Holy Cross School Second Graders "Time Travel" to Turn-of-the-Century Belgian Farm

Pictures and descriptions submitted by Sr. Carolyn Zahringer.

On September 25, 2007 the second grade class from Holy Cross School was bussed to Heritage Hill to take a giant leap back in time. We found ourselves in the early 1900's, experiencing life on a Belgian Farm.

The students enjoyed taking part in the daily tasks of grinding corn to make corn flour and corn meal for baking; they also enjoyed making, washing and tasting fresh butter.

The students walked a lot and learned much about the day to day challenges to survive for the Belgian immigrants who came to our area.

Immigration routes and the sorts of things immigrants were able to bring with them on the ship were discussed.

Taking time to play with "non-electronic toys" were among the highlights of the visit. For more information about Heritage Hill State Historical Park visit: www.heritagehillgb.org/.

About Holy Cross School

Located on the growing northeast side of Green Bay, Holy Cross School has been in existence for 139 years and has an enrollment of 160 students in grades EC3 to 8th grade. The school educates children within the Catholic faith and provides them with opportunities to develop the values, attitudes and skills that will enable them to become vital members of the community. For more information about Holy Cross School, please call 920.468.0625 or check out all the Holy Cross School blog posts by clicking here.

Pope names Archbishop Dolan as Administrator of Green Bay Diocese

From a press release on the Green Bay Diocese Website:

GREEN BAY, Wis. (Sept. 28, 2007) -- The Most Reverend Robert F. Morneau, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, and other diocesan leaders offered reflections about the appointment of the Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Green Bay.

“On behalf of the Diocese of Green Bay, I warmly welcome the Archbishop as our Administrator and look forward to working with him to continue to advance God’s mission in this Diocese,” said Bishop Morneau, who is the pastor of Resurrection Parish in Allouez and a member of several key advisory councils for the Diocese.

Also extending a welcome to Archbishop Dolan were Deacon Timothy Reilly, Diocesan Director of Administration, and Father John Doerfler, Diocesan Chancellor, who will work closely with the Archbishop on the day-to-day operations, especially the major initiatives that are underway.

Deacon Reilly gave five examples.“We have begun Wave III of our diocesan-wide Advancing the Mission Stewardship Campaign. We are rolling out a three-year education plan for religious education and Catholic schools with the involvement of numerous diocesan-wide committees and all 160 parishes. We are fully engaged in the Faith Alive project for collaborative ministry in the Greater Green Bay Area. Catholic Charities is in the midst of the re-accreditation process. And we have implemented a balanced budget for the third consecutive year,” said Deacon Reilly.

No one knows for certain when the Holy Father will name the 12th Bishop of Green Bay; however, Father Doerfler said Catholics should expect little or no interruptions in the Diocese’s day-to-day pastoral ministry support to parishes and schools as well as its administrative operations. For example, all major liturgical celebrations such as Confirmations will proceed as scheduled, and all diocesan boards of directors will continue to operate uninterrupted since their bylaws allow for an administrator to lead while the diocese is vacant.

Archbishop Dolan, age 57, has been the leader of the Archdiocese since Aug. 28, 2002. Ordained a priest in 1976, he worked as an associate pastor for several years in Missouri before earning a doctorate from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He has served the Catholic Church on the national level, first as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C., (1987-1992), then as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome (1994-2001). On the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood he was named the Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis.

Read Archbishop Dolan's letter to the Faithful by clicking here. For more information about the Green Bay Diocese, check out www.gbdioc.org.

Holy Cross Faith Formation News From Director, Marti Burkard

Faith Formation Classes Have Begun! Are You Registered?
Registration forms for the upcoming year have been mailed out and should be in your homes. If for some reason you have not received yours, and you would like to enroll your children, please call Marti in the Faith Formation Office at 468-6554. Please get your registration forms in immediately as classes have begun!

WEDNESDAY: Oct. 3 – Grades 2 – 6: 5:30 – 6:30pm
Grades 7 – 10: 6:45 – 8:00pm
SUNDAY: Oct. 7 – “I Am Special” Pre-School & Gr. 1: 10:00 – 11:00am (during Mass)

"I am Special" Pre-school Program
“I am Special” is a Sunday School Program for our 3, 4, & 5 yr. old children that takes place during the 10:00 liturgy. The children learn about Jesus, sing songs, pray, and make craft projects that are centered around a scripture theme. If you would like your child to participate in the “I Am Special” program please contact Marti in the Faith Formation Office at 468-6554. There is a fee of $85 per child.

Mark Your Calendars!
Confirmation Candidate/Parent Meeting
All students in Grades 11 & 12 and their parents are required to attend our Candidate/Parent Meeting on: Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 in the school gym.

First Reconciliation & First Communion Parent Meeting
All PARENTS with children in Gr. 2 in both the day school and faith formation program are required to attend our Parent / Guardian Orientation on: Thursday, Oct. 11 at 6:30pm in the school gym.

About Holy Cross Faith Formation
All children in the Holy Cross Parish Family have the right and opportunity to be educated in their faith. Children and young adults often have questions about God. The Holy Cross Parish Faith Formation program works with parents to answer these questions and to bring our young people into a closer relationship with God; a relationship which motivates them to make good moral decisions in order to live Christ-like lives.

To read all Faith Formation blog posts, click here. To download Faith Formation Registration forms click on the links listed beneath Faith Formation Contact Information on the right hand side of the blog.

SCRIP Program in Need of Volunteers after Weekend Masses

The Holy Cross Family SCRIP program has a BIG need for volunteers to sell SCRIP after Mass on the weekends. SCRIP volunteer, Jan Kratz said sales are down nearly $2000/week because there are not enough volunteers to make SCRIP available to parishioners at all of the weekend Masses. The time commitment is minimal, usually once a month for a half hour to 45 minutes.

The SCRIP program brought in $13,000.00 for Holy Cross Parish last year! Please consider helping out--call Lori Bultman at 866.2778 or Jan Kratz at 468.3517.

What is SCRIP? When you purchase scrip from Holy Cross Parish, you are purchasing negotiable gift certificates that are used just like cash. The SCRIP is issued by the national and local retailers where many of you probably already shop. These merchants want to support non-profit organizations, and in return ask you to support them by shopping with SCRIP at their stores. You can use SCRIP to purchase everyday expenses like food, clothing, and other essentials, and with every purchase, they earn revenue for Holy Cross Parish.

For those interested in purchasing SCRIP, order forms can be printed from the Holy Cross Family Blogspot. Click on "SCRIP Order Form" underneath "Holy Cross Parish Contact Information" on the right hand side of the blog. You can also click on "Complete List of SCRIP Retailers" to see the complete list of participating SCRIP businesses. SCRIP is generally sold after most weekend Masses at Holy Cross Parish.

Meet the Teacher: Mrs. Mary Lardinois, Spanish

Educational Background: graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a teaching degree in Spanish and English.

Teaching Experience: has taught students in Wautoma, Kaukauna, DePere and Green Bay from pre-school age thru adult.

Number of years at Holy Cross School: first year

Spanish Class at Holy Cross: teaches all of the students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Mondays and Wednesdays are Spanish lesson days. All students have Spanish names they respond to in class.

Mrs. Lardinois commented on her classes: "I am happy to report that the kindergarten students enjoyed playing a color matching game on Monday, September 24th. They also are very good singers and can really belt out the refrains of a few songs in Spanish already. Grades 1 and 2 have started to learn their colors also. Grades 3, 4 and 5 are very proficient in their counting of numbers in Spanish. We have just begun with our color vocabulary. Soon everybody will be describing the color of their clothing in Spanish. Grades 6, 7 and 8 will be writing and speaking in Spanish about various items of colorful clothing."

What she likes about Holy Cross School: the students are enthusiastic and very polite.

Free Time: She and her husband Fran have three grown children: Aimee, Holly and Paul. Her hobbies include tending to indoor plants and a small garden, reading and cooking. She also enjoys watching baseball games.

Young People Learn Stewardship through Holy Cross Parish Program

Today our young people are faced with multitude of influences; television, radio, CD’s the worldwide web, peer pressure, magazines, etc. – each forwarding their own agenda; sometimes positive, sometimes dubious. But where is God in all of this?

Our Holy Cross Youth Stewardship Program is a tool available for us to help teach the basics of stewardship to our youth. Stewardship is a decision we make to live as Christians and to thank God for all of His blessings by helping to take care of the church and the world on behalf of God. Stewardship is often touched upon throughout the Bible and in our faith formation process; the Youth Stewardship Program will help bring all of these teachings together.

We invite all of our Holy Cross youth to use the stewardship envelopes that will be sent home weekly in both our Faith Formation Program and in our Day School. They are designed to be used by your children as a way to encourage them to share their time, talent, and treasure with others. This program will make our youth mindful that our obligation to God does not end after religion classes, or as they walk out of Church. This program will stimulate awareness of the many ways each of us can give back to our community. Below are some examples of ways we can be good stewards of God’s gifts on a regular basis:

~ Stewardship of TIME involves: volunteering time helping with community and church activities, promoting justice, sharing love, participating at Mass praying, and enriching the lives of other around you by giving of your time.

~Stewardship of TALENT involves: using skills to help others understand God’s Word, drawing, singing, writing, playing an instrument of others, baking for others, gardening, fixing things, helping siblings and friends with school work, and using your mind and strengths to help others.

~Stewardship of TREASURE involves: using resources wisely, taking care of things, sharing bit of my earnings, learning the difference between what I need and what I want, donating outgrown clothes and toys to others in need, sharing possessions.

Our youth can participate in the offering at Mass by reflecting on their week, completing the envelope, and placing it in the collection basket each week. Consistency is the key with this program. Some of our youth’s contributions will be printed in this bulletin each week in the “Youth Stewardship Corner” PLEASE READ THEM, and have your children read them – it will make us ALL proud!

Parish and parental involvement is crucial in implementing this program. We congratulate all of our parishioners and parents who take time to become involved in the spiritual growth of the children of Holy Cross Parish. Thank you for your own example, and for giving good direction to the future leaders of Holy Cross Parish and the Church!

About Holy Cross Faith Formation
All children in the Holy Cross Parish Family have the right and opportunity to be educated in their faith. Children and young adults often have questions about God. The Holy Cross Parish Faith Formation program works with parents to answer these questions and to bring our young people into a closer relationship with God; a relationship which motivates them to make good moral decisions in order to live Christ-like lives.

To read all Faith Formation blog posts, click here. To download Faith Formation Registration forms click on the links listed beneath Faith Formation Contact Information on the right hand side of the blog.

About Holy Cross School

Located on the growing northeast side of Green Bay, Holy Cross School has been in existence for 139 years and has an enrollment of 160 students in grades EC3 to 8th grade. The school educates children within the Catholic faith and provides them with opportunities to develop the values, attitudes and skills that will enable them to become vital members of the community.

To read all Holy Cross School blog posts click here. To learn more about Holy Cross School, click on the links located beneath "Holy Cross School Contact Information" on the right hand side of the blog.

For more information about the Catholic Church's teaching on stewardship click here.

September 22/23, 2007: From the Pastor's Desk...

My Dear Parishioners,

As I indicated to you in a previous bulletin I am back East for two weeks visiting my family.

October 21, 2007 marks the 75th anniversary of the dedication of our present church. It is an event worthy of celebration. The following information has been provided by a long time parishioner, Rosie VanderKelen:

Please join us on October 21st as we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Dedication of our present church building. The event will feature A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST book-signing by Pauline LaFrombois. Join her during this special 75th anniversary celebration here at Holy Cross Church

Holy Cross wishes to commemorate the original generosity towards building this church of the following (from the original plaque in vestibule of our church):

Mr. Henry Baenen
Mr. George Denis
Mr. Cornelius Reynen
Miss Dora Busch
Mr. Peter Draise
Mr. Albert Rousseau
Mr. Albert Champeau
Mr. Joseph De Groot
Mr. Mike Strebel
Mr. George Corsten
Rev. J.W. DeVries
Mr. Henry Van Lanen
Mr. Andrew Corsten
Mrs. Marie Fuller
Mr. Bernard Van Lanen
Mr. Herman Corsten
Mr. John Jacobs
Mr. Henry B. Van Lanen
Mr. Jacob Cranen Sr.
Mr. Arthur La Plante
Mr. Ben Van Lanen
Mr. Frank Cranen
Marchant Brothers
Mr. Martin Van Lanen
Mr. Edward Denis
Mr. Geo Morrison
Mr. Wm. Van Lieshout

Many family members of these individuals, and other parishioners at the time, are still parishioners today.

Holy Cross was established in 1852 by Fr. Daems. Present church cornerstone laid March 27, 1932 by Fr. De Vries; dedication October 4, 1932

If you are interested in assisting with preparations for this celebration, please contact Rosie VanderKelen at 468-6118 or Leland Baenen at 866-2658.

Oremus pro invicem,
Fr. Tom

Holy Cross School Students Learn Life Skills on 'The Courses' Field Trip

Photos and field trip description submitted by Mr. Jason Johnson.

On September 13th the Holy Cross 5th-8th grade classes participated in "The Courses" field trip in New Franken, Wisconsin.

Students and teachers were presented with a number of challenges to help build teamwork and self-confidence.

Holy Cross students tested themselves mentally and physically, as they traversed through an obstacle course over water and land.

It was a beautiful day, loaded with lots of fun, exercise, and bonding.


Located on the growing northeast side of Green Bay, Holy Cross School has been in existence for 139 years and has an enrollment of 160 students in grades EC3 to 8th grade. The school educates children within the Catholic faith and provides them with opportunities to develop the values, attitudes and skills that will enable them to become vital members of the community. For more information about Holy Cross School, please call 920.468.0625 or check out all the Holy Cross School blog posts by clicking here.

Faith Alive Education Committee Sets Goals for Coming Year

From a press release on the Green Bay Diocese website:
The coming year promises to be an ambitious one for the newly formed Faith Alive education committee for the Greater Green Bay Area. At the initial meeting earlier this month, the 24-member panel tentatively set four goals:

1. To update data gathered during the 2005 and 2006 planning processes. The data will touch on subject matters such as demographics (number of parish families and school enrollment) as well as tuition trends. The data will be an important building block as planning progresses for the new Catholic school system in the Greater Green Bay Area.

2. To review and expand its study of successful Catholic school systems in this Diocese and elsewhere.

3. To develop three to four school system models. The models will be presented for feedback to the 23 participating parish communities. The number of models will be narrowed to two and, after more feedback, then one.

4. To identify as soon as possible what, if any, noticeable changes will be implemented during the 2008-09 school year so that parents can make enrollment decisions in a timely manner.

"There is a lot of work ahead of us but I believe the committee is up to the task," says Mark Salisbury, diocesan superintendent of schools and temporary coordinator of the project.

Earlier this year, Bishop David A. Zubik approved the concept to create a Catholic school system for the Greater Green Bay Area. It will serve the 11 Catholic elementary schools whose enrollment is approximately 3,000 (preK to grade 8) and Notre Dame de la Baie Academy’s 730 students. The system will be fully operational no later than the 2012-2013 school year.

Catholic school education is one of two components of the Faith Alive project which was designed to more effectively deliver Catholic ministries and services in the Greater Green Bay Area. The other component is parish-based ministries which includes Adult Faith Formation, Evangelization, Pastoral Care, Peace and Justice, Prayer and Worship, Religious Education for Children, Stewardship, and Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

One of many responsibilities Salisbury has in this project is to work with parish, school and diocesan leaders to form committees composed of key stakeholders as well as people who can lend an expertise to areas such as curriculum, technology, finances, planning, marketing and development.

"As we looked at potential committee members, we worked hard to involve people who can bring skills in addition to representing one or more of our key constituents, such as pastors, principals, teachers, parents and parishioners," says Salisbury. "While there are two appointments that still need to be filled, I think we are accomplishing our goal to have a diverse and effective committee."

The full slate of committee members will be released in September when the final two members are on board.

At this month’s meeting, the committee also discussed certain deliverables such as ensuring that the project is a grassroots effort; that the new school system is accessible to all families regardless of income or location; that the funding of the system is fair to all parishes; that the system delivers a Catholic education that is even better than what is currently offered; and that the school system is a good partner in each parish’s ministerial goals.

The committee is scheduled to meet again on Oct. 9. Progress reports will be given to parishes to print in their weekly bulletins and will be posted to the diocesan web site (http://www.gbdioc.org/) and the diocesan newspaper, The Compass.

The Faith Alive process began a year ago. It examined all parish ministries, including Catholic schools, offered by the Green Bay area parishes. Hundreds of parish leaders and laity from all 23 parishes in the Greater Green Bay Area participated through meetings, discussions and surveys.

Becky Kaye, Holy Cross School BOCE President, is the Holy Cross representative on the Faith Alive Education Steering Committee. If you have further questions or comments, please e-mail her at: cbkaye@centurytel.net.

Holy Cross Faith Formation News From Director, Marti Burkard

First Reconciliation & First Communion Parent Meeting
All PARENTS with children in Gr. 2 in both the day school and faith formation program are required to attend our Parent / Guardian Orientation on: Thursday, Oct. 11 at 6:30pm in the school gym.

Confirmation Candidate/Parent Meeting
All students in Grades 11 & 12 and their parents are required to attend our Candidate / Parent Meeting on: Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 in the school gym.

Faith Formation classes have begun! Are you registered?
Registration forms for the upcoming year have been mailed out and should be in your homes. If for some reason you have not received yours, and you would like to enroll your children, please call Marti in the Faith Formation Office at 468-6554. Please get your registration forms in immediately as classes have begun!

WEDNESDAY: Sept. 26 – Grades 2 – 6: 5:30 – 6:30pm
Grades 7 – 10: 6:45 – 8:00pm
SUNDAY: Sept. 30 – Pre-school, Kindergarten & Gr. 1: 10:00 – 11:00am (during Mass)

About Holy Cross Faith Formation
All children in the Holy Cross Parish Family have the right and opportunity to be educated in their faith. Children and young adults often have questions about God. The Holy Cross Parish Faith Formation program works with parents to answer these questions and to bring our young people into a closer relationship with God; a relationship which motivates them to make good moral decisions in order to live Christ-like lives.

To read all Faith Formation blog posts, click here. To download Faith Formation Registration forms click on the links listed beneath Faith Formation Contact Information on the right hand side of the blog.

Holy Cross School News from Principal Robin Jensen

BOOK OF INTENTIONS:
I am happy to announce that we have added a Holy Cross School “Book of Intentions” that will be kept on the prayer table in the main lobby of the school. Weekly, we will pray for these intentions from our school family as part of our afternoon daily prayer. I encourage our students and their families to enter their special intentions in the book at any time, knowing that your school family will be praying for your needs.

BELLIN RUN RESULTS-from Mrs. Martin:
Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the Kids for Running and ran in the Bellin Run in June. We had 32 kids, in grades 3-8, along with 18 adults, including Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, participate in the run. A good time was had by all, and the kids all did a fabulous job! A big thank you goes out to all of the adult trainers who helped with this program – you are an inspiration to our kids! Also, thank you to Sylvia Corbeil, who donated her time to drive everyone to the race! Please think about getting involved with this great program next spring. There will be more information coming after the first of the year. Once again, the kids that participated should be very proud of themselves. It is quite an accomplishment to say that you ran 6.1 miles!! WAY TO GO TEAM HOLY CROSS!!


CONGRATULATIONS SUPER SUMMER READERS!
Congratulations to our Holy Cross students that participated in the Green Bay Press Gazette Super Summer Reader Program. We are very proud of these students and their commitment to making reading an important part of their summer days!

MILEAGE CLUB:
I am happy to report that we have reinstituted our Mileage Club walking program! The students will be able to log miles during their recess times. Miss Barrett has graciously volunteered to coordinate this program! The students are out there walking as I type my letter. They absolutely love this program as does their Principal! What a perfect example of wellness and fitness for our students!

CATHOLIC VIRTUE EDUCATION, A Faith Based Character Development Program:
As we begin our new faith based character education program this school year, we will be focusing on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The Fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.”

The virtue/fruit that we are studying in September is Self-Control. The faculty and staff are working with the children to define what self-control means to each of them, and how learning to have self-control can help us to live more like Jesus did. I strongly encourage you to reinforce our new program at home and to discuss the particular virtues that your children are learning about this year, with them in the home setting.

C-A-R-E
At our Opening of the School Year Assembly last Tuesday, September 4th, I discussed with the students my expectations for the new school year. We reviewed Attitude, Respect and Effort and talked about how important those three things are to be happy and successful each day. I then told the children that we would be adding a new letter to our acronym that we have all become so familiar with. I asked that we add the letter “C”. The C represents “Conversation with God”, which Fr. Tom has taught us is Prayer. Our theme for the year is “C-A-R-E”: Conversation with God, Attitude, Respect and Effort. I can’t think of an easier way to remember what is vital to each of us, students, faculty, staff, and family, to have a successful school year!

May God Bless You Always,

Robin Jo Jensen

September 15/16 From the Pastor's Desk....

My Dear Parishioners,

Thank you for your warm welcome to Msgr. Kevin last weekend. A special thank you to George and Linda Glenn who picked up Msgr. at St Norbert Abbey and were his Holy Cross Hosts on Saturday, taking him around Green Bay to see the important sights and then to dinner. Thank you also to Sylvia and Richard Corbeill who hosted Msgr. Kevin on Sunday. Thank all of you for your contributions to the Cooperative Mission Appeal.

I enjoyed a weekend off, but not really, because last weekend I cooked the “Holy Cross School Auction Dinner”. A good time was had by all and I hope that they enjoyed the dinner. The School Auction this past year raised more than $60,000.00 for our school and all who worked on it spent a great deal of time and talent in preparation. I suggest that you consider attending this coming year’s School Auction, as it is indeed a marvelous event, for a good cause , and you will have a wonderful time. Trust me on this one.

This weekend you will have the opportunity to hear two members of our parish family. First Joe Thibaudeau, our Parish Financial Trustee, who will report to you on the financial state of our parish. He has also prepared a brief printed summary which is enclosed with the parish bulletin. As your pastor, one of my major goals from the very beginning of my ministry here was to bring our parish financial procedures into complete compliance with the diocesan directives, and we have just about completed that goal. We have had a diocesan audit this past year and have come through it with flying colors , so to speak. We have accomplished a great deal these past four years with much thanks to our financial committee. I myself do not like to ask people for money but I would like to ask each of you to seriously consider your annual contribution to the parish in the light of increasing costs of medical, energy and the ordinary costs of running an institution. I can assure you that your contribution to your parish is wisely spent and that we try to keep costs down.

Our second speaker will be Marty, our new faith formation Director who will speak with you about our Faith Formation Program for our children and young adults and what we hope for the future. Marty is dynamic and full of energy and I know you will want to give her your complete and total support.

For your information I will be gone from the parish from after the 10 o’clock Mass this weekend until Monday, October 1st. My sister Jean Vickers had a very serious accident a month ago and so my Brother Bob is flying in from Salt Lake City, Utah this week and together we are driving to Longport , N.J. (Atlantic City area) to spend time with her and her husband as she recovers. It will also serve as a home visit for me with my family as I have not been with them for more than a year and a half. I ask your continued prayers for my older sister and for a safe journey for me and my brother.

While I am gone Deacon Dick will provide Communion services in place of daily Mass and of course please know that my cell phone is on National Service and you can reach me anytime by dialing 920-619-7844. Please do not hesitate to call should you feel it to be necessary.

Oremus pro invicem,
Fr Tom

Book Review: Ponder Life’s Basic Questions with Joan Chittister

By Jean Peerenboom

“Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You” by Joan Chittister (Eerdmans Publishing Co., $20)

“How do you slow to a walk a world on a headlong plunge toward chaos?”

Joan Chittister caught my attention with that question in her latest book, “Welcome to the Wisdom of the World.” There are many days when I want to shout, “Stop the world and let me off.” Life has become too hectic. I want more time to think and reflect.

This book gave me that opportunity and I loved it.

Chittister explores the most basic questions of all humans: Why was I born? Why does life feel so hectic? How do I know the right thing to do? How do I know who to follow? Where did I lose my idealism? Where is God? Why get up in the morning? What’s important in life?

She answers the many questions based on insights from different cultures throughout history and through different faith traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

She is a gifted storyteller and uses that talent to explore spirituality. She addresses some of the most challenging, yet basic issues: ambition, security, romance, abandonment, failure, loneliness. She ably explores the dilemmas and challenges we all face. The questions are ones we all ask at one time or another.

She doesn’t preach or dictate; she gently leads to a conclusion that the reader is free to accept or reject. She makes it all seem so easy, so logical, so simple.

Chittister has been a favorite writer of mine for several years. I fell in love with her writing and the church after reading “In Search of Belief.” I was transformed by her intensely personal memoir “Called to Question” and her “Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope.”

“Wisdom” is less personal. It isn’t her spirituality she writes about, but OUR spirituality. We can find truth in the wisdom of our human past and can make connections through our differences.

As I closed the book, I was left to wonder about why we all can’t just get along. There are so many similarities when we simply look at each other as one of God’s children.

“Welcome to the Wisdom of the World” is an uplifting read.

Next: “Growing an Engaged Church” by Albert Winseman

Book notes: To see the latest bestseller list from St. Catherine's Book Shop, click here. To read all of Jean Peerenboom's book reviews, click here.

Jean Peerenboom is the former religion/books editor from the Green Bay Press Gazette. Jean is currently the volunteer coordinator at the NEW Community Shelter, 301 Mather St., Green Bay, and a candidate with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross. She writes a monthly book review for the Holy Cross Family Blogspot.

Holy Cross Parish to Celebrate Catechical Sunday on September 15th and 16th, 2007 at all Masses

CATECHESIS: Encountering the Living Christ

An East Coast Ivy League professor was teaching a university class and he told the class that he was going to prove there is no God. He said, “God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I’ll give you fifteen minutes!” Ten minutes went by, all the time the professor taunting God. “Here I am, God. I’m still waiting.” As the last minute approached, he smugly smiled. A young US Marine, just released from active duty and newly registered in the class, walked up to the professor and hit him full force on the chin, sending him flying from his platform and crashing to the floor. The professor struggled up, badly shaken, and yelled, “What’s the matter with you? Just what do you think you’re doing?” The Marine replied, “God was busy; he sent the Marines.”

It’s not because God is busy that he sends us to do his work, but because he wants us to share in the joy of living his life. And God’s work is about reminding us over and over again how much He loves us and how much love is multiplied when it is shared with others. It is with that conviction that our “battalion of catechists” marches in to the lives of our children and teens to share with them the power of God’s Good News. And on this annual Catechetical Sunday we support them with our admiration and gratitude.

So many of our Faith Formation teachers, Day School teachers, aides and volunteers have been witnessing to their faith in this way for years; it has simply become a way of life for them. While we welcome and gratefully acknowledge those who are new to this ministry this year, we are in awe of those who have come back once again, just as they have so many times before. All of you are a tremendous example of what it means to cherish the faith to a point of needing to share the energy faith creates with those who yearn to know of God’s love. It’s almost like you have no choice-the love for Christ and His Church builds up inside of you to such a point that it boils over into lives of service. And we stand in awe and thankfulness.

Under the leadership of Robin Jensen, myself, and with the guidance of our Board of Christian Education, our program of religious instruction and faith formation rivals any in the diocese. We can be proud not only of its quality and comprehensiveness, but of the quality of volunteers it attracts to carry out its vision and focus. May your lives and ours be richly blessed for you’re willingness to live your faith.

God has truly sent you into our lives as a gift. Because you are on a mission, we are inspired to greatness as well.

God Bless You!
Ms. Marti Burkard
Faith Formation Coordinator
__________________________________________________________
CATECHETICAL SUNDAY
Commissioning and Blessing of
Students, Catechists, Parents and Assembly
Saturday, Sept. 15, 4:00pm Mass
Sunday, Sept. 16, 8:00 & 10:00am Mass
__________________________________________________________

We recognize and bless our Catechists who’ve responded to the call of Jesus to: “Go…and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt 28:19)

Holy Cross School to Offer Free Outdoor Family Movie Night

Pack up your family, lawn chairs, and blankets and enjoy a movie under the stars compliments of Holy Cross School FAST (Families and School Together)!

The annual Holy Cross Family Movie Night will take place at dusk (8 PM) on Friday, September 14 at Holy Cross School, 3002 Bay Settlement Road in Green Bay. The hit movie NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM will be showing on the big screen that will be stretched across the north side of the school. This event is free of charge and open to the public. The eighth grade class will be selling fresh, hot popcorn, a selection of sweets, and drinks to enhance your movie experience.

Family Movie Night is sponsored by Holy Cross FAST (Families and School Together). FAST is an committee run by parents that integrates the goals of home and school: to develop programs which provide for the spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth of each child. A sampling of events sponsored by Holy Cross FAST include the Artist/Expert in Residence program that featured paper mural artist Karen Christianson and a visit from members of the staff of the NEW Zoo.

Located on the growing northeast side of Green Bay, Holy Cross School has been in existence for 139 years and has an enrollment of 160 students in grades EC3 to 8th grade. The school educates children within the Catholic faith and provides them with opportunities to develop the values, attitudes and skills that will enable them to become vital members of the community. For more information about Holy Cross School, please call 920.468.0625 or check out the Holy Cross School blog posts by clicking here.

September 8/9, 2007 From the Pastor's Desk...

My Dear Parishioners,

This weekend we are participating in the annual “World Mission Appeal." This appeal helps and supports all those men and women who travel to far distant places in this world to bring the Good News of the Gospel to people who have never heard of Jesus. We welcome to Holy Cross parish Msgr. Kevin Akagha who comes to us from Nigeria. Msgr Kevin is the rector of a seminary in that country. The second collection this weekend is for the World Mission Appeal and envelopes are available in the pews. If you are not prepared to give this weekend you can always write a check and indicate in the Memo line “World Mission Appeal” and either drop it off at the rectory or place it in the collection basket next week.

Sunday, October 21st will mark the 75th Anniversary of the dedication of our present parish church. We would like to use that date to open a year long celebration of this anniversary. We can take a great deal of pride in the physical beauty of our church. Visitors always tell me how very blessed we are to have an edifice that is so beautiful and that promotes and supports not only our worship of God but also encourages us to be able to feel the very presence of Jesus Christ. Our church is truly a treasure which we must cherish and preserve but it is also something which leads us to “celebrate.”

This year we hope to publish a new Parish Pictorial Directory. As you may or may not know, this directory does not cost the parish anything. How it works is that the company, Olan Mills, comes here and takes pictures of our members and their families, puts together the directory and has them printed. They make their money in selling the pictures to individual families and parishioners. It is a great deal! With Christmas coming family and individual portraits would make a wonderful gift. I ask as many as possible to participate in the publishing of this book by being willing to have your individual/family picture taken.

You are under no obligation to purchase any pictures from the company but be willing to allow them to be published in our parish directory. I use the directory many times each day and our present one need updating as soon as possible.

Oremus pro invicem, Father Tom

Holy Cross Family Reaps the Benefits of SCRIP

SCRIP volunteer Jan Kratz passed along some creative ways that SCRIP has been used and points out how quickly the profits can add up for the church:

A parishioner recently purchased $2000.00 in Disney SCRIP for his family's trip to Disneyland. Disney gives back 7% of that purchase to the Holy Cross Community. The parish received $55.00, and the parishioner received an $86.00 credit on his daughter's Holy Cross School tuition bill AND enjoyed a great vacation with his family. Another customer this summer ordered $7500.00 for H.J. Martin to get new carpet in his home. The church received over $100.00 just from his order.

Jan suggested that everyone should check the special order form in the back room of Church to see just what Scrip offers. Its not just food and gas; its fun and travel and so very much more.

(Note: SCRIP order forms can also be printed from the Holy Cross Family Blogspot. Click on "SCRIP Order Form" underneath "Holy Cross Parish Contact Information" on the right hand side of the blog. You can also click on "Complete List of SCRIP Retailers" to see the complete list of participating SCRIP businesses.)

Faith Formation News from Director, Marti Burkard

CATECHETICAL SUNDAY NEXT WEEK!
As we begin these first few weeks of September, the shorter days remind us that school has once again started. We will celebrate the beginning of the new year in our Day School and in our Faith Formation classes next week on Sept. 16, which the church calls Catechetical Sunday. On this day we will recognize and bless our Catechists and teachers who’ve responded to the call of Jesus to “Go…and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:19)

REGISTRATIONS ARE PAST DUE!
Registration forms for the upcoming year have been mailed out and should be in your homes. If for some reason you have not received yours, and you would like to enroll your children, please call Marti in the Faith Formation Office at 468-6554. (Registration forms are available to print off on this blogspot under "Faith Formation Contact Information." Please get your registration forms in immediately as classes start next week!

FAITH FORMATION START-UP NEXT WEEK
PRE-SCHOOL: 3, 4, 5 yr. Olds: Sunday – Sept. 23, 10:00am – Held during the 10:00am Mass in the school.
GRADES 1 – 10: Parent Night – Wed. Sept. 19, 6:00-7:30pm in church

FAITH FORMATION CATECHIST IN-SERVICE NEXT WEEK
Required in-service for all Catechists on Wed. Sept. 12, 6 – 8pm in the school library.

ABOUT FAITH FORMATION
All children in the Holy Cross Parish Family have the right and opportunity to be educated in their faith. Children and young adults often have questions about God. The Holy Cross Parish Faith Formation program works with parents to answer these questions and to bring our young people into a closer relationship with God; a relationship which motivates them to make good moral decisions in order to live Christ-like lives.

Deacon Dick Nowak Reports on the Success of the 40 Hours Devotion

Many parishioners who attended the 40 Hours Devotion were uplifted by the solemnity and prayerfulness which this old tradition of the Church brought back to them. Many commented that the Music of Marcianne Hansen before and after Fr. Herring's reflections were excellent as was also the combined choirs of the youth choir and the senior choir under the direction Dr. Jim Gapinski, Ginny Lardoinois, and Music Director, Jeanne Piscke. All of these contributed a great gift to the Prayerfulness of the event. Fr. James Herring O.Praem was an excellent presider and Homilist with wholesome insight into the Meaning and Value of the Holy Eucharist in our lives today.

Thank you to all those who took advantage of the personal adoration hours -- 34 hours were completely signed up for, even the all night vigil hours, thanks to the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross who sent 12 of their community to be with us. Thank you also to our First Communion class of 2007, and their parent(s), the Eucharistic Ministers who serve us so faithfully each week, the Leadership Committee for Advancing the Mission, and last but not least Fr. Tom, our pastor who gave much support to yours truly.

Finally, on behalf of my wife and I, we want the entire Prayer Committee to know how much we valued and appreciated the many things each contributed: Marcianne and Jae Hansen , Virginia Moreau, Donna and Jerry Kapalin, Mary and Dan Ver Haag, Deacon Jim and Linn Heider, Ruth and Ken Deterville and Rosie VanderKelen. They put in nearly three months of work to make this all Possible.

May God Continue To Bless all on their Journey,
Deacon Dick and Joan

A WELCOME Message from Holy Cross School Principal, Robin Jensen

WELCOME TO THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR:
I am very much looking forward to our new school year! We have many new families enrolled in our school and we are blessed to welcome them into our school family! Please pray with me and ask our generous God to bless us with a wonderful school year filled with faith, learning, new friends, fun, new experiences and many good things.

I want to share with you, my philosophy and vision for the new school year. It is really very simple. It isn’t new; those of you who know me have heard it before. It is only one question that I ask of each student, parent, family, teacher, staff member and me as your administrator:

ARE you ready?

A=Attitude. Will you face each day and whatever it brings, with a positive, faith filled attitude?
R=Respect. Will you respect yourself and others in everything that you say and do and be open, understanding, tolerant and accepting of individual differences?
E=Effort. Will you put forth your best effort in all aspects of your life, to live the way Jesus would want you to?

I think that if we can remember to ask ourselves these questions, we can all, in our own individual way, make a difference in our school, our parish, our homes, our community and our world.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW FACULTY MEMBERS:
I would like to welcome four new members to our faculty:

Mrs. Michelle Jacques will be our new Early Childhood 4-Year-Old Instructor. Mrs. Jacques has an Associate Degree in Early Childhood/Child Care and has taught previously in the Diocese of Green Bay at Trinity Catholic School.

Mrs. Mary Lardinois will be our new Spanish Teacher. Mrs. Lardinois is a certified Spanish Teacher and has many years of experience teaching Spanish in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Green Bay.

Mrs. Deanna Schauer will be our new Computer/Technology Instructor. Mrs. Schauer has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a background in Computer Technology.

Mrs. Renee Zirbel is our new Art Teacher. Mrs. Zirbel is a certified Art Teacher with 12 years of teaching experience in the Diocese of Green Bay.

I am thrilled to have these outstanding teachers added to our Faculty team! They bring a wealth of experience and expertise to our school!

NEW FAITH FORMATION COORDINATOR:
I am very pleased to welcome Ms. Marti Burkard to our Parish leadership team as the new Faith Formation Coordinator. Ms. Burkard is very dedicated to the religious education of the young people in our parish. She is very dynamic and brings much experience to this position. I am sincerely looking forward to the awesome opportunities she has planned to strengthen the faith of the youth of Holy Cross.

OPENING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR MASS:
Our first all school mass will be held on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 8:00AM. This will be an outdoor mass, weather permitting. Please join us if you can!

LIBRARY HELP NEEDED:
Library will be held on Thursdays this year and I am looking for some parent volunteers to help me. Specifically, I need help collecting books from classrooms, checking them into the computer, and re-shelving them. It should only take about an hour to an hour and a half (8:00-9:00/9:30AM). If you are interested in helping, please call school and Ginny will pass your name on to me. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the families that donated books or magazines to the library. They are greatly appreciated! Thanks again!

TRIMESTERS AND CURRICULUM CHANGES:
Please take note that we will transition from four “quarters” to three “trimesters” this school year. We are also adding three important enhancements to our existing curriculum:

1. Integration of the Catholic Faith into all aspects of the educational curriculum. This “pilot” program was developed over the last year. This program is the “cutting edge” of what is to come in our diocesan schools. Thank you to our faculty member Mrs. LeeAnne Scovell for doing the research and development of this program.
2. Catholic Virtue Education, A Faith Based Character Development Program. This is a program completely unique to Holy Cross and a brainchild of Ms. Annette Barrett. This program will take our successful Character Education Program and enhance it with the virtues of our faith.
3. The introduction of an Anti-Bullying Curriculum into our school program. Two of our teachers, Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Scovell attended a seminar last spring on the “Sticks and Stones” anti-bullying program. One of our goals as a school, is to introduce and gradually educate the faculty, staff, students and families on this concept and over time, to integrate this curriculum at Holy Cross.

MOBILE COMPUTER LAB:
Due to the generosity of many school families and parish members, we have been able to purchase 25 new HP laptops, a mobile cart, and wireless Internet capability for our new mobile computer lab. Thanks to your thoughtful and generous donations, our students have high quality, state of the art mobile workstations to use for computer class as well as other subject areas. This change has also allowed us to now install at least four desktop computers in each classroom. This upgrade comes at a most critical time with the addition of another classroom in our school. Thank you doesn’t seem to say enough! May you be blessed for your kindness to our school and our students, faculty and staff!

THANK YOU:
As you can see, we have so very much to be grateful for here at Holy Cross School and Parish. I want to thank each of you, as school parents and parish members, for the support you have shown to our school, in countless ways. Each of you contributes to the good that happens here, in one way or another. I would like to especially recognize a few groups and individuals:

The Faculty and Staff of Holy Cross School whose dedication and commitment to our school is unwavering;

Father Tom and the members of our Parish, who support the day to day operation of our school;

Our Board of Christian Education and all of its members who dedicate many hours to the proper administration of our school;

Our “FAST” (Family and School Together), for their continuous support of our students, and our faculty/staff; FAST and many generous parents have provided “goodies” for us all week, and lunch on Wednesday, as we prepare for the start of the school year;

Geri Dubois and Jo to Go, Inc. for the delicious coffees that they provided for the faculty and staff all week (we wouldn’t have made it through all those in-service meetings without it!);

Rachael Shilbauer, Loryn Lau, Brett Servais and many of the other summer care kids who generously gave of their own time this summer, to finish the beautiful new mural that adorns our hallway;

Mrs. Ginny Lardinois, our school secretary, who goes above and beyond the call of duty each and everyday to keep our school running smoothly;

Bryan and Deanna Schauer and Mrs. Jo Sato for the countless hours they have devoted to the installation and set up of the new mobile computer lab;

Mr. Marvin Lardinois, Mr. Jim Perkins, Mr. Remus Schott, Mr. Al VanEss, Mr. Al Hucek, Mr. Mark Schauer and Mr. Dan VerHaag for all of the work they have done throughout the summer to make improvements to our school building, our equipment and grounds. All of this work is done on a volunteer basis and we are most grateful for your generosity!

Thank you for the continued support and confidence that you have in me, as the Principal of Holy Cross Catholic School. I ask you to pray for our students and their families, our faculty and staff, our parish and our school as we begin this year together.

God Bless You Always,

Robin Jo Jensen

September 1/2, 2007 From the Pastor's Desk...

My Dear Parishioners,

Last Sunday at the 10 AM Mass we had a drawing for the three new members of the Holy Cross Parish Pastoral Council. The Pastoral Council meets on the first Tuesday of every month, in the rectory at 7:30 PM. The new members of the Council are: Gordon Adamczak, Matthew Draheim and Mary Ullmer.

As pastor I would like to thank all who were willing to serve and be assured that I will be calling on your generosity in the future. Congratulations to our new members and thank you for your willingness to serve your parish. The next meeting of the Council is this Tuesday evening, September 4th at 7:30PM.

We will also be having an election for a Parish Trustee because Mike Reigner's term has been completed. If you are willing to serve in this position please give me your name, address, phone number and e-mail.

I would be remiss if I did not offer a word of special "Thank You" to Deacon Dick and his wife Joan and all the members of the "Advancing the Mission" prayer committee for the wonderful job that they did in fostering a deeper awareness of prayer in our parish community. A great deal of time and effort went into all the "prayer activities" and especially the "Forty Hours Devotion." Those who attended have told me how wonderful it was and how enriched they felt by this devotion. Thanks, again, to all who worked on the various committees of "Advancing the Mission." Know that your time, effort, talent were deeply appreciated.

This weekend traditionally marks the "END" of Summer, the beginning of a "NEW SCHOOL YEAR" and the approach of Fall. Our children, teenagers and young adults are preparing to begin another school year. Let us pray that this "new school year" will bring them an abundance of blessings, a greater understanding and appreciation for learning, and may Almighty God bless them and keep them in His care.

Oremus pro invicem,

Father Tom