Giving to God this Summer #2

Be WELCOMING through the sharing of your gift in the following ways:

Volunteer as a Greeter and/or Minister of Hospitality (Usher) at any Mass. Greet parishioners and visitors as they arrive to and leave from Mass.

Contact Tom Peltier if you'd like to share your welcoming gifts: 330-836-6123 or akronbobcat@gmail.com or Contact Paul Heil to share your welcoming gifts: 330-665-1082 or hileyd@frontier.com

Join the Welcoming Ministry and meet new parishioners and help them become acclimated with the parish. Getting to know new people and introduce them to the parish and other parishioners is a great way to share your talent for being welcoming.

Contact Jim Kilcoyne if you'd like to share your welcoming gifts in this way: 330-929-7431 or jimkilcoyne@aol.com 

Greet families that are having a child baptized and help their child through the Baptism day. As a Baptism Greeter you represent the entire parish community by helping families feel at home in the parish and in the ritual of the Sacrament of Baptism.

Contact Beth Rado if you're interested in greeting families for Baptisms: 330-867-1055 ext. 206 or brado@sthilarychurch.org

Giving to God this Summer # 1

Share your MUSICAL talents in one of the following ways

 Sing or accompany at the ALIVE Mass by attending practices from 4:00-5:30 Mass begins.
Contact Stephen Garchar to join this ministry: 330-788-5537 or ssgarchar@sbcglobal.net
 

Sing or accompany at the 9:00 Sunday Mass through the sharing of your talents in the Contemporary Ensemble led by LuAnne Toth. Stop up and talk to ministry members after Mass to join in.  

Cantor at Mass. You would get the honor of leading the congregation in song throughout the Mass. Contact Carissa Young if interested in this ministry: 330-867-1055 ext. 202 or cyoung@sthilarychurch.org

  

Perform music at the Creekside Farmer's Market on Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 pm in Copley.

Contact Carin LeSeure if you'd like to help: 330-221-4510  

http://www.copleycreeksidefarmersmarket.com/index.html

If you're musical consider sharing your gifts and talents 

with others this summer!

Giving of our first fruits is often difficult!

First fruits of time, talent, and treasure. What are first fruits? Giving of what we have before we start divvying it up to give and/or spend in other ways. If we get 24 hours in a day, how much of that time will be spend with God?

We're called if we think about tithing to give 10% of what we have to God. Are we willing to give 144 minutes per day to God. Then we can subtract out however much time we need for sleeping and work/school. Whatever is left is ours. Maybe 10% seems a bit much, so even just giving 1% means giving God 14 minutes each day. Do you give God 1% of your time every day?

What about giving our talents. We may have many gifts and talents, which are given to us to use to glorify God. How can we give of those talents to the building of God's kingdom? We should somehow return gratefully what we have to God.

Lastly, our treasure. Check out this video  and think about what you need versus what you want...

Givng at the Right Moment is Important: Talent Tuesday

All talents are equally important and beneficial in bringing glory to God.

 

Yesterday's explosions at the Boston Marathon were extremely sad and unexpected. It's important not to let the terrible overshadow the goodness that came from the terrible. A friend of mine, Debbie, ran in the race and finished before the explosions. A second woman I know, Roberta was still running and was about half a mile from the finish line when the explosions occurred. Both are safe, but the amazing story is that Debbie ran the additional couple of miles back to the hotel to get her things and in hopes of meeting back up with Roberta. Roberta was picked up by a kind Boston couple and taken to the hotel where the couple waited outside and drove Debbie and Roberta to the airport so they could catch their flight back to Ohio. Both women offered to give them money for the ride, but the Boston couple said they just wanted to make a bad experience a little bit better for the Ohio-bound ladies.

There were many awe inspiriting stories from yesterday's tragedy.

I heard multiple stories of residents of Boston that picked up strangers because taxis weren't picking anyone up and other means of public transportation weren't running. These Good Samaritans were helping others in need during a crisis situation for their community.

I heard of runners that crossed the finish line and continued running to the hospital to give blood to those who were harmed in the explosions.

I heard a story of a former NFL football player, Joe Andruzzi  (of the New England Patriots) carried a woman to safety after the explosions. 

I heard a story of a runner that was worried for her husband who was ahead of her in the race at the time of the explosion and could have been in range, but how fellow runners pulled together to aid a woman that spoke little English and was scared and confused.

People helping people. That's what I would say was the theme of yesterday's event. People were there to lend their cell phones, their calls, their shoulders to strangers. All brought together by this one event. It takes a special talent to leave your own worries behind, trust in God's goodness and offer your help to neighbors in need. 

Consider, on any given day, slowing down enough to notice when a stranger might need your help and take the time to offer it.  You don't have to be talented in many ways, as Jean de La Bruyère, a French writer once said, “Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.”

Ministry Monday

Congratulations to the St. Hilary Adult Choir! 

It's Ministry Monday and the St. Hilary Adult Choir is certainly deserving of a fanfare. This ministry shares their gifts for music with the parish. Holy Week is the peak of their liturgical year--as they perform at the Evening of Sacred Music and Dance on Palm Sunday evening, Holy Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Supper,Good Friday, and at the Easter Vigil. Stewardship of talent is shared freely by the parish music ministries.

Music and Liturgy Minister, Carissa Young submitted an entry for the 2013 Jubilation! and the St. Hilary Adult Choir was selected as one of six finalists!

Jubilation! will take place on May 9th and 10th at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at the corner of East 9th and Superior in downtown Cleveland.

The St. Hilary Adult Choir  will perform a 20 minute program on either May 9th or May 10th (as soon as we know the date we'll let you know).

Each of the two evenings will include music from 3 of the finalist groups and an audience favorite will be selected by those in attendance at each performance as well as one overall winner, selected by a panel of judges.

Save the date for this exciting event.  

Thanks to all Music Ministries & Ministers!

Special thanks Phillis Hilkert, pictured below playing the organ, for all of the hard work she put in to practicing for the Holy Week musical performances. 

Many thanks, always, to our beautiful music ministries at St. Hilary for always providing a phenomenal musical environment for the liturgies: the 9:00 Contemporary Ensemble under the direction of LuAnne Toth, The ALIVE Music Ministry under the direction of Stephen Garchar, The Hand Bell Choir, the St. Hilary Adult Choir, and St. Cecilia Singers' Youth Choir under the direction of Carissa and Jacob Young. Thanks also to each and every music minister that contributes to the many musical ministries of St. Hilary with voice, accompaniment, and/or instrumental.

 All photos in this post were taken by parishioner, Victor Howe, at the Evening of Sacred Music & Dance on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2013.

SIDE NOTE: May is less than a month away and it's also National Bike Month. Consider challenging yourself to show your stewardship by riding your bike over driving to nearby destinations. Check it out.