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| Sacred Heart Launches Lenten Wednesday Celebration |
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| The Sacred Heart Parish’s Pastoral Council gathers for its first meeting following the recent election including, from left to right, Fr. Bill Elser, Dave Witchger, Bill Hurley, Marcia Bresnahan, Jan Lipsmeyer, Tom Canavan, Don Ritter and Marge Newburn. Missing was Ed Keearns. |
The Pastoral Council meets on a regular basis to provide coordination and consultative assistance to the Pastor. The council members will report on activities within their respective commissions, work together to provide recommendations to the Pastor on specific parish needs, and assist in the preparation of the annual parish budget.
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| Sacred Heart Men’s Club serves dinner to the students, parents and teachers of the Sacred Heart CCD Program. |
The parish organizations responded enthusiastically to this request. Over the past school year the Ladies Guild, the Men’s Club and the Knights have provided a supper one Wednesday a month. The meals have ranged from picnic style to sit down dinners and have included a wide variety of foods. The students arrive at church at 6 PM and parents are invited. They eat with their teacher and in addition to a great meal they usually enjoy a neat dessert including ice cream that is home made by Fr. Bill Elser, Sacred Heart’s Pastor. The meal concludes in time for all to get to class, well fed and ready to learn.
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| Stephanie Stone (l) is greeted by Mickey Jordan representing the Men’s Club before her talk at the Men’s Club meeting. |
Stephanie, who started in her current position only 9 months ago, talked about the many challenges now confronting the POA including the significant changes in management that have occurred over the past year. She emphasized that she sees a lot of positive change coming. Her group has received the recently developed strategic plan for the Village and is currently developing and evaluating action plans to meet the plan’s goals. In addition, there is an increased emphasis on marketing the Village through advertising and promotion. In the past this was an activity done by Cooper. Now it is a priority of the POA.
In talking about some of the current challenges she is facing, Stephanie discussed the concerns about some of the aging facilities and the Village restaurant situation. The POA and the Community Foundation are cooperating on plans for a major fund raiser in order to provide upgrades at the Woodlands and the Coronado Center. They hope to be able to provide a state of the art lighting and sound system at the Woodlands so the facility can attract outstanding entertainment. As part of her responsibilities, Stephanie deals with the ten restaurants that are under the POA’s supervision. There has been a steady turnover of in restaurant management due to a variety of reasons including health, costs and labor. At the present time the POA is looking for new management for the 19th Hole at DeSoto and the Wood N Iron at Cortez.
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| Deacon John Froning at Sacred Heart Catholic Church |
John was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of four children. He is only a few minutes younger than his twin “older” sister. After graduating from St. Louis University, John pursued a career in the oil and natural gas industry. His various assignments included time living in London, England and Melbourne, Australia as well as various U.S. locations. Retiring in 2000, John did some consulting work but had a long time interest in the Permanent Diaconate Program which he had not been able to pursue due to his international travels. He enrolled in the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, Texas, ultimately receiving a Master of Divinity Degree in 2006. In 2002 he also was accepted into the formation program for the Permanent Diaconate and was ordained in 2007. While studying and later serving in the Galveston – Houston Diocese, John focused on hospital ministry and became the first Catholic Staff Chaplin appointed to serve at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.
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| Howard Shaffer stands next to Giving Tree in the he church’s Narthex loaded with gift angels. |
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| Marvin and Lucy Young, Sacred Heart parishioners, gather the gifts and food to be delivered a family. |
In the Narthex of the church a giving tree was put in place early in December decorated with angels. Each angel had a suggested gift for a specific unidentified child from one of the 53 families. Parishioners would select an angel, purchase the gift, wrap it for Christmas and return it to the church where it was gathered with other gifts and items for that particular family.
The committee, lead by chairman Ed Keearns, purchased food staples and set them up in a staging area within the church. The food was then distributed into boxes for each family. Parishioners who volunteered to deliver the baskets would gather the gifts and food assembled for their family, go to the grocery store and purchase additional perishable items and deliver the total collection to the family. There were many happy faces this Christmas thanks to the generosity and efforts of the Sacred Heart parishioners.
The Knights of Columbus Council has earned a reputation for hosting one of the best New Year's Eve parties in the Village, and the recent festivity was no exception. The doors to the Lower Hall opened at 6:00 pm for six hours of partying with dining at 7:00, dancing to Blue Velvet at 8:00, enjoying dessert at 10:30, welcoming the new year with champagne at 11:00 (New York ball drop), and wrapping up by midnight.
Twenty-four tables accommodated 191 revelers, not all of whom were knights or Sacred Heart parishioners. A bar with set-ups was provided for BYOB, and there was champagne at each table. The menu prepared and served by the Home Plate included: shrimp cocktail; Ceasar salad; New York strip steak; green beans almondine; potatoes au gratin; and, dessert (choice from four kinds of cheesecakes).
Co-chairs Russ Harrison and Ron Cuba cordinated the event with hall decorating assistance from Brent Hummel, Terry and JoAnn O'Brien, Jim Passe, John Purcell, and Tom Yerina. It is estimated that this fundraiser will net over $2,000 for the council's charititable causes from the $37.50 per person fee.
In addition to the good food and many people dancing, one of the highlights of the evening occurred when Russ proposed a toast to co-chair Ron and his wife, Pat, who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, having been married on December 31, 1960, at St John the Baptist Church in Plymouth WI.
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| Dancers Tom and Cathy Ament |
Twenty-four tables accommodated 191 revelers, not all of whom were knights or Sacred Heart parishioners. A bar with set-ups was provided for BYOB, and there was champagne at each table. The menu prepared and served by the Home Plate included: shrimp cocktail; Ceasar salad; New York strip steak; green beans almondine; potatoes au gratin; and, dessert (choice from four kinds of cheesecakes).
Co-chairs Russ Harrison and Ron Cuba cordinated the event with hall decorating assistance from Brent Hummel, Terry and JoAnn O'Brien, Jim Passe, John Purcell, and Tom Yerina. It is estimated that this fundraiser will net over $2,000 for the council's charititable causes from the $37.50 per person fee.
In addition to the good food and many people dancing, one of the highlights of the evening occurred when Russ proposed a toast to co-chair Ron and his wife, Pat, who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, having been married on December 31, 1960, at St John the Baptist Church in Plymouth WI.
Dick Hill, representing the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church Men's Club, presents a donation from the club to Jan Laggan, Executive Director, Samaritan Ministries of Hot Springs. Dick serves as a volunteer at the mission which provides shelter and programs to homeless men. Over the past three years the mission has served over 780 men in a variety of ways from providing food and shelter to job counseling. The Sacred Heart Men's Club raises funds throughout the year from a variety of fund raising activities and distributes the proceeds to various community charities at year end. |
| Tim Keating (right), President of the Men's Club, presented a cash donation to Jackson House. Receiving the donation were Janie Woodall Smith (left), Executive Director, and Joe Pollard (center), Treasurer. |
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| Fr. Bill Elser visits with party guests. |
The party was catered by Home Plate with guest being offered a choice of beef, pork or turkey for dinner. Music for dancing and listening was provided by the Blue Velvet Band. All were in agreement that the party was a great beginning to the holiday season.
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| Fr. Vic (l), Monsignor Malone (c) and Fr. Bill (r) discuss their meal selections prior to dinner. |
The Hot Springs Village Knights of Columbus recently donated $4,200 to First Step in Hot Springs.
This represented a portion of the more that $7,000 raised through the Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Campaign of which the Tootsie Roll drive was a significant fund raiser event.
The balance of the net proceeds from this campaign was given to two other organizations: $1,000 to the Blind Camp for Children and $500 to Special Olympics.
This represented a portion of the more that $7,000 raised through the Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Campaign of which the Tootsie Roll drive was a significant fund raiser event.
The balance of the net proceeds from this campaign was given to two other organizations: $1,000 to the Blind Camp for Children and $500 to Special Olympics.
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| Ray Bertrand, a Sacred Heart volunteer, picks up his Angel Food box from Ed Keearns at Cedar Creek Church. |
In most cases, volunteers from the two organizations go to Cedar Creek Church to pick up Angel Food boxes that they had purchased. From the church they go to buy additional fresh foods which are then combined with the Angel Food boxes and then delivered. In some cases, Ladies Guild volunteers go to the grocery store and purchase all the food for a meal and deliver it directly from the store.
Ed Keearns coordinates the program for Sacred Heart, supplying the names of families in need compiled by the Village Outreach mission. The deliveries are made during the week prior to Thanksgiving to insure that a holiday meal is available on Thanksgiving Day. The volunteers that make the deliveries report that the families receiving the food baskets are all very thankful.
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| Carl and Marlene Smigel, assisted by Jack Timmons, put up some football decorations at their table. |
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| Many of the parishioners came in dress to support their favorite football team. |
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| Pictured in front are (l-r) Elizabeth Schackelford, Father Michael Bass, Father William Elser, Father Joseph Ejimofor, and Jan Cash; in back are Deacon Larry Lipsmeyer and John Bodensteiner |
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| Near exit 118 on I-30 in Benton |
As a bonus for a nonproft client, the Knights of Columbus was given a second billboard by Lamar without charge at a location of its own choosing.
Also, Council 10208 invited Benton Council 1987 to participate financially in the project, since one billboard is located in its city, and it would help the Council's visibility within its own community.
The billboard on I-30 will have an exposure to 35,000 vehicles daily, while the one on Hwy 5 will reach 13,000 each day. The billboards are contracted to remain through the end of December.
We are still in need of people who are willing to run for the parish council under the areas of liturgy, social justice and charitable outreach, education and parish life. The parish council is a consultive body of people to the pastor. Each of the areas of ministry mentioned here (and also finance and administration) meets as a committee to discuss matters pertaining to that area of ministry (usually with the pastor present). It would be wonderful to see more parishioners coming to these committee meetings. Ideally, it would be from the membership of these committees that potential parish council members would surface. If you have any questions or want to know more, please call Fr. Bill Elser, 922-4024, or one of the current parish council members. This is a great way to get to know more people and be active in the workings of the parish at Mass and in other venues.