Our Lady of Hope Parish Newsletter — July 2022

JU LY 2022

Our Lady of

HOPE C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

Meet Altar Server

Brady Hunter

Growing in Understanding of Liturgy

W

hen Brady Hunter was in fourth grade, he was first drawn to be an altar server because helping out the priest and being up in the front of the church looked like such an interesting job. Now Brady is going into his senior year of high school and serving at the altar is a service to which he has committed a great deal of time. As the school year came to an end, in addition to serving at Sunday Masses, Brady served the Baccalaureate Mass for the senior class at Washington Catholic and the Mass for the eighth-grade graduation.

“Now serving is a part of me and I feel I should continue doing it,” Brady says.

When he was first trained as an altar server, Brady was walked step-bystep through the Mass and every task was explained in detail. Tyler Underhill — now in seminary — helped to train Brady and was there to help Brady out

until he got the hang of things.

“It probably took a couple months to get used to it,” Brady says. “After that, I really wasn’t nervous. I felt comfortable with what I needed to do.”

Serving prompted Brady to dig a little deeper into his faith and it changed the way he participated in the Mass. Brady has to be attentive to details and notice when something is missing. While serving, he can see things that most of us don’t see from the pew and it has inspired curiosity about the liturgy.

“Before serving, I would just go with the Mass,” Brady says. “But after serving, it made me question why we would do some things and I started asking those questions and figuring them out.”

There are always new things to learn along the way. Some Masses, such as the Easter Vigil, are more complex

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Serving on the altar prompted Brady Hunter to dig a little deeper into his faith — changing how he participated in the Mass.

Brady Hunter appreciates the experience of being close to the altar and having a direct view of what is happening during the Mass.

Our Lady of

HOPE

Altar Server Brady Hunter

C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

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“Before serving, I would just go with the Mass. But after serving, it made me question why we would do some things and I started asking those questions and figuring them out.” — Brady Hunter and Brady has to prepare for them differently. Other times, the bishop has visited and the servers adjust and take on more jobs, like holding the bishop’s mitre.

Overall, Brady likes the experience of being close to the altar and having a direct view of what is happening during the Mass. He knows that his job is important to the priest and makes the Mass go smoothly. Altar serving is a refreshing change from experiencing Mass from the pews.

He has gotten to know Fr. Paul better and has made friends with the other servers. When new servers join, Brady is there to get to know them and help them out along the way. He encourages others to try serving and not to be nervous to try something new.

“Just go for it,” Brady says. “It’s such a different experience when you’re up in the front of the church and serving next to the priest.”

Brady Hunter encourages others to try serving and not to be nervous to try something new.

Boys and girls are welcome to be trained as altar servers.

To find out more, please call the parish office at 812-254-2883.

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A Letter From Our Pastor

Miracles

We Provide the Gifts, God Performs the

Dear Parishioners,

I

t is human nature to try to neatly place things into categories. If we categorize the miracles performed

by Christ, the two largest groupings might fall under the headings “Healing” and “Feeding.”

This is exactly what we are about here at Our Lady of Hope. At the base of all our liturgies is the Eucharist, when we come together in communion with the Lord and with one another to be both fed and healed. Even one of Christ’s most famous miracles — the Feeding of the Multitude — involved both healing and feeding from a spiritual and a literal perspective.

The reason the large crowd gathered was because Jesus’ reputation as a healer had spread and grown. He felt compassion for that crowd, which is another way of saying He loved them and felt sorry that they were hungry due to their willingness to sit and be with Him for so long.

Recognizing it was late in the day and that many of them had not eaten, Jesus literally fed them — but that day, He didn’t stop with physical nourishment. He also fed them spiritually with His words, and simultaneously, healed their wounded hearts by preaching a message of hope and forgiveness in the midst of a dark and hardened world.

The narrative of Christ taking a small amount of food and using it to feed thousands is familiar to all of us. It is

reported in all four Gospels. However, I would like to highlight one aspect of that miracle. It all started with one boy who was willing to share what little he had. Because the boy made the gift of his fishes and loaves, the Lord took it and multiplied it many times over, nourishing so many more people than what that little bit initially could.

Isn’t that what we as a parish are called to do? We make gifts of our time, our talent, and our treasure as good stewards — but nevertheless, it is God who takes those gifts and performs miracles with them. Our goal is to give what we have so that Christ might use it, multiplying it to feed, to heal and draw a multitude of people closer to Him. The reality is that without the gifts, there can be no miracles, and without miracles, we are a hungry and broken people. Christ has come to renew, nourish, fulfill, and restore — and that, brothers and sisters, is what Christianity is all about.

In Christ, Fr. Paul Ferguson Pastor 3

Our Lady of

HOPE

C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

Congratulations to Our Class of

2022 Graduates We extend our warmest congratulations to the graduates of the class of 2022. We offer our prayers and support as you proceed on your educational and vocational journeys.

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Our Lady of

HOPE

C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

Hospitality Extends to Our Family at Home and in Our Parish

A

s Catholics, we are members of two very important family units. First, there are our own families, which consist of our spouses and children. And as a parish community, we are members of a larger “family of faith,” along with our clergy and fellow parishioners. Of course, both types of units share in the Catholic faith, as we gather to celebrate Mass each Sunday.

Yet, all does not appear to be well. The modern media unfortunately seems to place a heavy emphasis on the destruction of both types of family units. Indeed, every day, we are bombarded with disconcerting stories about the various issues that threaten the vital bonds of the family — divorce, abuse, gay marriage, and abortion, just to name a few. At the same time, the “families of faith” in our own parishes have also been threatened by several issues, from scandals and mismanagement of resources to drops in Mass attendance and school enrollment.

All of these threats and issues most certainly promote a hostile environment for today’s American Catholics. In turn, we may feel that there is little we can do to counter the negativity that is so pervasive within our country towards those practicing the Catholic faith.

The good news is that finding the solution to such seemingly insurmountable problems often begins in the most simple and basic of places — at home. In this particular case, it begins in two homes — that of our own family, 6

and in the parish home of our “family of faith.”

Certainly, we would like visitors in our own homes to feel welcome, whether they are extended family, familiar friends, or new acquaintances. Therefore, we do whatever we can to make these visitors feel appreciated — we might prepare a homemade meal for our guests, or serve them a fresh cup of coffee, all while we initiate a friendly and insightful conversation.

Of course, this effort to make visitors to our home feel welcome is a wonderful example of providing Hospitality, the first of the Four Pillars of Parish Stewardship.

So, if we consider our other family unit — our parish family— the same can be applied to those entering our church for worship and fellowship. Whether we try to get to know some of the familiar faces we see at church each Sunday, reach out to someone new to the community, or extend a warm welcome to those visiting our parish, we are following Jesus’ example of hospitality at its most foundational and engaging level.

Of course, while hospitality serves to enhance worship and fellowship for the entire parish family, it also impacts our community on a day-to-day basis. If we foster a welcoming environment in our parish home and present the many opportunities to minister and serve, involvement will only increase throughout the community! Therefore, if hospitality continues to flourish throughout the parish and its many ministries, so will the stewardship way of life!

Get to Know Our

Knights of Columbus Council 630

Raising Money for Local Causes and Serving Christ in the Process

T

he Knights of Columbus is a national brotherhood of Catholic men who live out the principles of charity, unity, and fraternity by serving the Church and local community. The brotherhood is organized into parish councils.

For decades, Council 630 has been a key ministry here at Our Lady of Hope.

Parishioner Randy Emmons has been a Knight for the past 17 years and is the current Grand Knight for Council 630. For Randy, the Knights are much more than just a social club — the organization offers a way to follow Christ and serve those around him.

“The best part about being a Knight is the ability to help others, especially the kids within our parish and local community,” he says. “It is great to give scholarships to deserving high school seniors and sponsor families for Christmas gifts.”

Randy was a member when Council 630 was in danger of collapsing financially. It was then that he and two other Knights came up with the Treasure Hunt concept. For the past seven or so years, the Knights of Columbus have been hosting a weekly game of chance where people buy $1 tickets that have numbers matching a prize board with 52 spaces. If your number is picked at the time of the drawing, you win the prize that is held in that space. In addition, there is a chance to hit the jackpot, which means you automatically win all the prize money that is up for grabs.

The typical weekly winners can expect a payout anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. If no one hits the jackpot, the left-over winnings roll over to the following week. This means that the jackpot compounds as time goes on without a winner. This builds both excitement and the opportunity of winning large sums of cash.

Knights sell tickets for the Treasure Hunt jackpot.

Lucky winners of the jackpot have won millions of dollars on a $1 ticket. As a result, the Treasure Hunt has been wildly successful and has brought the entire community of Washington together — even the Chamber of Commerce has taken notice of the positive impact the Treasure Hunt has made.

The condition for winning is that you must be at the drawing in person to win the full amount. If you are absent and your ticket is drawn, then you will only receive half of the winnings. This stipulation has unified the community,

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“The best part about being a Knight is the ability to help others, especially the kids within our parish and local community. It is great to give scholarships to deserving high school seniors and sponsor families for Christmas gifts.” — Randy Emmons 7

Our Lady of

HOPE

C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

315 N.E. Third Street Washington, IN 47501 812-254-2883 www.ccwash.org

Knights of Columbus Council 630 boosted revenue for the town’s restaurants and shops, and has raised millions of dollars that the Knights then pour back into local charities.

The Knights are transforming our community through their generosity and service.

“We do what we do because it is the right thing to do,” Randy says.

The Knights are not just volunteers and fundraisers but are also men of great prayer. Randy testifies to the impact his involvement with the Knights has had on his faith by encouraging him to pray in adoration regularly and immerse more fully into parish life.

“I consistently spend at least two hours a week in adoration, praying to our Lord,” Randy says.

If you are a man who wants to get involved, give back to the community, and grow closer to Christ, then consider becoming a part of the Knights of Columbus!

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The Treasure Hunt has been wildly successful and has brought the entire community of Washington together.

The Knights need more men to join — there is power in numbers! Their mission to serve is great and their success stems from their devoted members. If you are interested in joining, please visit www.kofc.org/secure/en/join/join-the-knights.html.