Prayerfully consider the following, if you are willing and able to assist, by nominating candidates for election to the Sacred Heart Pastoral Council for an election to be held November 5-6.

The bylaws of the Pastoral Council state that there are to be nine members.  At the end of 2016, four members will step down from the Council.  Forms and the nominations box will remain in the narthex for nominees to the Pastoral Council to represent the Commissions of Education, Liturgy, Parish Life, and  Social Justice and Charitable Outreach.  Each elected member serves for two years and is a liaison between his/her Commission and the Pastoral Council.  The Commissions and the Council meet six times each year.  There are pink forms in the narthex that explain the responsibilities of each Commission.  The election is scheduled for the weekend of November 5-6.

Questions about the nominations/election process can be directed to the Pastoral Council Election Committee:  Pamela Cox at 915-0222, Rose Harrigan at 915-0314 or Renee Steinpreis at 922-4480.

This month continues to be a period of rapid growth.  At 24 weeks, your baby can suck his thumb and hiccup.  Your baby's brain is developing rapidly.  Fatty sheaths which transmit electrical impulses along nerves are forming.  Baby girls will develop eggs in their ovaries during this month.  Bones are becoming solid.  Your baby is almost fully formed and looks like a miniature human.  However, because the lungs are not well developed and the baby is still very small, a baby cannot usually live outside the uterus at this stage without highly specialized care.  By the end of the sixth month, your baby will be around 11 to 14 inches long and will weigh about 1 to 1.6 pounds.  Please continue to pray for this special child of God.

The Knights of Columbus Council 10208 will conduct a Baby Bottle Campaign beginning October 1 and ending October 30.  The goal this year is to complete our goal of 2015 in purchasing an ultrasound machine for New Beginnings Pregnancy Resource Center in Benton.  The cost is expected to be $30,000; however, if we raise half, the Knights Supreme Council will contribute the remaining half.  We expect that this campaign will put us over the top, as your generosity last year totaled $6,820.

Ultrasound machines are saving lives of babies every day where they are used. What a great feeling it is when you know that you have helped save a life!  Please take a Baby Bottle as you leave today and return it with your generous donation to the baby playpen in the narthex.  Please open your heart and generosity to these beautiful unborn children of God.  Thank you.

The mission of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church Family Assistance is to provide help to those in need within our community, and to serve Our Lord Jesus Christ by proclaiming His Good News through these acts of assistance.  The committee helps those in need utilize community resouces and provide direst aid whenever possible.

Our committee started this year with a $15,000 budget, and we received an additional $3,059 in donations from individuals and other sources.  To date we have spent $17,017.52, and have assisted 31 families, including 57 children. Twenty-one of these families were assisted with monetary help of some kind.  It may have been rent, utility help, food, medical bills or transportation assistance.  We were also able to help the other families receive assistance from other agencies or charitites.  In addition, we provided food with the family food boxes from Project Hope, helped families move, helped people locate needed furniture, and assisted in helping provide transportation.  In partnership with the Knights of Columbus, we provided two families with home construction needs.

If this activity looks interesting to you, just contact one of our members for more information as we can always use more help.  Our committee members are:  Tom Ament, Dick Hill, Pamela Cox, Sheila Harrison, Ed Keearns, Marvin Young, Wayne Kapple and Gary Wolfer.

The Village Big Band will present a free concert, Songs of Inspiration and Patriotism with a Beat, at Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines on Sunday, October 23, at 3:00 p.m.  The concert will feature some very well known hymns and patriotic pieces performed in the Village Big Band style. Randy Toney, Kirk choir director will be a featured soloist. Donna Toney, organist/pianist at the Kirk, will be subbing for regular keyboard player Steve Fetcko.  Sacred Heart Parishioners Hal Thompson (alto sax) and Maureen Morgan (vocals) invite you to attend this event.

Tickets for the Ladies of the Sacred Heart FashionShow, "Fashionably Fun" to be held Monday, October 24, are currently on sale. Tickets are $17 each and can be purchased from your guild captains or calling Marty Schnoebelen at 501-204-9178.  The fashion show will be held in the Lower Hall at Sacred Heart Church.

Fashions will be presented by Accesssory Gallery and Sparkle in Hot Springs.  A delicious salad lunch, prepared by Casa Coronado, will be served.  A silent auction, door prizes and raffles will also be part of the event with proeeds going to local charities.  The fashion show is open to the public.

This one-day event will be held Sunday, November 6, 2016 in the McCauley Center at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Little Rock for students in Junior High grades 6-8.  This year's theme is" "He is the Way to Love" and will be presented by Oddwalk Ministries.  The day is filled with fun, games, praise and worship, and presentations by the Oddwalk group. The cost to attend is $40 per person.  Register your parish, download and return the registration packet with fee to the Youth Ministry Office at the Diocese of Little Rock.  Contact Trish Gentry at 501-664-0340, extension 418, for more information.

DIVINE MERCY, a study program appropriate to this Year of Mercy, will begin in the week of October 10 and extend for six weeks, ending the week of November 14.  There will be one 60-75 minute meeting each week that will be devoted to the reading and discussion of selected short biblical passages on mercy as an attribute of God's love and a necessary virtue in human life.  Parishioners can choose to sign-up for one of four groups.  Three groups will meet in the morning at 9:45 on Monday (Deacon Larry Lipsmeyer, facilitator), Wednesday (Paula Doyle, facilitator), and Thursday (Tom Canavan, facilitator).  One group will meet on Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. with Dave Johnston as facilitator.

Each participant will be asked to purchase Divine Mercy by Stephen Binz for $12.  The text, which will be distributed at the first meeting of each group, includes scriptural passages illustrating God's mercy.

Those who are not able to participate in one of the organized groups are encouraged to purchase Divine Mercy and follow the text's guidelines for individual study.  If you wish to follow the program for individual study, please contact Linda Daniels in the parish office at 922-2062, extension 10, and request that a copy of the text be ordered for you.

We are pleased to announce a Caribbean Cruise co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and Home Plate Cafe. The cruise ship is the beautiful Carnival Breeze departing Galveston, TX on October 9, 2016.  The ports of call included in this seven-night cruise are Mahogany Bay, Isla Routan, Belize & Cozumel, Mexico.  This will be a unique experience featuring a fantastic cruise aboard one of Carnival's newest ships, and the opportunity to share spiritual enhancement along the way with Father Mike Hinken, SOLT.  Father Mike will serve as our Padre providing daily Masses, Reconciliation and the rosary on afternoons at sea.  He also will serve as a spiritual director for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  For information, call Bill Nosek at 915-9000.

The St. Anthony Guild Lady Travellers will leave on Tuesday, October 11 returning on Sunday, October 16.  The Lady Travellers will spend one night in Nashville where they will visit the Grand Ole Opery.  Travelling on to Gaitlinburg, they plan on a three night stay.  They plan on visiting the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina, on one of their day trips.  The group will also spend one night in Memphis and attend Mass before returning to the Village on October 16.  For questions, contact Rosemary Miller at 501-922-5850.