building bridges: ministry to the sick & homebound
TRANSCRIPT
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ASHLAND CLUSTER PARISHES
Ashland • Odanah • Moquah • Dauby • Ino
Parish Newsletter no. 18 June 2017 www.ourladyashland.fa i th
Toward the end of the Liturgy of the Eucharist at many week-
end Masses, the congregation and the presider hold out their
hands in blessing over those parishioners who will soon be
bringing Communion to the “sick and homebound”. These
ministers build bridges between the larger faith community
and those who, for whatever reason, are physically--but not
spiritually--separated from us.
One such builder of bridges is Bill Mattes, who shares a Com-
munion ministry with Karen Hanson that includes weekly
stops at Ashland Arms, Bay Tower, and MacArthur Court. On
a typical Sunday morning, Bill is found in the common room
at the Ashland Arms, in prayer with Ann Bellinger. Using a
protocol from The Catholic Handbook for Visiting the Sick and
Homebound, Bill leads Ann through abbreviated versions of
the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Ann
follows along with a copy of the readings that he has provid-
ed. She receives the Body of Christ from Bill, and the service
is concluded, with some time to spare for chatting.
On to Bay Tower. Three ladies--Debbie Meintz, Patti Jellish,
and Kim Finnegan--are waiting for Bill to arrive. They are
soon joined by a gentleman, Don Jensen, who comments, “I
like this guy. He makes me very happy.” The warmth and mu-
tual respect among all present is obvious--as is the shared
sense of humor, evidenced by the lively exchange of jokes
following the service. Clearly, this group has some history. In
fact, Bill has been bringing Communion to the “high rise” for
over ten years. He started back when his mother-in-law was
a resident and he realized there was a need. He has been
coming back ever since.
Bill’s experience, while heart-warming, is not unique. Many
of the ministers to the homebound at Our Lady of the Lake
have been carrying out their ministries--in city apartment
buildings, nursing homes, the Ashland County Jail, private
homes, etc.--for ten, fifteen, or even more years. What keeps
them energized? As Bill says, “meeting the people”--also, the
deep, genuine appreciation expressed by those people and
the profound privilege of bringing Christ to our brothers and
sisters. Additional ministers to the homebound are always
welcome, as substitutes or regular visitors. If you feel called
to this ministry--or just want more information--contact Ric
Johnson at the Pastoral Center.
Bill bids farewell to the Bay Tower group and heads to Mac-
Arthur Court, spreading the joy.
Building Bridges: Ministry to the Sick & Homebound
Ann Bellinger: “I would not receive Communion or get the
bulletin if not for Bill.”
Patti Jellish receives Communion from Bill Mattes at Bay Tower.
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Fr. Paul Paré, OFM, Pastor
Fr. Joseph Kumar, Associate Pastor
Deacon William Holzhaeuser
Deacon Owen Gorman
Deacon Clarence Campbell
Deacon John Grek
Ric Johnson - Business Administrator
Karen Wolfgram - Parish Secretary
Sr. Peggy Kacvinsky - Bookkeeper
David Hart - Data Assistant
Anna Richardson - Religious Form. Dir.
Randy Hudson - Maintenance
Our Lady of the Lake Pastoral Center
106 N. 2nd Avenue East, Ashland, WI
715-682-7620 / [email protected]
New Faces at the Pastoral Center
Karen Wolfgram is the new secretary at the Pastoral
Center. She replaces Mary Timmons, who moved out of
the area with her husband, Paul. As the former owner of
the Embellishments shop in Ashland, Karen has a back-
ground in dealing with the public. Although she says the
learning curve has been steep, Karen feels more com-
fortable every day. She is available Monday through Fri-
day, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM [lunch break 12:00-
12:30] to assist with scheduling, facilitate scrip purchas-
es, provide information, help with articles for the bulle-
tin, etc. Stop in and say hello. Karen greeting visitors with a smile.
David Hart recently began working part-time at the Pasto-
ral Center, entering parish sacramental and school alumnae
records into the computer system. The goal is finally to
have all of the Baptismal, First Communion, Confirmation,
Marriage, and DePadua High School records digitized, com-
pletely and accurately. This has been an ongoing effort over
the years. Now that there is a position dedicated to the
task, it will be finished more quickly and efficiently. The
written records are kept in a vault in the pastoral center.
Some of the oldest volumes are becoming almost too frag-
ile to handle. Having all of this information digitized will
help to protect the written records, as well as make it easi-
er for the information to be accessed by those who need it
to verify that they have re-
ceived a sacrament, to do
genealogical research, to
answer diocesan statistical
requests, etc.
As some of the written rec-
ords are incomplete, Dave
sometimes finds himself
playing detective, making phone calls and cross referencing
to track down accurate information. Dave is very detail-
oriented and takes this job very seriously, ensuring that
these important records will be intact and available for fu-
ture generations.
David at his desk in the Pastoral Center.
A few of the volumes of sacramental records
Our Lady of the Lake School
215 Lake Shore Dr. E., Ashland, WI
715-682-7622
www.ourladycs.org
Betty Swiston - Principal
Shelley Knabe - School Secretary
Angie Moravetz - Billing Clerk
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What a wonderful school year we had at Our Lady of
the Lake School! There has been so much growth in
our students in
body, mind, and
soul. We wish the
eighth grade grad-
uates well in their
future education.
They will certainly
be missed.
Father Paul spoke
with the eighth
grade graduates
recently as they
reflected on a
document that
discussed the qualities of an Our Lady of the Lake
School Graduate--personal, academic, spiritual, and
social. Fr. Paul, who has known nearly all of them since
they began first grade, complimented them on their
maturity and ability to exemplify all of the qualities that
are expected of them as graduates of Our Lady of the
Lake School.
The eighth graders all agreed with Fr. Paul that they
certainly have grown in their faith in God and were able
to demonstrate their faith in their actions and words.
They also expressed that Our Lady of the Lake School
has prepared them academically for high school and
that they will always remember the lessons that they
learned about mak-
ing good moral
choices in their lives.
We also graduated
our four-year-old
preschoolers. Many
of them will be
attending our school
in the fall! We have
a full kindergarten
class and have hired
a full-time aide for
the classroom to as-
sist Mrs. Punjak. We
are looking forward
to the next school year with an increase of nearly 20
students in grades K-8. This is due, in part, to the posi-
tive promotion of the school by our happy and satisfied
families. Please like our Facebook page to continue to
see what is happening throughout the summer.
A Note From
the Principal
Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School
Betty Swiston
Graduates with Fr. Joseph, Mrs. Boyd, Mrs. Swiston, and Fr. Paul.
Preschool graduates in a spontaneous moment.
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN OUR
ALUMNI LIST!
E-mail [email protected]
with your name, years of attend-
ance, and contact information [OR
mail to 215 Lake Shore Dr. OR drop a
note in the collection basket at Mass].
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106 N. 2nd Ave. E
Ashland, WI 54806
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Ashland, WI
Permit No. 24
Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Community
First Prize: $2000 Second Prize: $1000
Third Prize: $500
Fourth - Tenth Prizes: $100
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT
THE PASTORAL CENTER OUR LADY OF THE LAKE SCHOOL
BENOIT CHEESE OMER NELSON ELECTRIC
COLOR CENTER LULICH IMPLEMENT NEIGHBORLY BAR
1/$5 5/$20 20/$60 40/$100
Drawing 3:00 PM Sunday, July 16, 2017
ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARD NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AT OUR LADY OF THE LAKE SCHOOL!!