Saint Lawrence Catholic Church

Give Catholic on #Giving Tuesday! Visit saintlaw.org (top menu) or iGiveCatholic.org

24 Hours of Giving: 12:00am-11:59 p.m.

Giving Tuesday is a new annual event in our technological life... …like Cyber Monday before it - which most of us are now familiar with... …like Black Friday - which we are all familiar with… Giving Tuesday is here to stay... …many charitable organizations participate in it …we, St. Lawrence, are participating! Giving Tuesday is in November - that time of year for Generosity... ..celebrated purely & altruistically by many… …for others a practical practice for tax purposes …a combination of the 2 for most.

Giving Tuesday this year is Nov. 28th… … the Tuesday after Thanksgiving ...the day after Cyber Monday … 24 hours of exciting, “telethon-like” participa-tion … but no one calls you - instead you get on-line, and you give! Giving Tuesday - Nov. 28th - for 24 Hours… … you can help St. Lawrence with many things yet undone: … Bells, Hymnals, Organ, Artwork, Screens, Vid-eo and Sound Equipment … go to www.saintlaw.or , click on “iGiveCatholic” and join in the fun!

Phone: 770.963.8992 Pastoral Staff

Father John T. Howren Pastor

Father Mark Thomas Parochial Vicar

Father Patrick Kingery Part time Parochial Vicar

Deacon Terry Millinger Deacon José Ortiz

Deacon Bob Riddett Sr. Louise Sommer, CSJ | Pastoral Associate

Outreach Kelly Schreckenberger | Pastoral Associate

Evangelization Cristina Corbin | Pastoral Associate

Hispanic Ministries Faith Formation Staff

Diane Maguire | Director Vickie LaClair | Administrative Secretary

Gloria Kennerty | Coordinator Christian Initiation

Beth Hodgson | Coordinator Elementary Students

Michele McPheely | Coordinator High School Youth Ministry

Tarcy Hernandez | Coordinator Middle School Youth Ministry

Music and Liturgy Staff John Brandt | Director

Kathi McKenna | Assistant Director

Administrative Staff Deacon Terry Millinger| Director of

Operations Alma Martinez| Administrative Secretary

Maria Simon | Coordinator of Finance & HR Tarcy Hernandez | Coordinator

Safe Environment Amy Titshaw | Coordinator

Maintenance Barbara Baez | Coordinator

Nursery Wendy Guillory | Coordinator

Preschool

Counseling Services Sylvia Elaine Smith, MS, LPC, NCC

404.444.8956 En español:

Dunia Lobo, MA, LPC 678.787.9543

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE PAGE 1

Contact Us SINCE YOU’VE ASKED….

To fulfill BOTH your Sunday Obligation & Christmas Obligation, You and your Family will come to Celebrate

1 Mass in Each Column Below: (*Mass in Spanish)

4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT MASSES CHRISTMAS MASSES Select 1: Select 1: Sat. Dec.23 - 5:00 p.m. Sun. Dec.24 – 3:00 p.m.* Sat. Dec.23 - 7:00 p.m.* Sun. Dec.24 – 5:00 p.m. Sun. Dec.24 - 8:00 a.m. Sun. Dec.24 – 7:00 p.m. Sun Dec.24 – 10:00 a.m. Mon. Dec.25 – 12:00 a.m. Sun. Dec.24 – 12:00 p.m. Mon. Dec.25 – 8:00 a.m. Mon. Dec.25 – 10:00 a.m. Mon. Dec.25 – 12:00 p.m. Mon. Dec.25 – 3:00 p.m.*

As one person asked: “Can I come to the 12pm Mass on Sunday, and then stay for the 3pm Mass on Sunday, and fulfill both obligations?”

Answer: “Absolutely! Remember, it’s One Mass from Each Column!”

Our Advent Penance Service is Tuesday, December 5, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Father John, Father Mark and Father Patrick will have the assistance of many neighboring priests. Plan now to make this night an important part of your preparation for Christmas. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27 Mary Our Queen, Norcross, 7:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Our Lady of the Americas, Lilburn , 7:00 p.m.

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation, is Friday, December 8. Come celebrate God’s special love for the Virgin of Naza-reth, who was prepared from her own conception to be the vessel of the Incarnation. Holyday Masses are Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (English) and Friday at 9:00 a.m., 12:15 p.m., (English) and 7:00 p.m. (Spanish)

From the Pastor’s Hand

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH NOVEMBER 26, 2017 PAGE 2

Stewardship

NOV 26 SUN: OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE

8:00 a.m. Mass: Richard & Elizabeth Dixon 10:00 a.m. Mass: Jerry & Maresa Herrera

12:00 p.m. Mass: Juan D. Palacios 3:00 p.m. Mass (Spanish): Jose Angle Alonso

5:00 pm. Mass: All People of the Parish

NOV 27 MON: WEEKDAY

9:00 a.m. Mass: Peter Adego

NOV 28 TUES: WEEKDAY

9:00 a.m. Mass: Dane Bonifay

NOV 29 WED: WEEKDAY

9:00 a.m. Mass: Emilia Alves

NOV 30 THU: ST. ANDREW, APOSTLE

9:00 a.m. Mass: Enacarmacian Ramirez

DEC 1 FRI: WEEKDAY

9:00 a.m. Mass: Beverly Fenker 9:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

7:00 p.m. Mass (Spanish): Martin Gonzalez

DEC 2 SAT: WEEKDAY

9:00 a.m. Mass: Mauro Camango

3:30 p.m.: Confessions

5:00 p.m. Vigil Mass: All People of the Parish 7:00 p.m. Vigil Mass (Spanish): Juan & Guadalupe Flores

DEC 3 SUN: FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

8:00 a.m. Mass: Patricia Dixon McGrath 10:00 a.m. Mass: Junior Pavik

12:00 p.m. Mass: Graham Goodall 3:00 p.m. Mass (Spanish): Guillermo Toledo

5:00 pm. Mass: Beverly Fenker

Sun, Nov 26 11:00 am Alpha & Omega (sp) 11:00 am Sacristans (sp)

Mon, Nov 27 10:00 am Adult Faith Formation 7:30 pm Raised in Christ Prayer

Tue, Nov 28 9:45 am Senior Exercise (and Thursday) 7:00 pm Haitian Support Meeting 7:30 pm Coro (sp)

Wed, Nov 29 6:15 pm Adult Faith Formation 6:30 pm Alpha Celebration Dinner 7:00 pm Men’s Quest

Th, Nov 30 10:00 am Adult Faith Formation 7:00 pm CRHP Men 7:00 pm Charismatic Prayer

Fri, Dec 1 7:30 pm Coro (sp) 8:00 pm Escuela de la Cruz (sp)

Sat, Dec 2 9:30 am Mary Mother of God Class 10:00 am Baptism 2:00 pm Wedding 4:00 pm Clases de Ingles 6:00 pm Cursillo/Ultreya

Please Pray for Our Sick: Donald Clifford, Jo Courtney, Sylvia Egidi, Becky Farthing, and Ofelia Ortiz along with their families and caregivers. To add or remove names, contact Alma Martínez, parish secretary, at 770.963.8992 x300 or email at amartinez@saintlaw.org. Unless we are told otherwise, names remain for one month.

Please remember in your prayers our loved ones who recently passed away, Michael Mon-roe McGrady, the brother of Marianne Van Name of St. Lawrence and Carolyn Clark Nwugwo, the sister of Bev Gibbs St. Lawrence.

May they rest in peace.

When the Son of Man comes in glory, may we be among those who have fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, and clothed the naked. For Je-sus tells us clearly that it is those who have demonstrated good steward-ship by sharing their gifts with the less fortunate who will receive God’s blessing and inherit the kingdom.

This Week at a Glance

Mass Intentions

Archbishop’s Annual Appeal—Only a Month Remains to ful-fill our pledges for 2017! Just over $125,000 in pledges from St. Lawrence parishioners remain to be paid. Please take a moment this week to see where you stand with your pledge. Remember that all funds donated to the Annual Appeal above our parish goal will return to us for the further reduc-tion of our parish construction debt and other critical im-provements. Please do your best to fulfill your Annual Appeal pledge before the end of the year. If you have any questions or concerns about this year’s AAA, please contact our bookkeeper, Maria Simon at 770.963.8992 x304.

Next Week’s Second Collection is the monthly appeal for our parish St. Vincent de Paul Society. The volunteers of St. Vin-cent de Paul respond daily to the emergency needs of parish-ioners and neighbors alike, and they do so in our name. Thank you for your support.

The Advent Angel Tree, coordinated by our parish St. Vincent de Paul Ministry, has returned to the Narthex. Angels with gift requests will fill the tree giving us the opportunity to bring the love of Christ to parish families as well as families in our com-munity who are struggling during the Christmas sea-son. Please help by taking an angel and returning the wrapped gift, placing it under the tree by noon Sunday, December 17. Thank you for your generosity!

Last Week’s Collections

Not available due to early publishing deadline.

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE PAGE 3

Adult Faith Formation

High School

Ministry Spotlight

High School, Edge, and PSR will be off for the Thanksgiving break Today, (Sunday) November 26. Classes will re-sume Wednesday, November 29.

Discover Japan’s Forgotten Christian Martyrs Want to learn about the history be-hind the movie “Silence”? Join historian and author, Walt Mussel for an informative presentation on how over the course of a century, Japan rose to being the jewel of missionary efforts, then became a land as forbidden as the Garden of Eden. Join us on the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, Sunday, December 3 at 6:15 p.m. upstairs in DeSales Hall for "The Path to Silence: Japan’s Christian Century and Beyond.” An RSVP to dmaguire@saintlaw.org would be appreciated. While it is not necessary to have watched the movie “Silence” to come to the program, if you have not seen the movie “Silence” you can borrow the DVD from Diane Maguire. Be aware that it is rated R for violence as the murder of the Christians is at times quite graphic. Contemplative Prayer Group will meet on Monday, November 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the Divine Mercy Room to continue watching and discussing Fr. Dubay’s DVD series on “Union With God.” Woman to Woman We will not be meeting at Church on November 28 but will re-sume our meetings in Advent on December 5 with the DVD series on “David the King” at 10:00 a.m. and a study of the upcoming Sunday readings at 10:30 a.m. up-stairs in Johnson Hall. All are welcomed to sit in for one or both of these parts of our women's fellowship as part of your spiritual preparation for the Christmas season. Live Jesus Are you looking to deepen your relationship with Christ? This group reads and discusses the wisdom and writings of St. Francis De Sales in light of every day life situation. Fr. Joseph Mullakkara, MSFS facilitates our discussion and would wel-come your presence on Monday, December 4 at 10:00 a.m. in the Divine Mercy Room. Questions? Contact Diane at dmaguire@saintlaw.org.

Saturday Social– Saturday, December 2nd! Come meet us in the gym at 6:30 p.m.– 7:30 p.m.! We have a fun evening planned with snacks provided so come hang out and bring a friend! Decision Point– The next class after Thanksgiving will be December 3rd. See you then! Youth Alpha– Our next Youth Alpha meeting will be December 10th. Gospel Study– Come break bread, share God’s Word, ask questions, learn, and grow closer to God. We meet in DeSales Hall at 6:15 p.m.-7:30 p.m. each Wednesday. See you Nov. 29th!

Hello! My name is Natalie Larkins, the daughter of Rosanne and Alan Larkins, and I am a lifelong parishioner at St. Lawrence. This past spring, I graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor's of Science in Industrial Design and made the decision to pursue full-time mission work on the college campus with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). FOCUS is a national organization that sends recent graduates as missionaries to different college campuses across the nation (and even internationally now!) to share the great joy of the faith through authentic friendship. I was introduced to FOCUS by a missionary at Tech who pursued a friend-

ship with me and invited me into one of her Bible studies. This friendship changed my life, leading me to build my life on Christ, and now, I desire to do the same for others. I am currently stationed at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, leading students to Jesus through Bible studies, one-on-one mentorships, and simply living life to its fullest. In fact, Christ calls us all to be missionaries in every life circum-stance. Please join me on this mission for our college students. As a full-time missionary, all our expenses are paid through the generosity of others. You can support me at this link https://www.focus.org/missionaries/natalie-larkins or donate to my team at West-ern Kentucky at https://www.focus.org/give/campuses. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about FOCUS or if you would like to learn more. Thank you so much, and know that you are all in my prayers!

All Alpha participants from the Fall and Sum-mer sessions are invit-ed to join us (and bring friends) for a Celebra-tion Dinner on Wednesday night, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. Free dinner and childcare! (RSVP requested.) We will be celebrating our previous course and inviting friends to take the next one. Please RSVP to Kelly Schreckenberger at kschreckenberger@saintlaw.org.

Invite your friends to the dinner so they can find out what Alpha is all about!

Alpha Celebration

Thanksgiving Break

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH NOVEMBER 26, 2017 PAGE 4

Around the Parish

Engraved Brick Purchase your engraved brick pavers in the parish courtyard to-day. The donation of $100 ensures that your name, your company name or the name of a friend or loved one will be permanently placed in the ambulatory. Order forms are available in the litera-ture rack in the main hallway and at the Welcome Window.

Toiletries Collection The homeless in Gwinnett and the Living Room appreci-ate your hotel items. Leave your dona-tions for Sister Louise at the Welcome Desk.

Thank you to All our Current advertiser's and new advertisers for The Saint Law-rence Weekly Church Bulletin, it is due to their support we receive a FREE Weekly Bulletin, lets remember to utilize their services when needed. We still have some space available, contact Mark at 404.307.7016 or mfitzgerald@diocesan.com.

Pancake Breakfast with St. Nicholas! Sunday, December 10, the Knights of Columbus will host a breakfast in the gym from 8:30-11:30 a.m.! Dine-in or take-out. Bring and unwrapped toy for Quinn House and receive half a price discount. Come take a picture with St. Nick. All are welcome!

Young Families of Faith! - Advent Cele-bration! Families with young children (0-5th grade) - We are calling you to come check out the St. Lawrence Young Fami-lies of Faith ministry. Our goal is to build a fun environment where families and friends can come together to enjoy a good meal, good conversation and take advantage of the nursery for the kids which allows for some adult fellowship time. Our next Potluck Dinner meeting will be Thursday, December 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Cogswell Hall. This is our Advent Celebration. Bring your favorite soup! For more information and/or to RSVP contact Julie Donlin at julie.donlin@hotmail.com.

The Ladies of St Lawrence will hold their annual cookie exchange on Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. in De Sales Hall. We will also collect toys for Quinn House at this meeting. Call Karen Renner at 440.864.5050 or Frances Alkire at 770.513.8704 for a list of needed items.

Cursillo Ultreya will meet Saturday, De-cember 2 at 6:30 p.m. We will begin with a Potluck Dinner upstairs in Johnson Hall followed by our evening pro-gram. Join us if you would like infor-mation on attending a Cursillo retreat. For more information, contact Glenn & Fran Zipfel at g.zipfel@att.net or 770.822.9134.

The African Community of St. Lawrence will meet for their regular meeting after the 12:00 noon mass on Sunday, Decem-ber 10 in the Gym. For more information of questions, please contact Cornelius Ani at 404.396.0192. All are welcome!

Prayer Shawl Ministry will not be meeting in the month of December. To request a shawl please contact Miriam Schaefer at 770.978.4730.

As we enter into a New Liturgical Year with the beginning of Advent next Sunday, we look forward to two events that will be highlights of our parish life:

+ The February 3rd Ordination to the Diaconate of Rick Hogan, Pete Ranft and David Schreckenberger. + The 10th Anniversary of the Dedication of our beautiful Sanctuary on October 29.

In commemoration of these events in 2018, I am asking generous parishioners to consider a memorial gift to the parish: a beauti-ful matching set of Sacred Vestments for Priest and Deacons – in green, since that is the color most often used throughout the year. Some may not know that the proper vesture for a Deacon at Mass is not only the Stole worn diagonally over one shoulder, but over this is supposed to be a tunic – called a “Dalmatic.” (The priest’s vestment worn over his stole is called a “Chasuble.”) The only Dalmatics we have at St. Lawrence are in white: none in green, red, violet or rose. If you would like a loved one or an event remembered embroi-dered into the inside color of these 3 vestments, please consid-er this opportunity. Fr. John has selected a green set from the Holy Rood Guild, and each of the 3 (1 Chasuble and 2 Dalmatics) run just shy of $1,500.00 each. (Yes, handmade dignified and noble Sacred Vestments, worthy of the Paschal Mystery we cel-ebrate in our Sacred Liturgies, have great worth! To the right are pictures of the Chasuble and the Dalmatic. (Sorry, professional models are not included! – just the vest-ments!)

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH NUESTRO SEÑOR JESUCRISTO REY DEL UNIVERSO PAGINA 5

Festividad Guadalupana! Una vez más, como ha sido costumbre en nuestra parro-quia de San Lorenzo, nos acercamos a una fecha importante para nosotros los que tomamos por advocación a la Virgen de Guadalupe. Emperatriz de América Este año estaremos realizando actividades para recoger fondos y así tener una her-mosa celebración, y al mismo tiempo poder ofrecer un regalo a nuestra Parroquia, como parte del trabajo y generosidad de la Comunidad Hispana. El dinero que reco-lectado por esta actividad se entrega a la Parroquia y se utiliza para apoyar los pro-gramas existentes y también las activida-des que implican a la comunidad Hispana específicamente. Gracias por su apoyo con este proyecto. Que la Virgen con su santo mato nos cubra y nos guie día a día a estar más cerca de nuestro Padre creador! Virgen e Guadalupe… Rogad por nosotros!

Para los que se han preguntado…. Como cumplir AMBOS días de obligación tanto el Domingo & La Navidad Usted y su familia puede venir a Celebrar la Eucaristía los siguientes Días.

Misas en Español

4th Domingo de Adviento Sábado 23 de Diciembre a las 7:00 p.m.

Misas de Navidad Domingo 24 de Diciembre a las 3:00 p.m. Lunes 25 de Diciembre a las 3:00 p.m.

También usted tiene la opción de elegir y combinar una de las Misas de español y una de inglés para cumplir con los deberes de católico y puede mirar el calendario de las Misas en Ingles en las páginas anteriores.

Recuerde, es una Misa de cada columna!

Martes 28 de No-viembre, 2017 Celebremos nues-tro único patrimo-nio católico #iGiveCatholic/ # yo doy católico es un día para convocar a la comunidad católica en #GivingTuesday/ #Martes de regalo. Se aceptarán donaciones que serán deducibles de impuestos, para iGiveCatholic.org durante un período de 24 horas. Apoya a Nuestra parroquia San Lorenzo!!!

Nuestras confesiones de Adviento: se-rán el Martes 5 de Diciembre a las 6:00 p.m. el Padre John, el Padre Mark y el Padre Patrick tendrán la ayuda de sacer-dotes vecinos para asistirnos durante estas confesiones, esperamos que pla-nee este día como parte importante pa-ra la preparación de la Navidad.

Parroquias vecinas Lunes, 27 de Noviembre Parroquia

Mary Our Queen, Norcross, 7:00 p.m.

Jueves, 30 de Noviembre Misión de Nuestra Señora de las Américas,

Lilburn, 7:00 p.m.

La Inmaculada Concepción de la Santísima Virgen María, un día de precepto, la Mi-sa es el Viernes, 8 de Diciembre a las 7:00 p.m. (En español) Celebremos el especial amor de Dios hacia la Virgen de Nazaret, quien se preparó desde su propia concep-ción para ser recipiente de la Encarnación.

Llegamos a El final de la Etapa III “En las Huellas de Cristo” de nuestro programa Levántate, Gracias o todos lo que pudieron participar en esta hermosa temporada, donde hicimos un recorrido en los principios de la iglesia católica de la mano de Jesús, y a los que no pudieron estar presen-tes en esta temporada los esperamos a que se unan a nosotros en la cuaresma para celebrar la Etapa IV: “Un corazón nuevo, un espíritu nuevo”. Dios los bendiga!

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