Parish Newsletter December 2019
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Christmas is a holy season, a season of hope, a time to rejoice in the angel’s joyful announcement of the birth of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a time, a gift from God, to share with family and friends the love, the peace and the happiness that Mary and Joseph shared that night in the little town of Bethlehem.

Guardian Angels would not be the amazing parish that it is without your loyalty and generous support. Thank you for all you do for our parish family.

We wish you and your loved ones the Lord’s peace and His abundant blessings this Christmas and throughout the New Year.

God Bless and Merry Christmas,
Fr. Thomas M. King
Fr. David Sunberg
Advent/Christmas Schedule
Immaculate Conception
Not a Holy Day of Obligation this Year
Monday, December 9          7:30am.
 
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Communal Penance Service
Tuesday, December 10          7:00pm
(No confessions on December 9 or 23)

Masses for Christmas
Tuesday, Christmas Eve       3:00; 5:00 & 11:00pm
(Carols will be sung in church at 10:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, Christmas Day       9:00 & 11:00am

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Holy Day of Obligation
Tuesday, December 31    5:00pm
Wednesday, January 1      9:00 & 10:30am
 
(Parish Offices will be closed at noon Dec. 23 – 26, & at noon Dec. 31 - Jan. 2)
Faith and Fellowship Fridays
Join our parish family on the Fridays of Advent as we prepare our hearts in anticipation of our Savior’s birth.
Share a meal and discover how all families are united to the Holy Family and how we can develop a Domestic Church in our homes. We’ll begin with soup, chili and fellowship at 6:00pm, followed by a presentation at 7:00pm; the evening ends with Stations of the Infant Jesus at 7:45pm. The topics we will focus on are:
  • December 6: Mr. Bradley Barnes, GA’s Youth Minister presents Jesus and the Children of God
  • December 13: Mrs. Kay Froehlich, GA’s Director of Religious Education will discuss Mary and the Domestic Church
  • December 20: Very Rev. Anthony Brausch, Rector of Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary and President, Athenaeum of Ohio presents St. Joseph and Spiritual Fatherhood

You can RSVP by clicking on the date(s) you plan to attend.
Preschool & PreK Enrollment Opens Monday for GA Families
Preschool and pre-kindergarten registration and re-enrollment will open to current Guardian Angels School and Parish families on Monday, December 9th . We absolutely expect all preschool and pre-kindergarten classes to fill again this year. Current GA school and parish families have first priority in registering and re-enrolling but we recommend completing the process as soon as possible to ensure a spot. Last year our preschool and pre-k classes filled very quickly. There are only a few spots available for pre-k as most students currently in preschool will be moving up to pre-k for the 20-21 school year. If there are spots available after this early enrollment period, we will open registration up to the community at our school Open House event on January 26th. At that point, spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Registration materials will be available on the preschool page of the school website on Monday.

More information about our Open House can be found below in the school section.
New Welcome Committee Forming
Are you interested in providing a warm welcome to new parishioners and sharing information about our parish and current events? The Welcome Committee is looking for new ideas and new volunteers. If you would like to get more involved with the parish, this is a great place to start! Please contact Jennifer Stoehr if you are interested in joining.
Music Ministry Looking for More Members
Guardian Angels Choir is preparing now for the advent season which is great fun to sing, with a variety of music. Singing in the choir does not require advanced music skills. All you need is a voice that blends with other voices, a willingness to praise God in song, and the commitment to attend Thursday night rehearsals at 7:00pm and attend Sunday 10:00am Mass. The choir also sings at occasional special liturgies and during Holy Week. In return, you will be part of a great group of people who love to sing and socialize.
 
Are you an instrumentalist? Contact our Music Director, George Stegeman, to discuss opportunities to play at Mass.
 
No one joins unless asked, so consider this a personal invitation. In return, you are guaranteed to acquire a level of personal accomplishment and a measure of satisfaction in your spiritual life you can't find elsewhere.
 
If interested, email George Stegeman , call him at 624-3149, or stop by the organ after Mass and introduce yourself!
Amazon Shopping Supports GA
While you're going through your holiday shopping list, remember y ou can now support Guardian Angels Parish when you shop at Amazon.com! GA is a participant in the AmazonSmile Program. You can  sign-up   to have a portion of your purchase come back to Guardian Angels. When you make purchases through the AmazonSmile page, and have GA selected as your beneficiary, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products back to GA.  You have to be shopping from smile.amazon.com page of the site for GA to receive the benefit.  
School News
Come Learn More About Guardian Angels School
We hold three types of events each year to introduce families to Guardian Angels School. All three offer a different insight so feel free to attend all of them, or choose the one that fits your needs.

Open House
Our Open House is scheduled for Sunday, January 26th  from 1:00-3:00pm. This is a great opportunity to meet other GA families and teachers, talk with administrators and help us kick off Catholic Schools Week. You can RSVP for Open House here .

Informational Coffee
Our Informational Coffee events provide parents an opportunity to see classes in session but also talk with other current GA parents about their experience here at Guardian Angels School. We hold one of these events in the Fall and one in the Spring. Our next coffee is scheduled for  Thursday, February 20th at 9:00am. A flyer with more information is attached . If you'd like to attend this event,  please RSVP to Tiffany Strah .

Personal Tour
You are always welcome to call and schedule a personal tour of Guardian Angels School. You will meet with our administration to discuss the classes and programs available through GA and have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. These are typically done during school hours so you can see what a typical day is like for students. Call the school office at (513)624-3141 to schedule a tour. 
PTA News
365 Lotto
How would you like the chance to win money every single day of the year? It’s so easy when you buy a 365 Lotto ticket. Drawings begin on January 1, 2020 for the following prizes:
  • $1000 winners on Easter, July 4th and Christmas
  • $500 winners on all first Mondays
  • $100 winners on all Sundays
  • $40 winners on ALL remaining days of the year

The Guardian Angels PTA partners with St. Joseph Consolidated School for the 365 Lotto sale and it is one of the PTA’s largest fundraisers .  Winners are sent a check directly to their homes and winning names will be posted in the Sunday bulletin. The cost of each ticket is $20.

Every penny raised from the 365 Lotto will go directly to a PTA sponsored professional development fund for our teachers so they can continue to grow in their practice as educators. 

Ways tickets can be purchased:
  • Parish Office
  • School Office
  • after Masses on December 7th & 8th  
The sale will conclude on December 13, 2019.

If you have any questions , please contact Melissa Clissold .
Thank you for your support of the Guardian Angels PTA and the 365 Lotto!
Halo Hustle News
After a successful inaugural Friday night race in May, the GA Halo Hustle committee is kicking off planning this month for the May, 2020 event! Thank you to everyone who came out to make the 2019 event such a fun night for the community. Through your support, the Halo Hustle was able to raise nearly $12,000 for the school. All proceeds from the Halo Hustle are given back to the school in various ways to support the academic and facility program needs. This year, the committee has worked with the school to fund the following programs along with funds from the 2018 Hog Jog event:
  • 8th Grade HSPT Prep = $4,000
  • 8th Grade Class Trip = $500
  • School Outdoor Illumination Project Support = $3,000
  • Basketball Hoops = $8,721  
 
While most of these projects are "behind the scenes", the new basketball hoops on the playground will be much more noticeable! This fall, the three existing hoops near the field concession stands will be replaced with new poles & hoops that are height adjustable, sturdier, and made safer with wrapped poles and further off the curb. Thanks to Run- Jump-n-Play Swings-n-Things for their partnership in getting the hoops installed!
 
If you are interested in joining the committee or sponsoring the Halo Hustle, we'd love to have you! Please email Nicole Schneider or Christine Ackerman .
2020 Halo Hustle Committee

Co-chairs : 
Christine Ackerman
Nicole Schneider

Committee:
Jason Claes
Bridget Fesenmeier
Jim Froehlich
Sarah Kathmann
Ann Kinney
MaryLynn Lanham
Erica Monahan
Matt Musselman
Jen Sebranek
Toby Schisler
Sarah Simon
Molly Stenger
Stephanie Weingartner
Sarah White
Other News
Online Offertory Giving Available
As Guardian Angels Parishioners make a pledge commitment for the coming year through the Stewardship campaign, we want to make sure you know online giving is available.

Donating is simple, safe, and completely secure. On the parish website, you can now set up a recurring weekly or monthly transaction using your checking, savings, or credit card account. You can decide how much to give to any collection and make changes any time, day or night.

If you would like to enroll in Online Giving, please visit the parish website .
If you have any questions or concerns about the program or would like help setting up your account, please email Jamie Wilmers or call her at 513-624-2200 .
Greeter Ministry Needs Volunteers
Guardian Angels Parish is looking to enhance what a welcoming community we are. Our parish is resuming the MINISTRY OF GREETERS.

We are asking for some friendly faces to be at the Gathering Space doors 20 minutes before the Saturday and Sunday Masses.  You would be committing to a once a month obligation. We would like to have a minimum of 3 people greeting at each Mass. Feel free to have the whole family at the doors welcoming fellow parishioners and new ones as we join in the celebration of Mass together. A single person or a family can all serve in this ministry. (GA students may count this activity as Service to the Parish for the Christian Service Program.)

Please sign-up here if you would like to participate. If you have specific questions, contact Kay Froehlich .
Family Rosary
GA is blessed to have Eucharistic Adoration almost every Thursday from 3:00pm to 9:00pm. We begin those hours with the Family Rosary at 3:00pm. We say 5 decades of the rosary and rotate which mysteries we pray based on the day of the week or the liturgical season. It takes about 20 minutes.

We will be praying each week for our Guardian Angels school and parish community. ALL ages welcome. 

Please sign-up here if you would like to participate.
Stay Connected with GA on Social Media
Stay up-to-date with all things GA by following us on social media. 
Guardian Angels is active on several social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook serves as our primary social channel to keep families informed about upcoming events, news, and other information regarding our school and parish.  If you want to make sure you see information posted through the Guardian Angels page, please make sure you  go to our Facebook page , click Following (just under the cover photo), and then choose See First. This way anything we share will still be seen in your newsfeed.

You can also follow us through our  Twitter page .

And new this year: we've just launched an Instagram account !

You will also be able to find links to our social media channels at the bottom of every parish newsletter.
Have News to Share?
If you are part of a parish organization and have news you would like to share with our community, please email Tiffany Strah. To be included in next month's newsletter, your information must be received by the last Monday of this month.