St. Peter Catholic Church Newsletter — May 2021

M AY 2 0 21

St.Peter C ath athoo lic li c Chu r ch Monthly Newsletter

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“ TO LINCOLN DAY” for St. Vincent dePaul Society’s Work

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hrist encourages us to find Him in disguise when we follow His Corporal Works of Mercy. We are asked, among other practices, to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and give alms to the poor. Here at St. Peter Parish, we can find and serve Christ by contributing to the St. Vincent dePaul Society (SVdP), and especially during the “Give to Lincoln Day” sponsored by the Lincoln Community Foundation.

St. Peter Parish is one of 12 parish members of the Lincoln Council of St. Vincent dePaul. Each parish has a St. Vincent dePaul Society conference — Larry Ellerbeck serves as Vice President of the Council and Mike Riordan is our conference President.

“Give to Lincoln Day” is set for May 7 through May 25, when donors can go online at www.lcf.org to contribute to the non-profit of their choice. The Lincoln SVdP Council is among the non-profits and will get a proportional share of the contributions from a matching fund overseen by the foundation. This particular event is one of the Society’s biggest fundraisers.

To put the funds we give in perspective, our contri-

butions to the St. Vincent dePaul Society helped about 1,000 families in need during 2020.

“We have a call center on N. 38th Street and in 2020 we had a total of 2,098 calls,” Larry says. “About 40-50 percent of the help went to rent and utilities, and that is only a portion of what we provide.”

The Society, in normal times, provides “boots on the continued on page 5

Totus Tuus BRINGS THE FAITH AND “THE MOST I

FUN WEEK OF THE YEAR ” TO PARISH YOUTH THIS SUMMER

t has certainly been a long and challenging year for our parish youth and parents alike — but as we look forward to the summer, we can also look forward to some of our favorite activities and events making a return. We are especially excited to announce that St. Peter Parish will once again hold Totus Tuus this summer the week of June 6-11.

This promises to be a week that will help our young people develop their friendship with Jesus Christ so He can lead them to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit!

It is a fast-paced week full of activities that Lynette McArdle, our Religious Education Director, calls “the most fun week of the year!”

“I love the week of Totus Tuus!” Lynette says. “It is me spending time with a few hundred of my favorite friends. I enjoy meeting and working with the Totus Tuus team and have as much fun as the kids.”

Although the pandemic led to the cancellation of Totus Tuus last year, this summer’s program will get underway with some changes to maintain the safety and health of all. All state and local recommendations will be followed.

“Totus Tuus” is Latin for “Totally Yours,” and it was the motto of St. John Paul II. The motto was taken from the great work, True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort.

“The motto represents our desire to give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ through the hands of His Immaculate Mother,” Lynette says.

The Totus Tuus curriculum consists of a theme and one set of Mysteries of the Rosary. This year, the theme will be the Ten Commandments and the Mysteries will be the Glorious Mysteries. There are two sessions, according to age. Students entering ninth grade through college freshmen will meet from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on

Sunday through Thursday, June 6-10. Students entering first through eighth grades will attend from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Monday through Friday, June 7-11. All students are to bring a daily lunch.

Teams of trained college students and seminarians will be leading the sessions. St. Peter’s has two teams scheduled — each team consists of four college students, one of which is a seminarian.

The day sessions for the younger students will include a large-group gathering with the Rosary mystery of the day. There will be a short teaching session, a snack break, and another short teaching session. The students will attend Mass, then have lunch and a recess. A short teaching session and a large-group gathering will end the day.

During the evening sessions, there will be short presentations and discussions.

“It is a great opportunity to talk to college students about their experiences,” Lynette says.

The fee for Totus Tuus is inexpensive, compared to other summer camps, and provides the opportunity for our youth to learn more about their Catholic faith through catechesis, evangelization, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship.

The students will experience devotion and love for the Lord in the Eucharist and for the Blessed Mother.

Totus Tuus relies on donations to supplement the team’s income. Their week goes beyond leading the sessions. They arrive Saturday afternoon to meet with Lynette. They also speak at all the weekend Masses before they begin to set up and prepare to teach that evening, as well as the week ahead. At the end of the week, they travel on Saturday to the next location on a schedule that runs for seven weeks during the summer.

Registration for Totus Tuus is ongoing. Registration forms may be found on the parish website, www.saintpeterslincoln.com. Volunteers may be needed to house and feed the team members.

High school students may volunteer during the daytime for service hours. For more information, or to volunteer please contact Lynette McArdle at lynette-mcardle@cdolinc.net, or call 402-328-2866.

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A LETTER FROM OUR PASTOR

PENTECOST THE “BIRTH” OF STEWARDSHIP

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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s we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost on May 23, which is one of the most significant events in the life of the Church, I can’t help but relate the outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the first disciples as “the birth of stewardship.”

As a stewardship parish, we have come to understand it in our personal lives and our parish life as the work of the Holy Spirit, active and inspiring us to be the disciples Jesus called us to be, just as He did those very first disciples. It just makes sense to once again realize and acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit in our decisions to be authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.

As every parent knows, birth brings new life to every family, and the “birth of stewardship” here in our parish has brought new life to us, personally and communally, and continues to do so. We had a “Pentecost event” when the message of stewardship was first brought to our parish, and it hasn’t been the same since. Many curious people of our parish and from around the country ask the question, “How did all of this begin?” The only answer is, “moved by conversion, we knew stewardship was going to be the ‘plan’ for our future as disciples and as a parish.” It makes sense.

For some, like me, it took a conversion of sorts to move us from unbelievers to believers, and from fear or suspicion to courage and confidence in the values and ideals of stewardship. Reading the accounts of the Acts of the Apostles, it wasn’t much different for them. Their experience is our experience and continues to encourage us to be open to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

That “Spirit” renews the “Pentecost event” in each of

us, as we practice discipleship as we know it through the stewardship way of life.

Also, as with each new birth, the life that begins needs to be nourished, nurtured and loved. Through our understanding of the four pillars of parish stewardship — hospitality, prayer, formation and service — we each are called to nourish, nurture and love our parish family with the gifts we bring to each other.

And without ever really knowing how much of an impact we have on each other’s spiritual lives, we trust the Holy Spirit to continue the “good work of faithful stewardship” in each of us and to those around us. Isn’t that what the first Pentecost event started, and isn’t that what you see in our parish, especially since our own “birth of stewardship”?

God has blessed our parish family and continues to do so, as the Holy Spirit continues to pour out gifts upon us and send us forth to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. As we grow and mature in our stewardship efforts, how fortunate we are that the stewardship way of life has become our way of life. May we always give thanks to God for the Holy Spirit’s gift to each of us — for, when we do, it seems only natural to be inspired to live discipleship as it was intended to be lived in the first disciples and in each of us.

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor 3

S t. pet er C atholic Ch ur ch

ST. PETER

SC

INSPIRES STUDENTS TO BECOM

Sr. Mary Michael surprises the students with a visit from a llama. The llama was part of the Mission Carnival a couple of years ago, when sixth-graders created a “kiss the llama” booth to help raise funds for Mary’s Meals.

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n 1979, St. Pope John Paul II spoke at the National Catholic Education Association, emphasizing the importance of Catholic education in evangelization and discipleship: “Catholic education is above all a question of communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others.”

While over 40 years have passed since St. John Paul II spoke these words, the message remains ever true today. Our Catholic schools are called to provide young people with both a solid academic education and a strong spiritual formation as disciples of Christ.

Here at St. Peter School, our faculty and staff are dedicated to both of these missions, with a special emphasis on stewardship as a way of life.

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“On Fridays, the students are encouraged to bring in canned food for the poor and collections for the Holy Child Association,” says Sister Mary Michael, St. Peter School Principal. “Our sixth-graders put on a mission carnival each year during Catholic Schools Week and raise money for Mary’s Meals. Another thing we do, to help them learn that we return to God all of the things we receive, is we have them tithe their Halloween candy – one-tenth comes back to school and goes to Catholic Social Service. All students also have service hours that they do throughout the course of the year.”

Of course, giving of their time, talent and treasure comes naturally to these children as a result of the firm foundation in the faith they receive on a daily basis. Religion classes are a part of the core curriculum for all grades. In addition, students attend Mass and confession regularly, the school’s morning announcements always include prayer, and each day concludes with a brief examination of conscience.

St. Peter School recognizes that no child is too young to begin learning about God’s love and call to serve.

“Children have such an aptitude for developing a relationship with God, and we’re capitalizing on that in a big way with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd,” Sr. Mary Michael says. “We have a beautiful atrium downstairs and our Pre-K, kindergartners and secondgraders are going weekly. The program builds some of that potential for a deep trust in the Lord and a sound foundation in the Father’s love.

“It’s easy to follow His rules when we know His love and there is not a host of temptations around us,” she adds. “You don’t want to try to do that for the first time when they are deep into adolescence. A little bit of discipline and learning your prayers become a part of the fabric of the person.”

Sr. Mary Michael has been a part of life at St. Peter continued on page 5

CHOOL

E LOVING DISCIPLES OF CHRIST School off and on for almost 30 years. She served as Principal of St. Peter School for nine years before leaving for nine years of vocation work in the early 2000s. Now in her ninth year back at the school, she feels blessed to be a part of this essential work of the Church.

“It’s phenomenal to have such beautiful, meaningful work in such an important apostolate in the Church,” she says. “The school creates a soundness of foundation so that kids can be free as is proper to childhood and engage in learning. It’s a beautiful and generally a joyful, peaceful place here.

As you train them when they are young, so they are when they are old.”

If you would like more information about St. Peter School, please visit the school website at www.saintpeterslincoln.com/school.html.

“GIVE T O LINCOLN DAY” ground” help by taking food and other help to callers’ homes. The Society works with Catholic Social Services to provide items, such as furniture, or whatever the callers’ needs are. There are also occasions when the Society partners with the Salvation Army or the Community Action Council to meet needs.

“We work with Catholic Social Services to provide food,” Larry says. “They have a pantry, and our volunteers can access it to get baskets of food whenever it is needed.”

Contributions that we make to the Society here at St.

continued from front cover Peter all help with these needs, but sometimes additional funds are needed.

“That’s why this ‘Give to Lincoln Day’ is an important fundraiser,” Larry says.

Not only does donating to “Give to Lincoln Day” help the St. Vincent dePaul Society’s work, but it also is an opportunity to live in stewardship.

“Stewardship has always been the case for the St. Vincent dePaul Society,” Larry says. “The intention of the donations or what we do also fulfills our Godly needs and helps the poor.”

Our parishioners are always welcome to join the St. Peter Parish conference.

For information about joining, please consult a weekly bulletin.

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S t . P eter ’ s

PARISH MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE:

Ensuring Good Stewardship of Our Parish Home

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had Hartwick was working as a maintenance supervisor for an apartment building in downtown Lincoln and knew that he needed a change.

“I enjoyed what I was doing, but I had been wanting to work for the church in some capacity for a number of years,” Chad says. “My wife mentioned this job, so I applied, and the rest is history.”

Since June of 2018, Chad has been the Lead Custodian at St. Peter Parish, and he and his family are parishioners of St. Leo’s Parish in Palmyra. Part of Chad’s position at St. Peter’s includes working with the Parish Maintenance Committee.

The Parish Maintenance Committee maintains the parish property and studies the necessity or advisability of certain building projects. Many of the current members are parishioners who are actively giving their time, talent and treasure in other capacities in the faith community.

“Parishioners with experience in buildings and ground maintenance and an interest in repairs around the church, offices and rectory are encouraged to join,” Chad says.

For Chad, keeping the church and its grounds beautiful is so important because the church is like a “King’s

throne room here on earth.”

“The throne of our King should be beautiful and awe-inspiring, causing our focus to draw upwards towards Him,” Chad says. “With that in mind, it is important to keep it as nice as we can and to be good stewards of all that our Lord has blessed us with.”

Many members of the Parish Maintenance Committee have volunteered and stepped up to help maintain the parish and its property.

In recent months, Chad has

been working with parishioner Raul Saavedra on this ministry and beginning this summer, there will be coordinated workdays. To begin, the focus will be on outdoor projects.

“Raul is planning to start a schedule of workdays to go through the flowerbeds and landscaping and to keep up with it through the growing season,” Chad says. “I hope, with the help of Raul and the committee, to look at some other areas of the church’s exterior and grounds, and start coming up with a game plan for upkeep and repairs if needed.”

Part of maintaining what the Lord has blessed us with includes caring for the inside and the outside of the church buildings, and the Parish Maintenance Ministry offers faith community members the opportunity to act as stewards in the beautification of our church property.

“It is important to keep the outside of the church beautiful because it gives us pause to note the work of the Creator and helps to draw us in,” Chad says. “That is how we transition from our busy lives to beginning to settle down internally and physically to focus on God.”

If you would like more information about the Parish Maintenance Committee, please reach out to Chad Hartwick at 402-423-1239, ext. 109, or chad-hartwick@cdolinc.net.

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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.

O U R A N N U A L S T. P E T E R PA R I S H F U N D R A I S E R

This adults-only, once-a-year event is worth scheduling your summer plans around.

Huge outdoor tents, lights, beer garden, music, games, food, drinks, as well as a silent and live auction. Mark your calendar for Friday, June 11th and come have a great time supporting your parish.

We look forward to seeing you there!