St. Peter Catholic Church Newsletter — February 2021

F E B RUA R Y 2 0 21

ST. peter C ath athoo lic li c CHu r ch Monthly Newsletter

Save the Date: F E B R U A R Y 2 0 T H

FR. G ARY KAS TL TO LEAD OUR UPCOMING ALL-PARISH RETREAT

W

hen you have an electronic device that isn’t working, you might try unplugging it and plugging it back in. The computers that many of us use every day, from time to time need a restart to get everything working again, and we are not too different.

Katherine Norman, the coordinator of our Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization programs at St. Peter, says we need to do the same for ourselves. An unplug or a restart can go a long way towards restoring not only our mental health but also our faith lives. With this in mind, she invites everyone, parishioners and nonparishioners, to the All-Parish Retreat on Saturday, Feb. 20, at our parish in Bishop Vasa Hall.

“Retreats are life-changing, so the question is, are you ready to make a change?” she says.

During this can’t-miss retreat, Fr. Gary Kastl will lead us through a day of talks, individual reflection time, and small group discussions. Currently serving as President of Bishop Kelley High School and Rector of Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa, Okla., Fr. Kastl is a speaker and expert on stewardship.

“A life of holiness and virtue happens when we make the time for God to enter in,” he says. “St. Augustine had the great line — ‘God created us without us, but he will not save us without us.’ We have to participate in the relationship if we are to benefit from the graces, the forgiveness, and the peace that God desires to bring into our lives.”

This yearly one-day retreat is organized around our busy daily schedules.

“Busyness does not equal holiness,” Fr. Kastl says.

“If we desire a healthy spiritual life, we have to make continued on page 2

S t. pet er C atholiC Ch ur ch OUR UPCOMING ALL-PARISH RETREAT continued from front cover time for it. It has to be a non-negotiable in our lives.”

The day begins with Mass, followed by breakfast.

There are four sessions each with a talk by Fr. Kastl, then quiet time to reflect, followed by small-group discussion.

A delicious lunch is also included. The retreat ends at 3 p.m. with time for participants to receive Reconciliation from 3-4 p.m. Retreat goers may also choose to attend 4 p.m. Mass.

As we are focused on living out the “three Ts” of stewardship — time, talent, and treasure — Katherine says that attending the retreat is a great way of giving your time to grow closer to Christ.

“God always rewards those who choose to spend time

deepening their relationship with Him,” she says. “Anyone who has attended a retreat in the past can witness to the many blessings they received during and after it.”

All are encouraged to save the date and plan to attend the retreat on Feb. 20. With such a retreat taking place right in our own backyard, it would be unfortunate to miss it! The All-Parish Retreat promises to truly be a way to reset and unplug.

“Don’t be afraid of what God will ask you to do as you grow in your discipleship,” Fr. Kastl says.

“Retreats are intentional times to stop the busyness of life, and to be quiet and assess how we are growing in our relationship with God.”

If you would like more information about the upcoming All-Parish Retreat, or to register, please contact Katherine Norman at 402-450-9484 or Katherine-norman@cdolinc.net.

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St. Peter Financial Report

he church fiscal year begins July 1. This is a six-month report of our finances at St. Peter Church and School ending December 31, 2020. Father Clark thanks all who have continued to tithe as we have exceeded our budget for giving during the first six months of the year. However, with unbudgeted COVID St. Peter Parish and School expenses and a shortfall in deferred Percentage of Total Expense fundraising, we had a small loss for this July 2020- December 2020 reporting period.

Administrative Costs 2%

Total Revenue

$1,622,740

Total Expense

$1,651,666

Net Income (Loss)

$ (28,926)

Parish Property Costs 2% Parish Utilities 3%

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Insurance 1%

Fundraising & Promotion 0%

Liturgical, Other 6%

Diocesan Assessments 6% Pay and Benefits 63%

Educational Expense 17%

The chart breaks down the expenses of the parish. A complete copy of the financial report can be found on the website.

Convent/Rectory Computer/Technology 0% 0%

A Letter from Our Pastor

SHARING LOVE IN

Different Ways

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

W

hat’s the most widely observed saint’s day in February — the one that’s kept even by those who aren’t practicing Catholics?

Undoubtedly, it would be St. Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

The irony is that his feast isn’t even on the General Roman Calendar of feasts to be observed throughout the world. That doesn’t mean that he’s not recognized as a real, historical person, or as a genuine saint, but only that his influence throughout the Church has not been as significant as that of other saints.

So who was St. Valentine? There are several St. Valentines, as the name was not a rare one in the ancient Roman Empire, but the saint we celebrate was a priest of Rome martyred in the late third century. Still, that doesn’t explain how his feast came to be celebrated as the day one sends letters, cards and presents as expressions of romantic love.

The truth is that the custom of sending tokens of love comes not from any direct connection with St. Valentine, but from the ancient belief that birds begin to pair off on Feb. 14. And if courtship in the natural world occurred then, it must be appropriate for humans, as well. The association between St. Valentine and love notes is a later development.

Nevertheless, it’s not wrong to connect the two. Love has many aspects, and our conception of it is richer if we keep more than one of them in mind. Martyrdom is the result of loving God more than our earthly life. St. Valentine was a martyr because of his love — his love

for Jesus Christ and His Church. If he had not loved God so much, he could have repudiated his Lord and saved his life. We, in turn, express our love by sending cards and gifts on St. Valentine’s Day. But isn’t that what stewardship as a way of life is — a little martyrdom? Not to push the image too far, but when we are faithful stewards, we give up a little portion of our lives out of our own love for Christ. Most Christians will not be called on to be martyrs, in the sense of forfeiting our physical lives for God. But we are called to give up some of our comforts, indulgences and riches because of our love for Him. So then, as you prepare to celebrate and share your love with your Valentine this month, remember St. Valentine and his love for Christ. As well, keep in mind that God loves us, and return that love with your own toward Him. Loving God will be reflected in how you prioritize your use of the time, talent and treasure God has entrusted to you. As St. John wrote (1 Jn 4:19), “We love because he first loved us.”

Happy St. Valentine’s Day! In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

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S t. pet er C atholiC Ch ur ch

The Lenten Par

AN OPPORTUNIT Y TO P

F

“The Church, in her wisdom, has given us wonderful times to pull us back and say, ‘Now, you need to prepare and focus, because this is going to be happening.’ This is a time to make those improvements. If you’ve gone off the path or gotten into a rut, it’s time to shake yourself out of it.”

— Lynette McArdle, Director of Religious Education 4

or lifelong Catholics, there are probably many things that come to mind when thinking of the season of Lent — from ashes on your forehead, to fish on Fridays, to fasting and making other acts of penance. And while Lent this year will be a little different from normal, it is still an opportunity to step outside of our “normal,” and take time to refocus on what truly matters — our relationship with Christ and His Church.

This year, St. Peter Catholic Church hopes to encourage this pursuit in a variety of different ways, beginning with the Lenten Experience. Materials will be available after all Masses on Feb. 13-14, the weekend before Ash Wednesday. This year, the resource selection will be limited due to gathering restrictions. The materials available are for parishioners to take home and use to enhance their faith and spirituality during this holy season. Director of Religious Education Lynette McArdle works hard to ensure that there is something for everyone, regardless of age or where they are on their journey of faith.

“I hope that people find something that they’ll use,” Lynette says. “I hope it draws them closer to the Lord, even one tiny step.

“The Church, in her wisdom, has given us wonderful times to pull us back and say, ‘Now, you need to prepare and focus, because this is going to be happening,’” she adds. “This is a time to make those improvements. If you’ve gone off the path or gotten into a rut, it’s time to shake yourself out of it.”

Throughout the season of Lent, there will be several different opportunities for parishioners to deepen their faith, including our parish retreat, on February 20th and Stations of the Cross every Friday. These special events invite parishioners to embrace this special time in the Church year, preparing their hearts for the celebration of Easter, the high point of our faith as Catholics.

“Our focus in Lent is to take our time, to step back, and focus on what’s important,” Lynette says. “We are

rish Experience:

RIORITIZE YOUR FAITH thinking, ‘How can I change my life?’ This is my annual spiritual check-up.”

Lent is also a time to experience the graces available in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There will be additional opportunities to go to Reconciliation during Holy Week.

“Lent is a perfect time to receive God’s forgiveness and grace,” Lynette says.

Throughout the season, we encounter the interwoven themes of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — the three tools the Church encourages us to utilize in re-centering our lives on the mysteries of our faith, particularly the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Savior.

“Those things — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — are to help us conform our hearts to God’s,” Lynette says.

“When you give yourself over to God’s will, there is such peace. Those things are to help us, mold us, and form us into being better people so that we can align ourselves with what God wants for our lives.”

Lynette hopes that, especially for those who have perhaps been away from St. Peter due to COVID-19, the Lenten season will be a time of returning to church and recommitting themselves to grow in faith and prayer.

“This Lent, I’m hoping everybody reconnects with the parish, with the Church, and with Christ,” Lynette says. “I’m hoping we can come out of this with a stronger connection, and make our parish community stronger.

“If you’ve been away, Lent is a beautiful time to reconnect,” she adds. “We need to be careful, but we still need to connect with our faith. Our spiritual lives are still important.”

If you would like more information on Lenten opportunities at St. Peter Catholic Church, please check out the bulletin or our parish website at www.saintpeterslincoln.com.

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S t. pet er C atholiC Ch ur ch Time

share time with God in prayer

Highlights of Our

2021 STEWARDSHIP

RENEWAL T

his past autumn, our St. Peter parish leadership conducted the 2021 Stewardship Renewal. The Stewardship Renewal gave our parish community the opportunity to discern how we are using our gifts of time, talent and treasure in service to the parish and in return to God. This month, we are happy to share with you some of the highlights of the Stewardship Renewal.

• There were 452 commitment cards received from 51 percent of active households.

• There were 4,494 prayer commitments — the stewardship of time — from 92 percent of participating households.

• There were 1,776 ministry commitments — the stewardship of talent — from 80 percent of participating households. Of these, 441 were new ministry commitments, while 1,335 were re-commitments to parish ministries.

• There were 364 offertory commitments — the stewardship of treasure — from 81 percent of participating households. The average pledge was $3,282.

We thank all those who participated in the 2021 Stewardship Renewal. If you did not have the opportunity to fill out and return a commitment card, we invite you to consider the ways you may share your gifts of time, talent and treasure with God and the parish community!

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Talent

(continued)

Talent

 = Currently Involved  = Interested in Joining get involved; use your talents FORMATION (continued)

Talent

(continued)

Treasure

 = Currently Involved financially support the parish  = Interested

St. Peter Catholic Church

in Joining

SERVICE (continued)

Using my time on earth wisely; making time for personal prayer, family prayer and quality time with friends and loved ones.

Using my God-given abilities to strengthen the  CCD (Grades 1-5)/Faith Factor Church and help others, especially through (Grades 6-8) parish ministries and activities.

Please check the circle next to your commitments to prayer:

Write the first name of the family member who wishes to  Lending Library join or is active in each ministry on the lines below. You Marriage Preparation may write multiple names for the same Classministry.

 GodTeen

In thanksgiving for God’s gifts, each household at St. Peter is asked Right to Life to give a specific percentage of income based on the 10% biblical tithe: School Volunteers

Lift Up Your Hearts!

 SCRIP 5% to St. Peter,  SFA (School Family Association)  Attend Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament weekly 5% to other charities  Stewardship Council  Attend weekday Mass at least once a week  RCIA  = Currently Involved  = Interested in Joining  St. Vincent  ROCK  Attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Days de Paul Society Weekly Giving Chart PRAYER  School (St. Peter School: Pre-K  Invite a friend or acquaintance to Mass % of Hshld Income: 10% 5% 4% 1% HOSPITALITY 2021 Commitment Card through 8th grade)  Pray together with my family Household Income Amount of Weekly Gift My offering of Time, Talent & Treasure (Pius Acolytes  School $30,000 $29 $23 $6 X High School: 9th   Pray for the sick, the lonely and the deceased Coffee/Rolls $58  12th Altargrade) Servers through $70,000 $135 $67 $54 $14   Discuss our Catholic Faith with my family Family Game Nights $100,000 $192 $96 $76 $19  Totus  Children’s Liturgy Tuus  $125,000 Funeral Luncheon  Read the Bible for a half hour a week $240 $120 $96 $24 First & Last Name  Extraordinary Ministers of Holy $200,000 $385 $192 $154 $38 SERVICE  Mass Greeters  Spend at least 15 minutes a day in personal prayer Communion (EMHC) Homebound  Men’s Golf League Phone  Pray the Rosary at least weekly  Lectors/Readers  Church Cleaning  Parish Fall Festival  Go to Confession at least every month  Legion of Mary My Offertory pledge to St. PeterEmail  Church Decorating  Parish Fundraiser  Spend extra time with my spouse each day Music Ministry  CSS (Catholic Social Services) Percentage Ushers of household income: ________%  Pray for my country daily  Men’s Saturday Morning Food Pantry Collection Please complete either a weekly or monthly offertorySpouse: gift: First & Last Name Formation Group and Saturday  Pray for an increase in vocations  Finance Council Morning Rosary Walk to Planned Weekly gift $ x 52= $ annually  Pray for our priests and sisters  Giving TreeParenthood Spouse: Phone OR  Pray for persecuted Christians  Knights of Perpetual Columbus Adoration  — Council #10510  Pray for life from conception to natural death Monthly gift $ x 12= $ annually Spouse: Email  Prayer Line  Parish Council  Pray for those serving in the military  Women’s Friday Morning  Parish Maintenance  Pray for conversion and healing Bible Study Address Online Giving  Parish Office Help  Pray for the Church in face of crisis SetPeter up a recurring weekly or monthly transaction St.  PCCW (Parish Council of using your checking, savings, or credit card account.

City FORMATION Catho State lic Churc the St. Peter website: ZIP Catholic Women) Enroll in Online Giving by visitingh 4500 Duxhall Dr., Lincoln, NE 68516 www.saintpeterslincoln.com.  Baptismal Preparation continued on next panel Class 402-423-123 9 www.saintpe terslincoln.c om  Boy/Cub Scouts  I would like more information about online giving. continued on back panels

After a Year of Uncertainty, Our Commitment Remains Ever Strong

S T. PETER PARISH CONTINUES EMBRACING THE

F

Stewardship Way of Life

ollowing a year marked by an unprecedented global pandemic that changed the way all Americans live, work, and worship, many organizations are understandably struggling to stay the course. Here at St. Peter Catholic Church, however, our fall Stewardship Renewal confirmed that, amid a topsy-turvy year, one thing remained the same — the strong faith and active discipleship of our parish family. Indeed, the hundreds of commitments our parishioners made to share their time, talent, and treasure with the Lord at the end of 2020 have been truly inspiring!

Our Stewardship Council is pleased to report the return rate for stewardship commitment cards in fall 2020 slightly increased over our 2019 rate, proving that the desire to live as disciples of Christ is alive and well in our parish. The generosity of our parishioners in these uncertain times is truly humbling — the annual tithe pledge amount is up by almost 10 percent this year. While we are grateful for the continued financial support of the church, the commitments to the Four Pillars of Parish Stewardship — Hospitality, Prayer, Formation, and Service — are just as valuable.

“We have really been focused on prayer and service,” says Stewardship Council Chair John Kuchta. “Prayer commitments are way up compared to last year and up

30 percent from where we started a few years ago. I can’t tell you how many people who are new come up to me and say that this is the most prayerful parish they’ve experienced. And it all starts with Fr. Clark — his impact has been greatly felt.”

Katherine Norman, our new Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization Programs Coordinator, agrees that our strong devotion to prayer is an essential aspect of discipleship, however, she also recognizes hospitality is the first pillar of stewardship for a reason.

“When parishioners know they are welcomed, this fosters a sense of ownership and personal involvement,” she says. “Our goal is to make all parishioners and guests feel they belong and are appreciated. As my predecessor, Sue Ray, would always say ‘belonging leads to believing’.”

Katherine took on the role of Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization Programs Coordinator in August 2020. Before this position, she had been working as a financial advisor and before that taught high school math for 11 years. In the fall of 2019, she attended a stewardship retreat led by Fr. Jim Golka of St. Mary Cathedral in Grand Island, Neb. Taking to heart Fr. Jim’s message that our lives are not our own, but instead belong to God, Katherine began asking herself what the Lord might be calling her to do. continued on back cover

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S t. pet er C atholiC Ch ur ch 4500 Duxhall Dr. │ Lincoln, NE 68516 402-423-1239 │ www.saintpeterslincoln.com

MASS SCHEDULE: Saturday: 4:00 p.m.

Sunday: 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m.

DAILY MASS Monday-Friday: 6:30 a.m., 8:15 a.m.

Saturday: 8:15 a.m.

CONFESSION: Monday & Friday: 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.

Saturday: 3:00-4:00 p.m.

S T. PETER’S CONTINUES EMBRACING THE S T E W A R D S H I P W A Y O F L I F E continued from page 7 Today, she refers to that retreat experience as a “conversion of heart” that led her to this new role in our parish.

As the Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization Programs Coordinator, Katherine hopes to journey with our parishioners as they grow in discipleship.

“When people experience a conversion, their hearts are changed and they become grateful for the many gifts our Lord has given them, and naturally then they want to find ways to give back.” She says “My goal is to provide opportunities for conversions and then help people through the process from conversion to giving. God is calling us to be good stewards and I am here to help people find ways to answer that call.”

Encouraged by the inspiring response to our fall Stewardship Renewal, Katherine looks to the future of stewardship in our parish with great enthusiasm for the continued growth and blessings to come.

“Once people realize that everything is a gift from God,

they want to take ownership,” she says. “They know that this is their parish and want to take care of it. We have a lot of wonderful parishioners who do so much for our church, however, we want everyone to get involved. One of my goals is to have every parishioner be involved in at least one ministry and serve in some capacity in our parish. It’s never too late to turn in your commitment card and get involved — our ministry leaders will reach out to anybody who fills out a card and makes a commitment!”