November 25, 2018

Introducing myself apart from my family is impossible. Who I am today, and what I do, is a composite of the most important, influential, and formational relationships I have in my life.

Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” In this context I define neighbor as those next to us, beginning with the closest. For more than 40 years, that would be Becky Wald, my wife and mother of our eight children, and grandmother of our three granddaughters. I’ll introduce all of them in short order.

The first great commandment is to love God with all of ourselves. For the first quarter of my life, God was an enigma: elusive and hard to identify. For the first third of my life, God was ever-changing, disguised, and hidden—often in fallen, fallible, and broken people. At 13 the student Rabbi at our synagogue suggested we can never know if a god really exists; Jesus Christ Superstar portrayed Jesus in a commanding way as doubtful and conflicted, and Time magazine’s cover announced “God is Dead!” It was tough being a teenager and spiritually dazed!

In my high school freshman year, I met several young Christians from various denominations who took their faith very seriously. Some were former potheads, others struggled with mental illness, a few were scholars, another wrestled with sexual orientation. But they were all serious Christians who went to church, prayed, and read the Bible. I was intrigued. I liked what I saw in them: a sincere search for the truth, a desire to know who God is and what God expects from them, a serene confidence in Jesus and his teachings.

On the eve of our 13th birthday, my father took my twin brother and me out after Hebrew School to give us “the talk”—about Jesus. He told us our Christian friends believe differently than we Jews do about Jesus. They believe he is the Savior and Messiah. We believe he was a great Rabbi who was misunderstood by the Gentiles and turned into a god. I was even more intrigued! Jesus was a Jew who Gentiles worshipped as God? I had to know more.

The

of the Gospel

by Reverend Paul C.B. Schenck, MA, MSPsych, EdD Parochial Vicar

“Who am I?”

—Jean Valjean, Les Misérables

(continued)

When I entered high school and met

those serious young Christians, I was

ready to learn more about Jesus. A

Catholic family gave me a book titled

Jews for Jesus that told the stories of

Jewish people who came to believe

that Jesus is the Messiah without

losing their Jewish identities. I

accepted Jesus as Messiah and Lord

at 16 and was baptized in the Niagara

River. The first Christian church I

attended was the little Methodist

chapel at the end of our road.

The most important person in my life

is my mother, Marjory Apgar, without

whom I would not have my life. My

mother was not born Jewish: her

mother was Catholic and her father

Episcopalian. She was baptized in the

Roman rite, but after her mother’s

death, my grandfather enrolled her in

his church, where she was confirmed,

married, and widowed. My sisters

were 4 and 6 when their father took

his own life.

My own father was among the first-

born generation of Jewish refugees

fleeing the persecutions of Russia. My

parents met in a laundromat, became

friends and lovers, and announced

they would marry. My father’s

parents—my grandparents of blessed

memory—told him that he was, in

effect, divorcing himself from them by

marrying a Gentile woman with

children. My father was willing to lose

his family for love of my mother and

sisters, but my mother decided to

convert to Judaism for the sake of the

family. That is how my twin brother

and I were born Jewish.

Growing up Jewish with a mom who

once was a Christian (shhhh!) was

intriguing in and of itself. One time

when my brother and I were singing

along with John Lennon—“Christ,

you know it ain’t easy...”—my mother

turned off the radio and said, “You’re

not supposed to use the Lord’s name

in vain!” My brother and I looked at

each other. “What, Christ is the Lord’s

name?” Even more intriguing!

My mother returned to her Christian

faith when I was 18 years old, and my

father and I had a close, confidential,

and deeply personal spiritual

friendship for more than 30 years,

culminating in my baptizing him the

day before he died. I was able to

confirm my mother before she died

three years later.

I met Becky Wald in my high school

sophomore year. She was so

intriguing: gorgeous, blond, blue-

eyed, buoyant, artistically talented,

and from a large family. Her mother

was a wonderful, godly, life-long

Southern Baptist; her father was

raised Catholic but had left the

Church. I met the family in the

Methodist chapel. I was convinced

Becky was my life partner; Becky, not

so much. I had to prove myself to be

worthy of her affection. It was torture!

I was awful; jealous, possessive,

Most of the Schenck clan in a photo taken last year. Daughter Miriam and her husband

Rob, and Veronica Crowne—missing here—are in the individual photos.

Veronica Crowne, newest family member

moody, Oy! Becky was resolute,

charitable, careful, mature. We were

engaged at 18 and married the year we

both turned 20! Our first child, Leah,

came two years after. Then were born

Ariel, Abraham, Alizah, twins Miriam

and Marta, Isaac, and—when we were

43—Eva was born. Leah, Ari, Abe and

Miriam are married now. Leah and

Scott have two daughters, Aivleen and

Veronica, and Abe and Nina have our

granddaughter, Naomi. It is all mystical

and amazing.

After my baptism, I felt led to devote

my life to serving God as a missionary

or pastor. I studied in a wide range of

schools—a missionary Bible college, a

Jewish religious institute, an

Evangelical seminary, and, eventually,

a Catholic university and seminary. I

was, in a word, ecumenical! From the

college, I was called to be a youth

minister. Later when the congregation

of the little church where I worked split

over a disagreement and left the

denomination, I became the pastor of a

new congregation. This church, with

less than a dozen members, first met in

a home, but it grew steadily to more

than a thousand members by the time I

was 30. We established a lower school,

and later a high school with more than

400 students.

One day a young couple came in to tell

me they had found remains of aborted

babies in a trash dumpster located at a

medical office across the street.

Horrified, we buried the babies in the

Catholic cemetery. With Becky’s

support and encouragement, we

became involved in efforts to support

women facing crisis pregnancies. We

volunteered outside abortion facilities,

offering counsel, medical referrals, and

shelter to the women coming to the

facilities. In a zealous effort to prevent

them going through with the abortion,

we began blocking entrance to the

clinics and offering alternatives, for

which we were arrested and eventually

jailed. I found myself in the county jail

with a lovely priest named Father Ralph

Federico, who introduced me to

Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life

and dignity of the person. I was

intrigued.

The pro-life work was so

overwhelming—not to mention the

repeated arrests and jailing—that I was

not able to continue as a pastor. After

winning a judicial appeal of my

conviction, I joined a public interest

legal group headed by an attorney who

was also a Catholic deacon. While

there, I was tutored in Catholic

doctrine, attended Mass and later—

having won my case in the U.S.

Supreme Court and returned to the

pastorate in my former denomination—

I chose to become a Catholic. I joined

Priests for Life and was sponsored for

the priesthood by Bishop Kevin

Rhoades here in Harrisburg. I was

ordained a priest for the Catholic

Church—with my wife, five of our

children, their in-laws, and my

Protestant-minister brother

participating.

It is ten years now that we have called

the Harrisburg Diocese our home. God

has guided us the whole way, to Him

be the glory for ever and ever, Amen!

Miriam and Rob Zuelhke

THIS

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MON

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TUE

27

WED

28

THU

29

FRI

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SAT

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SUN

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12:00 pm 6:00 pm

Advent Giving Tree Return Deadline Parish Mission Project Weekend No CCD Baptisms Let’s Play Cards!

“Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”

7:30 am 9:00 am 2:00 pm 6:00 pm 6:30 pm 7:00 pm 7:30 pm

Men’s Gospel Reflection Group That Man Is You! Gospel Reflection in the Afternoon Zumba® Fitness American Heritage Girls Columbiettes Officers Meeting StEAS High School Boys Basketball

9:30 am 6:00 pm 8:30 pm

Faith Matters Morning StEAS Moms Group Adult Open Gym

9:30 am 6:00 pm 7:00 pm 7:00 pm 7:00 pm 7:30 pm

StEAS Veterans Group Zumba® Toning Life in the Spirit (rosary 6:30) Adult Choir Rehearsal Parish Pastoral Council StEAS High School Boys Basketball

6:00 pm StEAS High School Boys Basketball

6:30 am

New Hope Food Bank Collection Knights of Columbus Greenery Pickup Land of Peace Holy Land Religious Items That Man Is You!

8:45 am 9:00 am

10:00 am 10:00 am 10:30 am 10:30 am 10:30 pm

6:00 pm 6:00 pm 8:00 pm

New Hope Food Bank Collection Knights of Columbus Greenery Pickup Land of Peace Holy Land Religious Items CCD Grade 1 CCD Pre-School & K R.C.I.A Newman Club SpiritSword CCD Grades 2-6 Edge Grades 7-8 Kids Open Gym & Lego™ Club Let’s Play Cards! 14 & up Floor Hockey

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24

VIGIL, THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE

5:00 pm All Souls Intentions

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25

THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE

7:30 am Jenison and Cavanaugh Families

9:00 am Carmela Gitto

11:00 am People of the Parish

MONDAY NOVEMBER 26

MONDAY OF THE 34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

No Mass

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27

TUESDAY OF THE 34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

6:45 am Morning Prayer

7:00 am All Souls Intentions

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 28

WEDNESDAY OF THE 34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

8:30 am Rosary

9:00 am Tony Romagnoli

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29

THURSDAY OF THE 34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

6:45 am Morning Prayer

7:00 am All Souls Intentions

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30

FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW, APOSTLE

8:30 am Morning Prayer

9:00 am All Souls Intentions

SATURDAY DECEMBER 1

VIGIL, FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

3:00 pm Confessions

5:00 pm Marie Brown

SUNDAY DECEMBER 2

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

7:30 am Joseph Lappano

*9:00 am People of the Parish

11:00 am Tyler Mangus

MON Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5; Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Lk 21:1-4

TUE Rv 14:14-19; Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13; Lk 21:5-11

WED Rv 15:1-4; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9; Lk 21:12-19

THU Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a; Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5; Lk 21:20-28

FRI Rom 10:9-18; Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11; Mt 4:18-22

SAT Rv 22:1-7; Ps 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7ab; Lk 21:34-36

SUN Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thes 3:12—4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

CHRISTMAS MEMORIAL OFFERINGS of $10.00 or more are being accepted for

poinsettias for the altar for Christmas. Names will be published in the bulletin. Make

checks payable to: ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON PARISH.

In Memory of:

Requested by:

(Drop off form in the Parish Office or hand to Welcome Desk staff on Sundays.)

COMMUNAL PENANCE SERVICES

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2

Saint Patrick Parish, Carlisle 7 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9

Saint Katherine Drexel Parish 2 PM

Saint Theresa Parish 7 PM

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11

Army War College Chapel 7 PM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish 7 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16

Saint Joseph Parish 2 PM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19

Good Shepherd Parish 7 PM

BUY A COOKIE TRAY AND COMBAT WORLD

HUNGER on December 8 & 9. When you purchase

a $15 cookie tray, you help feed 375 starving

children! Scott and Marleen Karns, the “Cookie

Captains” for Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish,

have been associated with The Cookie Sale to

Combat World Hunger for many years. Their initial

involvement was as business supporters, but they

eventually found themselves visiting Haiti and

becoming involved on a personal level. On the

weekend of December 8 & 9, our church will be

selling cookie trays to support The Cookie Sale. At

$15 each, these cookie trays make wonderful

hostess gifts and affordable gifts for friends and

colleagues. Each beautifully wrapped tray contains

24 cookies and a sprinkling of chocolates. In 2017,

the total sale provided food for 3.6 million children

as part of a school feeding program in Haiti, and

our parish sales efforts provided 250,000 meals!

Because the cookies are great tasting and the

proceeds do so much good, over 57 tons of cookie

trays have been sold so far through this locally run

grassroots program. Please buy a tray or two and

help feed starving children around the world!

GREENERY PICK-UP Remember

to pick up your Knights of

Columbus Christmas wreath orders

next weekend, December 1 & 2, in

Menniti Hall after all Masses. Please make checks

payable to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. The

Knights thank you for your order!

SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR CHRISTMAS

with our Seton family this year—An Evening

with Saint Nick! We’re getting together on

Sunday, December 16, starting at 4:30 pm.

There will be food, crafts, games, and even an

opportunity to participate in a mini-pageant!

And of course we’ll hear the story of his

inspiring life from Saint Nicholas himself. More

info next week, but right now, let us know

you’re coming, what you’d like to bring, and

how you’d like to help! Visit

http://bit.ly/AnEveningWithStNick to sign up.

Questions? Contact Donna 717-697-6929,

donna@steas.net.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish 7 PM

SUNDAY DONUT PEOPLE! We’re

doing à la carte volunteering for this, and

the schedule needs replenishing! Stop by

the Welcome Desk or parish office to

volunteer for Sundays after the 9 am Mass. Thx!

SPONSOR OF THE WEEKWe wish to thank HAMPDEN OPTICAL

for sponsoring an ad in our weekly bulletin.

SUPPORT CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND Next week, Samer Awwad,

representing the Bethlehem Christian Families; a nonprofit organization

through Land of Peace, will be with us. Owing to the decline of tourism, Holy

Land Christian families, who depend upon income from tourists, have been

greatly affected. The goal of this mission is to help organizations and

churches in the Middle East and to help establish a charity hospital in

Bethlehem to help needy families in the Holy Land and the Middle East.

Next weekend’s sale of religious art work made of olive wood, which is

native to Israel and Bethlehem, will help these families and also provide the

opportunity to purchase authentic work from the Holy Land. Learn more

online at www.landofpeace.org and www.bcfmission.com.

YOUTH MISSION TRIP! We have joined with Appalachia Service Project

(ASP) to provide our high school students with an opportunity to directly

reach out to others as part of a mission trip. More than 15,000 volunteers

from around the country served with ASP in rural Central Appalachia last

year, repairing homes for low-income families. Appalachia’s poorest families

urgently need help, but they can help change our life, too. The ASP goal is to

make homes “warmer, safer, and drier” for needy families. But, ASP is more

than a building program though, it’s a relationship ministry. Our group will

spend time interacting with the family they’ve been assigned to serve, and

forge friendships that will impact the rest of their lives, learning lessons that

will enrich their faith and build character.

WE WILL BE SERVING FAMILIES in West Virginia from July 7 to 13, 2019.

All high school youth, including those who will have completed 8th grade,

are eligible to participate. More details will be coming over the next few

weeks, but for now explore the website —www.asphome.org—then ask God

to show you if you are being called to serve in this particular mission field.

You may email questions to YouthMissions@steas.net.

SENIOR SINGLES 55+ Following an ascending ride through a forest of fall

foliage and a tour of a beautiful old mansion with a breathtaking view high

on a mountain ridge, our 55+ Senior Singles group is heading for lunch at the

award-winning Sidney Tavern on the square in East Berlin, Wednesday,

December 5, at 11:45 am. Call Bill, 717-590-5499, no later than 5 pm on

Monday, December 3, to make your reservation for good food and

companionship!

ADVENT BEGINS DECEMBER 2 Advent booklets are available at the back

of the church while supplies last. Your $1 donation helps the parish to defray

costs of this resource.

THE ADVENT WREATH is a traditional practice which has found its place in

many churches as well as in the home. Here at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,

families and individuals have the opportunity to light our parish Advent

wreath during this season of penance, waiting, and hope. The sign-up sheet

is in the Narthex.

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