April Events

I didn't want to flood your email inbox this week! I think I already sent out two or three! Here are the highlights of the Month of April - I will have a second post up soon with information about opportunities to pray and relect this Lent at area parishes and the Shrine.

REMINDER: We try to keep a consistent schedule of dates/events - go to the home page of our website - www.bellevilleyam.com for what days to keep open!

Saturday, April 1st
Volunteer Day at the Volunteer House
Come help us start work on the new basement rec room and help get some fresh air into the sleeping quarters! Young Adult Ministry has chosen to "adopt" the volunteer house and help re-do the basement and whatever else may pop up along the way.
We will meet at the Dairy Queen at 64 and 157 in Caseyville at 8:45am
The day lasts from 9am - 1pm (bring a lunch!)

SPECIAL EVENT the last in our REFUEL coffee house series on Christian Living
Sunday, April 2nd
Doors open at 1pm
@ The Abbey in Belleville

Marriage: Gamble, Growth and Gift
How we were called to marriage and how it’s going 5 years later
Kevin Lee & Sara McGinnis Lee
For those who are considering marriage, already married, formerly married, or just curious - come and share your wisdom!

Kyle Holtgrave will also be there sharing his musical talents with us!

Prayer night/Book Club
Tuesday April 4th
(see post below)
We are reading The Life of Pi (just Part one for Tuesday!)


Theology on Tap
April 9, 6:30 gather 7 speaker
"God is Love:
The New Pope's First Encyclical."

In his first encyclical, the new pope invites us to reflect
on the truth that is central to our faith, that God is love.
The encyclical brings together two ways that God's love is
revealed to us. In the first half, the Pope focuses on the
relation between love as desire and love as self-gift. In
the second half, the Pope stresses the importance of social
outreach to the poor and disenfranchised. The talk will
examine the relation between these two features of love.

Greg Beabout is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Saint
Louis University. An awared winning teacher, his teaching
and research is in the areas of ethics and social
philosophy. He is the author of four books and many
scholarly articles. He lives in Belleville, and is married
with five children.

SOCIAL NIGHT
Friday, April 21st
6pm - meet for dinner at the Tap Room in St Louis
afterwards we will venture over to the City Museum for a little adult learning and fun...

NO MASS AND BRUNCH THIS MONTH!
(the third Sunday of the Month just happens to be Easter!)

Young Adult Advisory Board
meets the fourth Tuesday of every month
- help plan our summer activites, like a trip to Rend Lake and other fun.
We meet at Cathedral in the rectory - 7pm sharp(!) (sorta)


As always, email or call with questions or comments!
erin

This weekend in YAM

Saturday, April 1st
Volunteer Day at the Volunteer House
Come help us start work on the new basement rec room and help get some fresh air into the sleeping quarters!
We will meet at the Dairy Queen at 64 and 157 in Caseyville at 8:45am
The day lasts from 9am - 1pm (bring a lunch!)



Sunday, April 2nd
Doors open at 1pm
@ The Abbey in Belleville (address on our blog)

Marriage: Gamble, Growth and Gift
How we were called to marriage and how it’s going 5 years later
Kevin Lee & Sara McGinnis Lee
For those who are considering marriage, already married, formerly married, or just curious - come and share your wisdom!

Kyle Holtgrave will also be there sharing his musical talents with us!

Book club?

Interested in joining a book club?

We are reading The Life of Pi (part I) for Tuesday, April 4th.

We will meet at 7pm at the Bread Co in front of the Target in Shiloh...

email or call with questions -
erin

erinhammond@sbcglobal.net

618.234.1166 x 118

Refuel THIS Sunday

Refuel:
A Coffeehouse Series on Christian Living
 
THIS SUNDAY, April 2
1:00 pm
The Abbey in Belleville
6500 W. Main Street
618-394-2050
 
Join us for music, a speaker, and fellowship as we continue to grow and discern what it means to live a Christian lifestyle!
 
Speaker: Sara McGinnis-Lee
Musicians: Kyle Holtgrave and Friends


Sponsored by Belleville Young Adult Ministry

SWIC prayer of the week 3.20.06

We give you thanks,
Gentle One who has touched our soul.
You have loved us from
the moment of our first waking
and have held us in joy and in grief.
Stay with us, we pray.
Grace us with your presence
and with it, the fullness of our own humanity.
Help us claim our strength and need,
our awesomeness and fragile beauty,
that encouraged by the truth
we might work to restore
compassion to the human family
and renew the face of the earth.
 
Amen
 
(from More Than Words: Prayer and Ritual for Inclusive Communities
Janet Schaffran & Pat Kozak, 1992)

Softball anyone?

The 2006 CSAC Co-Ed Softball League season is starting in April through the Bud Sports League! The season begins in April (exact date will be determined soon) at Tilles Park on Sunday afternoons.

* If anyone is interested in creating a team - let me know ASAP * either email me erinhammond@sbcglobal.net or comment here on the blog (with contact info!)

Theology on Tap and other stuff...

Last night's Theology on Tap was great! Peter and Fr. Raul did a great job sharing their experiences with us - we also had the chance to build our own church. Let's just say, you can call me Pope Erin the First. (some may even call me Pope Erin the Great) (I said some...)

It was nice to meet Andy, Greg and Rochelle last night - thanks for coming and you are welcome anytime!

This weekend is our social night - Fish Fry at St Henry's in Belleville. We are going to meet at 5:30 and we'll have a couple decks of cards and some dice to entertain us as we feast.

Sunday we have two things to offer -
Mass and Brunch - 9am at Immaculate Conception in Columbia and then to the Shrine Restaurant for brunch. (mmm omlette bar...)

Then for those who would like to join us at the Abbey (West Main in Belleville) we are finally starting our Refuel coffeehouse series with David Munoz, O.M.I. speaking on making life choices - with a little help from Adam Wright on the guitar.

Theology on Tap - March

Second Sunday of Every Month

Gather - 6:30pm
Speakers - 7pm


Hosted at
Cutter's
239 Carlyle Ave. , Belleville, IL

March 12, 2006

Whose Church is it Anyway?

Presented by Fr. Raul Salas, O.M.I. & Pete Czerwinski



What does it mean for a church to be universal, yet culturally sensitive?

Hear the experience of a truly international Catholic Young Adult and Priest.



Fr. Raul is a native of South Texas and a priest for 25 years. He speaks from his experiences, which include missionary journeys in Zambia and Southern Mexico, and sixteen years of teaching at an Boys Catholic high school. He was the Director of Hispanic Ministry at the Shrine, and is now the Assoc. Director and Pastoral Team Manager at the Shrine.



Pete is from a galaxy far, far away. Not really. He is Polish, but was born and raised in Sweden. Pete has lived, worked and studied in Australia and the USA. He has lived a single life, religious life and is now embarking on the journey of married life. Pete has played many roles within the global church: from a factory worker to youth coordinator for the diocese of Stockholm, Sweden, to theology student in Australia and the USA. He has been enriched with ministry in multicultural settings on three continents, which include youth ministry, prison ministry, hospital ministry, street outreach and parish ministry. He doesn’t claim to be an expert about our faith, but looks forward to sharing his experiences and faith with others over a meal and some good drinks!

Refuel cancelled - just once!

Our apologies, due to illness we were forced to cancel the first of our Refuel coffeehouses at the Abbey. We WILL be there on March 19th (doors at 1pm) with speaker David Munoz, O.M.I. speaking about your vocation - whether that vocation is lawyer, single person, vowed religous or parent. Come relax with us and hear a good speaker and some good music.

Lenten Reflection

Here is a wonderful reflection for your lenten journey. I urge you to maybe get a pen and paper to write down some of your answers. We will try to have more of these throughout Lent.
Thanks to Heather for finding this!
Also check out the website under "Catholic 101" for a more general reflection on the season of Lent.



Taken from There Is a Season: Living the Liturgical Year by Dennis J. Billy, C.SS.R. (2001) Liguori, MO: Liguori, 55-72.

The Way of Conversion“An easy way to remember these forms of penance is to think of each one in context of the simple prayer known as the ‘sign of the cross.’”

1. In Prayer. “We begin the sign of the cross by bringing the tips of our right hand to our forehead and saying, “In the name of the Father.” This first movement of the sign of the cross corresponds to the very activity of prayer itself…To lift our hearts and minds to God is another way of saying that we must orient our intellect and will to the Lord.”

What thoughts/distractions keep you focusing on God? Acknowledge them,
so that you can place God in the forefront of your mind and will.

2. In Fasting. “We continue the sign of the cross by extending the tips of our right hand down to our stomachs and saying, “…and of the Son.” Touching this part of our anatomy during our prayer highlights the physical, animal aspect of our human nature.” Many believe that it is from the depths of our stomachs that our emotions and urges spring forth. “The Word of God assumed our human nature. In doing so, he took on not only our capacity to think and choose but also to feel emotions and to experience the world through the bodily senses.” Fasting does not simply refer to only food and beverage, it also challenges us to “temper our bodily and emotional lives so that they will give honor and glory to God.”

· What emotions are dominating your life lately?

· What urges have you been struggling with lately?

· What needs tempering in your life during this Lenten season?

· How will you sustain your fast/control your urges?

3. In Almsgiving. “We continue the sign of the cross by extending the tips of our right hand over to our left should saying “…and of the Holy.” This part moves towards our relationship with others, our brothers/sisters, our neighbors. “It is appropriate that the penitential action associated with this aspect of the prayer would be ‘almsgiving.’” Almsgiving is a way of lifting up the inherent human dignity of all people. “As followers, we understand that we can express love for God in and through our love for our neighbors…When we give to others, we should give beyond our capacity, not merely from our excess wealth (Mk 12: 41-44). We should do so not only to our friends and family but also to strangers in need, the poor and needy—and even to our enemies (Mt 5: 43-48)…We should be conscious, moreover, not only of how much and to whom we give but also how we give to others. We must not give sadly or grudgingly, but with great joy (2Cor 9:7; Rom 12:8).”

· Who in your community needs to be lifted up?

· How will you give alms this Lenten season?

· How would you describe your attitude of giving? How does almsgiving stretch you?


4. In Watching. We complete the sign of the cross by extending the tips of our right hand in one sweeping motion across our chest to our right should and saying the word ‘Spirit.’ This action corresponds to our fourth Lenten practice of ‘watchfulness in the Spirit.’ Vigilance is a necessary part of the spiritual life…As far as we are concerned, it is important for us to be on the lookout for those subtle ways in which we deceive ourselves…Lent is a time to take a good look at our lives and to identify any attitudes and behaviors having a negative effect on us…A lack of vigilance in our lives often results in a breakdown of our ability to defend ourselves against threats to our well being and to discover new venues for developing our deepest potential…If we are not vigilant in maintaining these relationships, they can easily become dysfunctional. As a result, they can do great harm. Lent is a time for examining the social dimension of our lives and to root out whatever harmful attitudes or ways of relating have entered into them. It is also a time for finding and implementing new ways of relating that will improve the quality of our lives in community…we have to ask ourselves if we have allowed any false images of God to take hold of us and to influence our attitudes and behaviors.”

· What attitudes and behaviors are having a negative effect upon you?

· What relationships in your life have become dysfunctional? In what ways?

· How can you change ways you relate to others both personally and within your faith community that will improve your quality of life and that of the group?

· What false idols have arisen in your life?


Spiritual Exercise

· Find a quite place where you can be alone with God. Get in a comfortable yet prayerful position, one that you sustain for a few minutes.

· When you are ready, open your heart and mind to God with the sign of the cross. Perform this prayer very slowly. Say the words out loud or quietly to yourself: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”


· When you have finished, pause a moment and then start over. This time, be conscious of the parts of the body that you are touching as you say the prayer:

· your head, the seat of your rational powers;

· your stomach, the part of you which bears physical burdens and performs daily labor.


· When you have finished, pause a moment and say the prayer once more.

· When you touch your head and say the words, “In the name of the Father,” ask the Lord to make your reason and your will completely centered on love.

· When you touch your stomach and say the words, “…and of the Son,” ask the Lord to heal your emotions so that you will be able to feel God’s love and express it to others in appropriate ways.

· When you touch your shoulders and say the words, “…and of the Holy Spirit,” ask the Lord to bless your body and to help you to rid yourself of any physical attachments that may be getting in the way of your relationship with him.


· When you have finished, pause a moment and say the prayer one last time. As you say the prayer, be conscious of the vertical and the horizontal motion of your hands.

· When you touch your head, ask the Lord to help you to be a prayerful person.

· When you touch your stomach, ask the Lord to help you to be a temperate person.

· When you touch your left shoulder, ask the Lord to help you to be a generous person.

· When you touch your right shoulder, ask the Lord to help you to be watchful person.

· When you say, “Amen,” ask the Lord to help you to express your love for him in and through your love for others.



Prayer

Lord, during this season of the Lenten cross, help me to turn my life entirely over to you so that I might become a devoted disciple and follower of your way.

Enable me to look beneath the external trappings of the season and to ponder its deep spiritual significance.

Change me, Lord. Convert me, Lord. Guide me along the way of repentance.

Show me my sins and give me the courage to confess them.

Teach me how to pray, Lord. Help me to make sacrifices for you.

Enable me to be generous with others.

Help me to keep watch over my relationship with you and not allow anyone or anything to interfere with it.

Reveal my weaknesses to me, Lord. Steer me clear of temptation.

Help me to let go of the unnecessary attachments that have gotten in the way and have kept me from you.

Help me to turn to you always, in good times as well as in bad.

I love you, Lord. Help me to love you more.

March Events

Belleville Diocese Young Adult Ministry
March Events


Service Day
Sat March 4th - 9am - 1pm
Volunteer House (just off 157 in ESTL - the old St Philip's Convent)
Help Sr Marge (who has a broken arm!) get the place ready for a group coming in to stay the week. Some housecleaning, making up beds and good stuff like that!

Coffee House series - Refuel
Sunday March 5th and 19th
Doors at 1pm - the Abbey on West Main in Belleville
Come hear musicians and speakers talk on different aspects of Christian Living.
March 5th - Meghan Mueller speaks on self care - an important and overlooked topic!
March 19th - David Munoz, O.M.I. - talks about your call in live - whether it is to be a Doctor, ordained, mommy or single!
Both weekends Adam Wright, a young adult from the Archdiocese of St Louis will share his musical gifts with us!


Prayer Night
Tues, March 7th - 7pm
Cathedral Rectory
Come for a prayer service followed by a discussion of where to take this group in the future - Bible study, Book Club or faith sharing...

Theology on Tap
Sun, March 12 - 6:30 gather
Cutter's (239 Carlyle Ave) in Belleville
Fr Raul Salas, O.M.I. and Young Adult Peter Czerwinski speak on "Whose Church is it?"

Social Night
Fri, March 17th (St Patty's Day!) - 5:30pm
St Henry's in Belleville
Come support a local parish and eat yummy fish - and for those over 21 - yummy beer! Bring a deck of cards or some dice for some fun after we eat.

Mass and Brunch
Sun, March 19 - 9am Mass
Immaculate Conception - Columbia
Pretty self explanatory. We will sit in the back of the Church on the right hand side, so look for us there. After wards on to the fabulous Shrine restaurant for Brunch - a Young Adult Ministry favorite!

If you have any questions about an event - or any ideas of something you'd like to see/so - just click on "comment" below. You DO NOT have to register - just pick "other" and fill in your name or "annonymous" works too!

Hope to see you soon!

Coffee House Kick-off!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see Steve Angrisano and Oddwalk Ministries at the Shrine.

It was a great evening! Steve, who drove from his home in Colorado with his family, ALMOST didn't make it on time. Luckily, my husband Orin and everyone around me, decided not to tell me until AFTER Steve made it.

A BIG thank you to the Young Adult Advisory Board who helped out with selling treats, doing dishes and moving furniture!

I will publish pictures as soon as they are developed!

In the meanwhile - check out the coffee house series - Sundays March 5th, 19th and April 2nd. They are at the Abbey Coffee House on West Main in Belleville at 1pm. We will have musicians and speakers trying to help you take care of yourself, look at making choices in your life and more!

SWIC prayer of the week 2.26.06

The Lord is near. 
Do not worry about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God,
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 
-Philippians 4:5-7