Antigo Area
“Stewardship in the Family” Retreat
Inviting Parishioners on a Closer Walk with Christ
Asa co-founder of Catholic Stewardship Consultants — an organization committed to developing Disciples of Christ through the practice of stewardship at parishes across the United States — Lisa McArdle has been having conversations on the topic of stewardship with people all over the country for close to 25 years. Not long ago, however, she was so inspired by one of these conversations that she created an entirely new retreat experience.
“I was speaking with a gentleman recently and he apologized because he felt he hadn’t been a good steward in the parish,” Lisa says. “He had been the primary caretaker for his father, and told me that his father had just passed and now he hoped to be a better steward in the parish. My heart just broke, because what he didn’t understand was that he had been living as a steward in the best way he could by taking care of his family.”
Following that conversation, Lisa knew she had a mission — helping people understand that we are all called to holiness, and that this call most often begins right in our own homes. With this in mind, Lisa has begun leading retreats on the theme of “Stewardship in the Family.” On Jan. 21, we will be blessed to have Lisa bring this retreat to our Antigo Area Catholic Churches.
As one of the co-founders of Catholic Stewardship Consultants, Lisa McArdle has been helping develop stewardship with people all over the country for over 25 years.
In contrast to many other spiritual experiences, the “Stewardship in the Family” retreat is directed by lay people. As a mother of five daughters ranging in age from 12 to 27 — and now a “Mimi” to three grandchildren — Lisa has experienced firsthand both the challenges and rewards of family life. Her talks at the retreat will highlight the spiritual transformation that takes place when we make stewardship central to our family life.
“We’re all called to live as stewards,” Lisa says. “It’s not just for saints or pastors or Pope Francis. Stewardship doesn’t just begin and end in our parish families either — it really begins at home in our domestic churches. Ultimately, that is where it is taught and resonates the most.”
continued on page 5 JANUARY 2023
The Greeters Ministry
A Valuable Opportunity for Parishioners and Families
Whether you are a parishioner or a visitor, being met by a friendly face when you arrive at church can make a huge difference. A smile and a friendly word can remind you that we are here to worship together and that each of us has an important role in the Body of Christ. The Greeters Ministry at St. John is blessed by the service of the Hessedal family. Drew, Bonnie, and their 9-year-old son Ridge all offer their time as greeters.
“What really inspired me was getting my son involved in things and helping him see the importance of volunteering and making church a friendly place,” Bonnie says.
While they have been parishioners for over 20 years, the Hessedals began serving as greeters almost three years ago. Although Ridge was nervous at first, Bonnie quickly learned that he looks forward to the Sundays that his family is scheduled to serve. Ridge often asks when they will be able to greet next.
“He doesn’t see it as a chore,” Bonnie says. “He actually wants to do it.”
Ridge enjoys arriving 20 minutes early to greet parishioners at the main entrance or the side door. By now he has gotten to know many parishioners and they have been able to see him grow and gain confidence in the last few years.
“I like saying ‘hello’ to everybody and saying good morning,” Ridge says.
Greeters are scheduled to serve at a weekend Mass about once a month and they get their schedule for the year well in advance so they can easily find a substitute if they plan to be out of town. Like most families, the Hessedals are busy but find that arriving a little early has been a manageable and very rewarding way to serve the parish.
to Foster Hospitality
“As greeters, we participate once a month so it’s not a big chunk of time you have to give,” Bonnie says.
The role is simple but enjoyable and Bonnie believes it really makes an impact.
“I think if you see a friendly face coming into church, it sets the tone,” she says. “It’s really important to be happy and realize that church is a place to get closer to God and if our smiling faces can help, that’s really our goal.”
Serving as a family has given Bonnie and Drew a chance to model for their son what it means to give back and be a steward to the church. Ridge has started to think about other areas in which he would like to be involved. He has served as a lector at school Masses and is considering being an altar server next year.
“We just want to encourage him and teach him that this is what we do — we help where we are able,” Bonnie says.
If you are interested in serving as a greeter, please contact Bonnie Hessedal at 715-610-0707.
2
The Hessedal family — Drew, Bonnie and Ridge
Ridge volunteering his time as a greeter.
A Letter From Our Pastor
This Is the New Year’s Resolution I Am Most Grateful For
It was December of 2019 and I was on the hunt for a new car. I walked into the showroom of a Chevy dealer where a friend of mine worked sales. Before I could start a conversation about vehicles, she reached under her desk and handed me a quart jar. “What’s this for?” I asked. “You write down the things you are grateful for and put them in the jar,” she said. The analytical side of me immediately sized up the jar to see how many blessings it might hold. I didn’t end up buying a Chevy, but I started a new habit that would prove far more valuable.
Every Saturday, I flip through my journal and review the past week. I notice the blessings I received and the burdens I experienced. I notice where Jesus was present and whether I have been walking closer or farther from Him. Then I write down the biggest blessing, or the thing I am most grateful for, and I put that in the jar. At the end of the year I dump out the jar and review all my blessings. It’s a delightful rediscovery.
We think of gratitude as a feeling. In reality, gratitude is a habit. Any professional sports player will tell you that you must play with a short memory. If I miss a pass and really blow something, I need to give myself the chance to start fresh the next time. The more I let those mistakes pile up in my mind, the harder it will be to play well. I will
feel the burden of my failures. When playing the game of life, gratitude gives me the chance to get that fresh start. I start my day by naming five things I am grateful for. It’s even more important to start the new year with gratitude. Here at the beginning of 2023, give yourself the gift of a Gratitude Jar.
I am incredibly grateful that Lisa McArdle will be the speaker for our annual Stewardship Retreat. She is the co-founder of Catholic Stewardship Consultants and the author of the book, Stewardship Starts at Home . She gave a great talk at the Msgr. Thomas McGread Stewardship Conference this summer. I couldn’t believe our luck when we landed her as our parish speaker. She has a great message that will really resonate with families. Come hear her for yourself on Jan. 21. You won’t be disappointed.
3
Your brother in Christ, Fr. Joel Sember Pastor
Dear Parish Family,
Cantors and Choir
Share Talents to Draw Us Closer
Music affords us a beautiful opportunity to participate fully in the liturgy. In singing at Mass, we engage communally and spiri tually with one another. In our Antigo Area Catholic Churches, we are blessed to have the members of our Music Ministry, who share their talents to help us draw closer to this communal prayer each Sunday. Barb Payant is one of the cantors you might recognize who provides beautiful music to us on a regular basis.
“Music has been a part of my church life forever,” Barb says. ”It inspires me, and I have always felt that connection. I like that I am able to proclaim in music the Word of God.”
Barb is one of seven cantors on the music schedule in our community. The cantors share the responsibility of leading the responsorial psalms and Gospel acclamation at Sunday Mass and other Holy Days in our parishes. Barb mainly cantors at SS. Mary and Hyacinth, but also helps out at the other churches as needed.
Barb Payant has been a cantor for more than 20 years in our parish community. She recalls singing in a middle-school choir at St. John in her school days.
“I remember when I was in grade school at the Catholic school in town, I was probably middle school age when the nuns decided to have a children’s funeral choir,” she says. ”I remember going to church to sing funeral Masses. I remember having a children’s choir at Christmastime, at midnight Mass, walking to church in the late evening to be part of that midnight Mass children’s choir. In high school, there was a choir at our church that invited me to sing along. So I have been a member of church choirs for as long as I can remember.”
Music has a powerful way of connecting us. When the members of a congregation lift up their voices in prayer, there is a strong sense of community and togetherness. Barb hopes that in leading the congregation, she’s able to help create a more prayerful Sunday experience for parishioners.
“We try to work out the schedule as well as we can so that the Masses are covered,” she says.
The cantors in our church communities are supported by the choirs who also lead the congregation in song. Barb has been a cantor for more than 20 years here in our parish community, but her musical roots reach back much further to her early days at St. John. Barb grew up at St. John but switched to SS. Mary and Hyacinth after marrying her husband who was a parishioner there.
“I hope that it helps our parishioners to be more prayerful and to get more out of the Mass, to understand God’s Word a little more,” Barb says. “I’m hoping, through song, we are able to make a connection. It’s always nice when someone comes up to you after Mass, and says they really liked the song at Communion or they say, “We love hearing the choir sing.” It makes Mass a better place.”
“If we can inspire our church community to be a more prayerful place, that’s what we strive for,” she adds. “I have a great accompanist who helps me with that. And by working together with them, we try to make the mass a more prayerful experience for everyone.”
4
continued on page 5
Anyone interested in joining the Music Ministry, either as a cantor or in the choir, is encouraged to contact their respective parish office or approach a Music Ministry member after Sunday Mass. All are welcome and training is available for newcomers.
Choir Members
Closer to the Word of God
Serving in the Music Ministry has also helped Barb to grow in her own spiritual life. Each week, she reads through the psalm and Gospel acclamation to familiarize herself before preparing the music. If she finds herself looking for their context, Barb will go through the readings for the day to gain a deeper understanding.
“By making myself familiar with the Sunday readings and emphasizing those readings, I think I have become a more prayerful person just by adding those steps,” she says. “I’m listening to the Word of God and making sense of it. The ministry is important to me because it’s a way for me to help others learn more about the Word of God. Through song within the Mass they will understand the readings, the Gospel, to understand God’s Word and God’s teaching that we can all be better Catholics and better people to the world around us.”
— BARB PAYANT“Stewardship in the Family” Retreat
The retreat will include talks, personal reflection, small group discussion, and time for fellowship.
As a busy mother, Lisa knows that it is not always easy to carve out the time for a retreat. Often, however, that is the very reason we should make the effort to do so!
“Families are so busy that we don’t know how to stop,” she says. “Learning to be still and finding out what God is calling us to is so important, and to be centered in our faith is now more essential than ever. A priest once told me that we were created as human beings, not ‘human doings,’ and yet we’re so busy doing that we never stop to reflect. It’s really a gift to stop and make sure we’re on the path where God wants us.”
Lisa hopes that parishioners attending this retreat will return home with a renewed sense of their mission in this world — a mission that does not begin and end in our parish, but instead informs the way we live our lives, every day and everywhere.
“I encourage people to look at how they spend time with their families and what decisions they are making as a family of stewards,” she says. “God has given us all talents. Whether you are washing
continued from front cover
dishes, changing a diaper, cheering for your son at baseball games, caring for a parent — all of these things are important.”
All parishioners and visitors — from young parents to empty nesters to singles — are welcome to come experience together the spiritual growth that this retreat promises. A closer walk as disciples of Christ awaits you!
“I think that learning more about discipleship will transform hearts and transform lives,” Lisa says. “In turn, strengthening families will strengthen our parishes. I think of the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta — ‘If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.’ It sounds so simple, but it’s so profound. If we all did that, it would have a ripple effect and the world would be so much better.”
Please plan to join us on Jan. 21, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. To RSVP, please contact Joanna at 715-623-2024.
5
“I hope that it helps our parishioners to be more prayerful and to get more out of the Mass, to understand God’s Word a little more. I’m hoping, through song, we are able to make a connection that way with our congregation.”
The Great Catholic Educator: St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas was even born, a holy hermit told his mother he was to be more learned and holy than any other person of his time. As a young boy, he was devoted to prayer and meditation, and his intellectual gifts were quickly recognized. When he was about 11 years old, he was sent to the University of Naples, and about five years later, he became a Dominican friar.
Before
Thomas’ parents were Italian nobility and were not enthusiastic about Thomas’ choice of vocation. They went so far as to have his brothers capture him while he was en route to Rome, and they held him prisoner for two years in an effort to destroy his vocation and his virtue. After the family made one particularly heinous attempt at breaking Thomas’ faith and spirit, he begged God to give him integrity of mind and body, and he was miraculously given the girdle and grace of purity for the rest of his life. This gift almost certainly was essential to the remarkable clarity of his intellect.
After he regained his freedom, Thomas received the best education that was available during a time in human history that arguably represents the best the world has ever offered to scholars and philosophers. His greatest works arise from his total focus on knowing and understanding God, and revealing as clearly as possible the Truth of God to others. He showed that faith and reason are not in conflict, but exist in harmony.
Thomas’ Summa Theologica uses philosophical principles presented in scientific form to systematically explain Christian theology. It was his last work and was left unfinished. Thomas stopped writing after he experienced an unusually long vision on Dec. 6, 1273. When he was urged to finish his Summa, he stated that he could no longer write, for the secrets he had been shown during his vision made all he had written “seem as straw.” He died three months later.
Thomas composed more than 60 works. His powers of synthesis were truly extraordinary. He was able to sift through all that he read, distill the truth, and summarize his conclusions simply, clearly and briefly. His writing is of such genius that it transcends style and art in the beauty of its truth. His works are as relevant today as they were to the 13th century. His principles offer a remedy to such evils as socialism, communism, nihilism, as well as pantheism and spiritism.
Thomas was canonized in 1323, and was declared a Doctor of the Universal Church in 1567. In 1879, Leo XIII declared Thomas Aquinas “the prince and master of all scholastic doctors,” and in 1880, Thomas was designated as patron of all Catholic universities, colleges and schools throughout the world. We celebrate St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day on Jan. 28.
6
GETTING TO KNOW ALL SAINTS TEACHER Jeanelle Peet
“I Love Being Able to Share My Faith”
Jeanelle Peet never thought she would grow up to be a math teacher. In fact, she nearly failed algebra.
“I used to play school on the weekends and over summer break when I was young, but I never thought I would teach math,” Mrs. Peet says. “Now I’m in my first year of teaching at All Saints, and I couldn’t be more excited to be the new middle school math teacher.”
As a mom to eight children from ages 23 down to nine months and as a longtime public schoolteacher, Mrs. Peet believes that in those two roles — teacher and mother — you grapple with a similar challenge.
“The most challenging aspect of both of those roles are the outside influences your children face in their daily lives,” Mrs. Peet says. “It is obvious we are living in a world that lacks courage or understanding for people to stand up and say, ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,’ not to mention actions to back up those statements.”
Mrs. Peet received her Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Master’s in Physics Education from Western Governors University. She first began teaching at her alma mater, Tremper High School, in Kenosha, Wis., before making a change for her and her family.
“I realized Kenosha isn’t what I wanted for my own children
and then moved up north to White Lake, Wis., and taught ALL the math,” Mrs. Peet says. “From there, I taught at Elcho and now at All Saints.”
Mrs. Peet loves teaching within her new environment, and it seemed like a fit right from the beginning.
“What I love most about All Saints are my students,” she says. “They are a great group of individuals. I love being able to share my faith. My faith has saved me from many
“What I love most about All Saints are my students. They are a great group of individuals. I love being able to share my faith. My faith has saved me from many tribulations, and I feel it is important for young people to hear that message.”
JEANELLE PEET7
continued on back cover
Jeanelle Peet with her family — (from left) Max, Bart, Belle, Lily, Jeanelle (holding Jacob), Addy, and Frank; front (from left) Justin and Peyton
Saint John the Evangelist 415 6th Ave.
Antigo, WI 54409 (715) 623-2024 stjohn@antigoareacatholicchurches.com
Saints Mary & Hyacinth 819 3rd Ave. Antigo, WI 54409 (715) 623-4938 ssmh@antigoareacatholicchurches.com
Saint Wenceslaus N5340 Church Rd. Deerbrook, WI 54424 (715) 627-2126 stwencel@antigoareacatholicchurches.com
All Saints Teacher Jeanelle Peet
tribulations, and I feel it is important for young people to hear that message.”
Mrs. Peet enjoys reading, exercising, and being outdoors during the warmer months. She was raised in an Evangelical Lutheran home in Kenosha but believes that she’ll be participating in RCIA and will come into the Catholic Church when the time is right for her and her family.
“As I have been learning more about Catholicism compared to Lutheranism, I see that there are very few differences in the liturgy,” Mrs. Peet says. “There is definitely a lot more to learn about Catholicism, but the more I learn, the more it sparks something, and I want to read or research even more.”
Mrs. Peet would like to remind the faith community how much our youth need us.
“When I saw what was happening in public schools, I knew
continued from page 7
I needed to fight the battle from a different approach,” Mrs. Peet says. “My mission is to be the best math teacher for All Saints. This will be doing my part for our youth as well as for our school.”
MASS & CONFESSION TIMES
SAINT JOHN: Masses: Monday, 8:15 a.m., Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, 8:15 a.m., Thursday, 8:15 a.m., Saturday, 6 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. Confession: Tuesday, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Saturday, 5:15-5:45 p.m. & Sunday, 8:15-8:45 a.m.
SAINTS MARY & HYACINTH: Masses: Wednesday, 7:15 a.m., Friday, 7:15 a.m., First Saturday, 8 a.m. and each Saturday, 4 p.m., Sunday, 7 a.m. Confession: First Saturday following the 8 a.m. Mass & Each Saturday 3-3:45 p.m.
SAINT WENCESLAUS: Masses: Tuesday, 8 a.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. Confession: Sunday, 10:15-10:45 a.m.
