Parish Office Phone ................................... (701) 223-3606 Hours (Mon.-Fri.) ............... 8:30 am-4:00 pm Education Office ............................ 258-5692 Fax ................................................. 223-5783 E-mail .......... ascension@midconetwork.com Web .......................... ascensionbismarck.org

Pastoral Staff Rev. Msgr. Jim Braaten…………..….Pastor Ray Grabar……………………………Deacon Tony Finneman……………………...Deacon Doyle Schulz…………………………Deacon Beth Kathol…...…Parish Business Manager Kathy Lewis………………... Music & Liturgy Jan Sitter………………………...Bookkeeper

Julie Luger & Rita Ritter ........... Secretaries Bob Urlacher…………………. Maintenance

Eucharistic Liturgies Saturday ........................................... 5:00 pm Sunday ...................... 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am Weekdays (Mon.-Fri.) ....................... 8:00 am Holy Days ....................... 8:00 am & 7:00 pm

Sacraments Reconciliation Tuesday-Friday ........... Before 8:00 am Mass Saturday .................................. 3:30-4:30 pm Baptisms Please call the Parish Office to schedule. If possible, contact the office three months prior to the due date. Marriage Arrangements are to be made with the Pastor at least nine months prior to the wedding.

Newcomers

Welcome to the Parish! Contact the Parish Office to register.

As a people of God, of Ascension Catholic

Parish, we are united by Baptism and

committed to meeting the needs of our

faith community. In union with the whole

Church, we will build the Kingdom of

God by proclaiming the Good News,

worshipping God, creating community,

and promoting social justice.

1825 SOUTH 3RD STREET • BISMARCK, ND 58504

Ascension C H U R C H O F T H E

October 29, 2017

FaithFormationNews

ParishNews

DIRECTOR OF FAITH FORMATION JOB OPPORTUNITY

Ascension Parish has a job position open for a Director of Faith Formation. The Director of Faith Formation is responsible for the development, coordination, and promotion of a comprehensive plan for the spiritual growth and faith development of 1st grade through adult parishioners. Must have a passion and creative energy to enable others to live out their baptismal call personally, within the family, parish and greater community.

Qualifications: Individual must be an active Catholic who is organized, committed, creative and has a degree with classes in theology, education and/or pastoral ministry. Experience teaching within a parish faith formation program is preferred. Possessing good communication skills and an ability to work collaboratively with pastor, parish staff, catechists, parents and students is vital. A complete background check is required by the Diocese of Bismarck. Please submit a cover letter and resume to Beth Kathol, Parish Business Manager, Church of the Ascension, 1905 South 3rd Street, Bismarck, ND 58504 or bkathol@ascensionbismarck.org.

PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL

This year there are three open positions on the Parish Pastoral Council. Elections will be held the first weekend in December. The Pastoral Council serves as a consultative board to the pastor. The council strives to discern the needs of the parish and offer guidance and help in following its mission to share the message of Christ with others. If anyone is interested in serving on the Council, please contact Msgr. Braaten or Beth Kathol, Parish Business Manager at 223-3606.

FEAST OF ALL SAINTS

Wednesday, November 1st is the Feast of All Saints. Masses will be offered at 8:00 am and 7:00 pm. It is a holy day of obligation. Liturgical Ministers are needed for all these Masses. You may sign-up on the Ministry Scheduler Pro website, email jcsitter@ascensionbismarck.org or call 223-3606. Thanks for your ministry.

MASS OF REMEMBRANCE

The Mass of Remembrance will be celebrated Thursday, November 2nd at 7:00 pm. Parishioners who have died in the past year will be remembered in a special way. All parishioners are invited to join in praying for those who have died. Also, the Table of Remembrance will be set up in our church foyer during the month of November. Please bring any pictures and/or items of remembrance to be included.

NO FAITH FORMATION CLASSES—NOVEMBER 1st

Please attend Mass for the Feast of All Saints

PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY

Please join us on this special day, Priesthood Sunday, in praying for priests, especially our Pastor, Monsignor Jim Braaten, for his generosity in saying “yes” to the call of the priesthood. Make your appreciation known with a simple note or a kind word to assure him of your loving care and gratitude for his presence in the life of our parish.

RECONCILIATION FOR GRADES 3-6

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH—7:00 PM IN THE CHURCH

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is being offered for students in grades 3rd to 6th on Wednesday, November 8th in the church at 7:00 pm. All students in these grades are expected to attend as part of their class attendance. There will be no class at 4:00 or 5:30 for these grades only. Grades 1st and 2nd and 7th to 9th will have class as usual. Students are to come directly to the church and sit in their assigned section by grade with their catechist.

ASCENSION KC’S

Thank you to the Parish members and guests who helped us raise over $750 for vocations at the last Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast. If you are a practicing Catholic man over the age of 18 and want to join with 1.8 million other like minded men who collectively last year alone donated 70 million volunteer hours and $170 million to charitable and benevolent causes, reach out to an existing Knight of Columbus member or email Mike.kraft@bektel.com or call/text 701-226-3915. We invite you to join us.

The flowers near the altar have been

donated by Parishioner Linda Charbonneau, her daughters, Liane and Pam,

and her granddaughter, Candace, for the unborn.

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

We are a group of friends from Ascension Parish who have ex-perienced the loss of loved ones. Our next luncheon is sched-uled for Thursday, November 2nd at the Elks. Feel free to stay after the luncheon and play cards. If you are planning to attend, please call Lil at 255-7610 or 202-5594 or Linda at 223-0802.

FIRST FRIDAY FELLOWSHIP

First Friday Fellowship will be held on Friday, November 3rd in the Community Room after the 8:00 am Mass. What a wonderful opportunity to visit and enjoy coffee and pastries!

5:00 PM 8:00 AM 9:30 AM 11:00 AM

Count Offering Team #1

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

Bill Blotsky—Plate Linda Charbonneau—Plate Ken Johnson—Plate Heather McCoy—Plate Tammie Johnson—Cup Cathie Volk—Cup** Marlene Zimmerman—Cup**

Rose Senger—Plate Mark Weigel—Plate** VOLUNTEER—Plate Pete Baumgartner—Cup**

Josh Hager—Plate Linda Haider—Plate Paulette Heringer—Plate Alice Ternes—Plate Cathy Hruby—Cup LaRae Nelson—Cup** Deb Schon—Cup**

Rosie Dingus—Plate Mary Fornshell—Plate Melanie Schwab—Plate Kiaya Schwab—Plate Howell Flowers—Cup John Knox—Cup** Jay Uhlman—Cup**

Hospitality

Lil Krance JoAnn Mahlmann Aaron Mahlmann

Kelvin Kosse Dorothy Kosse Judy Ness

Bob Heringer Tanya Hopfauf Troy Schon

Levi Bitz John Bryan Pam Bryan

Lector Linda Charbonneau Phyllis Silbernagel Val Kolbinger John Knox

Altar Server Edmund Peliska Jett Warren

Adriel Vetter Madison Hopfauf Cooper Weidner

Erica Haberlock Trey Haberlock

Video/Audio Operator Brenda Muscha Nancy Hoselton Dan Hopfauf Dave Charles

Music Ministry Ken Steckler Group Kathy Lewis

Renee Loh Jeanne Jankowski Mary Bachmeier Brent Geiss

Carol Reinert Cindy Bleth Barb Hokenson

Serving the Assembly November 4th & 5th, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Did You Know?

- The average age of priests in the Diocese of

Bismarck is 47.

- There are 53 active priests in the Diocese.

- Priests’ age by decade:

20’s - 3 30’s - 14

40’s - 14 50’s - 14

60’s - 7 70’s - 1

- There are 20 retired priests; the average age

is 83.

ATTENTION MARRIED & ENGAGED COUPLES

Has anyone ever clearly explained for you WHY the Catholic Church does not approve of unnatural birth control? For most of us, the answer is NO. Learn about your faith and discover a natural method of family planning that goes beyond the physical. A three part course will be offered by the Couple to Couple League from 10:00 am to Noon at the University of Mary on Saturday, November 4th, December 2nd, and January 13th. For more information and registration, visit www.ccli.org or call Melinda Seidling at 651-206-5305.

JOB POSTING

The Diocese of Bismarck is seeking a well-qualified and highly motivated individual to fill the position of Planned Giving Specialist. The ideal candidate loves the Catholic Church and its ministries, enjoys working with people, is a self-starter and is goal orientated. The ability to be successful working independently and in the context of a larger team is a must. A background in planned giving or trust work is preferable but not required. A background in finance, business administration, marketing and sales with an emphasis on customer relations, or a related discipline is required. If interested please see the full job posting at bismarckdiocese.com under the “Job Openings” tab. Please submit cover letter, resume, three references and diocesan application for employment to Denise Jordan, PO Box 1575, Bismarck, ND 58502, or djordan@bismarckdiocese.com.

TimeTalent&Treasure

Prayer Line Call the Parish Office at 223-3606 or Pauline Mueller at 226-9471. The Prayer Line is a group of parishioners who pray for requested intentions. The names of those requests and/or the intentions are not made public. Names of people listed in the bulletin have given permission to use their name.

John W. Bitz, Mildred Schall, Marjorie Bitz, Jerry Feist, Larry Sackman, Don Hopfauf, Tim Heidt, Erna Jacobchick, Michelle Niska, Viola Bitz, Bill Feist, Jolene Klein, Dennis Conklin, Daryl Wanner

FINANCIAL BLESSINGS

ParishCalendar

Monday, October 30 8:00 am Communion Service Tuesday, October 31 8:00 am †Lea Braun by Don & Catherine Franchuk Wednesday, November 1

8:00 am People of the Parish 7:00 pm †Tip Reichert by Keven & Kristi Wanner Thursday, November 2 8:00 am †Don & Joe Masseth by Family Friday, November 3 8:00 am †Steve & Katie Rohrich by Bob & Cathy Silbernagel Saturday, November 4 5:00 pm †Maury Krance by Lil Krance Sunday, November 5 8:00 am †Marilyn Bosch by Roy Bosch 9:30 am †Bernhard & Katie Weigel by Joe & Berna Vetter 11:00 am People of the Parish

Weekly Schedule Monday, October 30 8:30 am Eucharistic Adoration Wednesday, November 1 NO Faith Formation Classes Thursday, November 2 11:30 am Circle of Friends at the Elks Friday, November 3 8:30 am First Friday Fellowship

Readings for the Week of October 29th:

Sunday: Ex 22:20-26/Ps 18:2-4, 47, 51/

1 Thes 1:5c-10/Mt 22:34-40

Monday: Rom 8:12-17/Ps 68:2, 4, 6-7ab, 20-21/

Lk 13:10-17

Tuesday: Rom 8:18-25/Ps 126:1b-6/Lk 13:18-21

Wednesday: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14/Ps 24:1bc-4ab, 5-6/

1 Jn 3:1-3/Mt 5:1-12a

Thursday: Wis 3:1-9/Ps 23:1-6/Rom 5:5-11/Jn 6:37-40

Friday: Rom 9:1-5/Ps 147:12-15, 19-20/Lk 14:1-6

Saturday: Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29/Ps 94:12-13a,

14-15, 17-18/Lk 14:1,7-11

Sunday: Mal 1:14b—2:2b, 8-10/Ps 131:1-3/

1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13/Mt 23:1-12

WEEK COLLECTIONS BUDGET

October 22,

2017

$17,082.23 $13,002.00

Fiscal Year

to Date

$217,545.21 $221,034.00

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Adult: In a practical sense, what is one thing that would change in your life if you loved your neighbor as yourself? Youth: Why is it hard sometimes to love your neighbor?

In today’s Gospel Reading from St. Matthew, a lawyer among the Pharisees again tries to entrap Jesus by asking Him the question, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest.” Jesus’ response appears multiple times in Holy Scripture, as He says, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The Lord then adds another that He cites as almost equally important, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Much has been written and conjectured about both of these, and often the focus is on who our neighbor is. However, there is another element of the second Great Commandment that is worthy of note, and that is loving the neighbor “as yourself.” Too often people conclude that this means that you have to love yourself first. Most of us grasp what it means to the love the Lord with all we are, although it is nearly unattainable to accomplish. However, that second Great Commandment does not mean that it is necessary for us to love ourselves before we can love anyone else. It means, quite simply, that most of us are concerned with our own interests and our own personal situations. Jesus is telling us that just as we often think of ourselves, we need to take care and have concern for the interests of others as well. In the familiar Prayer of St. Francis known to many Catholics, we sum up what this kind of love to which we are called really is, when we pray, “Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved, as to love.”