. All registered parishioners who have contributed $200 or more to the church in 2015 will automatically receive a statement. If you have contributed less than this amount and would like a statement, or if you would prefer an electronic copy emailed to you sooner, please contact Jackie Abel by email or phone at 533-7168 ext. 121
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