St. Joan of Arc Staff Blog

Stewardship

2012-02-27T09:28:00.003-08:00

I would like to think of how you can best help the Church in her work. For a great many of us we can do this through a particular ministry, a certain talent that God has given you. This can be something so obvious that you can do it without giving a great deal of thought. However, sometimes God asks us to do things that might require more thought than we would like.

We are called to more suffering than we would naturally like. It would be great if suffering didn't exist, but we all know about the Fall of Man from the Garden of Eden which is how sin entered the world. Jesus Christ's death and resurrection finished death as man's final end. However, it didn't finish suffering. We are called to suffer and sometimes that can come in our daily interaction with friends and co-workers. It doesn't make it any less uncomfortable, but Jesus did tell us that if we acknowledge Him here on earth, He will acknowledge us in heaven.

This Lent think of how you can help defend the Church from those who would cause her ill will. You will receive your reward in heaven and you will be thanked by countless others, who by your defense of the faith were able to understand Christ's truths while they were here on earth.

What will you ADD for Lent this year?

2012-02-24T10:10:00.004-08:00

This first week of Lent began with the Ash Wednesday celebrations.

It always encouraging to see so many people attend this liturgy since it is not a Holy Day of obligation. It speaks to the connection we feel for our need to be present to receive our ashes and to begin Lent with sincere intentions for renewal.

The ashes remind us we are on this earth for a short time "Remember you are dust, from dust you came to dust you shall return". We need to make each day count as in "Repent! Turn away from sin and follow the gospel".

In the scripture readings for this weekend Jesus spends 40 days in the desert to prepare for his mission. We are also invited to enter into these 40 days of prayer, fasting and alsmgiving to prepare for our life's mission.

The following prayer was written by Jackie Witty from one of the Tuesday Morning GIFT communities. It captures the essence of why we journey into the desert.

Restless Soul by Jackie Witty I prayed for "A" incessantly,
For lacking it was tough;
But when I got a lot of "A"
It still was not enough.

So I pursued a different need.
And staunchly prayed for "B",
But when the gift of "B" appeared,
I really wanted "C".

Oh, help me Lord, relieve my wants,
And show me how to pray!
The Lord replied, "My dearest one,
There is another way."

Instead of "A" or "B" or "C"
To make your longings cease,
Draw near as possible to me
And I will give you peace.

St. Joan of Arc has many opportunities for Lenten enrichment, begin by
Joining us for the Lenten Parish Mission with Tom Booth this weekend. First session is on Saturday 9:00-11:00 with a Morning of Reflection, discover some new opportunities for prayer and service. Please refer to the full schedule in the parish bulletin on line.

May this Lenten season, bring each of you His peace.

Music During Lent

2012-02-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today, Ash Wednesday, begins the season of Lent.

Music during Lent has a different flare from the rest of the year. You may hear more Gregorian chant than typical. We won't be ending Holy Mass with a Recessional Hymn, but will instead end in silence. There may be less instrumental music than what is typically heard. Songs may express our sorrow for our sins and the depth of our God's forgiveness more often than during the rest of the year.

Lent is a time for us to reflect on our lives and seek to bring ourselves closer to God - let the hymns that are sung during Mass lead us closer as we endeavor to live a righteous life.

On March 11th at 7:30PM we'll be holding a concert by the Hamilton College Choir from New York. Though this will not be a "Lenten" concert, you may be inspired by the songs used at this concert during the Lenten season. Please consider coming out and supporting your Parish Music Ministry by attending this event - it is free, but a free-will offering will be collected to support St. Joan of Arc Music.

On March 26th at 7:00PM there will be another concert - during which the Book of Jonah will be read in its entirety. With short instrumental breaks, one will be able to reflect on the Word of God and on the message of this Book of the Bible which can certainly be a part of one's Lenten journey. Again, the concert is free but a free-will offering will be taken up.

On Fridays throughout Lent we'll be praying the Stations of the Cross on Friday Evenings at 7:30PM. This wonderful devotion includes singing parts of the Stabat Mater - the traditional Sequence for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Come and join in song as we reflect on Mary, watching her Son and our Lord crucified. Each evening will end with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament during which the traditional hymn O Salutaris and the traditional chant Tantum Ergo are sung. There is no better way to enter into this holy season than by praying the Stations of the Cross and then being able to receive Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament!

We hope to see you at these events - be sure to check out the bulletin for further information on opportunities for spiritual growth during Lent.

Lent & Stewardship

2012-02-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

Lent and Stewardship go hand in hand. Some might wonder how could this be; after all isn't Lent a time for reflection and withdraw, and isn't Stewardship about giving? In our Lenten period of reflection we should realize our proper role in the faith. Often we allow ego, earthly desires and societal whims to rule our lives. In Stewardship we can reverse these patterns.

Stewardship can be done through many venues, whether it be financial giving, or giving of our time and or our talent. In doing so we can connect with those we need to help. In the latter years of her life Mother Teresa heard a knock at her door; it was an American businessman who happened to be in Calcutta for business. He wanted to give her money, which he did but she told him to only give her half of what he had wanted and go home and give the other half through working with his time and talent in charitable causes close to home. Stewardship comprises many possibilities; this Lent in prayer and reflection we can figure out those possibilities to better ourselves and those around us.

Growing In Faith Together (GIFT) 'Six Degrees of Separation'

2012-02-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

'Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer.'

Belonging to a small faith sharing community such as GIFT, can accomplish this connection with interesting results. When we share our life experiences, it becomes evident that this theory has some merit.

For example:
Patti, one of our GIFT Pastoral Faciliators has a friend whose relative works for Oprah Winfry, using this theory of six degrees of separation, provides a very specific connection. It makes our large world much more personal.

This week's Gospel reading lends itself to this theory as well. We have four men who knew about Jesus. They found out that he would be in their vacinity and reached out to him by bring the paralytic to hear Jesus. Their faith and determination to get closer resulted in Jesus acknowledging them and healing the paralytic.

If it were possible, would you like to meet Pope John Paul II or Mother Teresa? Using this theory of six degrees of separation and by attending the Parish Mission with Tom Booth this objective could be accomplished. Tom has inspirational stories to share of his ministry. He has had the opportunity to meet and perform for John Paul II and Mother Teresa. His impressive resume includes music awards and collaborating with many nationally known Christian musicians.

Mission Begins
Saturday, February 25, 9:00-11:00 am Workshop, Morning of Reflection & Brunch (please RSVP in narthex or call 614-761-0905)

Evening SessionsFebruary 26, 27, 7:00-8:30 pm
February 28 Closing Mass 6:15 pm w/Evening session 7:00-8:30 pm

Morning Sessions
February 27 & 28 Mass 8:30 am followed by presentation & brunch

Begin this Lenten season with a direct connection to God's holy people of our time. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you to expand that experience. Consider participating in the small faith sharing communities of GIFT during Lent to discover God's unique plan for your life.

For more information, please contact Romy Riebe 614-885-9450 or Pete Shears 614-888-1562.

The Pipe Organ and Catholic Worship

2012-02-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

The official instrument of the Roman Catholic Church is, of course, the pipe organ. Vatican II’s liturgy document Sacrosanctum Concilium reminds us of the primacy of this instrument by saying “it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things.”

The organ in our parish is regrettably not a pipe organ, but rather an electric organ that is meant to emulate the sound of a pipe organ. Pipe organs are expensive instruments that can cost anywhere from $300,000

to $2,000,000 and above for a newly-built instrument. In 2012, with many parishes closing, lots of old pipe organs are being purchased from closed Parishes, being transported and refurbished and then rebuilt in other churches for far less money. Sometimes used pipe organs that would cost over a million dollars new can be purchased for under $50,000 (though rebuilding can be costly). It can be difficult to find a used organ that is available and will match acoustically, stylistically and spatially into an existing Church.

This effort, however, is well worth it. Saving historic instruments that were built with the sweat, tears and sacrifices of those who have gone before us is a worthy cause. Also, making our worship of God fully authentic is a tremendously worthy cause. If one walks through our church, they will find no fake flowers or plants. Our worship is enhanced by real, living plants. Fake plants can be beautiful and last far longer, but are inauthentic. Real flowers need maintenance and care, will cost more (they will need to be replaced), but are worth it because they bring authenticity. A fake flower or plant is just intended to imitate the truth found in legitimate plants and flowers. Likewise, an electric organ is just intended to imitate the beauty and truth found in pipe organs. They're cheaper and require less maintenance, but they're really just like plastic flowers: possibly beautiful, but not real.

If you'd like to discuss the possibility of seeing a pipe organ in St. Joan of Arc in the future, feel free to contact me. We have the space - we just need enthusiasm, fund-raising and people willing to help.

St. Valentine's Day Dance/YM Fundraiser a Huge Success

2012-02-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Scroll to bottom to see video of the dance and a brief summary!

(Pictures By Taylor Melick, Gordon Mawhinney, and Carrie Magalski. You Can click on the smaller pictures to make them bigger!)

We had a Great time! Thanks to all teens, parents, parishioners, and volunteers who made this such a fantastic success! We raised some good funding too! Click Here & Here to see some dancing patrons of the arts and YM supporters! Thanks to Steven's Catering & The Rick Brunetto Big Band for wonderful food and entertainment! I hesitate to post this video CLICK HERE because it looks like only the teens were dancing but this was just during a lull in adult dancing. If you look at the still shots above you can see the crowded dance floor with all the parents and Youth Ministry supporters! Thanks again for all your ticket purchases!
God bless you all!
Michael A. Barone ~ Director of Youth Ministry SJOA Catholic Church

Erin Cordle comes to RCIA

2012-02-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

Erin Cordle came to RCIA to enter into a discussion with the group about the social teaching of the Catholic Church. It was an evening to remember as she engaged the group. Working with their input she opened up awareness in simple and concrete terms.
             Simple concepts included:
                          "working with the poor and marginalized"
                           "respecting their dignity. . . ask them what they need . . . they know"
             Concrete terms:
                            "the two feet of Social Concerns . . . Charity & Justice"  We live our faith,
                             we stand with others in faith and we walk with them . . . with our feet.

Then we gathered around 4 tables and the manila envelopes were given, one to each table. The task seemed simple . . . open the envelopes and using only what is inside follow the directions. It seemed like craft time. (Make a puppet, make a paper chain link, make a cube, make a paper airplane . . .)

Not quite so . . . one table had not only everything they needed to complete the tasks, but an abundance of everything. Another table had nothing they needed to complete the tasks and the two remaining tables had some or most of what they needed.

Life in a microcosm . . . an introduction to Social Justice . . . becoming real in our response to the situation in front of us.

Basic Catholicism Classes Helps Us To Better Understand Our Faith

2012-02-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

All successful groups need their members to know what their organization believes, the Catholic Church is no different. Imagine your favorite sports team that didn't know their plays, a band that didn't know the words to their own music, or a theater production in which the cast didn't know their lines. Not a pretty picture. The ongoing Basic Catholicism classes which continue this week is a way for all of us to better understand our faith. This isn't done so that we can all feel intelllectually superior, but rather that we know what we believe so that we can fulfill our Christ appointed mission.

Come join us Monday or Wednesday late afternoon or evening (4:30 or 6:15.) You only have to attend one class, we offer them at different times to accomodate your schedule. We will have one final session in April. We look forward to seeing you. God Bless & take care!

GIFT - When is the next miracle?

2012-02-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Would you like to witness the miracle of healing?

In our Sunday readings we find Jesus moving from area to area, being present to all, performing amazing miracles of healing. What would that have felt like to witness such marvelous deeds?

Having been on staff for over 15 years, it has been my privilege to witness some amazing moments of physical and spiritual healing. This is especially evident when our GIFT, small faith sharing communities gather.

It is healing to be able to share our concerns with others who care. It is a joy for all who pray when a prayer is answered.

On a personal note, I am reminded of an instance about 3 years ago. My 88 year old mother was rushed to the hospital in Cleveland, her situation was grave. There was just a short time to get things together before we left for Cleveland, but on my way out the door, I did contact my GIFT communities and asked for their prayers.

Once in Cleveland, the situation looked very grim for my mother. After 4 hours of surgery and as many hours of prayer, we were given the good news that she survived the surgery. One day after surgery my sister coaxed Mom into scratching an instant lottery ticket. When this happened we knew Mom would be fine. On the third day the bandage was removed from the nine inch incision. We were amazed that the wound was bearly visible,except for the staples.

We are were very grateful for all the prayers, dedication of the medical team and most of all God's gracious blessing in allowing her to be with us to this very day.

Following Jesus example of being present especially to those who are isolated or alone can produce miraculous transformations. Each of us can be that channel for God's love which can perform many mircales. This Valentine's Day give the gift of love, and witness the miracle of healing.

God Bless each of you with healing!
Romy

One Year Ago Today...

2012-02-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

One year ago today I was given a key, a tour of the building, and a role as leader of the music program at St. Joan of Arc. It has been a great pleasuring serving this church and I will continue to give my best in running this wonderful program. Since arriving, I am very proud of our efforts in establishing a Children's Handbell Choir, expanding the Parish Choir, Teen Band, Cantor Program and Children's Choirs, establishing a Christian Concert Series, having a weekly page in the parish bulletin to keep folks engaged in and informed about our music program, and hopefully leading members of our music program closer to Christ and His Church. I would like to thank our Pastor, Father Raymond Larussa, for his help with our program, as well as my colleagues Paula Vasey and Val Galaktionov who are so very talented and valued here at St. Joan of Arc.

In the next several months, great musical events will happen at St. Joan of Arc.

Tom Booth (a liturgical musician and composer) will present our Parish Mission.
Pergolesi's Stabat Mater will be performed in concert on March 11th.
We will read the Book of Jonah at an organ concert on March 25th.
Holy Week, with its unique liturgies and music, will take place during the first week of April.

Are you looking to meet new friends in the parish?
Do you love music and want to share your gifts with the world?
Join us! Ring a bell, sing with a choir, raise your voice as a cantor or play an instrument!
No matter what your talent - we'll find a place for you.

God bless,
Matthew J. Meloche

Meet our RCIA Candidates

2012-02-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

Meet our RCIA Candidates

Candidate is a term used in RCIA to refer to those individuals who were baptized in the trinitarian formula in other Christian faiths. The Catholic Church recognizes their baptism and

they then receive the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil.

(Not pictured: Nate Gold & Blake Renner)

Autumn Mess

Robbin Spegal with sponsor Phil Northrup

Lindsey Wolf

RCIA has a third category which includes individuals who were baptized Catholic but not catechized in the faith. These individuals also receive the remaining saraments of initiation (Confirmation & Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil.

Paudy Lopez

The group with sponsors

Please keep them in your prayers!

Next Round of Basic Catholicism Classes Coming Soon

2012-02-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our Basic Catholicism classes are off and running. The next sessions are scheduled for 2 pm and 3:45 pm Sunday February 12; 4:30 pm and 6:15 pm Monday February 13; and finally 4:30 pm and 6:15 Wednesday February 15th. Again you only have to attend one as they are all the same class just offered at different times to accomodate your schedule.

We will cover such topics as the Church in the Dark Ages, Church Art & Architecture, as well as the rise of Catholic Church institutions like Catholic hospitals and Catholic universities. In addition we will cover the Protestant Reformation as well as the influence of the American and French Revolutions. The final class in April will cover the period from 1800 to the current day.

As you can see we move at a fast pace. We had some great questions in the first session which should set a good tone for our next series of classes. We had people of all ages attend our first group and we look forward to the same for next session of classes. See you there!

GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) Love & Forgiveness Beyond Description

2012-02-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

B eing in a small faith sharing community with GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) provides glimpes of God's presence in daily life.
This past Wednesday, our small community of nine people gathered to reflect on the upcoming Sunday readings; Matt 8:17, Job 7:1-4, 6-7, 1 Cor 9:16,22-23.

Some of the communities use the resource; Living Liturgy, which in part comments on the readings. To summarize this week's commentary; " . . .as the gospel illustrates, in times of trouble we need the personal touch and presence of another."

During our discussion one of our memebers shared a powerful story of "transformation of human hopelessness through a personal encounter with Jesus. . . As his disciples, this is our work as well."

To maintain the confidentiality of the small group sharing, I will only retell the story which was publically shared.

Our GIFT member inadvertently found herself at an Amish retreat. The presenter at the retreat shared that she had survived many trials including breast cancer, however as she stated; "nothing prepared her for what was to come."

She lives in Amish country. One day five years ago, she was informed that something unthinkable had occurred. Her son who delivered milk to a school had gone on a shooting rampage and killed 5 Amish children and then killed himself.

During this horrible time some very amazing, lifegiving things happened; the Amish community (including those whose children were murdered) came to support her and her family in their grief. They stood with her at her son's grave and offered unconditional forgiveness and love.

That story has dominated my thoughts. It reminds me of Jesus' invitation to be there for others in time of trouble. It challenges me to examine my ability to forgive. Most importantly it offers hope beyond description.

This Sunday at St. Joan of Arc

2012-02-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

This Sunday at St. Joan of Arc in Powell, Ohio, we will be having a variety of musical groups leading music at our various Masses.

At the 5:00PM Vigil Mass we will debut our new Children's Handbell Team, The Ringers! The team is made up of children in grades 4 - 8 who have been working hard to learn this new skill. Formed just before Christmas, this is the first time The Ringers! will play at Holy Mass. Keep them in your prayers as they continue to develop their musical talents and seek to lead our congregation to prayer through instrumental music.

The 7:30 Mass will be lead by a cantor.

The 9:00 Mass will be our Choral Mass at which our choir will continue to introduce the congregation to the Mass in Honor of St. Benedict, which is the official Mass Ordinary of the Diocese of Columbus. See the Music Ministry News in this Sunday's bulletin for more information about this Ordinary.

The 10:45 and 12:30 Masses will be lead by cantors.

At 5:30PM we will be lead in song by Faith Song, St. Joan of Arc's high school band. This group, made up of youth in grades 8 - 12, specialize in contemporary Catholic music. They are in need of new members and typically rehearse on Tuesdays - if you're in eighth grade or high school and would like to join - come talk to the music director (or another member of Faith Song) after Holy Mass.

We hope you join us for Mass this Sunday at St. Joan of Arc Parish!

Our Catechumens

2012-01-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

RCIA 2011 ~ 2012

Meet our catechumens

(not pictured AbbyPierce)

Catechumenis a term used by RCIA to denote those individuals who are preparing toreceive the sacraments of initiation; Baptism, Confirmation andEucharist.

Dan Boggess

Dreema Neisel

Meghan O'Sullivan

Amanda McDougal

Rodney Estes

Youth Ministry Tubing At Snow Trails!

2012-01-31T10:29:00.000-08:00

YOUTH MINISTRY – By Michael A. Barone

We do a lot of things to promote community in the TRUE~LIFE Youth Group. We have Movie nights, we play Rollerchairball in the summer, and we have Coffee-houses and other fun activities. All these are supported by our fundraiser. Please consider asking a parent or parish adult to buy their ticket to the St. Valentine’s Day Dance this February 10th. It’s how we pay for all the fun for the rest of the year. One example of a community building fun trip is tubing at Snow Trails! Here are some great pictures of the Tubing trip we took. We plan to go again in March if there is still snow on the ground.

For more information contact me at Herringbone777@live.com

God bless you all!

Michael A. Barone

Director of Youth Ministry

SJOA Church

2nd Round Of Basic Catholicism Classes Set To Begin in February

2012-01-30T17:36:00.000-08:00

Our Basic Catholicism classes are off and running. Get ready for the next sessions which will begin at 2pm and 3:45pm Sunday february 12, 4:30pm an 6:15 pm Monday February 13 and 4:30pm and 6:15pm Wednesday February 15. This is a great way to learn about your Catholic faith, whatever your background and knowledge level may be.

We will cover such topics as the Church in the Dark Ages, the Church in the Renaissance, Church Art & Architecture, as well as the rise of Catholic institutions like Catholic hosptials and Catholic universities. In addition, we will also cover the period before, during and after the Protestant Reformation as well as well as the influence of the American and French Revolutions. The final class in April will cover roughly the period from 1800 to the current day.

As you can see we move at a fast pace. We had some great questions in the first session which should set a good tine for our next class. Again this is a great opportunity to learn about your faith. These times coincide with those of the Children's Religious Education classes. This should make it easy for parents to attend. However, we certainly hope to continue to have those from all age groups as we did in our first class. Again all are invited please consider attending and once again you only have to attend one of the various class times.

GIFT Update

2012-01-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

Click here to view an update from Romy Riebe.

YOUTH MINISTRY – Michael A. Barone

2012-01-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

St. Joan of Arc is getting ready to launch our new website. In anticipation of the new site, Fr. LaRussa has asked us to begin practice postings from some of the departments on Staff. Parishioners will be able to come to this page to see blogs that change daily. Each day’s post will be a different staff member or clergy posting their additions to the parish blog. The blog will also give parishioners the ability to watch video links or listen to audio segments from the various Staff members and clergy. We hope you will enjoy the experience.

This posting is an example of what you might see on this Parish Staff Blog. As the Director of Youth Ministry here at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, I get to see a lot of behind the scenes things that are going on with our youth and young adults. One program I use is called “The Dead Theologians Society” or “DTS” as we are often called. Don’t let the name scare you! DTS is a very holy and Catholic organization, which teaches teens about the Saints. Each week we meet as the DTS chapter here in the parish ands we study a particular saint’s life story. We read quotes by those saints if there are any and we ask the intercession of that saint as we pray for our families, our parish, and ourselves. The neat thing about a blog is that I can share with the average parishioner about what we are doing and how the program works, by blogging about it.
For instance last week our DTS chapter studied the life of St. Florian who is known as the patron saint of Firefighters. We read a brief account of his life and his martyrdom. We then prayed for his intercession to help us and our families in matters of fire safety etc.

To demonstrate to you the effectiveness of this prayerful intercession I will now share the fact that my house almost caught fire two nights ago. I believe it was through the intercession of St. Florian that we were wakened by our smoke detectors and were able to get out of the house and call the fire department all with out major confusion or harm of any kind.

It seems the blower on our furnace stopped working causing the heating elements to over heat and spark off a small fire in our heating vents.

We were very fortunate in that it went out pretty fast and the small amount of smoke set the alarms off in time for us shut the system down and contain the problem.

Now you may ask yourself did it really matter that I had just asked for the intercession of St. Florian at our

DTS meeting or was this just coincidence?

I’ll leave you to answer your own question but through this blog I can at least share that experience with you and hopefully bring you to a deeper appreciation of the Church’s teaching on the “Communion of Saints” which we profess our belief in each week at Mass during the Creed.

With this blog I can also post a link so you can learn more about St. Florian simply by clicking on the link and reading posted information from another source. For instance please CLICK HERE and you will be taken to a posting about St. Florian on another Catholic website. But please come right back so I can show you something else.

Ok hopefully you are now back on this posting and I will show you how I can post a video about an event we are holding for the adult and married couples of the parish. Please CLICK HERE to see a 2-minute video about our St. Valentine’s Day Dance. But come right back!

Another example of how this can interactive for you as a parishioner is that you can directly communicate with the staff about our blogging because we can add an email link like this simply click on the following:

herringbone777@live.com

and you will be able to write and send an email directly to me! You can share your thoughts with me.
Ok, hopefully this example of our parish staff blog is exciting and informative to you. I hope you can see the benefit of being able to communicate in this manner. We will be able to share events, thoughts, prayers, videos, and all kinds of other things through this blog. We, as the parish staff and clergy, hope that you as a parishioner can see the many exciting opportunities this blog will present to you to make your experience as a St. Joan of Arc parishioner a very full and blessed one!

Our hope is that you will check in on this blog daily to see what new and wonderful things we have to share with you.

God bless us all in this new endeavor!

Yours in Christ,
Michael A. Barone ~ Director of Youth Ministry ~ SJOA

Music Update

2012-01-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today was the start of a new event being offered monthly by St. Joan of Arc Parish in Powell, Ohio. On the fourth Wednesday of each month a priest from St. Joan of Arc will celebrate Holy Mass at the Inn at Olentangy Trail Senior Assisted Residence and our music program will be involved with providing music for the Mass. Today, Father Jeffrey Tigyer and I, along with two parishioners, went and prayed the Mass along with several residents.

In the future, it is our hope that we can form a small choir to bring with us to sing at these Masses. If you know anyone who is available during the day and might be interested in praying with these seniors and leading them in song, please contact me for further information.

Catholics are called to be Pro Life and to respect all life. I can think of no better way to show our seniors that we respect and care for them than offering Holy Mass for those who cannot make the trip to St. Joan of Arc. In addition, music can lift our hearts and minds to God and edify us – so the gift of music being offered at these Masses is essential. I thank our Pastor, Father Raymond Larussa, for starting this ministry that will bring the Word of God and the Body of Christ to our friends at the Inn at Olentangy Trail. Keep their residents, and all senior citizens, in your prayers.

God bless,
Matthew J. Meloche

RCIA Update

2012-01-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

As we begin a blog for St. Joan of Arc, Tuesday has been reserved for RCIA. As the director of RCIA I, will be sharing with you the many facets of RCIA, the people involved and the process.

Midstream . . . is where we currently find ourselves. The catechumens and candidates (13) have taken the first step during the Advent season and were accepted into the Order of the Catechumens. During this time they have spent many sessions coming to understand and appreciate the sacraments they will be receiving at the Easter Vigil (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) as well as the remaining sacraments of the church (Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.)

As they move towards the season of Lent please keep them in your prayers. Next week we will post their pictures. Please take a moment to introduce yourself when you see them and to share a word of encouragement as the continue on their journey towards full initiation.

What is Stewardship? – By David Hartline

2012-01-23T04:45:00.000-08:00

We have all heard the term Stewardship, but what does it mean in a Catholic setting? Does it mean giving our fair share to the parish, does it mean giving of our time and talent to the parish? The answer is yes to all of these. The parish is an extension of your faith family. It is the gathering place for the faithful in a particular geographic area. It has been this way since the early days of the Catholic faith in the Roman Empire when the faith was by and large still illegal.

We are called to grow in our Catholic faith and help others do the same. We are called to help those in need. We are also called to help those who don’t share our faith but of whom we are to help grow and understand the message of Christ and His earthly universal Catholic Church. By doing so, we are answering Christ’s final earthy message to go out in the world and preach the Gospel wherever we may be.

Welcome to the St. Joan of Arc Staff Blog!

2012-01-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

The staff of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Parish in Powell, Ohio have begun writing a blog that will be updated daily in this our 25th Anniversary year! We thank our Pastor, Father Raymond Larussa, for encouraging us to continue to find new ways to reach our parishioners.

Approximate update schedule will be:
Mondays - David Hartline, Stewardship
Tuesdays - Eloise Carlet, RCIA
Wednesdays - Matthew J. Meloche, Music Program
Thursdays - Michael Barone, Youth Ministry
Fridays - Romy Riebe, GIFT
Saturday - Guest posters (clergy, parishioners, other staff)

We hope you visit often!