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| Fr. Bill Elser (seated left) joins the Sacred Heart Singles at their Christmas Party. |
The Sacred Heart Singles meets monthly and is open to anyone single that attends Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. Ann Hooper and Eileen Boecher are the group coordinators.
Sacred Heart of Jesus will offer a four-week series entitled "Catholics Returning Home" beginning December 1, 2011. The sessions are for non-practicing Catholics who are seeking answers to questions about returning to the Church. If you know someone who has left the Church, please invite them to join us. For more information, call Ed or Pat Cudworth, 915-9122. 
Some of you may have noticed that after heavy rains there are some leaks appearing on the side aisles. We have determined that these leaks are from spots under the red metal roofing-not the flat portion of the roof, which has been recently replaced. We will attempt to make repairs first. If the repairs don't work, we will have to rework the entire metal roof.We are in the process of obtaining two bids from experienced contractors to make the repairs on the red metal roof. The metal roof is 20 years old and has held up well until now. The cost of this work could be a significant expense, which will be covered by our Contingency Fund held at the Diocese. We will let you know when we have the bids and decide on the proper course of action. This situation is an example of why we continue to have our monthly Building Fund/Maintenance collections.
Bob Kostelecky and Dave Witchger, Finance and Administration Council
The Hot Springs Village Evening Lions collects unneeded eye glasses for those less fortunate. There is a collection box on the table in the A & E hallway. Please help by donating eye glasses that you can no longer use. 
The Angel Tree has been put up in the narthex and decorated with angels, each of which represents a gift for a child in one of the needy families receving a Christmas Basket. Each angel has a child's age, gender, size and a suggested article of clothing. Parishioners can select an angel from the tree and purchase the gift. If you choose to purchase more than one gift, please take additional angels with one gift per angel. Each child has four angels. After purchasing the gifts, they should be wrapped with the angel firmly taped to the present and put under the Angel Tree. Please place the side of the angel with only the age and gender facing up. All gifts must be placed under the tree no later than December 11 in order for families to receive their gifts before Christmas.Donations can also be made to the Village Outreach Shoe Fund. Since the sponsorship of this program has changed from Holy Trinity Church to Village Outreach, please make checks payable to Sacred Heart CHurch, with the notation "shoe fund", and place the donation in the box in the narthex. Each child, in the families receiving a Christmas Basket, will also recieve a certificate for a pair of shoes.
Thank you for your generous support of the Village Outreach Holday Basket Program!
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church was the host congregation for the Village Interfaith Council Community Thanksgiving Service celebrated at 3:00 PM on November 22, 2011. Sharing in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday were clergy, choirs, and members of Holy Trinity Episcopal, Christ Lutheran, Community of Joy Lutheran, Unitarian Universalist, and Sacred Heart churches.
After the welcome given by Fr. Bill Elser, Rev. Richard Biega bestowed the greeting to all in attendance. Fr. Elser recited the Psalm of Thanksgiving, with Reverend Jim Burns, Deacon Wally Gieringer and Reverend Ross Worch presenting readings from scripture. Reverend Freiheit gave the sermon and Reverend Biega the offering. In the spirit of sharing, those attending brought nonperishable food for Jackson House.
The combined choirs from each of the participating churches joined their voices in praise and thanksgiving with beautiful renditions of “For the Beauty of the Earth” and “Give Thanks to The Lord”. After the clergy joined together in offering the final benediction, the combined choirs and congregations sang a heartfelt and moving “America the Beautiful” to conclude the service.
A reception followed in the lower hall with cookies, punch, and Fr. Elser’s homemade ice cream for all who attended. The treats, conviviality, and opportunity to meet and greet one another provided the perfect conclusion to the 2011 Hot Springs Village Ecumenical Thanksgiving celebration.
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| The Singles Group on tour around Fayetteville |
In addition, the Sacred Heart Singles Group recently carpooled to Hot Springs for lunch at Burgers & More and a tour of The Atrium, a retirement community on beautiful Lake Hamilton. Membership in the Singles Group is open to any single member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church is continuing the scripture studies program that began in the fall. The program includes both group study as well as individual studies and is open to all wishing to participate.
Starting December 7, and continuing weekly through February 1, there will be a group study on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM in the Sacred Heart Administration Building classrooms. The groups will be studying the Gospel of John and the First, Second and Third Letters of John. Many believe that the Apostle John has the most penetrating gaze of all the New Testament writers and that through the study of John’s writings one comes closer to God. The study groups are open to anyone wanting to study the Gospel and Letters of the Apostle John. For additional information and to sign up you can call Mickey Townsend at (501) 922 – 0705.
In addition to the group scripture studies, Sacred Heart has access to and can make available a broad range of individual scripture studies that can be purchased for those wishing to study in the privacy of their home. These may also make great gifts to give to those wishing to increase their scripture knowledge and understanding. Each scripture study comes with a study guide with study questions, a commentary and an answer guide. The studies are provided through the Little Rock Scripture Studies Program and cost $16.25 plus shipping. More information is available from Mickey Townsend at (501) 922 – 0705.
Many, many thanks to all those who joined in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Deacon Wally's ordination as a Permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Little Rock. Kind congratulatory thoughts from so many before and after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the following marvelous pot-luck dinner, will long be remembered by us and those of our family who were present.
Special thanks to Father Bill who initiated the gala event and for his generous comments, to Tom Canavan and Bill Hurley and their Parish Life Committee for all the wonderful arrangements. Thanks too for the many who came with delightful dishes and those who gave contributions for the Diaconate Koinonia Fund and/or the Seminarian Fund of the Diocese of Little Rock in our honor. Over $1,000 has already been received that will go to these good causes.
Suzy and I are so happy to be part of this Parish Family and are very grateful for the outpouring of love for us. You always warm our hearts.
We pray that God bless you and continue to bless our parish.
Deacon Wally and Suzy Gieringer
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| Deacon Wally Gieringer and wife Suzy. |
Born in Farmington, MO, in 1928, Wally attended Catholic grade schools and spent two years at a Catholic Jesuit college, St. Louis University. He then joined the Air Force and while serving at Wright Patterson AFB met his wife of 61 years, Suzy. He received his wings following pilot training and saw action in Korea during the war. Following five years of service Wally began his professional career that included 30 years in economic development work primarily in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. While in Pine Bluff, Wally and Suzy were very active in the local Catholic church serving in a variety of ministry and lay leadership positions. In 1982, with encouragement from his wife, family and a Sisters of Charity nun, Wally made the decision to join the diaconate program. Following three years of study Wally was ordained a Deacon on November 15, 1985.
Wally and Suzy have seven sons, 23 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. In 1984 Wally retired and in 1998 the Gieringers moved to Hot Springs Village where Wally was assigned to serve at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. The retirement age for deacons is 75 but when that time arrived for Wally in 2003, he asked the Bishop to allow him to continue to serve on a limited basis. That request was granted and Wally has continued to actively serve the parishioners of Sacred Heart.
Serving as a deacon, managing a large international economic development company and being a husband and father to a large family seems like a very stressful situation. Wally has always welcomed the challenges that come his way and the study at his home is filled with numerous awards and mementoes of the times he has cherished in the past with family, business associates and religious colleagues. When asked what was most rewarding over the 25 years as a deacon Wally says that he really enjoyed baptizing and bringing new life into the church. He also derives much satisfaction when, following a sermon, someone tells him how meaningful his words were to them.
The parishioners of Sacred Heart gave a big “thank you” to both Wally and Suzy as together they celebrate this milestone.
On Saturday, October 15, 2011, America Needs Fatima (ANF) successfully carried out over 7,500 Rosary rallies all over America including far-off Alaska and Hawaii and from Maine to California.
With Rosary captains around the nation, thousands of faithful Catholics and other Christians alike, armed with their rosaries and banners gathered in the public square to pray for America's conversion and heed the message of Our Lady of Fatima.
Not only did America Needs Fatima successfully reach this year's goal of 7,000 rallies, it far exceeded expectations, with 7,515 rallies, topping last year's 5,963 rallies. Once again, throngs of Catholic and Christian faithful proudly displayed their Faith as they publicly recited the Rosary for all to see and hear.
Here at Hot Springs Village, on a sunny Saturday afternoon on a vacant lot in front of Walmart on Hwy 7, there were 73 of the faithful who gathered to pray for the nation's leaders as they tackle the myriad dilemmas facing the country and for an end to abortion. They were led in prayer by Father William Elser and in song by Marcia Bresnahan, both of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. Displayed at the front of the gathering were two large banners saying "As human efforts fail to solve America's key problems, we turn to God, through His Holy Mother, asking His urgent help."
Plans are already underway for 2012.
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| Fr. Bill Elser leading prayer service. |
Preparing for the revised Roman Missal
There will be ONE FINAL PROGRAM on the changes in the Roman Missal that all parishes in the U.S. will begin using on November 27th. Anyone that was not able to attend the programs in September or October is encouraged to attend these final sessions. This final program will consist of 2 classes on consecutive Saturday mornings
Saturday Morning from 10:00 to 12:00:
November 12th will cover videos 1 through 9
November 19th will cover videos 10 through 18
In addition to the video presentations there will be group discussions and time for questions.
We will have a sign-up sheet in the Narthex. If you plan to attend these final sessions, please sign up so we have an approximate number of attendees.
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| Joan Smith, a Sacred Heart parishioner, prepares to take a load of donated clothes from Sacred Heart Church to Harvey’s Chapel Baptist Church. |
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| L to R, Wayne Kapple, Marvin Young, Bill Hurley and Bill Janser. |
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| Bill Patterson (right), President of Sacred Heart Men’s Club, and Buddy Dixon (left), Program Chairman, welcome John Paul to the club’s October meeting. |
John spent time reviewing the discussions underway on changing the course greens from Bent Grass to Bermuda Grass. Hot Springs Village is in the “transition zone” from a weather standpoint which makes this a difficult issue. There is no perfect solution, just a series of pluses and minuses depending on which way you go. At this point no decision has been made and John emphasized that any change will be made slowly and only following careful evaluation and trials.
After briefly outlining the plans for renovations and improvements projects during the coming year John took questions from the audience. Bill Patterson, President of the Men’s Club, thanked John for his presentation and for taking time to stay and answer the member’s questions.
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| Tim Keating, (left) past Men's Club President receiving past president's plaque from current Men's Club President, Bill Patterson. |