Bulletin for April 23

Dear friends in Christ,

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Easter continues for 50 glorious days so let us celebrate with hearts and minds renewed in the Risen Christ. Today, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, a day dedicated to the Divine Mercy devotion that focuses on the mercy of God the Father through His Son, Jesus. To commemorate the day we will have a service at 3 p.m. today in the church. There will be a reading of Scripture and a reflection on the Divine Mercy as it relates to the Eucharist. All are invited to join us for this time of prayer in thanksgiving for the gift of the Divine Mercy to the Church.

Today we also welcome 11 of our brothers and sisters into the Catholic faith today at the 9 a.m. Mass as they make their Profession of Faith, are confirmed and receive Holy Eucharist for the first time. They join the 18 that were baptized at the Easter Vigil last week. My thanks to our wonderful RCIA team that has prepared these 29 new Catholics over the past year (and more in some instances). Do you have a family member or friend interested in learning more about our Catholic faith? Invite them to “come and see” what the Church is all about.

I would be remiss if I did not again thank all of the wonderful people who made possible the celebration of the Triduum and Easter Sunday. Those days are always so busy and full of many liturgies with an infinite number of details to attend to, but our staff and volunteers really outdid themselves to make them flow so flawlessly. My special thanks to Deacon Jeff Willard, Ofelia Carrasco and Deanna Negrete in our Liturgy Department, along with the many women of our Art & Environment committee, headed by Patty Arnett. They worked multiple hours each day to get the church prepped and ready. Bridget Wenk and all in our various choirs and Music Department led us beautifully to worship the Risen Christ in song. Thank you one and all. There are numerous others who stopped by for a day or two, or maybe just lent a hand for a couple of hours. Extra special thanks to our deacons, altar servers, EMHCs, sacristans, ushers and greeters and all liturgical ministers. Your gift of your time and talent was a true show of Stewardship, something we are all called to do.

We now turn our attention to our 32nd annual Spring Festival this coming weekend of April 29-30. The tents will begin to go up tomorrow in the front parking lot. It will be a great help if you would please use the entrance near the traffic light when coming to the campus this week. We will need help each night of this coming week with various tasks, so please stop by anytime between 5-8 p.m. to lend a hand to Mike Havelka with the set-up. 

Next week please consider taking the shuttle to Mass. (Remember, however, that there is no 5 p.m. Mass next Sunday.) Parking is going to be a challenge with much of the area in front of the church blocked. We have a free shuttle service both Saturday night and all day Sunday. The shuttle will run round-trip, from Millsap Elementary School (about 1/4 mile north of the parish on Huffmeister) on Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 12 midnight and again on Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Also on Sunday we’ll have an extra shuttle running round-trip to Hunting Specialties, just off the corner of Huffmeister and Cypress N. Houston. It will save you time and aggravation and drop you off right in front and take you back in no time flat. 
    
You can begin dropping off donations this week beginning tomorrow in the Community Center and continuing throughout the week. This is most important for the Flea Market items that you wish to donate. Clean out the garage and bring your unwanted items to donate to the Church. The Flea Market has become one of our biggest events of the Festival the past few years. We also need assistance during the week sorting and pricing items, so stop by the Community Center anytime to lend a hand.

You can also start bringing your items for the auction. We definitely need your items for this most important part of the Festival. As usual we will have both a live and silent auction, and our crew will help you determine which is best for your items. In general the live auction is for our bigger, higher dollar items. Check our webpage for more information on the Festival and the auction. Remember we also take cash donations for the auction to buy items to put up for auction.

This weekend is the last chance for presale, discounted tickets. Stop by the booth in the Parish Life Center to get your tickets for all the rides, games and booths. The T-shirts are mighty fine, too, and the most popular sizes are moving fast so get yours today. You can also get barbecue dinner tickets in advance and that’s always a good idea. Remember the dinner is served only from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Don’t miss it! After the dinner we convert the Community Center for bingo on Sunday afternoon.

Beginning next Saturday morning you can bring your donations of flowers and greenery for the Plant Shop, as well as cakes, cookies and goodies for the Sweet Shop bake sale. A special note to all you bakers: we always run short on cakes for the cakewalk booth. If you can bake an extra sheet cake or two (doesn’t have to be fancy, just tasty!), please bring them for us to give away. Or make a batch of cookies or treats for the Sweet Shop. The popular Mystery Booth, wherein you can win gift cards to various stores and restaurants, is in need of your donations. Pick up a gift card at a favorite place in any denomination. If it’s a place you like to go, it’s a safe bet it would make for a good Mystery Booth gift card. Drop those off and they’ll make for a most excellent prize. 

On Saturday the place starts hopping after the 5 p.m. Mass with some of the food court open, beer and wine booths, Flea Market, and a few of the rides. We always have a great band with a packed dance floor so come enjoy a great night. Saturday night has become a very popular night for the Festival. It’s a wonderful evening and sets the stage nicely for all the family fun the next day. Sunday gets going with the aforementioned barbecue dinner beginning at 11 a.m. and then everything – all the rides, games, food booths, Flea Market, Plant Booth and everything else – is up and running by 12 noon and continues until 7 p.m. Remember there is no 5 p.m. Mass next Sunday!

Of course the last event of the Festival is the grand drawing for our raffle. This is the biggest and best part of the Festival every year. We’re giving away a new Ford this year, and it’s a really big portion of our weekend, so please do your part and buy a book or two and encourage others to do the same. Finally, please allow time at 7:01 p.m. next Sunday to assist with the breakdown of the game booths. There is much work to do, but many hands make for light work. Spread the word to your family and friends and pray for good weather. I’ll see ya’ at the Festival!      

Peace, Fr. Sean