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The Mission: Provide opportunities to: The Values: |
Update 11-22-09 Halfway home. With Sister Mary Ann Dixon’s inspiring presentation on “Our Church Our Future”—it was the best attended of the first three Year of Renewal Tuesday gatherings—and a few small group meetings, our faith journey toward renewal and relevancy is now at halftime. Sister Mary Ann’s appearance mixing church history, real politik and hope was a hands-on, cut-to-the-chase analysis of where the Catholic Church is today from someone who knows our community. What next? While we won’t gather again until February, the Year of Renewal presence won’t disappear over December and January. In early December, there’ll be a meeting with small group facilitators to get feedback. It’ll be used to fine-tune the remaining Winter presentations. And the post-Christmas lull of January will give YOR organizers time to reflect on what worked, what didn’t and apply that new-found knowledge to the remainder of the program. The focus now shifts to my/our response to God’s Presence and Call for the But what can you do? Some small groups have hit it off so well that they might consider meeting during the break. That’s great! For others, it’s and opportunity to catch up or maybe get started on their personal faith journeys. Remember, the program was designed to accommodate all who want to make use of it. So it might provide you with the time to:
That said, here’s another reminder that the Year of Renewal runs very much on your schedule. Haven’t had time for a small group meeting so far? It’s never too late! Join one today! Each week is designed to be another step in our six weekend faith journey through next spring —or to stand alone if that’s all you can do. Update 11-14-09 Are we there yet? Like the parent who answers that query from an impatient child on a trip with “Just enjoy the ride,” so it is with our Year of Renewal effort. This weekend’s liturgies (with the third YOR pamphlet and bulletin insert), the Tuesday 7:15 p.m. presentation by our old friend Sister Mary Ann Dixon and the subsequent small group gatherings mark the halfway point in the Year of Renewal activities. But like so much in life, if you focus too much on the destination next spring, you’ll miss the joy of the journey. For example, SJF musicians Terry Gonda, Kirsti Reeve and friends have recorded “A Faith to Believe In,” and you can get an MP3 copy of it free (along with the lyrics and sheet music)at the official YOR home page (see above). And don’t forget—a video of Sister Connie Schoen’s Week 2 presentation also is available at the same web address. And if smiling and thoughtful and inspired faces are indicative of the YOR effort, you’ll see plenty of those in pictures from YOR events and small group meetings also on the YOR home page. They capture the excitement and depth of our trip to rediscover and renew our faith lives. What’s happening this week? Not that you need a reminder but Sister Mary Ann is a familiar face from her long run as a member of St. John Fisher pastoral team and guiding family faith sharing activities. Last year, she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona but is coming back to end the first half of our YOR activities. She’ll be speaking on the Week Three topic, God’s presence and call in our personal lives as a member of the larger community. Her topic for Tuesday’s Year of Renewal gathering is: Our Church Our Future A Faith to Believe in! Two things come in play for each week of the Year of Renewal - the weekend scriptures and the movement of the themes – i.e. For the first three – God’s Presence and Call; and the theme for the second three – Our response. As the Year of Renewal develops, this truly is a journey/work in progress, it is like concentric circles from the first week of “God’s presence/call in my personal life”, to the second concentric circle of “God’s presence and call in the next level of the community around me” to now the third concentric circle of “God’s presence and call in the third concentric circle of the broader community, the Church.” So this is a time for us to examine more closely this Catholic Church that we are a part of and to see where I/we fit and how the Church,, the broader community of faith, has developed and absorbed God’s presence and call through its human, very human Church. The Temple for the Jews was symbolic of God’s presence for the people of God that at times became an institution over and above the other aspects of the People of God. So this is a continuing experience in our Catholic Tradition as well. Along the way all of us as the People of God today have been moved, impacted, challenged and embarrassed by the activity of the Church including its leadership and members. So why not take a look at it from both perspectives – my experience and the experience outside of me. Finally, here’s a brief refresher on program basics for any people who’ve joined along the way: Those YOR booklets given out at weekend liturgies for each of the six weeks of the program, the bulletin inserts on each of those weeks and the reports from the Tuesday sessions and small groups that appear in the bulletins after the YOR weekends are intrinsic to the program. Use them as your roadmaps for this faith-filled trip. Together, they’ll help you reflect on YOR topics as we work through them, gather your thoughts and help you stimulate meaningful conversation with other members in your small groups. Afterward, they’ll help you stay in the Year of Renewal spirit until the Winter session starts up on Feb. 6-7. (A limited supply of the booklets is available in the religious literature area in the church entryway and, as always, at the website.) That said, here’s another reminder that the Year of Renewal runs very much on your schedule. Haven’t had time for a small group meeting so far? It’s never too late! Click on the St. John Fisher website for details. Each week is designed to be another step in our six-weekend faith journey through next spring —or to stand alone if that’s all you can do. Update 11-08-09 The word “Renewal” hints of giving freshness to something that already exists. So it makes perfect sense that Sister Mary Ann Dixon, OP will be the featured speaker at the Year of Renewal session Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:15 p.m. here at St. John Fisher. It follows the YOR-focused liturgies on Nov. 14-15. A homecoming? You bet. Sister Mary Ann is a familiar face from her long run as a member of St. John Fisher pastoral team and guiding family faith sharing activities. Last year, she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona but is coming back to end the first half of our YOR activities. She’ll be speaking on the Week Three topic, God’s presence and call in our personal lives as a member of the larger community. So to paraphrase a line from the old hit musical “The Music Man,” she certainly knows the territory and her insights will have that much more meaning because of her familiarity with our faith community. While her talk marks the end of the first half of the YOR weekends, the program is neither half-empty, nor half-full. It’s fully alive, thanks to its come-when-you can design and its multi-media facets that allow you to catch up at your convenience. For example, if you missed Sister Connie Schoen’s Oct. 27 presentation on “Awaken to the Journey” about personal and communal faith discernment, a video and an audio podcast of her presentation is available for you at and our Year of Renewal Facebook site. The video and audio supplement the YOR booklets given out at weekend liturgies for each of the six weeks of the program, the bulletin inserts on each of those weeks and the reports from the Tuesday sessions and small groups that appear in the bulletins after the YOR weekends. Together, they’ll help you reflect on YOR topics as we work through them, gather your thoughts and help you stimulate meaningful conversation with other members in your small groups. Afterward, they’ll help you stay in the Year of Renewal spirit until the Winter session starts up on Feb. 6-7. (A limited supply of the booklets is available in the religious literature area in the church entryway and at the website.) That said, here’s another reminder that the Year of Renewal runs very much on your schedule. Haven’t had time for a small group meeting so far? Click on the St. John Fisher website to join for the Nov. 14-15 meetings —or for the upcoming Winter meetings. Each week is designed to be another step in our six weekend faith journey through next spring —or to stand alone if that’s all you can do. Here’s the remaining YOR schedule, to aid your long-term planning:
10-30-09 Missed Sister Connie Schoen’s Tuesday presentation on “Awaken to the Journey” about personal and communal faith discernment?” Remember it’s the 21st Century. The St. John Fisher Year of Renewal has you covered. Video and an audio podcast of her presentation from Year of Renewal Week 2 is available online. The video and audio are the latest tools in making user-friendly information to help you grow in faith available for today’s busy Catholic. The video and audio supplement the YOR booklets given out at weekend liturgies for each of the six weeks of the program, the bulletin inserts on each of those weeks and the reports from the Tuesday sessions and small groups that appear in the bulletins after the YOR weekends. Reading those written words also will help you appreciate the words of our guest speakers like Sister Schoen now available to you via the wonders of modern media. Together, they’ll help you reflect on YOR topics as we work through them, gather your thoughts and help you stimulate meaningful conversation with other members in your small groups. That said, here’s another reminder that the Year of Renewal runs very much on your schedule. Haven’t been involved at all so far or missed one of the two weeks so far? Not a problem. Each week is designed both to be another step in our six weekend faith journey through next spring or to stand alone if that’s all you can do. And with video and audio available, playing catch-up is easier than ever. |
Update 10-20-09 Turns out our Year of Renewal has a real Deus ex Machina. Explanation? Of course—happy to oblige. A Deus ex Machina (literally “God from the machine" for all you non-Latin scholars) is a literary plot device in which a person or thing appears "out of the blue" to help a character to overcome a seemingly insolvable difficulty. So what’s our God from the Machine? In a real way. it’s those Year of Renewal booklets you’ll receive at this weekend’s liturgies plus that YOR insert in this week’s bulletin. While they’re not “out of the blue”, those booklets and inserts—you’ll receive one at each YOR weekend liturgy—are key to the whole program. They fulfill several important roles. They are:
The small gatherings are designed for faith-sharing in more intimate, face-to-face setting. And the booklets are key to stimulating those conversations. How? First, make sure you read yours ---preferably BEFORE the Tuesday session (if you attend them) or your small group meeting. (If you’re not at St. John Fisher at a Year of Renewal weekend liturgy, they are downloadable at the top of this page.) Why? A careful preview will help your group and facilitator stick to the topic at hand and avoid any “insolvable difficulties” ---hence, Deus ex Machina. They’ll help you reflect on the topic, gather your thoughts and help you stimulate meaningful conversation with other members in your small groups. That said, here’s another reminder that the Year of Renewal is a bus that stops for everyone. Missed opening week? Not a problem. Week Two is designed both to be another step in our six weekend faith journey through next spring or to stand alone if that’s all you can do. Here’s the remaining YOR schedule to aid your long-term planning: YOR BASICS:
Update 10-14-09 Our St. John Fisher Year of Renewal got off to a great start earlier this month and Week Two of our fall-to-spring faith journey is now just a week away — at our Oct. 24-25 liturgies and Tuesday evening, Oct. 27 As in Week One, you’ll receive Year of Renewal materials —a guide booklet and a bulletin insert—at next weekend’s Saturday and Sunday masses. They’ll help you prepare for whatever participation route the Spirit moves you to follow: Family faith gatherings, private contemplation or participation in small group gatherings. (It’s never too late to join one of those---sign up here.) And they’ll also serve as your guide for our Week Two Tuesday night speaker on October 27 at 7:15 p.m. in the SJF activities center on our theme: God’s presence and call in our personal life related to community. You’re invited to come and hear Connie Schoen OP, a Dominican sister of Peace, (formerly known as the Oxford Dominicans). She’ll deliver a presentation on personal and communal faith discernment, entitled “Awakening to the Journey.” Her background? She’s earned a law degree, with masters degrees in pastoral studies and education. She worked for many years at Groundwork for a Just World, and she most recently was the director of Parable, a national Dominican organization that trains preachers. She is also a certified spiritual director and has preached numerous parish missions throughout the country. (You can find out much more about her work by entering her name at Google.com.) Missed opening week? Not a problem. Week Two is designed both to be another step in our six weekend faith journey through next spring or to stand alone if that’s all you can do. And if you can’t participate next week, here’s the remaining YOR schedule to aid your long-term planning:
Update 10-7-2009 1) You took home, read and reviewed the first week’s pamphlet and bulletin insert about God’s presence/call in your life. It urged you to examine the mutuality of the loving relationship between us and our God. 2) You attended the uplifting celebration of faith Tuesday night at church where three parishioners gave wonderful personal testimonies about their own relationship with God and their own faith journeys amid a joyous, celebratory vibe. 3) You have participated —or are about to participate— in one of the small group meetings that will examine in a more personal way where you are in your relationship with God. Or maybe you convened your own family group to work through the material. Or perhaps you were in a place where starting the journey alone with personal reflection felt the most comfortable. 4) You were unable to read the material or attend a YOR event or small group because, as the saying goes, “life intervened.” Guess what? You weren’t alone in any of those categories. And our Year of Renewal program is designed for any and all of those participation levels —and maybe a few more that we haven’t yet envisioned. The Year of Renewal is a trip with stops to pick up passengers along the way. You can get on at any point and stay for what we expect to be a singular journey in personal and community growth and to help us see the relevancy of faith in our daily lives. And at its conclusion, it will also help us set the sails for our parish’s next five year plan. Put simply, it’s never too late to get involved. And each of the remaining five weekends (see the schedule below) offer an opportunity for you to find, as our vision statement says, “deeper meaning in our relationships and our Catholic faith.” Each week’s topic stands alone but is also part of a connecting matrix of faith-related issues confronting Catholics today. So what happens next? The YOR planners are gathering feedback from the first week and getting ready for week two on Oct. 24/25 and 27, where we’ll focus on our collective experiences as a member of today’s faith community. Check the schedule below and please plan to be with us for one or more of the YOR program weekend, Information on jointing a small group along the way is always available at www.stjohnfisherparish.org or our Facebook site, which you can find by searching for “St. John Fisher Year of Renewal.” YOR BASICS: The Vision: Finding deeper meaning in our relationships and our Catholic faith
Update 10-3-2009 “A Faith to Believe In” is more than just one of the key ideas of the St. John Fisher Year of Renewal effort that begins this weekend. It’s also the title of a new song that’s been written and ---talk about specialty music!---custom-fitted for each of the six weekends of the YOR, which will run through next spring. SJF music group members Terry Gonda and Kirsti Reeve combined on the words (mostly Kirsti) and the music (mostly Terry). It’s not their first effort ---they guessed they’ve collaborated on 30 songs. The ones most familiar to people in the pews are one of the arrangements of the Gloria, the children’s blessing tune “We Are All God’s Children” and music from the CYA retreats. (A special CD with retreat music will be released at a party and concert Oct. 17th after the 5:30 p.m. mass.) While “A Faith to Believe In” has been performed just prior to liturgies for the past couple of weekends, it gets its formal launch at Tuesday’s 7 p.m. Year of Renewal presentation. (The lyrics are being inserted in the red community song binders to make it easy for the whole congregation to join in on upcoming weekends.) Terry and Kirsti created “A Faith to Believe In” after absorbing ideas from the preparation documents put together to organize the YOR effort . They said it took three to four days of actual conceptualizing---“a bit stressful” as Terry recalled the other day. They joked they’re still able to perform together and after all "you can’t have cursing in a religious song,” Gonda noted. Critical was finding musical poetry from writing that wasn’t particularly designed for song. “Singability” ---for the SJF music group, its soloists and the congregation---was also a major goal, Terry said. “We ran it by our music director Augie Thoma and the Ex Cante Director Deb Fristad and they gave us some specific comments that helped shape it for congregational singing.” And to really make it unique, they came up with the aforementioned six different verses that are coordinated with the six different themes for the YOR weeks. Those verses were plumbed from the Scripture readings selected for each of those weeks and give “A Year of Renewal” a resonance and relevancy adapting an already published song couldn’t have provided. All in all, the song is the result of a lot of effort by the tunesmiths and support from Father Jerry who thought the Year of Renewal deserved its own music and the rest of the SJF music group who’ve worked hard at rehearsal to get familiar with the song in time for this week’s YOR launch. So far, at least one payback has been received ---the creators say Fr. Jerry had “a great big smile” after hearing it for the first time a few weeks back. Both didn’t know if the song had a life beyond YOR, getting church music published and widely accepted has its own set of barriers. But Kirsti also was happy to credit a third creative force ---the Holy Spirit---for their blending of faith-based lyrics with a contemporary religious sound. “We feel we’ve been very blessed,” Kirsti said Monday night, just before joining with Terry to record specialty CDs with the appropriate week’s lyrics for all the small gatherings that are also part of the Year of Renewal program. Many have remarked how the letter R was common in much of the Year of Renewal language. After “A Faith to Believe In” gets a few more hearings, the Cs ---creativity, customization and collaboration ---will get its fair share of attention, too. |
Update 9-23-2009 PHOTOGRAPHERS SOUGHT! We're looking for people with a digital camera to take snapshots of the various small group meetings starting the week of Oct. 3-4. Need to be a great photographer? No! Need to get simple photos of people listening and talking about their faith? Yes! If you're taking part in a small group and have a digital camera (cell phone images won't work---not enough pixels), we'd appreciate your help. Email your name and phone to johnes8686@aol.com (John Smyntek). We'll get back to you promptly with what we need. The photos will be part of future Year of Renewal publications and video presentations so you'll be contributing to the parish archive. |
Update 9-15-2009 Here are some Year of Renewal dos and don’ts as the first weekend (Oct. 3-4) nears!
Update 9-8-2009 And so, now —and the days to follow—are a great time to start to familiarize yourself with St. John Fisher's Year of Renewal. This past week, you’ll likely have received in the mail a folder explaining the Year of Renewal in greater detail. (if you like headlines, those green banners in the chapel can get you started.) Then, the Network, the quarterly parish newsletter, will feature Father Jerry’s “JAB’s Jottings” on the Year’s whys and wherefores and how YOR hopes to become an important means of deepening our understanding that we are all the people of God and part of the Body of Christ. That material—and more as the year develops —will be available on the internet at two locations: the parish website at www.stjohnfisherparish.org and on Facebook, (www.facebook.com) the popular online networking site. (To get there, go to www.facebook.com, type "St. John Fisher Year of Renewal" in the search box. Then click on our site —which will pop right up. Then be sure to click on the "Join group" link.) Thanks to SJF webmaster Judy Gordon, you’ll find on both sites key information: YOR updates, schedules, pictures from Year of Renewal events, and on Facebook names and faces of other parishioners who are using the site to stay up to date with YOR events plus online discussions once the events kick off in the fall. Meanwhile, at masses this weekend, you’ll be asked to consider joining one of the small discussion groups that will meet throughout the Year of Renewal. Info about the small groups and applications are available on the website now. Please give your participation prayerful consideration. |
Update 9-2-2009 Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer and marks a time when attention switches from summer’s languid pace back to things of greater import. And so, now —and the days to follow—are a great time to start to familiarize yourself with St. John Fisher's Year of Renewal. This week, you’ll receive in the mail a folder explaining the Year of Renewal in greater detail. (Like headlines? Those green banners in the chapel can get you started.) Then, the Network, the quarterly parish newsletter, will feature Father Jerry’s “JAB’s Jottings” on the Year’s whys and wherefores and how YOR hopes to become a means of deepening our understanding that we are all the people of God and part of the Body of Christ. That material—and more as the year develops —will be available on the internet at two locations: the parish website at www.stjohnfisherparish.org and on Facebook, (www.facebook.com) the popular online networking site. (To get there, go to www.facebook.com, type "St. John Fisher Year of Renewal" in the search box. Then click on our site —which will pop right up. Then be sure to click on the "Join group" link.) Thanks to SJF webmaster Judy Gordon, you’ll find on both sites key information: YOR updates, schedules, pictures from Year of Renewal events, and on Facebook names and faces of other parishioners who are using the site to stay up to date with YOR events plus online discussions once the events kicks off in the fall. Meanwhile, the call continues to go out for facilitators for the small group discussions that are a key part of the Year of Renewal program. Info about the small groups and applications are available on the website now. And the call for small group participants will go out next weekend. Please give your participation prayerful consideration. The program is centered around six weekends (plus a Tuesday follow-up)through 2010. (Small groups will gather on other days after the YOR weekends.) Reserve the dates below on your calendars now!
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Update 8-27-2009 Well, that's not an issue anymore. Information about St. John Fisher's Year of Renewal will be available on Facebook, (www.facebook.com) the popular online networking sight with worldwide reach. How do you get there? After you log on to Facebook, type "St. John Fisher Year of Renewal" in the search box. Then click on our site —which will pop right up. .Join the Facebook Year of Renewal Group What will you find? Thanks to SJF webmaster Judy Gordon, important information like announcements, schedules, pictures from Year of Renewal events, names and pictures of other parishioners who are using the site to stay up to date with YOR events plus online discussions once the event kicks off in the fall. That's in addition to all the basic parish info and YOR info that's always available at www.stjohnfisherparish.org,—if you don't want to join Facebook. Meanwhile, the call continues to go out for facilitators for the small group discussions that are a key part of the Year of Renewal program. Please give your participation prayerful consideration. Info about the small groups and applications are available here. |
Update 8-18-2009 By the time you’ve read this, you’ll likely have heard about the Year of Renewal— it has been prominently mentioned during the Weekend liturgies for the past two weeks. Behind the scenes, the pastoral team, the parish council and various other volunteers are gearing up to make it all happen. Reminder: We're still seeking facilitators for the small group discussions that will be key to the Year of Renewal success. Please give your participation prayerful consideration.
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