St. Vincent , Connell -   St. Paul , Eltopia

Building and Grounds Committee:
Gary Desmarias  reported that the courtyard project is making progress and the courtyard cement will be torn up and replaced with new concrete and landscape design. This project is slated to begin in the early spring.
Report was given on the Wall of Faith Community Cross Tile project. Order forms are now available and it was suggested that possibly buying tiles for family members would be a great Christmas present to loved ones.
 
Adult education:
Mollie Kunkel reported that Sunday evening Adult Education Classes are well attended and that the 1^st 10- week series , Catholicism will end  Nov. 23^rd. Beginning on January  25^th the next 10 week DVD adult education series will begin. The series is entitled Adventures in Bible Study- The Book of James . The classes are held on Sunday evenings from 5:30 – 7:30 . A simple soup and bread meal is served and then the DVD is shown and then there is discussion.  
 
Outreach Committee:
Greg Hart shared that the committee had met with Fr. Kevin and that a letter has been composed  to send out to  Catholics who have been away from our parish family , telling them of events that are happening in our parish and inviting them to come back to church If you know of a family you would like the church to contact through the letter please call committee me members: Florence Ray 234-5201, Jeannie Reimers 234-0043,Gary Walton, Molllie Kunkel 234-8276 and Greg Hart-234-7232
 
Communications Committee:
Julie Hart reported that the webpage and Facebook page have been very successful and parishioners are excited to be able to access information about our community .The committee is currently working on an updated address/cell phone /email list for the parish .
 
Youth Involvement:
Jessica Marroquin reported on the activities of the high school group and the success of their retreat. The groups 1^st annual Youth Service  fundraiser was successful and parishioners were generous in buying the students to do work . Sunday morning greeters and readers from the high school group is a work in project but all at the meeting were excited to see high school students up on the altar welcoming and reading a synopsis of the days readings .
There are currently 25- 30 students attending the Wednesday evening program.
Martha Holt reported that the Monday morning Pre-school is off to a great start with between 13- 15 little ones sharing in the program. Also the new Catholic Moms group is meeting downstairs in the basement during the class- so young Catholic moms are dropping kids off at pre-school and heading downstairs for fellowship with other moms.
 

Welcome to St. Vincent and St. Paul Parishes and St. Juan Diego Mission. As many of you know, in conjunction with the Diocese of Spokane at large, we have been working hard in these last several months to discern a new pastoral plan for our parishes. This effort has been given the name "Know, Love, Serve." As many of those in the agricultural business have been working on their harvest, reaping what had been sown, we too are ready to start reaping the fruits of our discernment of our pastoral planning for our parishes. One of the fruits of this new plan, as you can see, is the updating of our website. It is our hope that in the next year we will experience many new and exciting things in our communities, from faith formation to building projects, from greater communication within our parish family to outreach to those outside. I’m very excited to see how all of our efforts will be used by our Lord in coming months and years. Every good thing we have, of course, comes from God and leads back to him. May he continue to bless you, your families and our parish family so that we may all come to know, love and serve God in this life and be happy with him forever in the next. May God bless you!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin Oiland
9/2014

When Pope St. John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), one of the things the bishops called for was a reform of the liturgy, and they gave some principles to later be employed for that reform (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium). This process resulted in what we now call the Novus Ordo (or "New Order") of the Mass. While the liturgy is always in reform, this reform presented more stark changes than is typical with liturgical reform. For that reason, it could be easy for the church to forget the historical development of the liturgy up to the Second Vatican Council. This is one reason, among others, that I have begun celebrating the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form (as in outside the ordinary - the Novus Ordo being the ordinary form of the Mass). While this form of the Mass is very foreign to most Catholics today, I believe it is important to educate ourselves on where we came from and how the liturgy developed. If you are interested in exploring the history of the liturgy, so as to appreciate the essence of the Mass even more, you are invited to join us at 10 am on the first Saturday of every month at St. Paul's in Eltopia. 

Father Oiland
 

Mark your calendar for the annual Shrove Tuesday Lenten Pancake Dinner on Tuesday , Feb 18^th  at St. Vincent ( the night before Lent begins on Feb 19^th) the dinner is open to all parish members and will begin at 5:30 . This event is sponsored by KLS Committee. There will be more information and a signup sheet as the event gets closer.

St. Vincent Weekly Mass Greeters & Gift Presentations
Every week before Sunday am mass a family has volunteered to meet and greet parishoners.
This family will also be presenting gifts to the altar during the offerings.
To see the schedule please go the this link:  /st-vincent-de-paul-connell-1

New Group - Catholic Moms Group wil meet Monday mornings at 10:00am in the basement of the St. Vincent  Parish Hall.  All mothers are welcome - faith, family, friends, fitness, foot and fun will be topics discussed.  Sharing of joys and concerns, challenges of young moms.  Group Facilitator:  Elena Gimenez- children 3 yrs and under are welcome.


Adult Education Winter Session
The Book of James:   Pearls for wise living
Start date is Sunday- January 25^th – 5:30 – 7:30 - will run for 10 weeks.
Class begins at 5:30 with soup and bread and then DVD series begins at 6:00 and runs until 7:00 and then 30 mins of discussion until 7:30.
More information call Mollie Kunkel at 234 – 8276
Open to all Adults

New Preschool
 A new preschool is being formed by Martha Holt.  The preschool curriculum is geared for the children that attend St. Vincent Church in Connell.  The program is going to incorporate the Catholic Church teachings in its courses and lesson plans. Peschool day will be once a week on Mondas from 9:30am - 11:30am.  Classes start on September 8,2014.
For more information please contact Martha Holt at (509)439-9014.

Reminder:
Deadline to order Tiles is January 31st
Forms are still available at the back of the church for the St. Vincent’s Faith Community Cross that will be displayed in the  courtyard this spring. Forms are in English and Spanish and cost is $15 a tile. Orders are to be mailed to the church at P.O. Box 1030 , or dropped off at the tumbleweed motel  or given to Julie Hart, Elida Fernandez or Stacey Ferguson – checks or cash.
The deadline for ordering is January 31^st . These tiles will help  recognize you family’s membership in our Catholic  community or memorialize a loved one. If you have any questions please contact: Julie Hart- 234-7232,Elida Fernandez 234-0281 or Stacey Ferguson 582-2061.

Know Love and Serve Building Project :St. Vincent’s Faith Community Cross 
Order forms are now available to purchase a tile to recognize your family’s membership in our faith community or memorlize a loved one on our outdoor  north courtyard wall. Three crosses have been designed by former parishioner Amanda Grassl Petersen and will be filled with tiles of our faith community. Please see the proposed design on board over in the parish hall. The committee will begin with the 1^st  cross and hope to have it in place on the wall by Easter. Your tile will have three lines of 18 characters . See forms for more details. Form is in English and Spanish
Place your orders now to be included . These tiles would make a great Christmas present. Order forms are at the back of the church and have been included as bulletin inserts. The cost of each tile is $15. Orders are to be mailed to church at P.O. Box 1030- checks or cash. Orders may also be given to Julie Hart – 234- 7232 , Stacey Ferguson 582-2061  or Elida Fernandez-234-0281
(For more information about  what the  Know , Love and Serve Committeess are working on  please refer to the updates by the committees in the next column.)

                                      Sample Tile