Confirmation 2022
This coming Thursday, May 19, Archbishop Jerome Listecki will be the Celebrant of the Sacrament of Confirmation here at St. John’s. Please pray for these 21 individuals that they will always be open and receptive to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
First Holy Communion
This past Saturday, we celebrated the First Holy Communion of children from our day school along with our Religious Education program. A special thanks to Mr. Austin Rahill, who oversees the Religious Education program and the details of the First Communion retreat and rehearsal. A special thanks also to our two teachers who helped prepare the children, Kathy Kazik from our day school and Julie Sarnowski for the Religious Education program.
And a special thanks to Karen Schulteis, our Director of Music and Liturgy, and the cantors who enhanced our First Communion Liturgy. And praise God for the beautiful day outside, which blessed the celebration.
Rome Synod on Synodality
Over the coming months, Catholics from around the world will participate in a worldwide Synod or consultation process. What would you like the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and Pope Francis to know? Lend your voice to the Archdiocese's response to Pope Francis' Synod on Synodality. The four-page survey is a combination of multiple-choice and very brief essay questions. You may access the online survey at: www.archmil.org/About-us/Synod/Synodality.htm
For those without internet access, paper copies are available in the narthex and parish office. Please fill out the paper survey and return it to the parish office or drop it in the collection basket by June 20.
School Garden Receives New Face Lift
Back in 2016, now retired Principal Mary Laidlaw Otto received a 10 thousand dollar grant to construct a teaching garden for the school children. It was put together by a former St. John’s graduate, John Smith, who, with the help of his Scout troop as an Eagle Scout project, constructed the garden.
During the past six years, quite a bit of garden upkeep has been needed, including painting, the raised garden beds needed attention, and the fencing needed rabbit proofing. Under the direction of Jane Ehrmann and Tom Rozina and with help from a couple of generous parishioners, the facelift was completed. The Spring planting of the school garden is scheduled to take place at the end of May.
Also on the horizon is the possible transformation of the former playground area into a pumpkin patch and pollinator garden. There will be further discussion and more information coming soon.
Pastoral Council Elections May 21 & 22
Next weekend, the Parish will elect two new at-large members to the Pastoral Council. Please review the biographical information here to familiarize yourselves with the nine candidates who are running for a seat.
Word On Fire: Engage
Below is Bishop Barron's video, "3 words that sum up the purpose of Christianity," part of his Easter mini-course He is Risen!
You can view Bishop Barron's videos anytime you want to. It is our gift to you for being part of our flock.
St. John’s is fortunate to have 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Please take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to stay close to God.
Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
We are live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses as well as Adoration for those who are unable to attend:
Daily Masses:
Monday thru Saturday 8:00 am
Weekend Masses:
Saturday at 4:30 pm
Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 am
If you miss the Livestream, you can watch the upload of each Mass on our YouTube channel.
GOLF!!
Join us for a golf outing on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at Whitnall Golf Course. The first tee time is 2:00 pm. All men and women are welcome. This is a fun outing, with door prizes, minor awards, refreshments & sandwiches afterward in the church hall. We will be playing nine (9) holes, and the cost is $20.00 per person walking. Carts are available at extra cost.
To sign up, call
Ron Heser at 414-448-7117.
St. John’s Prayer Shawl Ministry Meeting
The next meeting of the St. John’s Prayer Shawl Ministry will be Friday, May 13, 10:30 am until Noon, in the Parish Office, lower level, Room A. Please bring your creations of Prayer Pockets, Lap Blankets, Twiddle Muffs, and Baptismal Gifts. If you enjoy knitting and crocheting, they would love to have you join them and learn more about this ministry.
If you would like more information, please call
Diane Oakland at 414-546-0721.
Council Meeting
We will be having a Tootsie Roll Fundraiser before and after all Masses on May 20/21 for people with special needs. This week, a sign-up genius will be going out for SJE students to sign-up to help.
For more information contact
Patrick Reiff, Membership Director at 414-403-7540
Peter Kurz, Worthy Grand Knight at 414-659-2656
Congratulations to our second graders on making their First Communion on May 7. On Monday, the students excitedly shared with me the song they were going to sing on the day of the First Communion. It was awesome to see the joy on their faces as they sang the song for me.
The students also played “Eucharistic Bingo” to review for the big day and enthusiastically helped each other search for the answers on their bingo cards.
Our 7th and 8th-grade students enjoyed their outdoor educational experience at Camp Edwards on May 2-4. The students left at 9:30 am Monday morning and returned on Wednesday afternoon. Although the weather did not cooperate, the students were able to participate in all of the activities planned, including archery, learning about animals, playing basketball, constructing shelters, a low ropes course, and building a campfire. A big shout out to Mrs. Wisniewski and Mr. Courchane for organizing and supervising the trip.
“Stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.”
— 1 Corinthians 16:13
Scrip is now available at all weekend Masses or during regular business hours at the parish office.
Download the RaiseRight app to reload cards, purchase ecards, or purchase physical cards. Contact the Parish Office or School Office for the enrollment code.
This program allows .5% of your shopping on Amazon to be donated to St. John the Evangelist.
If you purchase Scrip, St. John's receives an additional 2.25%. That's 2.75% of your purchases to St. John's if you are already shopping Amazon.
If you purchase Scrip, St. John's receives an additional 2.25%. That's 2.75% of your purchases to St. John's if you are already shopping Amazon.
May 15, 2022
Fifth Sunday of Easter
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Many folks really work very hard to circumvent difficult situations. We prefer the easier way around something rather than risk inconvenience, hurt or prolonged suffering. It’s no wonder euthanasia is rapidly becoming acceptable around the world. Through purely human eyes, there is no issue bypassing the inevitable, taking control, and bringing things more swiftly to a place of peace. If this is the way God sees things, then why does Jesus make such a big deal in helping us understand the experience of suffering and embrace it? God’s wisdom clearly takes us in another direction.
Imagine if we were able to eradicate ALL hardship and suffering. Where would we be? As we look at our own journeys, many of our solid more growth-producing life lessons have been born of suffering, disappointment, inconvenience, darkness, and despair. There is something sacred about these experiences as God uses them to create something new. Envisioning life without hardship and suffering brings us to a vision where everything is flat-lined and dull. As much as hardship and suffering are difficult crosses to bear, not taking them up runs the risk of us becoming shallow, empty, and lifeless. Helen Keller remarks that “a happy life consists not in the absence but in the mastery of hardships.” What an incredibly wise insight! Many really successful people and saints were brought to their station in life because they suffered. Suffering teaches us about what’s important and propels us to search the depths of our souls for resources and strength we would never have known before.
Mastering the art of love is the secret to living life well, walking in the presence of God, and investing in the joy of the Gospel. This is especially true when we love as Jesus asks us to love. Perhaps above any other experience, love can cause us great hardship, pain, and suffering, especially when it’s authentic and unconditional. While it can thrust us into an incredible experience of God and life, on one hand, it can bruise and wound us deeply on the other. Love and suffering walk hand in hand. Compromising one will compromise the other. Maybe that’s why Jesus spent so much time convincing us to accept both.
©LPi
CDs from Augustine Institute
Did you know we have CDs (and other items) located in the narthex? Each week we will highlight one of the available CDs.
The cost is $4 each.
In 1527, Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca led an expedition to Florida. Craig Turner here tells this amazing story — a tale of shipwrecks and slavery, of miracles, battles, apparitions, privations and hardship, of spies and bribery, of human sacrifice, and above all, an astonishing journey through a wilderness that took all but four lives out of three hundred. Those who sought to gain the most fared the worst, and those who accepted their terrible fate performed miracles.
