Church Bulletin Week of November 30, 2008

Welcome to Immaculate Conception Parish
The faith community of Immaculate Conception welcomes all visitors, parishioners, family and friends. We hope you find your visit warm and inviting as well as spiritually nourishing. We will keep all of you in our prayers and wish you God's Blessings.
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Mission Statement of Immaculate Conception Parish
We, the faith community of Immaculate Conception Church of Franklin, New Jersey, under the safety of and with special devotion to Our Mother Mary, and empowered by our Baptism, commit ourselves to live the gospel message. Guided by the Holy Spirit we strive to share our gifts, our love and our faith to make the presence of God a reality in our lives and in our community by:
+Faithfully celebrating the sacraments
+Working for peace and justice
+Serving all who are in need
+Sharing the faith with our children
+Reaching out to all and welcoming all
Thus fostering an ever-increasing circle of faith in God, hope of eternal salvation and love and respect of all of God's creations.
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Parish Ministries Contact List
Coordinator of Ministries, Deacon Jerry Schenker: 973-702-1014
Grief Support, Charlene Castello: 973-827-9575 and Nadine Allen: 973-827-9575
Religious Education, Nadine Allen: 973-827-9501
Eucharistic Ministers, Christine Muller: 973-827-9575
Lectors, Charlotte Vnuk: 973-827-6277
Music Director, Rosanne Huttman: 973-827-9575
Altar Servers, Barbara Morano:973-868-4523
Ushers, Henry Zarzycki:973-827-3228
Homebound Ministry, Janice Fitzsimmons: 973-827-9575
Hospitality, Lisa Hamler 973-823-0126
Children's Liturgy, Marianne Nichols 973-827-9575
Marriage Ministry, Tony & Sue Quartarolo: 973-827-9575
Liturgy Committee, Eileen & Mike Morgan: 973-827-9606

The Parish Community of Immaculate Conception has an active, living, liturgical life. Through the talents and skills of all those involved in various liturgical ministries, our experiences of workshop provide prayerful and meaningful signs of God's presence. If you are interested in becoming part of a Ministry at Immaculate Conception please contact Fr. Bogie at the Rectory Office or Deacon Jerry.

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TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
Advent calendars appear now in many homes, and new-fangled formats are even available on line. Children have fun opening the doors and windows keyed to the days counting down to Christmas. Behind each door is a picture related to the Christmas mystery, perhaps a scripture verse or saying, but more and more these days something totally unconnected to religious life, like a small toy or a chocolate treat, appears instead. The Advent calendar is not very old as traditions go. We can trace it back to German-speaking Christians, both Protestant and Catholic. Lutherans might have originated the custom by placing chalk marks on doors starting December 1, lighting candles every day, or placing a new religious picture on the wall each day during Advent. The oldest known hand-made calendar goes back to 1851, and the first printed ones appeared in 1908 in Germany with Bible verses behind the doors. By far the most interesting calendar is a building, the town hall (Rathaus) of Gengenbach in Germany's Black Forest. Every year the townspeople invite an illustrator of children's books to create twenty-four paintings or motifs for each of the twenty-four main windows of the building. Every night the people gather to see a new window opened and illuminated.
Very few commercial Advent calendars pay much attention to the core values of our liturgical calendar: the pivotal place of Sunday, the importance of Advent feasts like Saint Lucy and Saint Nicholas, and the clear shift in tone on December 17 from Advent longing and preparation toward imminent hope in Christ's coming. That kind of creativity is left up to you!
—Rev. James Field, © Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
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TODAY'S READINGS
First Reading — We are the clay and you, O Lord, are the potter: we are the work of your hands
(Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7).
Psalm — Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved (Psalm 80).
Second Reading — God is faithful; by God you were called to fellowship with the Son (1 Corinthians 1:3-9).
Gospel — Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. (Mark 13:33-37).

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Offertory Gifts
When the Mass intention is for your loved one or a friend, and you would like to bring up the gifts of bread and wine, please advise one of the ushers before Mass.

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Christmas Flower Memorials
Your December Packet of envelopes included a Christmas Flower Offering Envelope. If you would like to remember a loved one, your envelope should be submitted as soon as possible for the names to appear in our special Christmas bulletin. Deadline for publication of names is Sunday, December 14th. PLEASE PRINT ... Thank you!

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Weekly Contributions:
We are grateful for your contributions this weekend and for all that you have done for our parish in the past. (Contribution totals not available prior to publication.)

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Breakfast in Bethlehem
Our first grade Religious Education class will present “Breakfast in Bethlehem” on Sunday, December 14th at 2:00p.m. in the Church followed by a light breakfast in the Lyceum. The students have been working diligently to prepare for it and we look forward to enjoying the fruits of their hard work. Embrace the true meaning of Christmas!
Reservation forms have been sent home with students in grades K - 2. If you do not have a child in the Religious Education Program but would like to attend, extra forms are available in the back of the Church.

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The Giving Tree
The Giving Tree offers our parishioners an opportunity to share the joy of Christmas through gift-giving to those in need in our community. We invite you to take an ornament from the tree. Tape the ornament on top of your WRAPPED gift and place the gift under the Giving Tree. All donations should be returned by Sunday, December 21st so that they can be distributed in time for Christmas. Thank you for your kindness and generous gift to those less fortunate.

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Catholic Education at Immaculate Conception Regional School
+ Programs for all 4 & 5 Year Olds
+ Full and Part Time Preschool
+ Full Day Kindergarten through 8th Grade
+ Education in a safe, caring &spiritual setting.
+ Extended Care available to working parents
+  Most competitive rates in Sussex County
Call 973-827-3777 or visit www.ICRSCHOOL.com

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Upcoming Events:
+Giving Tree Gifts collected until 12/21
+Grief Support Group; Wednesday, 12/3, 7-8:30pm
+Wreath Sale 12/6-7 after all Masses
+Holy Day of Obligation 12/8 Immaculate Conception of Mary;
+Masses 7am and 7pm (no Sunday Vigil Mass)
+Breakfast in Bethlehem: Dec. 14th, 2pm
+Penance Services:
CCD K-4 and Parents 12/16, 3:45
CCD 5-7 and Parents 12/17, 3:45
Parish Advent Penance Service 12/17, 7:30 pm
St. Jude's Advent Penance Service 12/16, 7:30pm

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Advent Wreath Lighting
As we enter the Advent Season, we are asking for families or individuals to participate in the Advent Wreath Lighting for all the Masses during the Advent Season.
Participants would carry in the Advent candle and light it for the particular Mass that they signed up for and would also bring up the gifts of Bread and Wine. Please call the Rectory if you are interested in being part of this very special tradition at Immaculate Conception.

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An Advent Prayer Lord Jesus, Master of both
the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit
upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do,
seek quiet space to hear your voice each day. We, who are anxious over many things,
look forward to your coming among us. We, who are blessed in so many ways, long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We, whose hearts are heavy, seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness,
seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”
Amen by: Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Advent
Today begins the season of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparation for the great feast of Christmas. With all preparations for Christmas it is easy to forget about Advent. Here are some suggestions.

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Billy Balsam CD Sale
The Choir is putting the finishing touches on work for the holiday musical "Billy Balsam", a delightful Christmas story for folks of all ages. The free performance will be held in our church on Sunday, December 7 at 3:30 and 7PM.
Barbara Bush is among those who enjoy sharing the richness of this touching and entertaining tale with her grandchildren at the holidays; performed annually, such notaries as Arlene Dahl, Betsy Palmer, Bill Evans, Barry Bostwick, Hannah Storm and Julie Harris have participated in its annual reading. The story's author William Schneider will be present in our audience, and general singing of carols will conclude this year's event. Please set this date aside on your calendar now for what promises to be a "wonderful" performance.
We are currently taking orders for professionally produced CD's of the complete narration and musical sound track of this modern Christmas classic; CD's are $12 each (cash or check made out to "cash") with all the proceeds benefiting Immaculate Conception Church. Reserve your limited-cut CD now with your advance order and payment by mailing or delivering your instructions (including number of CD's, payment, your phone, address) in a clearly-marked envelope to the Parish Rectory. Orders will be filled for pre-Christmas delivery.
Why not consider a CD as a perfect keepsake, gift, or stocking-stuffer for all the family and friends on your list! Orders will also be taken on performance day
December 7th or visit www.billybalsam.com/BillyBalsam /Welcome.html. Thank you!

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The Immaculate Conception
“The Immaculate Conception” is a title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The expression means that Mary was conceived without sin. The conviction that Jesus was born of a virgin is a distinct belief, even though many Catholics erroneously think that the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus.
Contributing to the confusion is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception during the season of Advent. While the faithful are preparing to honor the birth of Jesus, we commemorate the conception of Mary. The choice of Dec. 8 for the Immaculate Conception does not directly relate to Advent; it corresponds more to the traditional date for the feast of the birth of Mary, Sept. 8, which coincides with the dedication of a Jerusalem church in honor of the mother of Mary. The feast for the conception of Mary is backed up from that day nine months. In a similar way we celebrate the Annunciation on March 25, nine months before the birth of Jesus.
Belief in the Immaculate Conception asserts that God preserved Mary from all sin from the moment of her conception, thus preparing a pure vessel for the incarnation of the Son. This belief is not expressly contained in the Scriptures, but it enjoys a widespread following in the church's tradition. Although the Immaculate Conception of Mary has been affirmed since the earliest centuries of Christianity, it was not formally proclaimed a dogma of the church until 1854. Dec. 8 is now a holy day of obligation in the United States, which is placed under Mary's patronage with this title.
When Mary is depicted as the Immaculate Conception, she is often shown wearing a crown of stars as the woman in Revelation 12 and standing on a snake, reversing the temptation of Eve. Mary, the Immaculate Conception, is the exalted queen of heaven who manifests God's power over sin. By Paul Turner
Copyright © 2003 Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St. #290, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505, Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, Mo.

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Prayer Requests:
In Nursing Homes: Ceil Williams, Ethel Segarra and Pauline Trofimuk
At Home: Maria Woppel, Robert Zeuner, Evelyn Caljean, Danielle Dionisio, Thomas Dionisio, Jr., Steven “Itchy” Novak, Julia Novak, Flo Yurchak, Mary Carmody, Harold & May Dickey, Debbie Yodice, JoAnn Ritz, Regina Kobus, Harry Kosminsky, Jeanine Hodgins, Janice Rogers, Beverly Hand, Joan Boyer, Doris Gancarcik, Bernadette Hoffman, Syrina Bruno, Vicki Schroeder, Ed Gonzales, John Tidona & Lisa Stine

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In the Military: Jamison Micke, Stephen Saski, Jr., Christopher Faber, SFC Morgan McHose, LCPL William Mathes, LCPL Ernest Mathes, Karen Hassler, Tom Oroho, Maj. Stephen McKenzie, Pvt. Michael Gannon, Ryan Halkirt, Joseph Trainor, Shannon Barr, Sabrina Mohammed, Danielle Venturini & CPL Matt Lindquist.
Please notify us when you have recovered from your illness. Hospitals are now bound by privacy laws and can no longer release the names of their patients. It is up to a family member to let us know if a parishioner is hospitalized or homebound.

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A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE, A TIME TO WAKE UP . . .
Advent begins with a trumpet blast: Wake up! Watch out! The call to be watchful and alert is a call to readiness, not to let our spirits get sluggish and slip off into a state of unconsciousness. But it is hard at times to stay up, to keep watch. Is Jesus being unreasonable here?

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INSIDE THE READINGS
Today's Gospel begins after a recitation of the tribulations that will occur in the final times. Jesus exhorts his disciples to keep awake: They are servants who are to take care of the home while the master is away (13:34). Jesus, in going away, is entrusting to his disciples what is precious to him, as symbolized by home and the family that lives there. The challenging command to keep awake at all hours of the day and night when doing one's duty reflects the great value of those whom the servants are guarding.
How we keep awake and what it means to guard and care for what is precious to Jesus is soon developed in another passage that repeats the imagery of watching at night, and so is linked to the Gospel passage for today. Following the Last Supper, Jesus leads his disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane. Leaving the rest of the disciples at one place in the garden, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John and proceeds further with them (Mark 14:32-33). To these three he confides that his sorrow is so great that it may itself cause his death (14:34). It is in this context that Jesus asks these three disciples to "remain here and keep watch" (14:34).
They are to be Jesus' support group, as shown by the fact that Jesus only goes a "little" way from them and then comes back to them in between his prayers. Because they keep falling asleep, however, Jesus admonishes them that prayer will give them the power to overcome their weakness (14:38). Prayer energizes the spirit to combat the fatigue of the flesh.
Thus, watching at all hours means providing support at all times to those entrusted to us. Prayer undergirds such rigorous support, as does the realization that the ones we are called to care for are loved by Jesus as family members. Disciples are those entrusted with Jesus' family.

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THOUGHTS FOR ACTION
We can ask God to help us live these coming days alert and attentive to the hope that has been placed in our hearts. Let us pray that God "will keep [us] firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:8). Excerpted and edited from LIVING THE WORD for the First Sunday of Advent commentary by Dennis D. Sylva and Rev. James A. Wallace, CSsR, © 2008 by J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.11/30/08
Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. — Mark 13:33
While you are visiting the Immaculate Conception web site, be sure to sign in our guest book!!

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