Bellarmine Chapel Bulletin

Bulletin Archive

To receive the Bellarmine bulletin by email, please send your name to Liz Keuffer at Keuffer@xavier.edu.   Thank you!

May 2, 2010

Fifth Sunday of Easter

BELLARMINE CALENDAR

Sunday, May 2

Children’s Liturgy of the Word

Tuesday, May 4

6:15 PM Religious Education Picnic - Lower Millcrest Park, Norwood

7:00 PM JustFaith - Activity Room

Wednesday, May 5

6:00 PM BYG Senior Dinner - 958 Marion Ave.

Saturday, May 8

9:00 AM St. Vincent de Paul - Activity Room

Sunday, May

9 Parish Registration

Socials Following Morning Masses

CoEd COLLECTION ON MAY 16

The Cooperative for Education (CoEd) is a Cincinnati-based non-profit with the mission of helping Guatemalan schoolchildren break the cycle of poverty through education. The organization was founded by Xavier grads Joe and Jeff Berninger in 1996.

Did you know that nearly 60% of jobs in Guatemala now require computer experience? However, indigenous children in rural communities lack access to computer technology. Without technical skills, they face a lifetime of unemployment and economic hardship as Guatemala’s agricultural sector continues to decline.

Here’s where the Bellarmine community comes in! Establishing computer centers in rural middle schools creates opportunities for Mayan children to gain the skills they need to continue their education, find higher wage jobs, and permanently raise their standard of living. For every $1,000 donated through the outreach collections on Sunday, May 16, Bellarmine can sponsor a sustainable computer workstation in a rural Guatemalan school. Please be generous!

If you would like to experience CoEd’s projects firsthand, consider joining a CoEd tour to Guatemala in August or February. Please visit www.coeduc.org/tours for more information.

Thank you for your generosity to Habitat for Humanity. Last week’s collection raised over $5000 for the next Shalom House. Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY...

within the parish: a way to take part, and get to know people around you too!

Ministry to Engaged Couples This is a call to married couples who would like to help younger brides and grooms grow in their capacity to communicate, share values, and build a lasting marriage. You would set up time for them to work through a values inventory, (called FOCCUS), and then come back for one or two further evenings of discussion together. As ministers of this work, you and your spouse have the role of helping the engaged couple listen and speak up, and to share from your own backgrounds and experience, too.

There is a two-evening training for this work coming up: June 10 and 17. Call Kathy Kohl (745-3376) or Richard (745-3398) to talk further if you are interested.

And our Finance Committee is in need of two new members who: know the parish and its values; have an affinity for interpreting financial data and budget reports; and want to help us all come to a deeper appreciation of our role as stewards of all we've been given here. More and more the key question for our finance team is how to better support our ministry for the future, the outreach and the growth in faith that we all want, through the generations. It's a three year commitment, about 8 meetings a year.

If this person might be you, call or email Richard, or Kevin Berlon, our current chairperson: kberlon@usavingsbank.com.

Please indicate your interest by June 1.

The office is now mailing the readings for mass in .pdf format to all readers. Please be sure we have you current email address (you can send it to Liz at keuffer@xavier.edu). If you do not receive an email with the readings by 5 PM on Tuesday the week you are supposed to read, please call the chapel office ASAP at 745-3398.

We are hosting an opportunity for those in the parish who have experienced the loss of their spouse through death, to gather and have an evening of sharing and support. We will meet on Thursday, May 20, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM in the Activity Room at the chapel. We will have light dinner refreshments, so please RSVP, ASAP! RSVP to Karen Brandstetter at brandstetter@xavier.edu or 745-3349 so we can be prepared for everyone. The goal of this evening will be to provide sharing and support to one another based on this common experience of loss at such a close and personal level.

June 21-25, 2010: This is an opportunity for children from preschool age through grade 6. Our theme this year is "God’s Big Backyard" and we will learn about service to others through classroom time, music, craft activities and drama. The times are 9:30 AM – Noon. We also need many parents and teens to help make this program work. Please see the insert in today’s bulletin for more details. Priority registration for those who are willing to volunteer is open now by visiting www.knox.org and clicking on the Vacation Bible School link on the right hand side. Open registration will begin on May 6.

Bellarmine Chapel is accepting bids for development of a new website. Please contact Liz in the chapel office at 745-3398 or keuffer@xavier.edu for information.

This past Sunday, April 25, 75 people attended Bishop Eduardo Carmona Ortega's immigration reform program. He offered a very insightful perspective on social/spiritual solidarity and immigration as a global challenge, not just a U.S.-Mexico border issue. His pastoral witness proved inspiring with stories of his visits with area immigrants originating from the same part of Oaxaca, Mexico as his diocese. He encouraged everyone to reach out as a neighbor to area immigrants and to speak up for humane immigration reform. He concluded with a humbling reflection on Matthew 25:40 ("What you do for the least of these...") and on his pride to serve such a poor diocese in relation to finding God's abundant grace in his relationship and ministry with the poor.

This year's Catholic Men's Conference was another success, but conferences are not our objective. Our objective is to get men "out of the pews" and engaged with other men to share their faith journeys and challenges in a confidential supportive setting.

If you've been called to go deeper in your relationships with God, your family, your friends and your colleagues, please come and share with like-minded men in a friendly, confidential, prayerful and supportive environment. It has made a huge difference in my life these past 17 years. So, please contact me and let me invite you to a Catholic Men's Fellowship meeting. Mike McNamara 513-520-4722 or mike@planehelp.net.

RANDOM QUOTE

I have not the courage to search through books for beautiful prayers ... Unable either to say them all or choose between them, I do as a child would do who cannot read -- I say just what I want to say to God, quite simply, and [God] never fails to understand.        ~ Saint Thérese of Lisieux

Limited spaces left! On Saturday, May 8, from 1-3 PM, a parish group visit is planned for the "Without Sanctuary" exhibit at the Freedom Center which exposes the history of lynching photography in America. So far, 35 have already responded, with room left for a few more. This group visit also features a facilitated introduction and debriefing from parishioner, local historian and Ch. 12 producer/reporter Dan Hurley. Cost is $11 for adults and $10 students (made payable to Bellarmine Chapel, memo "Without Sanctuary"). The Bellarmine Dismantling Racism Team has arranged for this excellent opportunity.

A big thanks to everyone that helped organize the JrHigh games night at Starfire*. We started with a Human Bingo and had fun verifying who can tell a joke, whistle and who kisses their mom goodnight. Then we had a couple of rounds of Wii, Apples to Apples, CatchPhrase and Pictionary. We gathered with a candlelight ritual remembering and telling stories of those who had brought love and light into our lives. We ended with cookies and ice cream. It was a blast and a very rewarding night for all.

Thanks to Michelle Geiger, Bellarmine parishioner and Starfire board member, for her help connecting us with Starfire, and all those who participated in this event: Janet Kohl, Sarah Mueller and Sarah Schroeck, Rebecca Jenei, Luke Brownfield, Bradley Buchman, Avi Chabot, Thomas Clifford, Kate Crotty, Alex Geiger, Chris Geiger, Olivia Geiger, Camille Gilbert, Bridget Girnus, Simon Kroth, Joe Krzeski, Mack and Will McGuire, Michael Norton, May Rettig, Corinne Saul, Mary Pat and Luke Schloemer, Adam Schmidt, Sarah Segers, Kathleen Girnus, Margaret Clifford and Nadine Schende. And last but not least, a special thanks to Rachel Mecklenborg of Starfire for helping us set up and coordinate the evening. Please look for pictures of this event on the Youth Ministry Info Board in the Narthex.

*Starfire is a non-profit organization that provides inclusive social and service activities for children, teens and adults with disabilities. Starfire offers teens the opportunity to develop and cultivate individual interests and talents while simultaneously reducing social isolation through inclusion and peer interaction. To get more information about Star Fire, go to www.starfirecouncil.org/faqs.html

Jr. High

May 7 - End of the Year Challenge Party

O’Connor Sports Center on XU Campus

7:00 – 11:30 PM

Fun, games, swimming, open gym, pizza, snacks and more. Share this fun event with your friends; they are more than welcome! JrHigh teens who have paid their fees are free and friends are asked to contribute $8 toward expenses.

Dinner and Blessing for our Seniors

May 5, 6:00 PM 958 Marion Ave

High School Teens – Come one, come all. We will have an awesome dinner - excellent food, and plenty of it. This is a celebration of the year and of the seniors moving on. Please come help us feast, play, tell stories, and listen to their wisdom, then bless the seniors on their way. Hang out and talk with your friends till 8:30 PM at Sue’s home.

COAP and CCAMP Meeting for Teens, Parents and Adult Volunteers in the Neiporte Lounge, May 14, 7:00 for new people, 8:00 for returning volunteers. Summer Service Trips are open to 8th graders through adult and kids 11 and up when accompanied by a parent.

Summer Service Dates - Sign-ups are underway. Forms and money are due now. Forms are available at the Youth Info Board or online. Please contact Sue Antoinette for information at 745-4224 or antoinette@xavier.edu.

St. Jude in Tuba City, AZ., June 8 - 17, 2010, $350 plus airfare

Harlan, KY July 4-10, 2010, $265 inclusive

"You Too Go Into My Vineyard." The Athenaeum of Ohio’s Lay Pastoral Ministry Program has been educating Catholic men and women for over 35 years. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, this program is grounded in Catholic doctrine and forms faithful disciples to be engaged in the mission of the Church. Classes are now forming for the Fall of 2010. Call 513-231-1200 or email kboss@athenaeum.edu for more information.

Frequently the clients we serve find themselves in difficult situations and often times they are the ones most in need of our love and support. Recently our SVDP volunteers visited "Kendra" a 26-year-old mother of four daughters, including beautiful 18-month-old twins. Kendra is also several months pregnant with her fifth child. Kendra suffers from depression and schizophrenia and struggles to parent her daughters. The fathers are not actively involved in raising the girls and Kendra believes the children have been mistreated during visits with their fathers. Kendra is giving serious consideration to giving up her fifth child for adoption.

Our volunteers counseled her to take parenting classes and contact Birth Right to assist her with her pregnancy and adoption options. Our conference also provided Kendra with beds, a Duke payment, bus tokens, Kroger cards, furniture and clothing vouchers, and a crib. The volunteers also gave the older girls a children’s Bible, which they immediately began reading. Kendra and our volunteers prayed together for God’s guidance to provide Kendra and her girls a positive direction for their lives.

Power Inspires Progress (PIP - a job training program) is having an open house pizza party at its restaurant (1301 Vine Street) on Friday, May 7, 5:00 - 9:00. For $15.00, you'll enjoy a variety of pizzas, salad, dessert, tea and lemonade. For other beverages, you're welcome to BYOB. There will be entertainment at 7:30. We'd love to see you! For more information: Janet Schelb at steinschelb@aol.com.

PAINTING EXHIBITION
Adsum: Contemporary Paintings on Ignatian Spirituality