Why is our parish in FAITH?
My basic belief about parish life is that it is designed to
do three things. The first is to get closer to God. The reason
most people attend Mass, receive the sacraments, and come to parish events
is to strengthen their relationship to God. I would hope that all
of us believe that God wants to be close to us but respects our free will.
He invites, but does not coerce us to believe. Being close to God
means that we learn God desires us to be close to one another. So,
the second reason the parish exists is to help us reach out to one another.
We learn very quickly in life that we need one another for
friendship, love, and support. We learn that some people are very
different from ourselves, but that everyone has been created by God and
is of infinite worth and dignity. The Church shows us how to be a
community of believers. We celebrate with one another the joys of
marriage and childbirth. We mourn with one another when a member
buries their spouse or has lost a job. We reach out to the sick and
dying as a community. The third reason that parish life exists is
to do justice. When problems are bigger than a parish can handle
we need to work with others to correct those problems. We learn from the
scriptures that God desires all people deserve respect. The rich
cannot oppress the poor. Employers cannot cheat their employees.
Social services should respond to the needs of the community, especially
the most vulnerable. This kind of work cannot be done without power,
money, or people. Since most of us do not have the power to change
systems nor the money to influence decision-makers, we can join with others
and express our common will to have justice done. This is the role
of grass-roots organizations like FAITH.
FAITH works when we know one another and understand
the concerns of our own people and those of other churches. Then,
united under one banner we can approach those in power to live up to their
commitments. Our parish made a public covenant to FAITH in January.
We have agreed to pay 1/2 of 1% of our offertory as our dues (This figures
out to about $1000.) each year. We have agreed to support the actions
of FAITH by attending actions and doing work on research and committees.
We agreed to helping in the annual fundraising drive (which is being currently
conducted). We also agreed that we would support member congregations in
their efforts whenever that was possible.
FAITH has gotten the county jail administration to agree
to a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program in the jail.
The Superintendant of Volusia County Public Schools has agreed to establishing
a Direct Instruction pilot program in two of our schools. We also
had the police chief in Daytona Beach agree to increase patrols in a number
of areas that were prone to drug sales and prostitution. These agreements
could not have been secured without the efforts of FAITH communities joining
together. More is left to be done.
Soon our parish will be asked to do another one
to one listening process. This will be to listen to the needs and
concerns of our community and to get to know other parishioners a little
better. I endorse these efforts completely. The better we get
to know one another the more that we can care for each other and see how
God is working among us. That's why FAITH is important and St. Clare
is a charter member.
Peace,
Fr. Chris
PARISH RECTORY OPEN HOUSE
Father Chris would like to thank all the parishioners who helped
make the construction of and move into the new parish house possible.
He invites all parishioners to come tour the new parish house on Florida
Avenue on Saturday, November 18 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
RETROUVAILLE
Sometimes things can go very wrong in a marriage. Retrouvaille
is a program to help heal and support married couples experiencing difficulties,
and couples broken, lonely and hurting. It’s also for couples who
have separated or divorced but want to try again. Our next program
will be held November 10-12. For more information and registration,
call 407-366-8941. All calls are held in confidence.
GIVING THANKS
Thanksgiving can be a difficult time when you are grieving a loss.
Our prayer is that you would know the love that God has for you and
the ways in which His love has sustained you through your loss. May
this be a time to give thanks to God for the love that He shared with you
through your loved one.
The Apostle Paul invites us to “give thanks in all circumstances” – not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances, reminding us that even in difficult times, we have been given good things.
In another place, Paul writes, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
May the peace of God “guard your heart and mind” in these days of Thanksgiving.
WE ARE THANKFUL
Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank Thee for
this place in which we dwell; for the love that unites us; for the peace
accorded us this day; for the hope with which we expect the morrow; for
the health, the work, the food and the bright skies that make our lives
delightful; for our friends in all parts of the earth, and our friendly
helpers.
Let peace abound in our own small company. --- Robert Louis Stevenson
THOUGHT FOR ELECTION DAY
My only fear is that the people will not be responsible. Then
the system will fail. --- Thomas Jefferson
FISH MEMORIAL DIABETES DAY - NOVEMBER 10th – FREE testing for
diabetes,
FREE tests for the complications of diabetes (eye problems, foot
problems, etc.)
THANKSGIVING FOR GOD’S BLESSINGS
(A meditation on Psalm 65, relating it to our time and place, but
retaining the spirit of the psalmist.)
To you, Father, we give praise and thanksgiving
Because it is to you we come with all our needs.
You alone can answer our prayers and forgive our sins.
How blessed we are that you have called us to be yours!
You have filled us with all good things.
You have sent your Spirit to dwell in us.
Through your son Jesus, you save us from our sins.
You are the hope of the world!
We acknowledge you as our Creator,
Maker of heaven and earth.
You formed the mountains.
You control the raging waters
As easily as you quiet the tumult in our hearts.
Your glorious works are marvelous to behold!
The beauty of the sunrise and the sunset
Makes our hearts leap for joy!
Just as you water the earth with showers,
Softening the soil for seeds to take root and grow,
So you continually refresh your people
At the spring of Living Water,
So we may bring to fulfillment
The new life within us.
Just as you prepare the earth to yield crops
By sending the sun and the rain in due season,
So also you prepare your people to bear fruit
By using the joys and sorrow in our lives
To bring us closer to you.
You have given us a year overflowing with good things –
A rich harvest of loving relationships, inner peace, newfound joy,
And healing of bodies and spirits.
We, your people of St. Clare parish, sing for joy
And lift up our hearts in praise and thanksgiving!
--- Jane Baker
NEW ENGLAND CLUB OF DELTONA
Club meets at 4B’s restaurant every third Sunday of the month at
2:00 p.m. Dinner reservations are required. For further information
and membership, call Dorothy Herlihy at 407-574-2221 or Richard Rollinson
at 904-789-3651.
ST. CLARE OVER 50’S CLUB
St. Clare Over 50’s Club is proud to present “A Night of Music and
Song,” featuring “WE TWO,” Armand and Kathy LeDuc (parishioners).
The event will be held on Friday, November 10 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Donations
will be accepted; proceeds to go towards debt reduction. P.S. Bring
your dancing shoes!
ADOPT A FAMILY
This Thanksgiving, the community of St. Clare will continue the
“Adopt a Family” program. The program will continue through Christmas
to help these families have a happier holiday season.
Our first project is to make available to 30 families enough groceries for a complete Thanksgiving dinner. To participate, all you need to do is bring in any food item under the letter of your last name.
Bring all canned and non-perishable foods with you to Mass the weekend of November 11-12. Perishables should be brought to Mass the weekend of November 18-19.
A-G H-N O-Z
Stuffing
Instant potatoes
Bagged apples
Pickles/olives
Bagged potatoes
Onions
Apple cider/juice Gravy
Canned sweet potatoes
Green beans
Cranberry sauce
Rolls
Corn
This is a huge undertaking for our community, but with the same kindness and generosity that you have shown in the past, we know that this will be a great holiday season for all. Thank you and God bless you.
ANGEL TREE
Look for our Angel Tree in the narthex the weekend of November 25-26! Gifts this year will be for shut-ins and needy families within our parish.
ONE PERSON’S MEMORIES Bob Sayre
Back in 1929 (about as long as I can remember), my parents and almost everyone we knew had a telephone in their home. It wasn’t until the late 1930’s that I personally knew someone who had more than one home phone – and that was one of our city’s wealthier families!
Their residence was a small castle, and it had four telephones that I was aware of: one in the basement, two on the first floor (in the den and at the kitchen-breakfast room area), and at least one in the parents’ second-floor bedroom. Such extravagance!
Everyone else I knew then had single phones; in my city, they usually had the tall, straight speaker atop a pole-like base; the receiver was separately wired, hanging from a left-side y-shaped attachment when not being used.
My maternal grandparents, who lived in a smaller city 24 miles away, had a compact, square phone box attached to their dining room wall, with the usual hearing attachment. It had the first rotary dialing system I ever encountered.
In my city and most other places I recall, you’d make a call by lifting the receiver. That would lead to a dial tone and an operator asking: “ Number, please?” You’d give her you calling number, such as 4497-J, and she would then connect you manually at the phone company’s central switchboard.
The so-called French-style phones came later, to be followed eventually by automatic dialing and a horde of other refinements, plus cell phones.
When I was growing up, few people made long-distance calls just to chat. Long-distance meant a sizable Depression-time expense, so it was almost solely for out-of-the-ordinary news, most often about some family emergency and frequently about the death of a close friend or relative.
Even today, almost seventy years later, when I learn I have an incoming long-distance call, my first reaction often is wondering if someone has died.
Thank goodness, that feeling is gradually fading away.
¿Porque nuestra parroquia está en FAITH?
Mi creencia basica sobre la
vida de parroquia és que está diseñada para hacer
tres cosas. La primera es para hacercarnos mas a Dios. La razón
por la cual muchas personas asisten a Misa, reciben los sacramentos, y
vienen a eventos de la parroquia es para fortalecer su relación
con Dios. Yo espero que todos nosotros sepamos que Dios
quiere estar cerca de nosotros pero respeta nuestra libertad.
El invita, pero no nos presiona a creer. Estar cerca de Dios quiere
decir que aprendemos que Dios decea que estemos mas cerca unos a otros.
Entonces, la segunda razón que la parroquia existe es para ayudarnos
a alcanzarnos unos a otros.
Nosotros aprendemos muy rapido
en la vida que nos necesitamos por amistad, amor, y apoyo. Nosotros
aprendemos que algunas personas son diferentes a nosotros, pero que todos
han sido creados por Dios y son de valor infinito y dignidad. La
Iglesia nos enseña como ser una comunidad de creyentes. Nosotros
celebramos juntos las alegrias de un matrimonio y un nacimiento.
Nosotros nos unimos en pesame cuando un miembro
entierra a su esposo o a perdido su trabajo. Nosotros le damos
la mano al enfermo y al moribundo como comunidad.
La tercera razón que la parroquia
existe es para hacer justicia. Cuando un problema es mas grande que lo
que la parroquia puede enfrentar necesitamos trabajar con otros para correjir
esos problemas. Nosotros aprendemos de las escrituras que Dios desea
que todas las personas merescan respeto. El rico no puede oprimir
al pobre. El patron no debe estafar a sus trabajadores. Servicios
Sociales debe responder a las necesidades de la comunidad, especialmente
los mas vunerables. Esta clase de trabajo no se puede hacer sin
poder, dinero, o personas. Ya que muchos de nosotros no tenemos el
poder de cambiar el sistema o el dinero para influenciar a los que toman
decisiones, podemos unirnos con otros y expresar nuestra comun voluntad
para hacer justicia. Este es el papel de organizaciones base como
FAITH.
FAITH trabaja cuando nos conocemos
unos a tros y entendemos las preocupaciones de nuestra propia gente y aquellos
de otras iglesias. Entonces, unidos bajo una sola bandera podemos
hacercarnos a aquellos en poder para que lleven a cabo sus compromisos.
Nuestra parroquia hizo un compromiso publico a FAITH en Enero.
Nosotros hemos acordado pagar ½ de 1% de nuestra ofrenda
como nuestra cuota. Nosotros convenimos en apoyar las acciones de FAITH
acudiendo a sus acciones y haciendo trabajo de investigacion y comites.
Nosotros acordamos ayudar en la recaudacion de fondos (que se está
llevando a cabo en estos momentos). Nosotros
tambien acordamos que apoyariamos a congregaciones miembros en su
esfuerzo cuando eso fuera posible.
FAITH a logrado que la administración
de la carcel del condado se pongan de acuerdo a un programa de tratamiento
de abuso de sustancias en la carcel. El Superintendente de las Escuelas
Publicas del Condado de Volusia a acordado establecer un programa piloto
de Instrucción Directa en dos de nuestras escuelas. Tambien tenemos
quel Jefe de la Policia en Daytona Beach a acordado aumentar las patrullas
en un numero de areas que son propensas a la venta de drogas y prostitución.
Estos acuerdos no hubiesen sido asegurados sin el esfuerzo y la union de
las comunidades de FAITH. Todabia hay mucho que hacer.
Pronto nuestra parroquia les
pedirá a ustedes que hagan otro proceso de escuchar uno a uno.
Esto será para escuchar las necesidades y preocupaciones de nuestra
comunidad y conocernos unos a otros mejor. Yo apruebo estos esfuersos
por completo. A través de conocernos unos a otros nos
preocuparemos mas por los demas y vemos como Dios trabaja entre nosotros.
Por eso es que FAITH es tan importante y Santa Clara en un
miembro.
Peace,
Fr. Chris
ADOPTA UNA FAMILIA
Para el proximo dia de accion de gracias la comunidad de Santa Clara ontinuara con el programa “Adopta una Familia” este programa continuara hasta las proximas navidades para ayudar a las familias necesitadas a tener unas fiestas mas felices.
Nuestro primer proyecto es hacer disponible a 30 familias suficientes alimentos para completar una comida de accion de gracias. Para participar solo tienes que traer un articulo alimenticio bajo la letra inicial de tu apellido, segun los tres grupos abajo indicados.
Trae contigo los alimentos no-perecederos y latas a la misa del fin de semana del 11 y 12 de Noviembre, los alimentos perecederos deben traerse a las misas del fin de semana del 18 y 19 de Noviembre.
A-G H-N O-Z
Relleno
Caja papas al intante
Bolsa de manzanas
Aceitunas
Bolsa de papas
Cebollas
Encurtidos
Salsa para las papas
Lata de batatas dulces
Cidra de manzana
Salsa de Arándano
Bizcochitos
Jugo de manzana
Agrio
Habichuelas tiernas Maíz
Esta es una gran encomienda para nuestra comunidad, pero a traves delmismo cariño y generosidad que han demostrado en el pasado, creemoslograremos que seran unas fiestas muy felices para todos. Gracias y que Dios los bendiga.