Third Sunday of Advent

St. Nicholas Celebration

Third Sunday of Advent Page 2 December 13, 2015

Opportunities to Grow in Holiness Advent 2015

Tuesday, December 15th

Speaker Series Featuring Sheri Wohlfert

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Every Saturday of Advent 3:00 till 4:00 pm.

Sunday, December 13th

Regional Penance Service

St. Gerard’s Parish in Lansing at 2:00 pm.

Monday, December 14th

Parish Penance Service

St. Mary’s Westphalia at 7:00 pm.

Tuesday, December 15th School Confessions 9:00 am. - noon

Thursday, December 17th

Evening of Confessions

There will be 3 priests available Most Holy Trinity at 7:00 pm.

Saturday, December 19th

Confessions from 2 pm. till 4:00 pm.

Holy Season of Christmas

Christmas Masses Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24

th

4:30 pm. 7:30 pm. 10:00 pm. Christmas Day, Friday, December 25

th

9:00 am.

Feast of the Holy Family December 26/27

th

Masses 4:30 pm. Saturday 8:30 and 10:30 am. Sunday

Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God Holy Day of Obligation

Thursday, December 31stat 7:00 pm.

Friday, January 1st 2016 at 9:00 am.

Feast of the Epiphany January2/3

rd 2016

Masses 4:30 pm. Saturday 8:30 and 10:30 am. Sunday

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord January 9/10

th 2016

Masses 4:30 pm. Saturday 8:30 and 10:30 am. Sunday

This weekend is the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday. As I’m sure Father will mention during Mass, Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice!” I remember way back in my elementary school religious education classes with Mrs. Hafner, learning about how Gaudete Sunday was when we lit the pink candle on our Advent Wreath. After singing the “Advent Candle Song” (Candle, candle, burning bright…), Mrs. Hafner would explain to us the significance of that particular candle, and how we rejoiced because we were halfway through Advent and very near to the birth of Jesus. It’s pretty amazing how that particular activity has stuck with me through all of these years!

Like the pink candle, I have always seen Advent and Christ-mas as sort of the halfway point of our year doing parish ministry, and an opportunity to contemplate what the Lord has done through us during the first half of the year. Last week, our parish published our “State of the Parish Report” where Fr. Dennis reflected on our vision and a few of the things that have happened over the last year. The theme that struck me the most while reading the report was the emphasis that Father placed on wanting to hear what the parishioners have to say about our work here. One of the canons he quoted referenced the right that the Christian faithful have to make known their spiritual needs and de-sires to the pastor, while also making known his desire to include more people in the decision making process at the parish. These two areas spoke loudest to me because I know that one of the perceptions that some people have about our parish is that we do not value the thoughts and ideas of the parishioners.

In my time here at MHT, and especially in this last year as Director of Parish Operations, I have heard from many peo-ple with various opinions on how things are going at the parish. I have heard from people who are thrilled with every-thing here and couldn’t imagine how anyone could be un-happy. Of course, I have also heard from people who are frustrated and attend somewhere else. Ironically enough, they too can’t imagine that anyone in the parish is thrilled. Like most things, I suspect that the reality is somewhere in the middle. When I look around at all of the things that are happening in our parish, I honestly think we rank up there with others in the Diocese of Lansing who are doing great work. I would be hard pressed to find someone who works in parish ministry at another parish that isn’t jealous of the things we have going on here. That being said though, I also know there are a lot of things that we need to improve on. This is why I appreciate Father’s reflection so much. I really hope it encourages more people to share their thoughts with us.

Often the thing the people are the most frustrated about is either a story that they heard through the grapevine or a misunderstanding of something that was said. In both cas-es, a discussion to clarify the facts can help prevent a lot of misinformation from spreading. Of course, there are certain-ly areas where we make mistakes and things get neglected. We would like to hear about these areas so we can work at making changes to improve. If you are uncomfortable talk-ing to one of the staff members directly, maybe it would be helpful to speak to someone on the Pastoral Council so that

This week I have asked Adam Halfman to share with us.

God bless, Fr. Dennis

they could bring it up at our next meeting.

Overall, as I reflect on the first half of the year and look for-ward to the second, I am very grateful for all of the bless-ings the Lord has given to us. Each day brings a lot of joy and peace in being a part of His plan to build up the king-dom (well…joy, peace and the occasional headache!) Let’s use the rest of this Advent Season to pray that the Lord will continue to bless us and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in the months to come!

Office Phone: 989-593-2162 Page 3 Website: mhtparish.com

Announcements

Director of Music Ministry Eduardo Guerra - eddieguerra@icloud.com

Director of Religious Education Paul Fahey—mhtdre@gmail.com—593-3174

Director of Evangelization & Faith Formation Andrea Schneider - adultfaithmht@gmail.com

Jr. High: The youth group will meet on Thursday, December 17 after school until 4:15 pm.

Director of Youth Ministry Mary Schomisch - mhtyouthmary@gmail.com

Kailee Alice Gallagher; Daughter of Justin & Sarah (Schafer) Gallagher.

Brantlee John Drabek & Ellee Ann Drabek; Children of Richard & Jamie (Price) Drabek.

Nicholas Andrew Halfman; Son of Andrew & Kay (Manning) Halfman.

Levi Jeffrey Wieber; Son of Lee & Rebecca (Schmitt) Wieber

We welcome Kailee, Brantlee, Ellee, Nicholas & Levi to our parish family.

Children’s Choir: Rehearsal will be on December 22nd from 3-4:30 pm. For December 24th 4:30 Mass, please arrive at 4:00 pm for warm up.

Bell Choir: Rehearsal on December 22nd from 3:45-4:30 pm. For December 24th 4:30 pm Mass, arrive at 4:00 pm. December 25th 9:00 am Mass, please arrive at 8:45 am.

Lee Koenigsknecht: Lee's vocation story is available on the St. John Vianney Seminary website under news and media - vianney media

Christmas Decorating: Decorating the Church for Christmas will take place on Wednesday, December 23, at 9:00 a.m. A sign-up sheet is posted in the vestibule of the church with all the activities that need to be accomplished. If you can help in any way, please sign up, even if just for a short time. There are many activities that do not take a lot of time. If you have any questions, please contact the rectory office or Susie at 593-2490.

Speaker Series

Come listen to Sheir Wohlfert talk on Tuesday, December 17th, 7:00pm in the Activity Center. She will be talking on the topic of Discipleship: The Call of Christ to Know, to Grow, and to go!

Young Adult Night of Adoration

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior - Luke 1:46-47

An evening of Adoration for young adults over Christmas break. Whether you are single, married, in college, or work-ing in the real world, Most Holy Trinity invites you to prepare for Christ’s coming by spending time with Him in the Blessed Sacrament and praying with old friends in the Fowler, Pewamo, and Westphalia area.

The Holy Hour begins at 6:00pm on Tuesday, December 22nd and there will be dinner and a time for discussing cur-rent events and theology (and maybe some Mafia) at 7:30pm in the Fr. Ray Youth Center next door.

Principal of Most Holy Trinity School Anne Hufnagel—AnneH@mhtparish.com

MHT School – Connecting Faith to Life

Important Dates:

Monday, Dec. 14 Christmas Caroling Practice @ 3:15 Tuesday, Dec. 15 Mass @ 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15 Math club @ 3:15 Thursday, Dec. 17 Christmas Caroling @ 3:15 Friday, Dec. 18 Christmas break begins at 3:10

Spelling Bee Winners: Our annual spelling bee, which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, was held on Wednesday, December 2, 2015, at 8:20 a.m. Congratulations to all of the 19 participants. Winners of Division I (4

th – 6

th grade) were: 1

st Place - Mary Beth

Wohlfert (6th), daughter of Jerry & Cathy Wohlfert; 2

nd Place

– Alexander Warnke (4th), son of Alan & Agnieszka

Warnke; and 3rd

Place – Carly Andros (5th), daughter of Tim

& Therese Andros. Winners of Division II (7th & 8

th grade)

were: 1st Place – Rachel Warnke (7

th), daughter of Alan &

Agnieszka Warnke; 2nd

Place – Logan Kramer (8th), son of

Bill & Emily Kramer; and 3rd

Place – Judith Pohl (8th),

daughter of Ken & Kay Pohl. Winners are pictured below.

Christmas Caroling: MHT School students will be going to Hazel Findlay on Thursday, December 17, to sing Christmas carols through the hallways.

Emmanuel is coming! It is Jesus coming to be amongst us, and he is love in its purest form. He is unconditional love. He is coming to heal, teach, lead us, save us, and die for us. Welcome, dear Jesus!

T he Most Holy Trinity Educational Trust Fund would like to thank everyone who donated to the Trust Fund in

the memory of Agatha Epkey and Herb Thelen. Your generous donations make it possible for future generations of children, young people, and adults to benefit from a Catholic education here at Most Holy Trinity School, the Religious Education Program, Youth Ministry, and Adult Education for numerous years to come.

Third Sunday of Advent Page 4 December 13, 2015

News & Events From Our Parish & Other Areas

Keep Christ in Christmas

To help promote to Keep Christ in Christmas, the Knights of Colum-bus will be selling yard signs and car magnets. The cost is $5 each and you can purchase them at the parish office, at Ken’s Kar Kare, at Gerry’s Tune-up & Brakes, or by

contacting Paul Horak (517-281-8838).

Holiday Scrip

With the Holidays fast approaching don’t forget to stock up on Scrip for the all you shopping needs. Scrip gift cards make great gifts. The last chance to order scrip for 2015 is Monday, Dec. 14

th. From Dec. 21

st through Jan 1

st, the

Scrip that is kept on hand will be available in the rectory during regular business hours. ScripNow and Reloads will still be available during Christmas break. Please contact the school if you would like more information about these convenient options that are available. Below is a list of Scrip gift cards that are kept in stock and available for pur-chase in the school office.

Aeropostale ($25), Amazon ($25), American Eagle ($25), Applebees ($25), Barnes & Noble ($10 & $25), Bath and Body Works ($10 & $25), Bed Bath Beyond ($25), Best Buy ($25), Bob Evans ($10), Bravo ($25), Buffalo Wild Wings ($10 & $25), Burger King ($10), Claires ($10), Dick's Sport-ing Goods ($25), Dunhams ($25), Exxon ($50), Gander Mountain ($25), GFS ($25 & $100), iTunes ($15 & $25), JCPenney ($25), Kohls ($25 & $100), Logans ($25), Lowes ($25), Meijers ($25 & $100), Menards ($25), Michaels ($25), Outback Steak ($25), Red Lobster / Olive Garden ($25), PF Changs ($25), Panera ($10 & $25), Red Robin ($25), Schmitz Carwash ($5, $6, $7), Subway ($10 & $50), Taco Bell ($10), Target ($25 & $100), Texas Roadhouse ($25), Walgreen ($25), Walmart ($25, $100, $250), Wen-dy's ($10), Younkers ($25).

Knights of Columbus Christmas Party

The Knights of Columbus will be having their Christmas Party on Saturday, January 9

th at 6:00 pm at the KC Hall.

The council will provide meat, potatoes, drinks, and place settings. Everyone is asked to bring a dish to pass. Please RSVP to Paul Horak at pvhorak@hotmail.com or 517-281-8838.

Holiday “Returns” for Vocations

Most Holy Trinity Parish is blessed to have so many of our young men and women pursuing religious voca-tions and we are always looking for ways to continue to show our sup-port for them. If anyone wishes to donate returnable's from holiday celebrations or Christmas parties we will arrange to pick them

up. Please call Kurt Koenigsknecht 224-4058 or Agnes Koenigsknecht 593-2614 to arrange for pickup

T he Knights of Columbus would like to extend our con-gratulations to the young people of our parish for mak-

ing their Sacrament of Confirmation. Congratulations!!!

Knights of Columbus Meeting

The Knights of Columbus meeting on Tuesday, December 14, 2015 will start @ 7:00pm in the hall. Please note the time change!!!

Make Someone’s Christmas a Little Brighter

If you would like to send a Christ-mas greeting to those that cannot be home this year, following is a list. If you know of anyone we have missed, please call the par-ish office and we will gladly add them to the list.

Francis Halfman: Laurels of Ful-ton, 4735 W Ranger Rd. Perrin-ton, MI 48871

Regina Martin, Adam Schaefer, Maryann Esch Hazel Findlay Country Manor, 1101 S. Scott Rd., St. Johns, MI 48879

Genevieve Simon, Eugene L. Thelen, Therese Weber: Clinton Commons, 1105 S. Scott Rd., St. Johns, MI 48879,

Y ou can avoid excess taxes by giving certain appreciated stocks, securities or other investments to

the Educational Trust Fund. This is a very attractive way of helping to continue our great Catholic educational programs.

Prayer Warriors Needed

Requests for prayers are many and our Prayer Warriors are diligent in praying for these many requests. Please pray about joining this prayer ministry and if the Lord has placed this on your heart, please contact Susie Koenigsknecht at 593-2490. Thank you and God Bless!!

Fertility Classes

Creighton Model of FertilityCare is a method of natural family planning that is extremely helpful for couples struggling with infertility to be able to conceive naturally, without artificial reproductive technologies. Rita Johnson is a parishioner at Resurrection Parish in Lansing. She has recently begun teaching the Creighton Model of FertilityCare, at the New Life Center in Lansing and at St Mary's in Westphalia and can also offer online teaching. An introductory session is being held at St Mary's in Westphalia in January. For more information call (517)775-7229 or email Rita at littlekerrysacres@gmail.com.

Early Bulletin Deadlines

With Christmas and New Year’s approaching we have the following early bulletin dead-lines:

Please submit your December 20 bulletin by 8:00am Monday, December 14.

Please submit your December 27 bulletin by 8:00am on Wednesday, December 16.

Please submit your January 3 bulletin by 8:00am on Tuesday, December 22.

Office Phone: 989-593-2162 Page 5 Website: mhtparish.com

Monday - December 14 7:00 p.m. + Marie Simon; Including Gilbert Tuesday – December 15 8:15 a.m. + Clemens & Martha Fox; Including Ken and Alvin & Living & Deceased Members of the Family Wednesday – December 16 6:00 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations 7:00 p.m. + Clem Thelen & Living & Deceased Members of the Family Thursday – December 17 8:15 a.m. + Marina Feldpausch; Including Susan Thelen, Ken Koenigsknecht & Aimee Antes 7:00 p.m. Evening Confessions Friday – December 18 8:15 a.m. + Ted Thelen; Including Bob Goerge, Anne Thelen & Emily Goerge & Living & Deceased Members of the Family Saturday - December 19 8:15 a.m. + Anna Simon & Living & Deceased Members of the Family 4:30 p.m. + Philip Simon & Living & Deceased Members of the Family Sunday - December 20 8:30 a.m. + Marvin Feldpausch & Living & Deceased Members of the Family 10:30 a.m. People of the Parish

Mass Servers During This Week Mon., 7:00 p.m. - Cyrus Carbone, Kiley Bengel Tues., 8:15 a.m. - MHT School Mass Wed., 7:00 p.m. - Brooke & Emily Epkey Thur., 8:15 a.m. - Andrew & John Irrer Fri., 8:15 a.m. - Volunteer Sat., 8:15 a.m. - Jack Vanneste, Taylor Weber

Ushers for Saturday & Sunday, December 19 & 20 4:30 p.m. – Gary Weber, Dale Feldpausch, Keith Weber, Jerome Klein 8:30 a.m. – Tim Koenigsknecht, Paul Pung, Ryan Pung, Kurt Koenigsknecht 10:30 a.m. - Stan Weber, Gene Messer, Leon Schneider, Brian Thelen

Mass Servers for Saturday & Sunday, December 19 & 20 4:30 p.m. – Savannah & Charlie Boak, Kaitlyn & Holly Schmitz 8:30 a.m. - Mason Pline, Kaitlyn Piggott, Jace & Tricia Feldpausch 10:30 a.m. - Delanie, Preston & Camden Braun, Michael Despres

The Rosary is prayed before the 8:15 a.m. weekday Mass. The intention for this week is to pray for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, may joy and goodwill fill our hearts.

Sponsor of the Week

Our thanks to the many businesses that make it possi-ble for the bulletin to be cost-free to our parish.

Bee’s of St. Johns

Readings for the Week of December 13, 2015

Monday Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a; Psalms 25:4- 5ab, 6, 7bc, 8-9; Matthew 21:23-27 Tuesday Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13; Psalms 34:2-3, 6- 7, 17-18, 19, and 23; Matthew 21:28-32 Wednesday Isaiah 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25; Psalms 85:9ab, and 10, 11-12, 13-14; Luke 7:18b -23 Thursday Genesis 49:2, 8-10; Psalms 72:1-2, 3- 4ab, 7-8, 17; Matthew 1:1-17 Friday Jeremiah 23:5-8; Psalms 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19; Matthew 1:18-25

Please pray for our friends and relatives who are sick or recovering especially: Frieda Gallagher, Carl Stump, Regina Martin, Sean Dush, Evan Pung, Charlene Thelen, Davison Curtin, Adam Schaefer, Jeffrey Lee Thelen, Luke Martin, Sara Sanchez, Melissa Schulte, Kenny Briganti, Jenny Scott, Jeff Pline, Sharon (Thelen) Droste, Theresa Fox, Marie Hengesbach, Edward Wohlscheid, Linda Rogala, Sarah Weber, Jean Schafer, Don Simon, Roman Arens, Roy Frechen, Paul Soyka, Julie Wieber Schafer, Dan Spitzley, Irene (Luttig) Weber, Maryann Esch, Bill Barns, Bob Marshall, Dennis Smith, Sandy Herta, Fr. Bill Koenigsknecht, Dick Rehmann, Cindy Russell, Roy Weber, Joanne McNamara and a special intention.

Please contact the parish office to inform us when we can add or remove a person’s name from the list. Thank you.

Let us also keep in our prayers all those from the Parish Community who are in the Armed Services.

Most Holy Trinity

December 13, 2015

Pastor - Fr. Dennis Howard

Parish Office Hours 8am-12pm & 1pm-3pm

To Contact Us: Parish Office: 593-2162 Fax: 593-2171 E-Mail: office@mhtparish.com Website: mhtparish.com

Most Holy Trinity School: 593-2616

Our Parish Stewardship God’s Treasure at Most Holy Trinity

Amount needed each week…………....……….$13,200.00 December 5 & 6 Collection………….…...…... 17,937.25 Overage..…………………………………………. + 4,737.25 Envelopes used: 239

Parish Collections

Capitol Improvement $170.00 Cemetery Care……………………………………….$476.00 Flowers………………………………………………….$60.00 Newspapers and Periodicals……………………...$297.00 All Saints Day………………………………………...$422.00 Christmas……………………………………………….$10.00 School Donations……………………………………$300.00

Diocese Collections

Help Spread the Faith Appeal……………………….$50.00 CC for Human Development……………………….$383.00 Propagation of Faith (World Mission Sunday)…...$73.00 Retired Religious Collection………………………...$10.00