1
MEMO
TO: Parish Secretaries, Bulletin editors
FROM: from Lois McKay(306-659-5837)
RE: Bulletin Announcements–City
DATE: Feb. 5, 2014(5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 9, 2014)
Here are the Announcements for this week (Please note that those marked with an asterisk* have been mentioned in the Diocesan Bulletin PDF
* Widow & Widower Support Group – Are you grieving the loss of your spouse? The Diocese of Saskatoon has gathered together facilitators who will provide support, hope, healing and empowerment through an 8-week program named “From Mourning to Dawn” This course is open to participants who have been widows/widowers between 2 months and 2 years. Sessions are held on Mondays, beginning April 7th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, 123 Nelson Road, Saskatoon. The cost is $25. Please contact Elan for more information or to register at (306) 659-5839 or toll free at 1-877-661-5005, Extension 839, or e-mail
(The diocesan office of Marriage and Family Life is supported by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.)
February 11th is World Day of the Sick, an observation introduced by Pope John Paul II in 1992. We take to heart Jesus’ special attention to the poor and suffering – and are called to see ourselves as His hands, ministering to those who are ill with the same love and compassion. This is a time to also recognize all persons who work in health care, and all caregivers, honouring them for their commitment. On World Day of the Sick, let us pray in solidarity with those who are sick and those who serve the sick around the world.
* Kids' Purity Rally - Saturday, Feb. 22 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Wiggins Avenue and 12th Street East, Saskatoon. Pure Witness Ministries presents an awesome day for kids and their parents. All are welcome. For more information see:
* Pure Witness Ministriespresents YEP for youth Grade 8 and up, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday March 8, with guest speakers Matt and Amanda Nelson. Cost of this Youth Evangelization Program (YEP) event: $30 (Lunch and supper included). For more information see:
* Re-Connect Adoration Night 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8 at Our Lady of Lourdes parish, 1235-12th Street East, Saskatoon - everyone welcome. For more information see:
* Stewardship Corner –February 9, 2014, 5th Sunday Ordinary Time
We are called to be ‘Salt and Light’ for the world. Our lives, what we do and how we do it, should become a source of blessing and meaning for others. Our actions should be a visible sign of God’s presence in the world. Good stewards do this through generosity and concern for the poor, the homeless and the hungry. This means re-evaluating our activities so that, within our everyday concerns, we serve others in an effective way. How do you share the ‘bread’ you have received with others?To find out more about stewardship, contact Jocelyne Hamoline, Personal Giving Coordinator, Diocese of Saskatoon Catholic Foundation, at 306-659-5849 or e-mail: or see the parish resources web page at
* Stress in Your Marriage? Retrouvailleis a program for married couples who feel bored, disillusioned, frustrated, or angry in their marriage. Some experience coldness. Others experience conflict in their relationship. Many don’t know how to change the situation or even how to communicate with their spouse about it. Retrouvaille can help. For confidential information or to register for the April 25 to 27, 2014 Retrouvaille weekend in Saskatoon, call Wendy & Fritz at (306) 652-7155 or e-mail:
From Last Week:
* Greeting Card Donations - The diocesan office for Restorative Ministry is seeking greeting cards with messages such as “I Miss You” or “I Love You” or “Thinking of You” for inmates to use to send messages to children, spouses and other family members. If you are able to help by donating cards, please drop off your donations at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, 2nd floor of the Cathedral of the Holy Family, 123 Nelson Road, Saskatoon (hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or call Dianne Anderson at (306) 659-5845.
* WHERE IT ALL BEGAN - In honor of the 80th Anniversary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, Saint Paul’s Co-Cathedral is hosting a walk-through of the history of Saint Paul’s as the first Cathedral of the Diocese of Saskatoon on February 19 at 1:30 pm. There will be an opportunity to view items from the archives, pre-Vatican II vestments, photos, and much more! All are welcome.
* Pastoral Care Appreciation for Volunteers to be held on the World Day of the Sick – The Diocese of Saskatoon and Knights of Columbus are sponsoring the fifteenth annual reception to recognize those involved in Pastoral Care for the Sick, to be held 7 p.m. on Tuesday,February 11, 2014 at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, 123 Nelson Rd. Please RSVP to the Catholic Pastoral Centre by calling (306) 242-1500 or toll free 1-877-661-5005.
* Happy 40th anniversary, SERENA Saskatchewan! Come celebrate with us on Saturday, February 15, 2014 (6:30-9:30pm) in the Our Lady of Lourdes gym (1235-12th Street East, corner of Wiggins Ave, Saskatoon). We would love to see all who have served and supported Serena, past and present. The evening includes a catered banquet (roast beef, oven roasted potatoes, dill carrots, spinach salad, creamy pasta salad, apple slaw, homemade buns, fruit, and anniversary cake), oboe and piano entertainment by Adam and Amanda Lowe, toasts by Serena SK founders, and awards. All are welcome! To reserve tickets ($25/person) or to send pictures for the slide show, contact SERENA at or 306-934-8223, or 1-800-667-1637.
* Teen-Aid teacher wanted. If you appreciate that our youth benefit from CHASTITY EDUCATION, this position may be for you. There is some flexibility in scheduling and teaching area. For more information or to set up an interview phone Colette @ 306-753-2647 or Celeste @ 306-373-7995.
An Evening For Parents – Get some valuable information and tools about challenging child care issues at this dessert night with sessions 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 8 at John Lake School, 2606 Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon, SK.
There will be three sessions to choose from:
• Choosing Child Care with Confidence, presented by Melanie Christopherson: Parents and caregivers will learn about their options for child care, the difference between child care centres, licensed family child care homes, and unlicensed/private homes, as well as what to look for in a quality child care environment.
• “No is my favourite word” – Navigating the Preschool Years, presented by Christie Meinema: Cute and cuddly one minute, throwing a tantrum the next. How to deal with your toddler/preschooler and their ever-changing steps toward independence. Learn about normal, healthy behaviour and how you can lovingly guide your child through these wonderful, but sometimes turbulent, years.
• Parenting Teens – Standing Firm for What you Believe, presented by Linda Kasdorf: The challenge of parenting teens continues to evolve, as social media impacts their lives in powerful and formative ways. Discuss and explore how we communicate our values to our teens. Look at tools that strengthen you as a parent and resources to parent your teen in a way that maintains their dignity and your own. No topic is off limits – let’s be real.
To register for the Evening for Parents contact Family Service Saskatoon:(306)-244-0127, or see
Early Bird Registration before March 25, 2014is $20 per person or $35 per couple; Cost at the door is $25 per person or $40 per couple. This evening for parents is co-sponsored by Family Service Saskatoon and Catholic Family Services.
* Feeling Called to Serve? The Diocese Needs You!
Do you enjoy shopping, organizing, food preparation, serving at functions? The Diocese is seeking volunteers for hospitality at special events like the Chrism Mass reception, ordinations, Rite of Election and other special diocesan gatherings. We would like to form a team of volunteers to help with any of these functions.
This is a chance to meet like-minded people who are also serving their community in joy and friendship. If you would like to become involved in this ministry we welcome you. Please call Sharon at 306-659-5831 or email .
Notes from our diocesan mission in Brazil: Sr. Claire Novecosky, OSU, writes from Maceió: This week our parish community of St. Angela participated in three days of preparation for the celebration of Angela´s feast day January 27th. We pray that this Ursuline patron saint will continue to be an encouragement for the people of the parish to be strong in their baptismal commitments.
* INTRODUCTION TO CENTERING PRAYER - Begin your Lenten Season in discovering a way to grow into greater intimacy with God. Centering Prayer is a simple method of Christ-Centered silent prayer, a renewal of an ancient Christian Contemplative practice, updated for our time. It can lead to a deeper prayer life, personal healing, spiritual transformation, and closer union with God. Marge Copeland will be leading an Introduction to Centering Prayer on Saturday, February 15th, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Introductory series will continue with six follow-up sessions Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. (Feb 22nd, March 1st, March 8th, March 22nd, March 29th and April 5th ). These follow up sessions build on the information presented at the introductory session. Soup lunch will be provided. For further information, or to register, please call 306-230-8803, or email me at . Cost is $35.00
* St. Patrick Parish presents a marriage preparation program for all couples contemplating marriage in the near future - a time of reflection and discussion about your future together! This program was recently rescheduled to begin Sunday, March 9 and will run until Sunday, May 4 (excluding Easter Sunday). The cost is $150. Please contact Pat and Gail Fitzpatrick to register; call (306) 382-8955 or (306) 227-5594.
Find other Marriage Preparation times and locations in the diocese listed online at:
* Holy Spirit parish is offering a Marriage Preparation Course. The next session begins March 2/14, continuing to April 6/14. This program is intended not only for engaged couples but also for couples considering engagement and marriage. Please call Arch McKay, 373-0993 or the parish office, 374-1425 for information and to register.
Find other Marriage Preparation times and locations in the diocese listed online at:
* Getting married? Want a weekend away to focus on your relationship? After all, "A Wedding is a Day, a Marriage is a Lifetime". An Engaged Encounter Weekend gives couples planning marriage the opportunity to dialogue honestly and intensively about their future lives together. The weekend is designed to deepen and enrich relationships with one another, God, the church and the world. Couples are given opportunities to learn more about one another as they engage in deep and meaningful discussions dealing with all aspects of married life. In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon the next Engaged Encounter weekend is March 14-16 at St. Peter’s Abbey in Muenster. Register at or call Heather and Craig Stomp: (306) 682-3326.
Regina Catholic Engaged Encounter also has openings in upcoming marriage preparation weekends February 21-23 and April 4-6, to be held at St. Michael's retreat house in Lumsden. For more info call Kim and Vance Weber at 306-698-2466, or go to
QUEEN’S HOUSE RETREAT & RENEWAL CENTRE -Queen’s House is located at 601 Taylor Street West, Saskatoon, SK - More information available at the website: or to register, contact: 306-242-1916 or
Upcoming programs at Queen’s House include:
Scriptural Themes for Seniors and Friends: The Prophets - Thursdays, Feb 13,20,27; from 1:30 – 3p.m. with VERN RATZLAFF, $40 – If you can pay. The Prophets were one of the three major social institutions of Hebrew life, but independent in thought, targets and accountability. We will look at the historical milieu in which they emerged and functioned, and attempt a survey/summary of their thought as reflected in the sacred writings of the Jewish (and of the later Christian) communities.
* The Role of the Human Within the Sacred Earth Community, February 11, 18, 25, 2014, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. with SISTER JUDY SCHACHTEL, SMS, $60/all four sessions or $20/session. What is our spirituality today? Stephen Sharper says whatever happens to the outer world happens to our inner world. If the outer world is diminished in grandeur, then the emotional, imaginative, intellectual, and spiritual life of humans is diminished or even extinguished. With reflections from Thomas Berry and dvd we will examine our role within the community of life that is nurtured by an eco-spirituality.
Silent Retreat, February 10-13, Monday evening 7:00 p.m. to Thursday w/lunch
QUEEN’S HOUSE STAFF, Cost: $350 (with spiritual direction). For more information contact Sister Adeline Behm: 306-242-1916.
Addictions and Twelve Step Spirituality, Feb 15, Saturday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, BRAD BODNARCHUK - Cost: $95 (includes lunch)This day-long workshop will offer an overview of the 12-Step program of recovery from chemical and process addictions, and how the steps can be used by anyone who wants to grow personally, deal with their issues and move forward towards a new future. Growing with the 12 Steps means: finding ways and methods for relating and surrendering to a Higher Power through prayer and trust, and being offered practices and insights for developing a healthy and enriching spiritual life of recovery.
Celebrate You! Women’s Wellness Day, Saturday, March 22 8:30 am – 5:30 pm, ELAINE ZAKRESKI and DIANE WALDBILLIG, Cost: $110. (includes lunch + dinner)
Come and realize how you are truly one of God’s pampered princesses! Renew your faith. Refresh your perspective. Revive your body. Restore your soul. Your body, mind and spirit will benefit from the experience of Christ-centered Holy Yoga using gentle restorative poses designed for comfort, stretching and relaxation. Listen to great talks on women’s spiritual and physical issues and connect with other women in discussion, prayer and play.
Enjoy a spa-like atmosphere with complementary massage and mini/manicure and pedicure. There will be time for solitude, reflection and prayer.
* Reading the Signs of the Times in Our Rapidly Changing World with Diarmuid O’Murchu – June 16-18, 2014 at Queen’s House of Retreats in Saskatoon. Begins Monday, June 16 at 5:30 p.m. w/supper; retreat starts at 7 pm;ends with lunch on Wednesday, June 18. Cost: Live-in $350/ Commute $280. - This workshop will attempt to provide the wisdom and context through which we can better discern the spiritual and evolutionary changes of our time, and their impact on our human and spiritual well being.
To register for this retreat: or 306-242-1916
Diarmuid O’Murchu, a member of the Sacred Heart Missionary Order, and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin Ireland, is a social psychologist most of whose working life has been in social ministry. In that capacity, he has worked as a couple’s counsellor, in bereavement work, AIDS-HIV counselling, and laterally with homeless people and refugees. As a workshop leader and group facilitator he has worked in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, The Philippines, Thailand, India, Peru and in several African countries facilitating programmes on Adult Faith Development. His best known books include Quantum Theology (1996-revised in 2004),Reclaiming Spirituality (1998),Evolutionary Faith (2002), Catching Up with Jesus (2005), The Transformation of Desire (2007), Ancestral Grace (2008), Jesus in the Power of Poetry (2009), Christianity’s Dangerous Memory (2011),In the Beginning Was the Spirit: Science, Religion and Indigenous Spirituality(2012),God in the Midst of Change: Wisdom for Confusing Times(2013).
* TRANSITIONS is an 11-week program for anyone going through the painful experience of separation or divorce. You are not alone! Sessions begin Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00 PM at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, 123 Nelson Road. For more information or to register, please contact Elan at (306) 659-5839 or
* Children’s Story Time is held weekly at the Catholic Pastoral Centre Library, every Thursday at 10 a.m. (located on the second floor of the Cathedral of the Holy Family, 123 Nelson Road, Saskatoon.) There is no charge and there will be coffee and snacks!
* Come check out some of the great resources our Msgr. Michael Koch Library has to offer, located on the second floor of the Catholic Pastoral Centre 123 Nelson Rd. If you are looking for bible study materials, school project resources, movies, or are just interested in reading some life-giving novels, find them here. Check out the searchable resource library section of if you are looking for a particular item. We are open Monday-Thursday 9-4:30 pm (closed from noon to 1 p.m.)
* St. Therese Institute in Bruno, SK. presents "triumph": RESULTS GOD GIVES, A gentle powerful inner healing and spiritual growth experience for anyone wanting to cast off that 'extra baggage' that we all tend to carry in our lives. Whether you feel stuck in a rut, need a recharge, or want to move your faith-life along, attend "triumph" Feb. 21 to March 2. Call 306-369-2555 for registration and information or visit
March 6-9 at St. Therese Institute in Bruno, SK.: "5th Annual Lenten Divine Mercy Conference – Flames of Mercy.” Offering a wonderful Lenten opportunity for purification and enlightenment with the promise of healing and transformation, Dr. Peter Fitch (author of Learning to Suffer Well) invites us into the merciful furnace of God's love by leading us through a Biblical and devotional study about facing suffering in different situations. Keynote: Dr. Peter D. Fitch, D.Min; with Dr. Robert Stackpole, STD, and Most Rev. Donald Bolen, Bishop of Saskatoon. Info and registration online at:
* Congress Day in the Deaneries: joins us for a day of discernment about ordaining permanent deacons in our diocese. Everyone welcome to attend this free diocesan gathering.Saturday, March 8 - For Humboldt and Wadena Deaneries, held at St. Augustine parish, 809-10th St., Humboldt. Schedule: 9:30 a.m. gather; 10 a.m. start; includes lunch (please pre-register in order to assist with lunch planning). Please note: The 4 p.m. Saturday Eucharistic celebration with Bishop Bolen will be an anticipated Sunday liturgy, and all are welcome to attend, even if not participating in the Congress Day itself!Register online at: (Or for information call Sharon Powell at: (306) 242-1500 or toll free: 1-877-661-5005).
To learn more about deacons and the diocesan discussion, please see the resources on the diocesan website at:
Bishop Don Bolen is seeking input and insight from the entire diocese in discerning the role of the permanent diaconate in the diocese of Saskatoon. Congress Day is an opportunity to listen, to reflect, to pray and to share thoughts, experiences and the sense of God’s call for ministry in our local church.