"Variety is the spice of life". This saying is something that many people take to heart and live by it,
counting and giving thanks for the blessings that come from it. Our V.I.Ps for the month of August,
Gary and Ruth Wolfer are good examples of parishioners who have gotten and still are active in a
variety of ministries.
Ruth has been a parishioner here for 19 years. She got involved early on (through invitation) in the All
Saints Guild and became an active member, serving in 2008 as president of that guild. She also became involved with the larger group of ladies in the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and participated in their many activities and fundraising endeavors. She was elected to the pastoral council, was a member of the liturgy commission, and served as pastoral council president in 2012. She has been a regular Eucharistic Adorer since the inception of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in 2013. As the wife of Gary (October 6, 2012) she has supported Gary's active involvement in the Knights of Columbus and has volunteered to help at many Knights' fundraising events.
Speaking of the Knights of Columbus, Gary, in sharing the variety of ministries and activities he has been and still is involved in, listed a litany of positions of leadership and accomplishments that have come through his membership in Council 10208. He has been the Grand Knight twice which has led to numerous awards on the state level including receipt of the "Star Council" award. He served a term as faithful navigator of our fourth degree assembly (the Father Victor A Bieberle Assembly) and has been serving as the color guard commander for a number of years now. He is a member of the Sacred Heart Men's Club, works with parishioners on obtaining a niche in our columbarium, and is the lead person on our parish disaster relief team. He serves in our liturgies as an altar server and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
Needless to say, Gary and Ruth have both stepped up to the plate in more than a few instances and ways and have blessed our parish, our parishioners and others in countless ways over the years! They serve the Lord and others with a smile and don't hesitate to say yes when new needs arise! A BIG thank you and God bless you to Gary and Ruth!
counting and giving thanks for the blessings that come from it. Our V.I.Ps for the month of August,
Gary and Ruth Wolfer are good examples of parishioners who have gotten and still are active in a
variety of ministries.
Ruth has been a parishioner here for 19 years. She got involved early on (through invitation) in the All
Saints Guild and became an active member, serving in 2008 as president of that guild. She also became involved with the larger group of ladies in the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and participated in their many activities and fundraising endeavors. She was elected to the pastoral council, was a member of the liturgy commission, and served as pastoral council president in 2012. She has been a regular Eucharistic Adorer since the inception of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in 2013. As the wife of Gary (October 6, 2012) she has supported Gary's active involvement in the Knights of Columbus and has volunteered to help at many Knights' fundraising events.
Speaking of the Knights of Columbus, Gary, in sharing the variety of ministries and activities he has been and still is involved in, listed a litany of positions of leadership and accomplishments that have come through his membership in Council 10208. He has been the Grand Knight twice which has led to numerous awards on the state level including receipt of the "Star Council" award. He served a term as faithful navigator of our fourth degree assembly (the Father Victor A Bieberle Assembly) and has been serving as the color guard commander for a number of years now. He is a member of the Sacred Heart Men's Club, works with parishioners on obtaining a niche in our columbarium, and is the lead person on our parish disaster relief team. He serves in our liturgies as an altar server and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
Needless to say, Gary and Ruth have both stepped up to the plate in more than a few instances and ways and have blessed our parish, our parishioners and others in countless ways over the years! They serve the Lord and others with a smile and don't hesitate to say yes when new needs arise! A BIG thank you and God bless you to Gary and Ruth!
Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in much of the "Arkansas Holy Fire Ministries" annual convention at the Wyndham Hotel in North Little Rock. This used to be called the "Catholic Charismatic" Conference until recent times. I suspect that the change happened, sadly, because there are people who have preconceived ideas about charismatic Catholics that might keeping them from going to the conference. Personally, I have found participation in the annual conference a great blessing and a bolstering of my spiritual life and commitment to the Lord and my Catholic faith. It seems every year the conference has nationally known speakers (lay and clergy) who are fired up for the Lord and always present engaging and inspiring talks that benefit all who attend and would inspire any person of faith. It's not firstly about "knowing" Christ in terms of what he taught and did for all of humanity. It is about a "relationship" with Christ that is heartfelt and is a daily encounter with him under the inspiration the Holy Spirit. During the conference, the opportunity is given for people to come up and be "prayed over" by a priest, deacon, or lay person and in some cases some people are "overwhelmed" by an outpouring (or what is called a "Baptism of the Spirit) and find themselves falling back into the arms of "catchers". Most will tell you that they are changed by that experience in a wonderful way! Admittedly, I have not presented myself for the possibility of such an experience, but I pray I will sooner than later (maybe at an upcoming priest retreat from September 16-18 at Subiaco). What I can testify to is the reality that such people are not at all shy about participating fully in the Mass (with minds, hearts, voices and sometimes hands lifted up in praise of the Lord) which to me is a foretaste of heaven when EVERYONE will be outgoing and full of continual joy in giving praise to God. As I compose this pastor's column, I regret not sharing all of this with you weeks ago in the hopes that some might consider coming to the conference. I hope I will remember to do so next year and find some of our Sacred Heart parishioners attending. If so, some might be inspired to come back from that experience and share it at our weekend Masses. Anyone who gives a weekend's worth of their time for this or any other spiritual "retreat" from the cares and challenges of this world will not regret it and will leave "refreshed in the Lord". It might also lead to changes in priorities and relationships that will reflect a life lived more with and for the Lord (which is the best way anyone can live)!
It is not unusual for newly registered parishioners who are visited by our welcoming committee to express their desire to get acclimated to the parish and Village for a while before getting involved in the parish's activities and ministries. It is, of course, hoped that they will get involved sooner than later and experience blessings for doing so.
Our V.I.P. for the month of August, Sara Pilgrim, didn't take very long at all to get involved after moving with her husband to the Village in 2019 and becoming a member of the parish. She added to her list of activities rather quickly. After joining St. Monica Guild in Sept. of 2019, she took on the position of secretary of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart for two years. Sara served as Vice President and then president this past year. In addition to accepting and doing well in leadership positions (including co-chair of the successful LOSH golf tournaments the last three years), she has been a HELPER in many activities. She helped with the two vaccine clinics that were held at our parish during the COVID outbreak. She helped on the ad-hoc kitchen committee to help organize and clean the parish kitchen, which was needed, and hers and others efforts were certainly appreciated! She helped to organize the cleanup and redo of the LOSH floral centerpieces which are used at LOSH and parish gatherings. She has assisted with most of the fundraising events of LOSH since 2019 (which have been many)! She headed up LOSH's hosting of the Parish Sacred Heart of Jesus Feast Day Dinner which involved coordinating the meal, procuring volunteers and setting up the event including obtaining some entertainment (Steve Gunton). She volunteers as a member of Guild 1 at the Village Loan Closet and making lunches at Jackson House. She is a regular exerciser at Linda Broome's Tuesday/Thursday class and is a fairly recent addition to the Sacred Heart Cemetery committee in charge of landscaping to keep the garden looking beautiful. She and Gary have been married for 33 years and have two children, a son who is a master sergeant in the United States Army, a daughter in Colorado Springs and 5 grandchildren. I have always been impressed by Sara's bright personality and her energy in getting things organized and done. I have no doubts that her involvement in the parish will grow to the benefit of our parishioners and I believe will be an inspiration to encourage others to get involved (which has already happened). Thanks, Sara for being who you are and what you have done in your fairly short time as a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church!
Our V.I.P. for the month of August, Sara Pilgrim, didn't take very long at all to get involved after moving with her husband to the Village in 2019 and becoming a member of the parish. She added to her list of activities rather quickly. After joining St. Monica Guild in Sept. of 2019, she took on the position of secretary of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart for two years. Sara served as Vice President and then president this past year. In addition to accepting and doing well in leadership positions (including co-chair of the successful LOSH golf tournaments the last three years), she has been a HELPER in many activities. She helped with the two vaccine clinics that were held at our parish during the COVID outbreak. She helped on the ad-hoc kitchen committee to help organize and clean the parish kitchen, which was needed, and hers and others efforts were certainly appreciated! She helped to organize the cleanup and redo of the LOSH floral centerpieces which are used at LOSH and parish gatherings. She has assisted with most of the fundraising events of LOSH since 2019 (which have been many)! She headed up LOSH's hosting of the Parish Sacred Heart of Jesus Feast Day Dinner which involved coordinating the meal, procuring volunteers and setting up the event including obtaining some entertainment (Steve Gunton). She volunteers as a member of Guild 1 at the Village Loan Closet and making lunches at Jackson House. She is a regular exerciser at Linda Broome's Tuesday/Thursday class and is a fairly recent addition to the Sacred Heart Cemetery committee in charge of landscaping to keep the garden looking beautiful. She and Gary have been married for 33 years and have two children, a son who is a master sergeant in the United States Army, a daughter in Colorado Springs and 5 grandchildren. I have always been impressed by Sara's bright personality and her energy in getting things organized and done. I have no doubts that her involvement in the parish will grow to the benefit of our parishioners and I believe will be an inspiration to encourage others to get involved (which has already happened). Thanks, Sara for being who you are and what you have done in your fairly short time as a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church!