Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas

2012_Meal_on_Wheels
Danny Murphy, Sacred Heart Men’s Club Secretary and Meals on Wheels Committee Chairman, and his wife Kathy load up their van at the McCauley Center with meals, bread and milk for delivery.
During the month of February men from the Sacred Heart Men’s Club deliver the Meals on Wheels to Village residents.  Teams of two, club members or a member and his spouse or friend, arrive at the McCauley Center about 9 AM.  Here they receive a list of all the deliveries that are scheduled for that day along with a book containing maps to each address.  Hot meals are kept in warming containers that are loaded into the car or van that the member is using.  In addition, on certain days, milk and bread for the week are also loaded and delivered.  Currently there are approximately 20 addresses within the Village that receive the daily meals and the delivery involves driving about 65 miles.  The Sacred Heart Men’s Club has been assisting with Meals on Wheels deliveries for a number of years and plans to continue this service in the future.


2012_Helping_Hands
Cathy Wedwick (seated) and Pat Widlowski (standing) review the volunteer list to make needed assignments.
Recognizing a need to provide assistance to parishioners, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church formed a Helping Hands Ministry.  Over the years this ministry has grown until today the ministry has over 150 volunteers providing over two thousand hours of assistance and support where it is needed.  Volunteers may spend just a few minutes calling to comfort someone on the Prayer List or to send a greeting card to cheer someone up.  They may also spend hours accompanying someone to a chemo appointment or doing some household chores for someone recovering from surgery.  Whether it is preparing a meal or visiting with those who are homebound or in a care facility, the volunteers who make up the Helping Hands Ministry are always ready to help and will drive over 5,000 miles each year to provide service.  When appropriate, the volunteer will bring along a handmade prayer shawl provided by the Prayer Shawl Ministry of Sacred Heart Church so the recipient, wrapped in the shawl, will feel the parish’s comfort and love even after the volunteer has left.

Under the direction of coordinators Cathy Wedwick and Pat Widlowski, the more than 150 volunteers stand ready to answer the needs within the Sacred Heart community.


GIERINGER-WALLACE-329Dear fellow parishioners,

It has been said there is a time and place for everything.

In 2003, having reached the magic age of 75, by Diocesan Retirement Policy I was required to retire from formal and assigned ministry as a Permanent Deacon.  Fortunately, our good Bishop Sartain and our pastor Monsignor Malone permitted me to continue to serve in the ministry here at Sacred Heart.

Today, almost nine years later, because of family responsibilities, it is necessary for me to activate retirement and Father Bill has graciously accepted my request.

You, the present and past members of this parish, Father Rossi, Monsignor Malone, Father Bill, my fellow deacons and their wives, and especially my dear wife Suzy have been and are a continuing source of inspiration and joy.

Suzy and I are blessed to be part of this parish family.  Our plan is to remain in the Village.  Fortunately, we enjoy reasonably good health and most of our family is not far away.

Thank you for the many acts of kindness, encouragement and the love and friendship you have given us.  Together we have traveled with you - and will continue to travel with you - the road of our Catholic faith.  May God bless you and yours always.

Sincerely in Christ,

Deacon Wally and Suzy


2012_Pastoral_Council
Preparing for their fist meeting of the Sacred Heart Pastoral Council are (l. to r.) Jan Winters, Marcia Bresnahan, Jan Lipsmeyer, Mary Ellen Costello, Father Bill Elser, Ed Keearns, Bill Hurley, Don Ritter, and Dave Hill. Missing is Mickey Townsend.
In December Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church held their annual election for representatives to serve on the Pastoral Council.  The council meets throughout the year to provide assistance to the Pastor.  Council members report on and coordinate activities within their respective commissions, assist in the budget preparation and provide recommendations to the Pastor on specific needs.  There are four commissions including Parish Life, Charitable Outreach, Education and Liturgy.  In addition one member of the Finance Committee also sits on the Pastoral Council.  The new members elected to serve two-year terms are Mickey Townsend (Parish Life), Dick Hill (Charitable Outreach), Marcia Bresnahan (Education) and Mary Ellen Costello (Liturgy).  In addition to these newly elected members, the council includes Bill Hurley (Parish Life), Ed Keearns (Charitable Outreach and Council Chair), Don Ritter (Education and Council Vice Chair), Jan Lipsmeyer (Liturgy) and Jan Winters (Finance).

2012_Candlemas
Sacred Heart parishioners processing into church with their lighted candles.
On February 2nd, parishioners from Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church gathered at church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, sometime referred to as Candlemas because of the tradition of blessing candles at this Mass.  This celebration is to commemorate the presentation of the infant child Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem 40 days following His birth in accordance with Jewish law.  This event is described in the Gospel of Luke.  At this celebration candles are blessed for parishioners to take for use in their homes.  A lighted candle procession into the church precedes the Mass to acknowledge that Jesus is the light of the world.  Father Bill Elser presided at the Mass that followed the procession.

2010_Sept_Treasue_Sale_25The possibility of having the Treasure Sale this year, and in future years, depends on a couple of things.  Deacon Larry Lipsmeyer and John Bodensteiner have agreed to run the sale this year if they can get some people to work with them who will take over the running of the sale for the next couple of years.  If you would like to find out what is involved, please contact Deacon Larry at 922-3283.  The start of the organization needs to be scheduled in February in order to be sure that we have the hall scheduled for the sale and for the days of collection.
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lens1847939_1232289791baby-faceForty Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22.  Our parish will cover praying in from of the Abortion Mill in Little Rock on Wednesday, February 28, from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m.  Next week a sign-up sheet will be available for those who are able to go to the clinic on our appointed afternoon.  Anyone is welcome to stop and praqy for 15 minutes or longer, anytime, during these 40 days.  Please call Rosemary at 501-781-6108 with any questions.
92080-Royalty-Free-RF-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Black-Number-6-Outlined-In-Green-With-Colorful-Flowers-And-ButterfliesDo you like to meet people?  It is time to sign-up to meet new and old friends for a pleasant evening of food and camaraderie.  Sacred Heart Sociable Six is the organization for you to join.  We meet three times, taking turns hosting.  A brunch or simple meal is all that a host/hostess needs to plan.  We will be starting the Spring Social Six in February. Call Jan Winters at 922-0526, or e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to sign-up or get more information on this friendly social event.  Your group listings and any other pertinent information will be sent to you in early February.

2012_March_Life
Sacred Heart parishioner board the bus to Little Rock to participate in the March for Life.
On Sunday, January 22, 2012, parishioners from Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church took a bus ride to Little Rock to participate in the annual March for Life.  The march is held annually on or near the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.  A national march and rally takes place in Washington, D.C. on January 23rd.  Catholics from around the state joined together in Little Rock to celebrate life at a Noon Mass on Sunday officiated by Bishop Anthony Taylor at the Robinson Center.  Following the mass, those attending joined hundreds of additional Pro-Life Arkansans from all over our state in the march from Capital and Louisiana streets to the State Capital where several speakers addressed the crowd including U.S. Representative Tim Griffin.  Sacred Heart has participated in the march for several years to give witness to the need to “Choose Life” and “End Abortion Now”.

RCIAlA nine-week program designed for individuals who have been baptized in another faith tradition and now desire to learn more about the Catholic faith and hopefully come into full communion with the Church, will begin on Thursday, February 2.  The sessions will run for nine consecutive Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.  If you know of anyone who might be interested, ask them to call Deacon Froning or Deacon Lipsmeyer.

2012_Jan_Mens_Club_029
Fr. Bill Elser demonstrating that he can use his smart phone to down load the app for Liturgy of the Hours devotions.
Sacred Heart Men’s Club held their monthly meeting on January 10th.  There were over 85 members in attendance to participate in the prayer service, dinner and meeting.  The featured speaker following dinner was Father Bill Elser, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.  Father Bill began his talk by asking those present when is the best time to pray.  After hearing a variety of answers, Fr. Bill heard the answer he looking for – anytime!  Building on this he talked about the many reasons to pray which can be summarized into four main categories namely petition, praise, thanksgiving and penitential.

Under Father Bill’s direction, Sacred Heart has initiated a few new prayer activities recently.  The first is the reciting of the Patriotic Rosary.  Once a month at mass the Patriotic Rosary is recited as a prayer for our country, our leaders and those who have sacrificed for our liberty.  It is usually done coinciding with an appropriate national day of recognition such as Veterans Day or Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The second prayer activity recently initiated is to pray the morning prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours prior to the start of mass on Monday through Friday.  The Liturgy of the Hours is a common prayer started in the days of the very early Christian church.  The prayer grew out of the Jewish tradition of praying at specific times of the day and from Jesus’s teaching, as recorded in the bible, for all to pray at all times.  Ordained priests and religious of the Catholic Church are obliged to daily pray the morning and evening prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours.  In this way the Church offers a common prayer to Christ and with Christ to sanctify the entire day.  The Liturgy of the Hours prayer is built around scripture and includes readings from the old and new testaments, the psalms, songs of praise and specific prayers.  The Liturgy can be done in a group with a leader, such as a priest or a deacon, or privately by an individual.  There are books available to help facilitate those wishing to do the Liturgy as well as an app that can be downloaded to your smart phone, which Fr. Bill then demonstrated.

Father Bill concluded his remarks by calling on the men of the Sacred Heart Men’s Club to become “prayer warriors”.

2012_Singles_groupOn Monday, January 9, approximately 45members of the Sacred Heart Singles gathered for their monthly meeting in the hall at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. There was a delicious potluck dinner followed by a variety of games. After the games, Father Bill treated the group to his homemade ice cream. Everyone enjoyed the fun, good food and fellowship.

(Pictured) Father Bill (third from left), Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, joined the Sacred Heart Singles for their January meeting. 

2011_Christmas_BasketsSacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church provides food baskets to needy families at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  The program is funded by donations by various organizations within Sacred Heart Church as well as gifts by individual parishioners.  This year the Sacred Heart Men’s Club was pleased to be able to donate $1,200 to the Christmas Basket Program as part of the club’s yearend donations.

(Pictured) Bill Patterson, President of Sacred Heart Men's Club, presents a check for $1,200 to Ed Keearns, Director of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Christmas Basket program. 

2011_Mens_Club
Jan Logan, Executive Director Samaritan Ministries, accepts a $1,000 donation at the ministres' Hot Springs facility from Danny Murphy, Seretary; Bill Patterson, President and Dick Hill, Men's Club member and volunteer at Samaritan Ministries.
The Men’s Club of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church delivers its donations to local charities each year in December.  This year Bill Patterson, club President, and Danny Murphy, club Secretary, delivered the donations to various charities from the money that was raised during the year’s fund raising activities.  Some of those receiving donations this year included St. Johns school in Hot Springs, the Paul Bewie Boys and Girls Club, the Meals on Wheels program at the McCauley Center and the Samarian Ministries in Hot Springs.  In addition to this financial support, many of these organizations also receive the support of members of the Sacred Heart Men’s Club during the year.  For example, the club delivers the Meals on Wheels during the month of February.  In December the club donated over $6,000 to local organizations.

 
2011_Mens_Club_photo2
A donation of $1000 was presented by Danny Murphy to Amanda Maness, Site Director at McCauley Center in Hot Springs Village, designated for their Meals On Wheels Program.
The Sacred Heart Men’s Club meets monthly at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and membership is open to all men of the Sacred Heart parish.

2011-12-13_Mens_Dick_Breckon
Dick Breckon addresses the December meeting of the Sacred Heart Men’s Club.
On December 13, Dick Breckon spoke at the monthly meeting of the Sacred Heart Men’s Club.  Dick is a member of the POA Governmental Affairs Committee.  He outlined for the members in attendance the role of the committee in dealing with various city, county, state and federal agencies.  The committee focuses very heavily on the two Quorum Courts that have jurisdiction within the Village.  There are many issues within the community such as water, roads, disaster relief and the environment that the Government Affairs Committee must coordinate for the benefit of the Village.  Dick provided an interesting overview of the many activities of the committee.

The Sacred Heart Men’s Club meets monthly at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.  Membership is open to all men that are members of Sacred Heart Church.

2011_Mens-Jackson_House
Danny Murphy (l), club Secretary, and Bill Patterson (r), club President, present the club’s December Jackson House donation to Janie Smith, Executive Director of Jackson House.
The Sacred Heart Men’s Club is an active supporter of the Eleanor Klugh Jackson House for Crisis Intervention in Hot Springs.  In addition to financial support through donations that are funded by various fund raising activities, the club members assist in serving lunches, work in the Thrift House and conduct a weekly food collection at Sacred Heart Church to help keep the Jackson House pantry full.  This year the club was able to make a $1,000 donation in December as part of the club’s yearend charity donations.  The money will go to both the Sunday Love Lunch Mission ($150) and to Jackson House general expenses.  The Sacred Heart Men’s Club meets monthly at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Hot Springs Village and its membership is open to all men of Sacred Heart Church.