The Pulse of Sacred Heart Parish, Moline, Illinois

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INTRODUCING PALM-OGAMI!

MARRIAGE DAY MASS & DINNER

Issue 7January 2016

PASTORAL COUNCIL GETS A RE-VAMP Dear Parishioners,

2016 will be an important year for Sacred Heart Parish. We will be very conscious of implementing our strategic plan and this will lead to a lot of new initiatives in our parish.

One of the most pressing items on our to-do list is that we wanted to reconstitute our Parish Pastoral Council. Each parish is supposed to have a pastoral council. Sacred Heart had such a body, but as we worked through strategic planning it became apparent that this group needed new by-laws and new members. We also found that the pastoral council needed a higher profile in the parish.

During the latter part of November old council members rewrote and approved a new constitution. A number of them chose to stay on the pastoral council and we also recruited new members. The hope was to have at least nine members with the trustees, myself and Fr. Sebastian as ex-officio members. We now have ten parishioners who have agreed to serve with the trustees and priests. The members will have staggered terms and we now have a format in place to rotate members on and off the council.

The main mission of the Parish Pastoral Council will be to promote stewardship and evangelization in our church community. They also will be tasked with making sure our strategic plan is implemented as well as undertaking other planning as we move forward. I am mostgrateful to Darlene Steffens who has remained as the chairperson throughout the planning and reformulation of the council.

The other members of the Parish Pastoral Council are listed below. I would like to thank them also for their willingness to lead. This will not be an easy role, but I feel a new enthusiasm that I hope will carry us forward. Please pray for all of us as we seek to guide our parish community.

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Parish Pastoral Council Members: Darlene Steffen, Jeannine Day, Jack KearneyLiz Lareau, Larry Lorensen, Don Lewis, Denise Maynard, Favi Nache, Mike Steffen, Carolyn Wilson, Fr. Mark DeSutter, Connie Morris, Jim Watson

Blessings,

Fr. Mark DeSutter Pastor

MARRIAGE DAY MASS AND DINNER A tradition of more than four decades at Sacred Heart is the annual celebration of special wedding anniversaries. Long time parishioners might recall the variety of ways couples here have been honored since Worldwide Marriage Encounter first urged parishes to focus on couples living out the sacrament of marriage.

This year’s celebration will begin at the 4:00 Mass on Saturday, February 6th.Honored couples who attend will have their names read aloud, receive a memento, renew vows, hear appropriate hymns and pray special General Intercessions. Following Mass the couples may enjoy a festive dinner in Culemans Hall, decorated with a Valentine Day theme.

Couples who experienced anniversaries of 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 50+years of marriage in the calendar year of 2015 received invitations to theseevents. Their witness to living their marriage vows through good and hard times is cause for celebration.

YEAR OF MERCY ACTION: BOOK DISCUSSION GROUPS AT SACRED HEART In preparation for this Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis the parishexperienced a Mission with Father Britto, a pastor in the Chicago Archdiocese.A Mission prompts participants to choose significant follow-up actions. The parish Mercy Committee organized book discussion groups as one option. Volunteer leaders and hosts named days and times for the eight week series beginning two weeks before Lent and ending before Holy Week. Groupsmeet in parishioners homes or other places beyond the parish complex. (Participants from the parish and area could sign up in the church vestibuleand on our website.)

Thirteen groups were available. Everyone secured and read The Holy Year of Mercy, compiled by Susan Heuver and published by the Word Among Us press. This small book for faith sharing has eight chapters or sessions with scripture passages, reflections by Pope Francis and personal/group journaling pages underkey words of understand, grow, reflect and act. This focused action can enrich all involved and lead to increased merciful behavior.

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SEE YOU AT PALM-OGAMI! All parishioners are invited to join us for a new event we’re calling Palm-Ogami! Many of you are probablyfamiliar with the Catholic tradition of folding the palm branches you receive at Palm Sunday liturgies. There are many different patterns to use - both intricate and simple.

We’re hosting this new event on Sunday, March 20 from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. and will be folding palms for our Palm Sunday procession at the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Masses

This will be a chance to learn how to fold palms in a variety of designs and share some patterns with the group that you may be familiar with. Don’t worry, you need not be artistic or creative! This event is designed for both young and old and open to anyone who’d like to learn this traditional Catholic craft.

We hope to see you there!

POPE CALLS MODERN FORMS OF COMMUNICATION “A GIFT OF GOD” Pope Francis, who has acknowledged being “a disaster” when it comes to technology, said recently that the Internet, social networks and text messages were “a gift of God” if used wisely.

“Emails, text messages, social networks and chats can also be fully human forms of communication,” the pope said in his message for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Communications.

“It is not technology which determines whether or not communication is authentic, but rather the human heart and our capacity to use wisely the means at our disposal,” said.

Last year, the 79-year-old Francis told a young girl he was embarrassed to admit that he did not know how to use computers and was an overall “disaster” with technology. Whether by divine providence or human coincidence, Francis’ message was released as

LENT & HOLY WEEK 2016

ASH WEDNESDAY : Wednesday, February 10• Masses: 6:30 am; 8:30 am; 5:30 pm; 10:15 am

All School Mass• Ash Wednesday Soup Supper to follow the

5:30pm Ash Wednesday Mass

STATIONS OF THE CROSS• Wednesday, February 17, 2016 / 5:30 pm• Wednesday, February 24, 2016 / 5:30 pm• Wednesday, March 2, 2016 / 5:30 pm• Wednesday, March 9, 2016 / 5:30 pm• Wednesday, March 16, 2016 / 5:30 pm• Wednesday, March 23, 2016 / 5:30pm

LENTEN SIMPLE POTLUCK SUPPERS with GUEST SPEAKERS• Wednesday, February 17, 2016 / 6:15 pm• Wednesday, February 24, 2016 / 6:15 pm• Wednesday, March 2, 2016 / 6:15 pm• Wednesday, March 9, 2016 / 6:15 pm• Wednesday, March 16, 2016 / 6:15 pm

COMMUNAL PENANCE SERVICE• Monday, March 21, 2016 / 7:00 pm

BLESSING OF EASTER FOODS• Saturday, March 26, 2016 / 11:30-12:30 pm /

Audio Visual Room

HOLY WEEK AT SACRED HEART• March 24, 2016 – Holy Thursday / 7:00 pm

Mass• March 25, 2016 - Good Friday / 3:00 pm

Service• March 26, 2016 – Easter Vigil / Mass TBD Re-

ception of New Catholics / Fellowship Hall following Mass

• March 27, 2016 – Easter Sunday / 7:00 am; 9:00 am; 11:00 am Masses

he was meeting with the head of a company whose brand is synonymous with those products - Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.

In his message, the pope emphasised that “the Internet could be used to build a society which is healthy and open to sharing”. “Social networks can facilitate relationships and promote the good of society, but they can also lead to further polarization and division between individuals and groups,” he said.

Modern communications were “a gift of God which involves a great responsibility,” he said.

Source: Catholic News Service, Reuters

Don’t forget, you can find Sacred Heart Parish online at www.sacredheartmoline.org and on Facebook and Twitter! Follow us for the latest parish news, events and more!5

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HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

Mass Times• Sundays: 7, 9, 11 a.m.• Saturday Vigil: 4 p.m.• Daily Masses (M-F): 6:30, 8:30 a.m.• Saturday Morning: 8:30 a.m.

ConfessionsSaturday: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. and by appointment, call 762-2362.

Eucharistic Adoration & Benediction(St. Francis Chapel)• Wednesday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.• First Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.