St. Laurence Parish 225 Jewett St. Elgin, IL 60123 Parish Office: 565 Standish St. 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Monday - Friday P - 847-468-6900 F - 847-468-6904 After Hours - 847-531-6203

EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION Saturday - 4:00 PM, Spanish - 6:00PM Sundays - 7:15, Bi-lingual 9:00, 11:00 AM Daily Mass - 8:00 AM Monday - Friday SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Wednesday 5:00 - 7:00 PM Saturday 3:00 - 3:45 PM Special times upon request. SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE & BAPTISM Check our website for more information. Stlaurencechurchelgin.com/parish-information

Rectory: 226 Orchard St.

PASTORAL STAFF Pastor - Fr. Andrew Mulcahey pastor@stlaurencechurchelgin.com Fr. Robert Camacho - Priest in Residence Secretary - Belinda Bermea office@stlaurencechurchelgin.com Bookkeeper - Agnes Mozdzen accounting@stlaurencechurchelgin.com Religious Education Coordinators - Mike & Toni Kmiecik religioused@stlaurencechurchelgin.com Deacons - Robert Plazewski, Joe Bermea deaconjoe@stlaurencechurchelgin.com Finance Council - Joe Malas, Chairman Education Commission - Ron Szopa, President SCHOOL http://stlaurenceschool.com Principal - Wendy Kelly wkelly@stlaurenceschool.com

Secretary - Kathy Laudont office@stlaurenceschool.com

P - 847.468.6100 F - 847.468.6104

http://stlaurencechurchelgin.com

We still have open dates to remember your loved ones with altar flow-ers. Please check the binder at the back of the church.

Today is Fellowship Sunday, join us after the morning masses for do-nuts, bagels, fruit, coffee, tea, juice and fellowship.

January 18 - Margarita Pantoja

Stewardship Collection

Monday Heb 1:1-6; Ps 97:1, 2b, 6, 7c, 9; Mk 1:14-20

Tuesday Heb 2:5-12; Ps 8:2ab, 5, 6-9; Mk 1:21-28

Wednesday Heb 2:14-18; Ps 105:1-4, 6-9; Mk 1:29-39

Thursday Heb 3:7-14; Ps 95:6-11; Mk 1:40-45

Friday Heb 4:1-5, 11; Ps 78:3, 4bc, 6c-8; Mk 2:1-12

Saturday Heb 4:12-16; Ps 19:8-10, 15; Mk 2:13-17

Sunday Is 62:1-5; Ps 96:1-3, 7-10; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-11

Readings for the Week

Hospital Minister

Altar Flowers

4:00 PM

Lector - Ron Szopa Eucharistic Ministers - Kay Gotter, Barb Miller, Greg Soohov, Debbie Wever Altar Servers - Kimberly Aguirre, Emma Eisen

6:00 PM

Lector - Benjamin Gonzalez Ministro Eucarístico - Laura Blanco, Norberto Feliciano, Carmen Perez Servidor de Altar - Karen Perez, Alyssa Baugus

7:15 AM

Lector - Joann Engers Eucharistic Ministers - Nicole DeFrenza, Wendy Mann, Bob McDonough, Loretta Revesz Altar Servers - Will Metz, Morgan Sajtar

9:00 AM

Lector - Bob Jones, Sabina Ruiz Eucharistic Ministers - Deacon Job Bermea, Loli Gudino, Kathy Jones, William Misek Altar Servers -

11:00 AM

Lector - Caitlyn Dix Eucharistic Ministers - Deacon Joe Bermea, Natalie Koessl, Joann Smith, Larry Smith Altar Servers - Nathalia Aguirre, Malakai Mortensen

Altar Ministry January 19/20

Jan 5/6

Total Giving This Week $ 9,162.68

Weekly Budget Amount Needed $ 7,900.00

Happenings

Love of heaven is the only way to heaven.—John Henry Newman

Bring the Holy Spirit into your marriage. Sign up today to attend one of the upcoming Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekends on Jan 25-27 in Brookfield, WI; Feb 15-17 in Geneva, IL or March 15-17 in Madison, WI. For more info go to: alifetimeoflove.org or call (888) 574-5653. Para un fin de semana en Espanol por favor llamen a Candelario y Emilia al 815-375-4250.

Christmas Flowers

Adoration and Confession has been cancelled this Wednesday, January 16, 2016.

LOOKING FOR DONATIONS! St. Laurence Church is looking for donations of pajamas and/or long underwear for men and women of all sizes. We will be donating these items to PADS Homeless Shelter here in Elgin. We will have boxes in the back for you to place the items in.

The donation collection will go from January 19, 2019 to March 16, 2019. More than 100 people in Elgin alone are homeless and they would greatly appreciate anything the St. Laurence Catholic Parishion-ers could provide for them. Please donate and help in anyway you can! Anything you donate is greatly appreciated! Thank You, Women of E.

TREASURES from our TRADITION

St. Laurence Church | Jewett & Standish St. | Elgin, IL 60123 | 847-468-6900 | http://stlaurencechurchelgin.com

Monday 8:00 AM William Kroman offered by Bill & Kay

Tuesday 8:00 AM Faithful Souls Departed

Wednesday 8:00 AM Dorothy Gomez offered by Belinda and Joe Bermea

Thursday 8:00 AM Faithful Souls Departed

Friday 8:00 AM Jean Jacobsen offered by the Heavenly Dusters

Saturday 4:00 PM Delores & Richard J Sajtar offered by Family

6:00 PM Faithful Souls Departed

Sunday 7:15 AM Rhett Lundy offered by Family

9:00 AM Jean Jacobsen offered by St Laurence Cursillis-tas

11:00 AM Dana Olson offered by Friends

Please Pray for:

For the strengthening in faith of all who are afflicted in body, mind or spirit please pray for: Patricia Anderson, Sandra and Herbert Bolding, Kathleen Cama-rena, Alexandra Collovati, Bill Essary, Kay Hogan, John G. Kolakow-ski, Gordon Lee, Gary Mahoney, Tim Neal, Juli Novak, Bonnie Pen-era, Deacon Bob Plazewski, Lisa Rednour, Julieta Regaldo, Nathan Thomas, Sharon Walden, and Kimberly Winfree.

Lord, Hear our Prayer.

Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaid-ed. Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Mass Intentions - Jan 14-20

We pray for the repose of the soul of Jean Jacobsen

Devoted parishioner and volunteer

Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord; and let per-petual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

May God protect our members who serve in the armed forc-es and return them safely to their families: ARMY: Staff Sgt. Jennifer (Clough) Korfmacher, COAST GUARD: Ensign Allison Rychtanek

Merry Christmas! Share that cheerful greeting with some folks today. They may wonder if you have had any Elvis sightings lately, attended Star Trekkie conventions, or were Cleopatra in a previous lifetime. De-spite the skeptics, today is solidly within the Christmas season. In fact, in some strands of the Christian tradition it represents the clearest manifestation of the mystery of the Incarnation. On Christmas Day, for example, the Gospel reading is the Prologue of John s Gospel, which reveals the glory of Christ shining through our humanity precisely in his baptism. At any rate, this is an ancient feast, celebrated first in Egypt sixteen centuries ago. More than most other ancient people, the Egyptians understood the life-giving properties of water. On this day, they drew water from the Nile, so central in the history of their people, and re-served it in honor. Many other places copied the custom, so that St. John Chrysostom wrote of people in Antioch gathering at midnight to collect flowing water into vessels they brought from home since today there is a blessing on the water. At home for dinner tonight, decorate the table with beautiful bowls of water and white candles, toast one another with goblets of sparkling water, and light a Christmas candle in the window one last time. --James Field, Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

La costumbre del bautismo infantil debe ser mucho más que un acto social o una tradición cultural, donde el ropón y los regalos son más importantes que la doctrina cristiana, y los padrinos se escogen no por su buen ejemplo sino por su cuenta bancaria. Según los Hechos de los Apóstoles, familias enteras se bautizaban cuando el padre de familia decidía hacerse cristiano. Esta práctica de bautizar, no solo al nuevo creyente sino también a su mujer y a sus hijos, poco a poco, quedó solo en bautizar los niños del original creyente. El mundo en aquel tiempo estaba basado sobre la familia así como muchas culturas latinas de hoy. El bautizo infantil nació en la Iglesia primitiva y al pasar de los siglos llegó a transformarse en un rito religioso muy importante en la cate-quesis del nuevo cristiano. El niño viste de ropita blanca que recuerda la presencia de Cristo en su alma, se le regala una vela que lo invita a brillar con la luz de Cristo y se le da una madrina o un padrino que le enseñará a vivir en Cristo. --Fray Gilberto Cavazos-Glz, OFM, Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

As we look to the second half of our school year, we do so with excitement and hope. As a school community, we are embracing the concept of a One Word resolution. Each year, 87% of adults make resolutions and set goals for improvement, but by the end of January over 50% derail or give up. Often it is because we set ‘to do’ goals instead of ‘to be’ goals. So, this year, each member of our school will come up with just one word to focus on for 2019. It simply requires looking within to prepare for necessary growth, looking up to God for guidance, and looking out by living the word intentionally. I invite everyone in our Parish along for this journey. My word is APPRECIATE because it is not enough to be grateful for the gifts I’ve been given. I also want to focus this year on being grateful for opportunities that are disguised as challenges and adversity. I can’t wait to share what our students come up with! We would like to thank our PTC for hosting the Polar Express evening before break. The children had a wonderful time! Please mark January 26th on your calendars for our Family Dinner and Art Auction. As we continue to make meaningful technology integration a priority, our PTC recently purchased 20 new Chromebooks. All of our students in grades 5-8 are on Google Classroom. I will share more about this in the upcoming weeks. With many schools turning to 1:1 technology meaning that every student has a device in their hands for learning all day, we continue to strive to make technology use a meaningful addition to enhance learning. Lastly, this month our Fruit of the Spirit is Kindness. We will be incorporating many activities throughout the month to focus on this very important fruit. One way will be combing Catholic Schools Week with The Great Kindness Challenge. Stay tuned for more on this! I hope each of you has a very blessed week! Wendy

El amor al cielo es el único camino al cielo.— John Henry Newma

Kid’s Corner

School News - Wendy Kelly

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. — Isaiah 60:1

LLAMADOS A SERVIR Por muchas semanas hemos celebrado la aparición de la presencia divina en su forma humana. Cuando era niño, Jesús vivió con María y José, al nacer lo visitaron unos pastores y luego algunos errantes magos de Oriente. Hoy celebramos otra situación, ocurrida un tiempo después, a un grupo reunido en el río Jordán. Juan vaciló cuando le tocó bautizar a Jesús, a quien reconocía como “uno más poderoso que yo”. Pero hizo como Jesús se lo pidió, “descendió el Espíritu Santo” y una voz celestial habló a Jesús: “Tú eres mi hijo, el predilecto”. Jesús estaba empezando su vida públi-ca de enseñanza y de servicio. Pronto comenzaría a llamar a otros a seguirlo. Pedro fue el primero que Jesús llamó. En la segunda lectura de hoy anuncia el centro del mensaje: “la paz que traería Jesucristo, el Señor de todos”. Pedro fue llamado, y tú y yo somos llamados a llevar el mensaje y cumplir la palabra de Dios. Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

CALLED TO SERVE For many weeks now, we have been celebrating the appearance of the divine presence in human form. As a child, he came to Mary and

Joseph, was seen by the shepherds, and then by some wandering magi from the East. Today we celebrate another show-ing, later in time, to a group gathered at the Jordan River. John hesitated to baptize Jesus, whom he recognized as “one mightier than I.” But he did as Jesus asked, and the “Holy Spirit descended” and heaven’s voice spoke to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son.” Jesus was beginning his public life of teaching and service. Soon he would start calling others to join him. Peter was one of the first to be called by Jesus. In today’s second reading, he announces the heart of the message, “peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.: Peter was called, and you and I are called to spread that message and to serve God’s word. Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

St. Laurence Church | Jewett & Standish St. | Elgin, IL 60123 | 847-468-6900 | http://stlaurencechurchelgin.com

The Sacrament of Matrimony - This window is located in the center of the north side of the church. Two rings with flames at the top of this window symbolize the mutual love between husband and wife. The cross indicates that their union has been blessed by Christ. The clasped hands represent the ceremony of marriage. The castle, a sign of strength, indicates the indissolubility of Matrimony and suggests the firm foundation needed for a Christian home and family. See more about this window in next weeks bulletin.

St. Laurence Church | Jewett & Standish St. | Elgin, IL 60123 | 847-468-6900 | http://stlaurencechurchelgin.com

Ministry Meetings - Jan 13 - 19

Sunday Fellowship Sunday 9:30 AM Confirmation Class - School

Tuesday 6:30 PM Education Commission - Sacristy

Thursday 1:00 PM Women’s Cursillo Group - Sacristy 6:30 PM Event Planning Meeting - Cafeteria

Friday 5:30 PM Cursillo Women’s Group - Sacristy

Saturday 12:00 PM Scouts Pinewood Derby - Cafeteria

Monday

Wednesday 6:00 PM First Reconciliation 6:00 PM RE Classes - School

Submission deadline for bulletin entries is Monday at Noon. Send all entries to: office@stlaurencechurchelgin.com for approval. You can also call 847-468-6900

Attention: All additions, cancelations, or changes to meetings/events MUST be coordinated through the church office 847-468-6900

office@stlaurencechurchelgin.com

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Vocations Corner- Fr. Manny Gomez

Winter: perfect pruning time This time of the year, after the holidays, seems that there is not a lot to do. Life in the parish slows down; in most of the parishes there are not special activities or events, lines for confession and Mass attendance comes back to its regular numbers. Even nature seems to take a break during the winter season; trees lose their leaves during fall, and look barren the whole winter season. But life is still there. Winter season is a time to prune trees. Some branches are cut off because they are dead; others are pruned if they had been damaged by a winds or storm; other branches are pruned to make trees more beautiful and fruitful. Just like the trees we also can take advantage of this time of the church (ordinary time) to cut off whatever is dead in our lives, or brings death to our lives (i.e. a vice or a bad attitude towards others). We may also take a look to those relationships damaged by the storms of hate and misunderstanding in the past; or we make just look at ourselves and see in what ways we can be more beautiful and fruitful. Be aware! A tree that is not pruned may cause damage to our property. A broken or dead branch that is not taken care of may fall in our home or car. A tree that is not pruned does not bear much fruit. The same thing happens with our lives, in particular with our vocation. If we don’t look constantly into ourselves to cut off whatever is dead or broken within us we may be risking that a dead branch may collapsed our vocation. It is also true that if we don’t leave behind the things that does not allows us to be more beautiful and fruitful, our vocation even-tually will be like an old barren tree. Responding God’s call is a contin-uous process of growth, let us ask God’s grace to keep growing in his friendship and love.

ConsiderRememberingYour Parish in

Your Will.For further information,

please call the Parish Office.

LISA BUCAROBROKER ASSOCIATETHE FOOTE TEAM24 Year Parishioner

Cell: 847.652.4040Email: lisa.bucaro@bairdwarner.com

Website: LisaBucaro.bairdwarner.com

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