Keep Austin Holy E-newsletter
February 2007
Monthly Prayer That our stewardship activities may deepen our faith and draw us closer to God. February Ministry Happenings Thursday, Feb. 1 – Friday, Feb. 2 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Book Fair Cathedral School Library A book fair benefiting the school
Sunday, Feb. 4, 11 a.m. Susan Kerr: St Francis of Assisi -Herald of the Gospel Cathedral School Library The Adult CFF class features Susan discussing St. Francis of Assisi.
Sunday, Feb. 4, 2 p.m. Free Throw Championship Donahue Center The championship, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, will be open to all boys and girls of the community, ages 10 to 14. The winners will get to compete in a Knights of Columbus District Championship. Bring your child and sign the registration form.
Saturday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. Midnight “Queen of Hearts Benefit Gala” Hilton Austin The Cathedral School of St. Mary’s 4th
Saint Mary Cathedral Volunteer Ministries Issue 2
Volunteer Appreciation Event Planning Under Way Save the date for the evening of Saturday, April 21 – Saint Mary Cathedral is bringing back its annual volunteer appreciation party! Anyone who has volunteered at the church in any capacity this past year is invited to the event, where volunteers will be fed, entertained and have the opportunity to mingle with parishioner volunteers they might not otherwise have the chance to talk to. It will be a familyfriendly party, so bring the kids! More details to come. Nominations Open for “Volunteer of the Year” St. Mary’s is now accepting nominations for Volunteers of the Year for 2006. All ministries are invited to nominate their most outstanding volunteers. Beginning this year, the Cathedral Volunteer Program will choose a Volunteer of the Year, honoring an exceptional parishioner who dedicates his / her skills, time and energy to serve Cathedral visitors and parishioners as well as the broader community. Ministries have the opportunity to nominate volunteers who have: • Made a definable difference and had a positive impact on your ministry’s activities, • Been exceptionally dedicated and committed, above and beyond initial expectations, • Contributed innovative ideas that produced great results for your ministry or project, • Provided exemplary voluntary service, or • Experienced a profound positive impact in his / her own life through volunteering.
Annual gala will include a gourmet 3course dinner, casino games, live entertainment by The Small Stars and a live and silent auction. All proceeds will benefit the Cathedral School’s Tuition Assistance Program, providing quality Catholic education for the Austin community. If you would like to purchase tickets, please contact the school at 476-1480 to make reservations.
Sunday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m. Susan Kerr: Art, Dogma and the Immaculate Conception Cathedral School Library The Adult CFF class features Susan discussing the relationships between art, dogma and the Immaculate Conception.
Friday, Feb. 16, 6:30 p.m. Couples Ministry Dinner European Bistro Join the Couples Ministry for dinner and a night of entertainment at the Pflugerville restaurant. Interested couples should contact Rose Di Grazia at 835-5350 or
[email protected].
Sunday, Feb. 18, 11 a.m. Ed Shirley: St. Bernadette -Humble Visionary and Extraordinary Vessel of Faith Cathedral School Library The Adult CFF class features Ed reviewing the amazing life and holiness of St. Bernadette.
Friday, Feb. 23, 5:30 p.m. Fish Fry Bishops Hall Join the Knights of Columbus for a fish fry every Friday during Lent in honor of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent! Plates are $6. Stations of the Cross are at 7 p.m. in the Cathedral.
Sunday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m. Diocesan Director of Campus and Young Adult Ministry Josephine Canales: The Millennial Generation in Search of Authentic Faith Cathedral School Library The Adult CFF class features Josephine discussing today’s young adults and their desire to find
The deadline for nominations is March 30. All nominees will then be invited to share, in their words, an article about their volunteering experience. Testimonials from ministries and volunteers will be used to choose the Volunteer of the Year for 2006. The director of volunteer ministry will announce the winner at the volunteer appreciation party. Call for Donations St. Mary’s is calling for donations to give as prizes at the volunteer appreciation party. Donated items, which are tax deductible, may be dropped off or mailed to the church office at 203 E. 10th St., Austin 78701, Attn: Jen Jones. To arrange for pick-up, contact the director of volunteer ministry. Examples include dinners, gift certificates, services, artwork, gift baskets, sports equipment, handmade gifts, business promotion items, tickets for movies/plays/tours, etc.
Volunteer Spotlight John Pritchett Christian Faith Formation, Catholic Scripture Study, Knights of Columbus Parishioner since summer 2004 Political Campaign Consultant
In what ministries have you been involved with in the past? Growing up in the Fort Worth parish of Saint Patrick Cathedral, I attended CCD from preschool to 12th grade and served as an altar boy from the fourth grade through the 12th grade. Here at Saint Mary Cathedral I teach fifth grade catechism with Cathy Johnson, participate in Catholic Scripture Study, and last year I served on Nock Russell’s Parish Advisory Team during his pastoral year of seminary formation. I am also deputy grand knight of the Knights of Columbus Capital City Council 1017. What is your favorite thing about volunteering at St. Mary’s? My favorite thing about volunteering at Saint Mary Cathedral is that doing so allows me to answer our Lord’s call to teach
themselves in their faith.
Sunday, Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m. New Member Dinner Bishops Hall New parishioners are invited to dinner and fellowship in Bishops Hall to be formally welcomed to the Cathedral and meet the priests and various ministry leaders. RSVP to 476-6182 Ext. 12. Bring the whole family!
Breakfast Schedule Feb. 4 Cathedral School of St. Mary 2nd grade Feb. 11 Los Amigos Feb. 18 Girl Scouts Feb. 25 Cathedral School of St. Mary Athletics
Need a speaker? To invite the director of volunteer ministry to speak to your ministry, religious ed class, young adult group, Knights council, Bible study or just about anything else, call the Cathedral office at 476-6182 Ext. 12 or just e-mail me at
[email protected].
His word. Teaching gives me the chance to share the faith with others, and it also challenges me to learn more about Christ and His Church. What do you get out of it? My faith has increased and I have learned more about the sacraments, tradition and scripture than I ever would have had I not volunteered. What was one of your most rewarding experiences as a St. Mary’s volunteer? A very rewarding part of teaching at the Cathedral is sharing with students the wonder of the sacraments Jesus gave us. Seeing a student in quiet prayer approach the altar for Communion or another in line to receive Christ’s forgiveness in Reconciliation I can see the fruits of my labor, and I can only thank God for giving me the opportunity to answer His call. Why does volunteering matter? To paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, we are in the business of saving souls so we may serve God in this life and live with Him forever in the next. The Church is more than a pleasant balm for a harsh world or a well-meaning philosophy that answers tough questions; Christ gave us His Church so our souls may be saved. So why does volunteering matter? It enables us to cooperate with God’s grace, hope for our salvation and help others do the same. What are your other interests? In my free time I enjoy reading, and I grew up on a ranch so I also enjoy outdoor activities like fishing, bird hunting and canoeing. This last Christmas I received a smoker, so I am now learning the patient art of slow cooking delicious Texas meats. What advice would you give to a parishioner new to volunteering? To a parishioner new to volunteering, or one considering it, I offer encouragement to stick to it and be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Create time for prayer and the frequent reception of the sacraments, and you will find that God has given you gifts you were not aware of and He will act through you to change the world. Keep Austin Holy needs your help in identifying outstanding volunteers. We recognize volunteers monthly in our Volunteer Spotlight. Please
contact the director of volunteer ministry to nominate an outstanding volunteer.
Parking at the Cathedral
Quit paying for parking when visiting St. Mary’s! View the new parking map on the Cathedral Web site.
Wondering where to park whenever you visit the Cathedral during the week? A much needed parking map has been created for the Web site! Share with your fellow volunteers. http://www.saintmaryscathedral.org/index.php?page=map.p hp •
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You can park in the parking garage behind the Cathedral. Parking there is free for parishioners; just tell the attendant you were at the Cathedral. The entrance is located on San Jacinto Street. There is a Public Employees Credit Union parking lot cattycorner from the Cathedral on 10th and San Jacinto streets where parishioners can park for free after business hours and on weekends. A small loading zone exists in front of the Cathedral office on 10th Street for our parishioners to park for free when visiting. The alley behind the Cathedral has handicapped parking and a few visitor parking spots. Streets surrounding the Cathedral on all sides are lined with parking meters, which are free after 5:30 p.m. daily and on weekends.
Ministry Leader Tips
“I Don’t Have Time” Time deprivation – or, at least, the perception of having less and less time to do the things we want to do – is a growing malady around the world, affecting the work world, family life
and, of course, volunteering. Yet the standard earth day remains 24 hours in length. Here’s the paradox: We all feel that we don’t have enough time, yet we all have all the time there is. Many social observers have analyzed why the speed of life seems to be accelerating. We are: working longer hours at paid jobs; over-scheduling activities for ourselves and our children; caring for older parents or raising our grandchildren; spending hours on e-mail and Web sites. Divorce, for example, is a time sucker. Even in a bad marriage one of you can go for milk and the other for the dry cleaning. When you divorce, you both have to go for milk and the dry cleaning. Without a doubt, every recruiter of volunteers hears, “I don’t have time” as the most often expressed reason to refuse an invitation to participate in a project. Similarly, those who coordinate volunteer services also express the frustration of “I don’t have the time” to do all sorts of things from expanding a program to reading professional books or Web resources. What can we do about this except wring our hands? Time and the Volunteer Naturally, virtual volunteering and one-time days of service are responses to the lack of time expressed by volunteers. But it’s still possible to engage people in more intensive service, if we pay attention to their needs. Revisit volunteer position descriptions from a time perspective. Ask why volunteer work is structured the way it is now. Of course, if you’re running a lunch program, volunteers have to be on site at lunchtime. But for most other work, question whether you truly need to require a set schedule. Is it more important to have volunteers on site at specific times or to have an amount of work completed by a determined due date? If the latter, allow more flexibility. Also, can a volunteer position description be broken into several smaller ones so that the work can be shared? Might a team of volunteers be assigned to the same project and promise to staff a shift or complete the tasks on a schedule they rotate among themselves as they wish? Identify time wasters and do something about them. Every
meeting requires commute time, so perhaps it would make sense to hold fewer but longer meetings, focusing time spent on what’s important (group discussion) rather than on sitting in a car more often. Similarly, does the volunteer have to come on site? Can we audiotape some messages and make them available online, even to download onto a portable listening device like an iPod? Meet multiple needs. Busy people make choices and gravitate to activities that accomplish more than one thing on their to-do list. For example, if there’s a choice between two volunteer opportunities – both serving important causes and allowing the volunteer to exercise civic responsibility – any sane person would select the one that provides additional personal benefits. For example: * Meeting new friends (possibly single new friends!) – especially important for prospective volunteers new to a community or recently divorced or widowed. * Learning something new while volunteering that, in turn, will be helpful in the person’s paying job or look good on a resume for future job hunting. * Being able to volunteer with one’s children as a family activity, rather than having to make the choice of spending even less time parenting than now. * Simply having fun – time-deprived folks need a recreational outlet (by the way, it’s possible to do hard work and still have fun!). Stop rewarding hours contributed and start honoring service provided. One way we imply that we value loads of time is to give recognition for 100 hours, two years or other intensive service or longevity. By all means continue to thank such devotion. But understand the message this sends to new volunteers: give us more, more, more! Instead, focus appreciation on tasks completed (reorganized the center’s library, ran 10 holiday parties, mentored 178 teenagers). Create awards such as “Did the Most in the Least Amount of Time Medal” or “Most Effect Short-term Project Award” to celebrate those who accomplished something on your behalf even if episodically. Written by Susan J Ellis. This article is part of a series on volunteer related stories available on EnergizeInc.com.
Closing So let’s pray that, as a result of our faithful stewardship of time and talent, our lives may be blessed with overflowing joy and abundant contentment. And let us continue to pray that we may joyfully bring our first fruits to the Lord, sharing our time and talent out of gratitude for all the blessings that God has bestowed upon us.
Quote of the Day “Citizen service is the very American idea that we meet our challenges not as isolated individuals but as members of a true community, with all of us working together. Our mission is nothing less than to spark a renewed sense of obligation, a new sense of duty, a new season of service…” -- former President Bill Clinton
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