…”Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous.” Saint Paul speaks a powerful message to us this weekend….for we walk by faith….always!!! In a culture where everyone wants to be in control, the only thing we can control is ourselves and our decision to walk with the Lord. What gives us our strength and courage is the faith and confidence that God is with us. Every day, every moment, and every challenge needs to be approached with the courage that comes from the Lord. We walk by faith, and not by sight.
…This is a great message on this Father’s Day weekend. Parenting is an exercise of faith. We have the trust and courage that God is with us as we raise children, and grandchildren, and as we work to form strong and loving families. God bless all of our Father’s in our community – grandfathers and godfathers as well. May God give our dad’s the courage to be strong, loving, credible witnesses to the presence of God. May they be beacons of hope and God’s love to their family and to our community.
…As a special Father’s day gift, we have a ‘pen’ for each dad/grandfather/godfather. It speaks to the values and qualities of strong, courageous loving fathers.
…Special thanks to Deacon Tom Sheridan for his important and great work in our community to spiritually nourish the men of our community. He coordinates our Men’s Fellowship and Men’s Renewal programs. The Men’s Fellowship is a great way for guys to come together for some social time, scripture reflection, and to give each other the courage to be a loving and faithful man of God. All the men of our community are always welcome. Contact Deacon Tom to learn more at: tsheridan@StAmbrose.us.
…In the spirit of Father’s Day, also a special thanks to the Knights of Columbus who truly are Men serving the Lord.
…This past Wednesday was both the 61st anniversary of our parish community AND the installation of the Women’s Guild Officers. The Guild has been an important and strong group for our parish community over all the years. They share a great spirit of faith and friendship as they work together for the Lord. Many thanks to: President Connie Tomek, Vice President Barb Pirozek, Recording Secretary Joann Lynch, Corresponding Secretary Carol Wood and Treasurer Mary Stickney. We are so blessed by their leadership. During their Installation, the Women’s Guild gave our parish a check for $10,000 as the first installment of their Generations of Faith pledge. The Ambo in the renovated Church is a gift to our community in honor and memory of the Guild.
…This coming week is our Parish Festival. It’s such a special time for our community to come together – and work together – for four great nights of family fun and friendship. Please help us spread the word and invite everyone you know to join us. The best way you can help is to encourage your family and friends to come to the Saint Ambrose Summer Festival. It’s FREE. It’s fun. We have GREAT live bands and homemade food. Mostly, we have YOU and our amazing members who create such a warm and welcoming spirit for all who join us. Please see today’s bulletin for all the details.
…We are blessed to have the most incredible festival raffle. Thanks to so many friends of our parish community, we have incredible prizes….GREAT prizes. Even more, your support for the raffle really helps our parish do all the great and good things we do every day and week. The raffle is about $15,000 down from last year. In some ways, it’s not surprising because of so many supporting our Generations of Faith Church appeal. ALL the raffle tickets you sell/buy are pure profit for our parish and will help us renovate the Chapel and keep up on our parish facilities. If at all possible, please support the Festival Raffle. Your help….all of us doing what we can….will give you GREAT chances to win amazing prizes AND greatly help our parish community.
…We can always use some extra helpers at the festival. Again, see the bulletin for all the details.
…By the time you read this, our first mission team will be home and the second group of 32 will have arrived for a week of service to some of the poorest of the poor. If you have been following any of the Facebook posts or eblasts, it is so clear that we are making a real difference in people’s lives. By the time both groups come home, six families will be living in 440 sq. ft. homes. Much progress will have been made on helping repair and care for both of our communities. We will also be teaching Vacation Bible School and giving great hope to our sisters and brothers in the DR. Please keep the mission team in your prayers. I am down the mission this weekend and really look forward to seeing all of you this coming week at the festival.
…While we are caring for those in our mission community, we also continue to take care of our sisters and brothers at home. Last weekend, 336 people enjoyed a GREAT meal at our monthly community meal. It’s such a great blessing to be able to offer good food, great friendship and the love of Christ to our sisters and brothers. God bless our Community Meal Team.
…This is a GREAT week to sign up for Vacation Bible School.
…Natalie English does a great job on our weekly bulletin. It’s a lot of work and a lot of reading. She could use a few ‘proof readers’ who can help make sure that all the I’s are dotted and days/dates are correct. If want to help, even every now and then, please send her an email at: nenglish@StAmbrose.us.
…Our Building and Grounds volunteers will be out in full force this week setting up for our summer festival. If you can lend a hand for an hour or two, they will be hard at it on Monday and Tuesday from 9 am until 7 pm. Just stop up.
…We walk by faith and not by sight. Have you ever heard/read truer words?!?! It’s all a great exercise in faith – trust in the Lord. Let’s pray courageously for good weather this week as we work together for four GREAT summer days for our community. God bless you.
