NOTE FROM THE PAST

S o n s o f Z e b e d e e : S s J a m e s & J o h n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h

W 5 8 8 2 C h u c h R o a d

F o n d d u L a c W I 5 4 9 3 5

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Oakfield, WI

Permit No. 11

As our parish readies for another celebration of First Communion, this writer has been thinking about her First Communion 55 years ago. It was a sunny April 27, 1958. Pius XII was Pope. Fr. Frederick Schmidt was our pastor.

Intense preparations for the big day centered around memorization of the Balti-more Catechism responses, rehearsals, worries over swallowing the host, and a fitting in a First Communion dress that was worn by all four older sisters. My hand-me-down dress was complemented by a new veil and sheer white gloves with pleated trim. Each of the Betz girls saved her First Communion artifacts in a “Holy Box,” and since, Above: First Communion for the writer we were a family who did a lot of adaptive reuse my “Holy Box” was a black and red on April 27, 1958, at St. John’s. shaving lotion box with a sliding cover bearing the image of James Bond. Thus, my Below: Contents of the “007 Holy Box.” artifacts were preserved in a “007 Holy Box,” which I still have today. I recently revisited the contents of this unorthodox container. Among the sym- bols pictured on the left are a remembrance folio, holy card, rosary, scapular, prayer book, and a card marking the passing of Pius XII in October of 1958. How I clung to and treasured my very first prayer book which was given to me by Fr. Schmidt. The prayers have not changed. The our Father, Hail Mary, Ten Commandments, Stations of the Cross, Grace before meals, and renewal of our Baptismal vows are there along with rules for daily living, Latin hymns, and explanations of the mass order. The book ends with a prayer for world peace to Our Lady of Fatima. Although much has changed in our church in the last 55 years, my First Com- munion prayer book is a reminder of how much remains constant. If you haven’t revisited the remembrances of your First Communion, why not bring them out this spring and share the memories with your family?

Jeremy and Julie Kautzer are new residents in the village of Oak-

field and new members of Sons of Zebedee.

Jeremy is from Princeton, studied diesel mechanics at MPTC, and

works at Jacobson Farm Supply in Brownsville. He is on the Oakfield

Fire Department, enjoys deer hunting, and helping his Dad on the

family farm.

Julie is from West Bend, has a degree in Chemistry from UWGB,

teaches science at Oakfield High School, likes cooking, reading,

and craft projects.

They enjoy spending time with their family which includes 5 year

old James and 2 year old Issac. They look forward to raising their

family in the community of Oakfield.

Sons of Zebedee is happy to welcome them to our faith community

as new members.

Meet Your Parishioner

Jeremy & Julie Kautzer

Notes from the Past

Maureen Betz

THE ZEBEDEE INFORMER Sons of Zebedee: Ss. James and John Catholic Church

W5882 Church Road, Fond du Lac, WI 54937-8602

Reverend Michael C. Petersen, Pastor

Phone: (920) 922-1167 zebedee@excel.net www.sonsofz.org

From the Pastor’s Desk: “Let US Pray”

From our last news letter you recall that our parish leadership has chosen to initiate a two year capital cam-paign “Let US Pray” in hopes of raising $80,000 to improve our facilities. The improvements to our facilities include four projects listed below in order of their priority:

The four projects

1.) Handicap accessible lift on the St. James site $75,000.00

2.) Re-shingling of St. John Hall $11,650.00

3.) New front doors on St. James site $ 5,000.00

4.) St. James parking lot repairs $ 5,000.00

Total $97,650.00

Parishioner Commitment

To date the responses from the 304 registered families of our parish:

From kickoff (January 6 to March 21) 139 parish families responses

From second mailing sent February 25 18

Total responses of 304 registered families 165 (total number of families to be contacted to reach our goal of 100% participation of the 304 registered parish households)

The Commitments And Our Goal

Total pledges to date: $61,045.00

Payments toward those pledges total: $24,881.34

Amount needed to reach our goal: $18,955.00

Funds from our Faith In Our Future Capital buildings and grounds ($27,000.00)

The payments received have been deposited in a separate Faith In Our Future Account to insure that they do not become part of the parish general account used for parish operations. Discussions on borrowing approximately $35,000.00 ($80,000.00 minus $49,439 the total of payments and FIOF funds available) from the Bank of Oakfield are underway so that the Lift project can begin this spring.

Clustering (NOT Merging) of Sons of Zebedee and St. Mary, Lomira

Last month I received an Open Listing report from the Archdiocese indicating the names of parishes with pas-tors in process of seeking new assignments. Interesting to me was the fact that St. Mary, Lomira was not included on that report and as a result we move one step closer to CLUSTERING (NOT merging) with St. Mary Parish in Lomira. This clustering will entail the sharing of a priest and many (although not all) of the resources of the two parishes. In an ef-fort to plan and prepare for the clustering the two Parish Pastoral Councils have been in dialogue over the past few months. Results of the preparations are as follows:

1.) Both parishes will retain separate Trustees, Parish Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils, Finances, and Parish Staffs

2.) Efforts to combine Religious Education programs will continue and be finalized for the 2014-2015 school year to take advantage of the Full-time and Part-time Religious Education Directors and facility (St. Mary grade School) already in place.

A p r i l , 2 0 1 3

V o l u m e 9

From the Pastor’s Desk 1-2

Human Concerns 2

A Saintly Story 3

Easter Schedule 3

Religious Education 3

Notes From the Past 4

Meet Your Parishioner 4

SEE INSERTS FOR:

Spaghetti Dinner

Please remember to sup-port the advertisers listed on the reverse side of our news-letter insert.

P a g e 2

Contributors:

Rev. Michael Petersen

Cheri Neitzel

Loreen Kuslits

Maureen Betz

Mary Rhein

Article Deadline For Next

Issue:

June 1, 2013

Next Issue : July, 2013

Upcoming issues:

October, 2013

January, 2014

Mass Schedule Changes 2014-2015

As a result of the combining of the Religious Ed. Program of the two parishes Sons of Zebedee will also have some welcome flexibility in its weekend Mass schedule. Should the efforts to combine Religious Education Programs succeed and classes begin meeting at the Lomira site the Sunday Mass in Oakfield could potentially move from 8a.m. to 9a.m.

Committee Structures

Although the details still need to be worked out all committees of our two parishes are slated to be combined and there is a possibility that the committees will be asked to have a common meeting night which is intended to increase the number of parishioners participating in the work of committees (the life blood of any parish) and will reduce the number of meetings currently scheduled in each parish.

While progress is being made there are is still any number of details to work out as the clustering of the two parishes continues. Please keep the people most affected by this in your prayers. I have every confidence that all will be well…(with God’s help and your prayers)...all will be well. ~Fr. Michael

Thank you to all who contributed to OPERATION RICE BOWL during the Lenten season.

This program raises money for Catholic Relief Services who work with local, national and international Catholic groups to help alleviate hunger. 25% of SOZ rice bowl collections will be donated locally to the FDL St. Vincent de Paul. UPCOMING SPRING/SUMMER PROJECTS:

OAKFIELD FOOD PANTRY: The first Sunday of each month is ‘Sharing Sunday”! Place your nonperishable food items, paper products or personal care items in the bins located at the back of each church. Your donations are greatly appreciated and allow the food pantry to serve many needy families in our own community. Thank you!

MS WALK: Sat., May 4 at Marion University. This event raises critical funds that support research, drive change, facilitate education and provide services to help people with MS. Gil and Pat Ahtonen are our team captains. Collections will be held after masses leading up to the event. To sign up for the SOZ team or get more information, visit: www.walkMSwisconsin.org.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: Collection houses to be placed in the back of each church from mid-May until mid-June to cover the cost of the lunch(es) that we will serve to Habitat volunteers. Wondering how you can help in other ways? Call (920) 921- 6623 to volunteer your time or shop at the ReStore thrift shop at 150 S. Brooke Street in Fond du Lac. They have lots of household items, tools and more. Visit www.habitat.org. for more information.

OPERATION BACK TO SCHOOL: Collection buses to be placed in each church from mid-June to the end of July. Last year we were able to purchase 40 backpacks for the Salvation Army’s program! Hopefully, with your help, we will be able to give a significant donation again this year.

NEXT MEETING: Wed., April 10, 2013 St. John’s Hall—lower level, 7pm. We value your input. Please consider attending. All are welcome!

Human Concerns Update - Cheri Neitzel

CONTENTS

P a g e 3 Saintly Information Holy Week

Easter Schedule 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013 Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Holy Thursday 7:00p.m. at the St. John site

(we will be welcoming members of St. Mary, Lomira to our celebration this evening.) Friday, March 29,2013 Good Friday.

Good Friday Service will be at the St. James site at 1:00p.m.

Saturday March 30, 2013 Holy Saturday-Easter Vigil

Holy Saturday 8:00p.m. St. Mary, Lomira

Sunday March 31, 2013 Feast of the Resurrection

9:00a.m. St. James site

11:00a.m. St. John site

St. Catherine of Siena

March 25, 1347—April 29, 1380

Catherine of Siena is known for her service to her neighbors. As a young girl she wanted a room of her own for prayer. When she was six she saw a vision of Christ above the church she could see from her bedroom window. This inspired her to join the Third Order of St. Dominic. Members of the Third Order were women who wore the Dominican habit, spent a life of prayer and good works, but lived in their own homes. Catherine began to visit prisoners, encouraging them to repent. When a plague came she was everywhere, bringing food and clothing, nursing patients no one else would touch, and burying the dead. Her gifts of prophecy and spiritual guidance became widely recognized. Catherine was a spiritual guide to a group of followers that included priests, religious, and lay people. She called them her family. Catherine was in constant pain. Only her faith in Christ crucified gave her strength. She offered her life for the good of the CChurch. Catherine bore the stigmata, the wounds of Christ on h e her body, invisible to all until her death. She died at the age of ttthirty-three, one of the Church’s greatest mystics. In 1970 the C C Church gave her the special title, Doctor of the Church.

With the onset of Lent, our children in all grade levels gathered in church to pray the Stations of the Cross. By remembering this tradition and giving it due diligence. We reflect upon our own faults and failings and receive the opportunity to right our wrongs. We can also recognize where our attention may need to be directed. Making these changes only strengthens our relationship with God and puts us back on track. Lent is so much more than just not eating meat on Friday! Our Confirmation Candidates, five in all: Trenton Vielbig, Dana Swanson, Bridget Marcin, Amanda Bovee and KC Donaldson—are working hard to bring it all together. We recently met with sponsors and had an evening of good conversations and discussions of thought provoking topics. Please remember these students in your prayers as we prepare for retreat March 23-24, 2013. Other plans include attending the Chrism Mass at St. John’s Cathedral in Milwaukee. The Confirmation Ceremony will take place at Shepherd of the Hills Parish on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Hope to see you there. The First Communion classes have begun! These eager second graders arrive with questions, comments, and brilliant insights! We have completed the first couple of chapters in their books and even had a lesson on making bread! We are looking forward to spring and joining with everyone at the table of our Lord. God Bless, Loreen Kuslits DRE

Religious Education