W ho among your dear family members has wandered away from

our Holy Faith? Very few families are not expe-riencing the deep heartache of seeing some loved ones stray from the faith. We hear parents who raised their children to know and love the Lord wondering why their adult children are rejecting this most important teaching. Grand-parents tell us they are distressed that their precious grandchildren are not learning about God or even being baptized. The problem of lost sheep in our families is pervasive and sometimes discouraging, so we pray and perhaps we take some action. Parents might invite adult children to a special liturgy. Grandparents try to catechize youngsters in the snatches of time allowed them by the parents. Some take the wee ones to Mass whenever they babysit. Some baptize them at the sink. One grandfather told us he filled a kiddie pool with the garden hose and then baptized six of his grand-children in his backyard! Although they mean well, children should

only be baptized this way if their lives are in immediate danger. The Church requires children to be baptized only into homes where the parents agree to raise them in the Catholic faith. Please take hope in the knowledge that whenever in our Church’s history a crisis or dark time occurred, the Holy Spirit was also at work pouring out His powerful gifts — sometimes in unnoticed places. That same Holy Spirit who came upon the apostles as tongues of fire on Pentecost is working through our Bishop, Earl Boyea, who several years ago wrote: Go And Announce the Gospel of the Lord.1 In this pastoral letter he asks us to help him bring our beloved lost sheep back into the fold. Pope Benedict XVI often warned that relativism is the greatest danger in the world. We all know that our present culture has become a morass of relativism, which denies the existence of truth and sin and then bullies all who challenge its lies. Sometimes that bullying intimidates us. We want our loved ones to come back, yet our Bishop reminds us that we

ourselves comply with the intimi-dators by displaying an unwilling-ness to be witnesses to our faith in the world. We do not show our faith. An often-hostile secular culture is only too pleased with our self-censure. The Holy Spirit is telling us, through Bishop Boyea’s letter, that this culture needs to see and realize that we are Catholics. We must present our faith as the means of salvation for us and for all. The sacred liturgy, our worship of God, is something the world needs to see. In days gone by, Catholic processions, Catholic feast days, Catholic days of fast and abstinence, Catholic art and music and architecture, Catholic pilgrimages, and, ultimately, the Catholic profession of faith all made a visible impact on our society.2

Showing the world our faith is an act of love. We are offering

what is best for their benefit. Remember, too, that Jesus

commanded us to love one another as He loved us. He also

said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with

your whole heart, soul, mind, and

Notes From: Deacon Frank Papp & Barbara M. Papp

NOVEMBER 26, 2017 SOLEMINITY OF CHRIST THE KING

continued on inside cover

Go and Announce the

Gospel of the Lord!

• Please pray for the infirm, including: Dan Krebs, Patricia Fuller, Lisa Ann Kozakowski, John Marshall, John LaRock Sr., Michael Cooper, Phil Rutledge, Kathy Cooley, Robin Fahmie, Karen Prins, Sandra Adams, Richard Pelkey, Tom Dawson, Pete Siebertz, Nicole Brcic, Angela DiLaura, John Dziuban, Jim Stephensen, Mason Rutledge, Georgiana Bruen, Wayne DeForest, Floyd “Doc” Dreffs,

Ron Fuller, Tom Masterson, Noah Kranz, Ann Mary “Nancy” Phillips, Jessica Cox, Katie Hutton, Nicholas Pikor, Roger Thomas, Betsy & Charlie Rodgers, Pam Wiitala, Chris Dreffs

Please pray for those in the military, including: Adam Draves, Nathan Baker, Garette Moore, Larry Workman, Daniel Scott Brown, Mark Richard, Philip Maxwell, Tony Phillips, Anthony

Darket, Samuel Chase Johnson, William Godfrey, Bill Lott, Tony DeLellis, Mike Nelson, Frank Snaith, Allan Fletcher, Noah Kranz, Chas & Holly Carter

Pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. John Henry Keenan, Michael Kunitz, Mark Iadonisi, David Pellican

TO PRAY IS TO LOVE MASS INTENTIONS

“...I shall rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance… with full courage now

as always Christ will be honored in my body...” — Philippians 1:19, 20

Bill Cook & Family Fr. Zachary Mabee Fr. Gary McInnis Daniel Wenderski Hailey McInnis President Trump & Vice President Pence Parishioners Margaret O’Neill

TUE 700:

WED 815:

THU 830:

FRI 815:

SAT 900:

400:

SUN 800:

1030:

RETROUVAILLE

Help for Your Marriage Retrouvaille is an inter-national community of people committed to

helping married couples heal and

strengthen their marriages. They help couples living in the pain and disappointment of marital problems by engaging them in a weekend retreat and six follow-up sessions designed to empower husbands and wives with the tools

to communicate effectively, forgive and move forward into a brighter future as a married couple. The next retreat held in Lansing is the weekend of January 5th. For info: retrouvaille.org

strength, and your neighbor as yourself. All the laws and commandments are contained in this one. We begin to love our neighbor by loving God above all, by giving ourselves entirely to Him. This

requires prayer, which means spending time, speaking with God — not just saying words to or at

God — and listening to Him. First and foremost, we must pray; then, go to the sources; study and learn.

Open, read, and pray with the Holy Scriptures. Read (or, re-read) Bishop Boyea’s pastoral letter. It

contains a wealth of teaching that will help us to invite a lost soul back into relationship with Our

Shepherd, Jesus. We should also be joyful and confident, inviting and trusting the Holy Spirit. Remember Saint Peter’s instruction as you invite a brother or sister to “come home”: “Set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. Yet do it with courtesy and respect.”3

Our good Bishop is not asking us to be doorbell ringing evangelists. He wants to bring home all the lost sheep, but he is asking each of us to focus on just

one. In his words, “My sisters and brothers of this Diocese of Lansing, I need you to seek out a lost sheep and invite him or her back to the fold. … Think of which person you will approach. It will take time and prayer, patience and love, but the Holy Spirit will guide you in your efforts.”4

This appeal comes directly from the Good Shepherd Himself, through our Bishop, to each of

us. May our response resound like Mary’s Yes as we join to pray, love, invite, and bring our lost sheep

back to the fold.

1 Bishop Earl Boyea, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord”, Pastoral Letter, Holy Thursday 2012: www.dioceseoflansing.org/office-bishop/bishops-boyeas-pastoral-letter 2 Bishop Earl Boyea, Ibid, ¶60 3 1 Peter 3:15-16 (New English Translation) 4 Bishop Earl Boyea, ibid, ¶39

continued from front

Reconciliation Tuesday 5:30PM - 6:40PM Saturday 2:30PM or by appointment; don’t hesitate to call for an appointment!

Weekend Schedule for Holy Mass Saturday 4:00PM Sunday 8:00AM & 10:30AM

Weekday Schedule for Holy Mass First Saturday of the month 9:00AM Tues. 7:00PM Wed. & Fri. 8:15AM

Thur. 8:30AM

Eucharistic Adoration of Our Lord Tues. 5:30PM– 6:45PM First Friday 7:00PM– Saturday 8:00AM

Baptisms Baptism Preparation classes as required by the

Diocese of Lansing may be scheduled to accom-

modate your family’s needs. Contact Dcn. Frank-

Joseph Papp, 734-426-1070 or email

fjpapp@umich.edu to arrange date, time and

location. Godparents are encouraged to

attend. There is no fee for the class. Marriages Arrangements are to be made at least nine months prior to the wedding. Funerals Funeral arrangements are made by contacting the parish office. Parish Registration Contact the office for a registration form.

Office hours Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM Office: 734-662-8141 Emergency: 734-663-1851 Address: 5671 Whitmore Lake Rd, Ann Arbor, 48105 Website: www.stpatricka2.org E-mail: info@stpatricka2.org

Parish Administrator Fr. Tom Wasilewski (#24) twasilewski@stpatricka2.org Deacon Dcn. Jim Thibodeau, jthibodeau@stpatricka2.org Dcn. Frank-Joseph Papp, fjpapp@umich.edu Parish Secretary Debbie Welch (#21) debbie@stpatricka2.org Director of Faith Formation James Bogdan (#30) jbogdan@stpatricka2.org Director of Music Jim Renfer music@stpatricka2.org Facilities Manager Mark Westhoven mwesthoven@stpatricka2.org Knights of Columbus Council 10963 Brian Heldt GK10963@mikofc.org OSP Ladies Society Jeanine Jahant jmjahant@gmail.com Altar Server Coordinator Jennifer Holody ospaltarservers@gmail.com Pray Requests ospintentions@gmail.com

Contributions: Weekend of November 19, 2017: To be determined

Bulletin announcements must be submitted in writing to bulletin@stpatricka2.org by Monday at noon and will be edited at the discretion of the editor or pastor.

Please patronize our sponsors and tell them you saw their ad in our bulletin!

ALTAR SERVERS SATURDAY 4:00/DEC 2 M. Rushing D. Franzonello

SUNDAY 8:00/DEC 3 L. DeLellis W. Kummet

SUNDAY 10:30/DEC 3 G. Carter B. Carter M. Grech A. Russell P. Zachmann P. Zachmann

OLD ST. PATRICK PARISH DIRECTORY

Family of the Month Our Family for the

Month is the Hayes

family. The Hayes

family is very

active in our

parish. They are

well known for

hosting “Coffee

and Donuts” after our Masses on

Sunday. Brian and his wife Jeanette are

Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy

Communion. Jeanette is also a Vacation

Bible School (VBS) Teacher and chaper-

ones youth group activities. Their children;

Ethan, Daniel, Lily, Joel, and Cecilia help

out at the parish in many different ways.

Congratulations and may God Bless You

Brian and your family for your dedicated

service to Old St. Pat’s Church.

Ink Cartridge Recycling

The Knights will be collecting empty ink

cartridges as a fundraiser thanks to Bob

Tomsic. A box will be in the Parish Center

Coat Room to accept any type of ink and

toner cartridges.

Knight of the Month Our Knight of the Month is

Steven Andrews. Steven has

helped at our Parish

Festivals, Fish Fry’s,

Pancake Breakfasts and the

Soccer Challenge. He teach-

es Catechism and has head-

ed up our Christmas Card

Project. Congratulations Steven and thank

you for the work you do for Old St. Pat’s

Church and your help with the projects for

the Knights.

First Friday Adoration– Dec. 1st & 2nd Remember to sign up (in the back of

church) to spend an hour in Adoration

with our Lord.

Planning Meeting Wednesday, December 6th, at 6:30pm in

the Parish Hall. All Knights are invited to

attend.

Join the Knights Become a better Catholic, husband, father,

brother and man by joining the Knights of

Columbus to serve our Church. Please

contact Grand Knight, Brian Heldt at 734-

426-0857 or GK10963@mikofc.org.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

IN SERVICE TO ONE, IN SERVICE TO ALL

ST. PATRICK PARISH CALENDAR SUNDAY, November 26 Christ the King

9:15 No Religious Education

9:15 K of C Rosary

6:30 No Youth Group

THURSDAY, November 30 6:30 American Heritage Girls

7:00 Choir Practice

FRIDAY, December 1 7:00 First Friday Adoration

SATURDAY, December 2 9:00 First Saturday Mass

2:00 GF Bread Baking Class

SUNDAY, December 3– Advent

Donut Sunday 9:15 Religious Education

6:30 No Youth Group

Riddles

1. I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am I? 2. What belongs to you but others use it more? 3. What gets wetter the more it dries?

1. A Candle 2. Your Name 3. Bath Towel

First Friday Adoration First Friday Adoration this Friday, December 1st starting at 7pm. Please sign up to spend an hour in the presence of our Lord.

Gluten Free Baking Class Do you, or someone you know have a gluten intolerance? There will be a baking class on how to bake two types of bread: a French bread, and a sourdough loaf. The class will take place in the Old St. Patrick's parish hall on

Saturday, Dec. 2, at 2 pm. Cost is $10 per person. Please RSVP to Alena Carter at alena.merimee@gmail.com Hope to see you there! God bless!

Christmas Wreaths The American Heritage Girls will be selling fresh, decorated, ever-green wreaths and centerpieces after the Masses the weekend of December 2nd and 3rd. Come buy a beautiful, locally-made wreath and support our troop fundraisers!

Volunteer Needed We are currently in need of someone to facilitate our monthly

rosary at Regency Nursing Home in Whitmore Lake. If you are interested, please contact the parish office. The rosary is currently being prayed at Regency on the second Wednesday of the month.

Be A Member (officially!) If you regularly attend Old Saint Patrick, please consider filling out a parish registration form, if you haven’t already. Just call the office and we will mail or email you a form. If you are already a member, please make sure we have your email address.

Advent Tea! Save the date! Ladies of Old St. Patrick, from 6 to 106, you are cordially invited to an Advent Tea on Saturday December 9th, from 11am-1pm in the parish hall. Please RSVP by Dec. 4th to Beth Ganss 248-486-3162 or mitwins@hotmail.com. More details will follow soon. Please consider joining us as we celebrate the Advent season together!

Dear Family,

At my former parish, we used to gather on Sunday nights during Advent and Lent to pray what's known as Night Prayer or Compline. Compline is the last office of the day prayed as part of the Liturgy of the Hours to commend our souls to God prior to sleep. We'd like to establish this same tradition here at Old St Patrick. It's a very peaceful prayer and only takes about 15 minutes to complete. The prayer would start at 8:00pm but the church would be open about an hour or so before that so as to spend some quiet time with the Lord. It is a wonderful way to quiet yourself from all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. The format of Compline is very simple: it begins with an examination of conscience, a hymn, a sung Psalm, a very short reading, a responsory, a sung canticle, a final blessing, and a Marian hymn (Alma Redemptoris Mater in Advent). Takes all of 15 or 20 minutes. It is very peaceful and soothing. Please join us, in the Church, on Sunday evenings at 8:00pm during the first 3 weeks Advent for Night Prayer. This is a great way to focus your gaze on what really matters during the liturgical seasons.

Pax et bonum... Deacon Jim

Advent Sunday Night Prayer

Advent

Tree GIVING

Traditionally, the generosity and

compassion of the parishioners of

Old St. Patrick's have helped to

abundantly bless so many in our

community during the Christmas

season. The annual Advent Giving

Tree is now up in the church vestibule. Each tag on

the tree represents an opportunity to truly shine

the light of Christ. If you are able, please consider taking a tag

or perhaps even a couple of tags!

Please return gifts UNWRAPPED with the Giving Tree Tag

securely attached to the outside of the gift. If you purchase

gas, grocery or other gift cards, please return them in an

envelope with the Giving Tree Tag securely adhered to the

envelope, and place in the box labeled "Gift Cards".

Please return gifts to the church in front of the St. Joseph

statue no later than Monday, December 15th. Thank you in

advance for your beautiful act of Charity.

Pray for our Seminarians

John Henry Keenan

Mark Iadonisi

David Pellican

Michael Kunitz

Happy Solemnity of Christ the King

D ear Parishioners, On the other side of this page, you will find a Financial Report for the financial year of July 1, 2016 thru June 30, 2017 prepared by Gregory Kapolnek our Finance Committee Chair. These are our parish numbers as of June 30th this year. It has been a year of transitions: Fr. Gerald left in September, Deacon Jerry Brennan took over until December when I became the Parish Administrator. Through these changes, some parishioners left (taking their contributions with them) and we also gained a number of new young families. As far as I can tell, this is the first time in some years that a budget is attempted and a report provided for the parish. I want you to be reasonably aware of the parish finances and spending. Unfortunately, when I first arrived last December, there seemed to be many things that needed fixing, upgrading, or replacing, that were not paid much attention to. As a result, my first year here, I made many repairs, upgrades, and purchases of new equipment some of which were already ordered by Deacon Jerry prior to my coming and are reflected in the Capital Expenditures on the report. The upgrades included: a new floor burnishing machine, church furnace repair and electrical work in sacristy, new carpeting in the church, new rectory boiler, new rectory soundproofing windows for first floor, new commercial-grade refrigerators in the hall kitchen and breakroom, replaced coffee maker, new computer server and software installation, new computer monitors for office employees and DRE, new lighting in parish hall lower classrooms, new drinking water fountain, hall entrance furniture and my office furniture, podium for Mass at the hall, and an ozonator air cleaning machine for hall. The parish has about 415K in savings accounts as of today, not counting 164K which is restricted for cemetery perpetual upkeep and upgrades. I had to dig into existing savings a little this year to help cover upgrades and fixes and then again to pay for the new front steps and ramp of the Church, which will be reflected in next year’s financial report. Overall our parish is financially healthy at the moment, provided we continue our weekly support and giving. The savings we do have are a safeguard for the unforeseen future and not meant to be used for projects at the parish. In 2018 we are looking at spending a lot of money to fix our parking lot asphalt, which is in a deplorable state, and our rectory and cemetery drives. I am hoping to raise most of this through the Witness to Hope Campaign (the part that comes back to the parish). This is why I need all of us to participate in the Campaign with a prayerful and generous spirit. Also, in the future, I would like to work on some of the other wonderful ideas our parish council has for the parish, provided we can raise the money for them. A special thank you to all our employees and volunteers, especially to Mrs. Debbie Welch, whose administration skills have been a tremendous help in my transition this year, to Kari Kummet for her tireless work on our bulletins, and Jim Renfer for beautiful music and choir. We have been able to save money through the work of many devoted volunteers, especially Diane Eriksen and her husband, Dave, who work in so many areas at the parish. Our Deacons Frank and Jim and Deacon Candidate Gary Perrydore have served our parish well and for free. Thank you to all of you! It has been a good first year at the parish and I am blessed for having this assignment. Happy Solemnity of Christ the King, Viva Cristo Rey! ~Fr Tom

Old St. Patrick Parish Financial Report

Financial Year: July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017

Income:

Offertory Collections 403,925

Other Income (bequests, rental, interest, etc) 66,722

Fund Raising (Fish Fry) 46,544

Total Income: $517,191

Operating Expenses:

Salaries 161,966

Fringe Benefits (Employees) 61,496

Maintenance 34,838

Utilities and Phone 27,489

Worship and Music (Organ tuning, Visiting Priests, etc) 30,317

Diocesan Assessments 21,450

Inter-Parochial Support (Catholic Schools) 19,926

Parish Life and Programs (Bus trip, Donuts, Dinner Events) 17,413

Supplies 16,577

Youth Ministry (March for Life Trip, Retreats etc) 14,098

Contracted Services Admin (our bookkeeping) 13,370

Information Technology 12,487

Insurance 9,427

Other Expense 21,760

Fund Raising Expenses (Fish Fry) 34,155

Total Operating Expenses $496,769

Income Before Capital Expenditures 20,422

Capital Expenditures 78,335

Net Income (Loss) ($57,913)