If you know of anyone who would like to receive the bulletin via email, please have them call the parish office at 920-892-4006 or email sjbparish@sjbplymouth.org .
Palm Sunday
Scriptures
Palm Sunday
April 5, 2020

1st: Isaiah 50:4-7 (38ABC)
2nd: Philippians 2:6-11
The Passion of the Lord: Matthew 26:14-27:66 or 27:11-54 
Message from Father Phil
Dear Parishioners of St. John the Baptist:

Archbishop Listecki led an hour-long Conference Call with all priests, deacons and parish directors this past Wednesday. Among the take-aways were the following:
* No public Masses until May 3rd (at the earliest)
* The dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass is extended to May 31st
* No Communion except for Viaticum (at/near the point of death)
* No distribution of palms (the Archdiocese/Office of Worship will design an appropriate post-pandemic service for distributing palms)
* We can keep churches open for private prayer as long as the fewer-than-10 rule is observed and social distancing and sanitizing materials-measures are in place. (SJB Church be closed on Holy Thursday and Good Friday)
* The Archbishop will celebrate Mass at the Cathedral on Easter Sunday at 11:00 a.m. It will be televised on Channel 12. At Noon, following Mass, he invites all churches that can do so to ring their bells as a way of celebrating the Lord’s victory over death.
* The Archbishop also warns us all to watch out for scams, either by telephone or on-line.
Palm Sunday Gospel and Reflection
Archdiocese TV and Online Mass Schedule for Holy Week and Easter
Although we cannot receive Eucharist during Mass, we can still unite ourselves to the Eucharist through making a spiritual Communion. By making an Act of Spiritual Communion, we express our faith in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist and ask him to unite himself with us. Act of Spiritual Communion
SJB Church Open for Individual Prayer

Monday - Thursday
9 am–4 pm
Friday
9 a.m. - 3:30 pm

Holy Week
Monday - Wednesday
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Holy Thursday - Closed
Good Friday - Closed
Lisa Schoneman , Julie Krueger , Katie Kleiber , Amy Albers and Julia Greenwood (our Echo Apprentice from the University of Notre Dame) are making every effort to keep in touch with you electronically, through the bulletin and through various written messages. Amy Nelson and her teachers are doing the same with our school students and their families. God bless them all for their tireless efforts to reach out to as many of you as possible.
    We’re looking at setting up a “phone tree” through which we can keep parishioners in contact with each another on at least a weekly basis. For as long as the stay-at-home order remains in force, it will be important to maintain such regular contacts. More on this as it develops.
  On a matter of parish business, given the uncertainty of our future – when the COVID-19 threat peaks, at what point we’ll actually be able to congregate again, and how long it takes us to get back into the full swing of things – I think it prudent to postpone holding our trustee election indefinitely. We’d originally projected it for early May; but even if we were able to get back into Church and have services by then, we would not have had sufficient opportunity to present the candidates to you. (At this point, we have not received any nominations for the position of Trustee-Secretary other than the candidate I, as pastor, have the right to present, and completed nomination forms were to have been turned in to the parish office by Monday, April 6.)
Having conferred with the Chancellor of the Archdiocese, I will exercise my prerogative of appointing individuals to fill the unexpired portion of the terms made vacant by the resignation of both of our former trustees. Tom Roy has agreed to serve as Trustee-Secretary until such time as an election can be held, and Keith Ott will serve as Trustee-Treasurer until the next regular election for that position is conducted next Spring (2021). I offer my thanks to Tom and Keith for answering the call to serve SJB at this critical time.
Keep the Faith! Stay safe! See you in Church!    
Fr. Philip D. Reifenberg, Pastor
Keith Ott - Trustee Treasurer
Pam Ott (Spouse)
Tom Roy - Trustee Secretary
Ann Roy (Spouse) and Isabel Roy (Daughter)
Looking Forward to Holy Week
This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. On Thursday evening, we enter into the Paschal Triduum -- the holiest days of the liturgical year, during which we remember and celebrate Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Although we cannot gather to worship together in the sacred liturgies, there are many ways to observe these holy days in our own homes! Our Archdiocese has a wonderful Holy Week At-Home Guide for Individuals and Families - Click Here - full of suggestions. Read on for some quick ideas, and for Fr. Phil’s messages!
Monday of Holy Week
Examination of Conscience - Click Here
Act of Contrition - Click Here
  Tuesday of Holy Week
Stations of the Cross Audio - Click Here
Stations led by Pope Francis - Click Here
Stations by St. Alphonsus Liguouri - Click Here
  Wednesday of Holy Week
Holy Thursday
*Archbishop’s Holy Thursday Mass - Click Here
*Recipe for Angel Food Cake - Click Here
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
* Recipe for hot cross buns ( traditionally eaten for breakfast on Good Friday) - Click Here
* Norms for fasting and abstinence obligatory on Good Friday - Click Here
*The Rosary will be live-streamed on our Facebook page at 4:00 pm - Click Here (You do not to be a member of Facebook to watch! If a pop-up prompts you to log in, just select “not now.”) 
*Divine Mercy Novena - Click Here
Parish Prayer
Parish Prayer Vigil
 Our SJB parish family will be keeping vigil in prayer for the end to the coronavirus pandemic. This Prayer vigil is active until April 11. Please remember you can pray from ANYWHERE! Thank you to those who continue to participate in the Prayer Vigil. We hope to have someone from our parish continually praying.
Pray the Rosary with us live on Facebook each
Friday at 4:00 pm while Mass is suspended.
A Facebook account is not necessary to participate.
If a "pop-up" prompts you to log in, just select "not now". Please remember to "Like" our Facebook page to receive posts from St. John the Baptist.
Mass Intentions
Although public Masses are suspended, Father Phil continues to offer Mass privately for our requested intentions. Please keep our parish weekly Mass Intentions in your daily prayers as well.
The practice of offering Masses for others, living or deceased, is a long standing tradition in the Catholic Church. When we face the death of someone, even a person who is not Catholic, to have a Mass offered for the repose of their soul and to offer our prayers is beneficial and comforting.

If you would like to have a Mass offered for a loved one, please stop by the parish office, or call 892-4006. There is a customary $10 stipend per individual Mass intention.
Sacramental Notices
SJB School and Family Formation Update
Principal's Message
This week our Student Council encouraged everyone to show some school spirit while learning at home. Student Council “fun” days included:
Monday: Mismatch Monday
Tuesday: Pajama Day
Wednesday: Western Wednesday
Thursday: 80's Day
Friday: Sports Apparel
Along with the “fun” dress up days, a Jaguar coloring page was emailed to the students to color and post in their windows showing their school spirit and appreciation for their teachers and parents for their support of e-learning. Two other coloring ideas were posed. Students could draw a heart and post it saying thank you to all those in the medical field and as a symbol of love and support for those impacted by Covid-19. The final coloring opportunity was to trace their hand, color the tracing and post it in their window showing appreciation for EMTs, police and fire departments. It is my hope that these “fun” days brought a little sunshine into our students’ lives as we make the best of this trying time.

Amy Nelson, Principal
Family Formation Resources
 There are many websites with information about our faith. We thought during this time of concern it might be helpful to provide you with some resources to continue your Lenten journey as a family.
These resources are updated weekly.
Keeping Connected
The Welcome Table Easter Meal
The Welcome Table will be providing a modified meal for Easter. It will be a grab and go dinner prepared by St. John Lutheran. Guests can call SJL at 893-3071 to reserve a meal. They will only be able to accommodate 130-150 meals. Guests will drive up to the gym doors and state their name and the meals will be placed in their car, maintaining social distancing.  Sargento has donated the hams for this event.
The following resources now available for pick-up outside the Parish Office
  • The WORD Among Us - A monthly magazine offering daily meditations based on Mass readings, inspirational essays, stories of the saints and more ($1 suggested donation). There is also complimentary access the the daily readings and more on The WORD Among Us website.
  • Living Faith - A quarterly booklet of daily reflections on one of the scripture readings from the day's Mass ($1 suggested donation). There is complimentary access to the devotionals on the Living Faith website. Thank you to our SJB Christian Women for making this resource possible.
There are many resources are available from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Consider Electronic Giving!
Make Easter offerings online during the Easter season! Throughout the year, many of you already support the congregation with your time, talent and financial contributions and we very much appreciate your support. We encourage you to consider our electronic giving program. We accept donations made from your bank account and credit card or debit cards. It takes just a few minutes to set up a recurring giving plan. To begin, simply click on the link below. If you would like to learn more about flexible automatic donations, please contact the parish office at 920-892-4006 or email Julie at sjbparish@sjbplymouth.org Alternatively, parish (envelope) donations can be mailed to the parish or placed in the office drop box (115 Plymouth St.) We thank you for supporting our mission!
Disciple Maker Index Survey Deadline is Extended to April 5
In conjunction with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and School is participating in a parish survey about discipleship conducted by the Catholic Leadership Institute! All responses will be confidential and the parish will only receive information about the community as whole. If you have not done so already, please  click here to complete the survey
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