Archdiocesan Stewardship Appeal
This weekend, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, under our new Archbishop Jeffrey Grob, will officially kick off this year’s Catholic Stewardship Appeal. The goal set for our parish by the Archdiocese is $72,406. I ask that each of us prayerfully consider what financial offering we can make for this significant cause as it helps sustain a broad spectrum of life-changing ministries and programs that meaningfully impact more than 500,000 people’s lives each year. The theme of the 2025 Appeal is “Your Gift Does God’s Work.” Your contributions support the Church’s sacred duty of spreading the Gospel and extending a helping hand to those in need. Your gift not only enables us to serve those in need but also to train future leaders of the Church (Seminarian Formation), support religious education for young people, and strengthen parish ministries. Your contributions to the Appeal are restricted for use in four key areas of ministry: serving those in need, supporting Catholic schools and Parish Religious Education, Forming Priests, Deacons, and Fostering Parish Leadership, and Strengthening Parish Ministries and Promoting Evangelization. Gifts to this Appeal are used solely to support these ministries and are kept separate from other assets of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. If you have any questions about the Catholic Stewardship Appeal, feel free to ask.
Cold and Flu Season
As we move into the month of February, I offer two good reminders. One, as we are in the midst of the cold and flu season, a good rule of thumb is if you are not feeling well, such as feeling feverish, experiencing heavy coughing, and/or sneezing, you are encouraged to stay home until you are well.
Also, a reminder to those who minister in the Sanctuary of the church, such as Acolytes, Communion Ministers, and Lectors: if it is snowy and wet outside, please either wear a pair of over boots or bring a dry pair of shoes to enter the Sanctuary. There is a nice bench outside the Sacristy to comfortably sit and change shoes. This will help keep our Sanctuary floor clean and presentable. Thank you ahead of time for your attention to these reminders.
Honey for Sale
We continue to sell jars of raw, local honey in the parish office. Each jar is $24, and we accept cash or checks.
Catholic Schools Week is always a busy, fun week. The week is filled with fun activities celebrating many of the things that make Catholic schools great. This year, we celebrated our faith, our school spirit, our character, our parish community, our families, and our students and staff.
We had our Monday morning prayer service led by our National Junior Honor Society members to celebrate our faith and kick off our celebration of Catholic schools. Monday afternoon was a celebration of school spirit as we had our annual teachers vs. 8th-grade volleyball game and pep rally.
On Tuesday, we celebrated our students and staff with a teacher switch day. Our middle-school teachers moved downstairs to work with our younger students, and our primary-grade teachers moved upstairs to work with our middle-school students. The students had a great time working with a new teacher.
On Wednesday, we celebrated our parish community by completing service projects with our buddy classes. We made Valentine's cards to send to parishioners and door decorations for the residents of Clement Manor. Here, our buddies are working on their service projects.
On Thursday, we celebrated our character and a busy week with a comfy, cozy movie festival in the afternoon.
We did not have school on Friday, so we celebrated our families and had a family day to go out to lunch, play games, or just hang out.
Please visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063321523652 to see more pictures!
"Go Out and Set Your Soul on Fire for God!"
A huge thank you to everyone involved in making our 2025 Confirmation Retreat such a blessed and memorable experience! Denise Kasulke, Paul Fruncek, Rick Fessenbecker, Pam Donegan, Nicholas Emsing, Devan Gracyalny, and the Knights of Columbus all contributed to the excellent retreat experience. Our Confirmandi spent a fruitful Saturday, February 1, at the Church Hall, deepening their faith and preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The retreat featured inspiring video talks from Bishop Donald Hying, Monsignor James Shea, President of the University of Mary, and Sr. Mary Grace of the Sisters of Life. Our retreatants also benefited from an engaging vocations panel discussion, shared their faith in small groups, spent precious time in quiet Eucharistic Adoration, and attended evening Mass together with their families. Please keep our Confirmandi in your prayers as they continue their faith journey. They will be confirmed in May.
As always, you can stay updated with the latest information about programs and other offerings by joining our SJE Adult Formation Flocknote or following us on Facebook.
The St. John the Evangelist Holy Name Society will gather for Corporate Communion at the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, February 9. The Rosary will be recited at 7:30 a.m. Breakfast and a regular meeting will follow in the Church Hall. All men of the Parish (and their sons) are invited to join the Holy Name Society on Sunday to learn more about the Society and possibly become members.
The St. John’s Prayer Shawl Ministry will hold its next meeting on Friday, February 14, at 10:30 a.m. (until Noon). Please bring your new creations of Prayer Pockets, Shawls, Lap Blankets, Twiddle Muffs, and Baptismal Gifts. If you enjoy knitting and crocheting, they would love for you to join them and learn more about this ministry. Thanks to everyone for their monetary gifts and new yarn donations, which may always be dropped off at the Parish Office to help the Ministry in its mission. The meeting location is near St. John’s in the Highland Ridge Complex, Hill Crest Community Room, 3993 S. Prairie Hill Lane. There is easy access to the room and no stairs. For more information, please contact Diane Oakland at (414) 617-0721 or email her at dianeoak@gmail.com.
Congratulations Michael Popowycz for being awarded Council 524 Knight of the Year for 2024.
Join us on Thursday, February 20, and every third Thursday for our council meeting in the parish hall. We will start by praying the Rosary (all are welcome) at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m.
If you want to discover what the Knights are all about, join us for the Rosary or the meeting; contact Len, Peter, or Jason.
Len Felske, Membership Director, at 414-339-5779
Peter Kurz, Worthy Grand Knight, at 414-659-2656
Jason Zidek, Deputy Grand Knight, at 414-793-0450
We have many programs you may be interested in participating in or leading.
https://www.kofc.org/en/what-we-do/faith-in-action-programs/index.html
2025 Men of Christ Conference
Attention men of the parish: You are invited to join the 2025 Men of Christ conference, Courage Under Fire, which will be held in parishes across the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, including our parish—with both virtual and live elements. The morning will feature well-known speakers, Mass, Adoration, Confession and fellowship. Get all the details and register at MenOfChrist.net. The day begins on Saturday, March 29, with recitation of the Rosary at 7:30 a.m. and Mass at 8:00am with the program to follow in the Hall. It should end by 2:00 p.m. Contact Butch Sarnowski at (414) 403-0624 or email him at: ronsarnowski@gmail.com for more information.
New Members Wanted for the Vocation Committee
The Vocation Committee is seeking new members and is especially looking for a new leader. Among its activities are creating and placing displays in the narthex for occasional worldwide vocation events (e.g., World Day of Prayer for Vocations), finding ways to assist parishioners to pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and holy marriage; card ministry (sending cards to newly-ordained deacons, priests, and to confirmation students). This is a quiet, behind-the-scenes ministry and one that is very fulfilling! Please call the parish office to volunteer (414-321-1965).
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus climbs into Peter’s boat without asking permission. He simply commandeers this vessel that is central to the fisherman’s life and commences to give orders. This represents something of an enormous moment: the invasion of grace.
Though God respects our relative independence, he is not the least bit content to leave us in a “natural” state. Instead, he wants to live in us, to become the Lord of our lives, moving into our minds, wills, bodies, imaginations, nerves, and bones.
This commandeering of nature by grace does not involve the compromising of nature but rather its perfection and elevation. When Jesus moves into the house of the soul, the powers of the soul are heightened and properly directed; when Jesus commands the boat of the natural human life, that life is preserved, strengthened, and given a new orientation.
This is signaled symbolically by the Lord’s directive to put out into the deep water. On our own, we can know and will within a very narrow range, seeking those goods and truths that appear within the horizon of our natural consciousness, but when grace invades us, we are enticed into far deeper waters.
-Bishop Robert Barron
Explore the goodness, truth, and beauty of the Faith.
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St. John’s is fortunate to have 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Please take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to stay close to God.
We are currently in need of one (or ideally two) people for the following:
Tuesdays, 2:00 to 3:00 a.m.
Saturdays, 11:00 p.m. to Midnight
We are also seeking a second Adorer for Thursdays 1:00 to 2:00 a.m.
Call or text Mary-Eileen Swart at 414-687-3512 if you are interested.
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.
Scrip is 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.