Dec 2020
Our Lady of the
Assumption Pa r i sh
A Letter from Our Pastor
Introducing
Our New Parish
Inside 2 W hat Does Stewardship Mean?
3 The OLA Giving Tree
Ministry Is a Major Blessing in the Lives of Those Who Need It Most
4
A Promise Fulfilled: Parish Hall Construction Project on Track for 2021 Completion
6 OLA Live: Connecting Virtually With Our Family of Faith
5057 Cottage Way Carmichael, CA 95608 (916) 481-5115 | olaparish.net
Stewardship Dear Parishioners,
Newsletter
W
elcome to the first issue of our new monthly parish newsletter! As our parish community continues to grow and develop stewardship as a way of life, we have recognized the need for increased communication. Through this newsletter, we hope to share stories that will help us all to better understand who we are as Catholics and what we are doing as individual members of Christ’s family. In upcoming issues, we will focus on what’s going on in the Our Lady of the Assumption community, and how those activities and events are changing hearts and minds and helping parishioners grow closer to Christ and each other. Each article will ultimately focus on Christ at work within our community through the stewardship way of life. We hope this newsletter will be a successful means for ongoing education and formation in our faith. I pray it will be a vehicle through which you are informed and inspired to become more actively involved in the life of Christ and the parish. Another way I hope to improve our parish’s communication efforts is through a comprehensive parish survey that will be conducted in spring 2021. Through the survey, I want to hear from you regarding our parish and its future. A survey will be mailed to each home, and then I will ask you to take the time to fill it out and return it as soon as possible. Your input will be very important, and it will give the Pastoral Council and me a better understanding of your thoughts about our parish. Perhaps the most important next step in our stewardship journey will occur this coming February when we conduct our Annual Stewardship Renewal. continued on back cover
what
stewardship
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DOES
hat comes to mind when you hear the word “stewardship”? Do you think of it as just another way to talk about money? Do you quickly dismiss it as a notion that has nothing to do with being Catholic? Stewardship is actually a concept that is Scripturally based and is vital to our life as Catholics. God tells us, in the very first book of the Old Testament, “Be fertile and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and all the living things that move on the earth” (Gen 1:28). What does that mean to us today? It simply means that God is telling us, “This is yours, so take care of it.” One of the first things God tells us to do is to be good stewards of the gifts He has entrusted to us! The Old Testament is not the only place where we can find references to stewardship. Indeed, of the 36 parables in the New Testament, more than half of them deal with time, talent, possessions, or money. Therefore, if Jesus spoke of stewardship that much, it should be a very important part of our lives! As Catholics, we refer to the three facets of stewardship as “time, talent, and treasure.” Although these are three concrete ways to express and measure stewardship, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops tells us that stewardship is part of discipleship. Stewardship is a way of responding to God’s call in every aspect of our lives. The Scriptures and Church traditions teach us one important point that cannot be overstated — that stewardship is primarily based on our need to give in gratitude, not on the Church’s need to receive. Of course,
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MEAN?
both the Catholic Church and our particular parish will always need money. However, we are not asked to give simply to defray costs and fund charitable programs. We are instead asked to remember our need to gratefully return a portion of our time, talent, and treasure to God, recognizing all that He has given to us. It is important to remember that stewardship is a way of life, and not a program. True Catholic stewardship involves an ongoing call to live as followers of Christ. It takes time to find and define personal goals. You can begin by examining your commitments to the parish. How do you live your faith in your daily life with your family and friends? How much time do you spend in daily prayer, going to Mass, or being involved in parish ministries and activities? What percentage of your income should you give back to God every week? What talents do you have that could be used to strengthen our parish family? In the coming months, we will be increasing and intensifying our education and communication on stewardship. We will be developing a better understanding of how stewardship is a way of responding to God’s call to discipleship. And with God’s help, changes will occur in each of our hearts as we devote ourselves to a stewardship renewal within our parish. Examine how you are currently responding to God’s call to stewardship. If God called you home tomorrow, would He proclaim, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?
the
OLA Giving Tree Ministry A Major Blessing in the Lives of Those Who Need It Most
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he OLA Giving Tree Ministry — started 33 years ago by the OLA Flame Ministry — has grown annually, and in 2019 the Flame Ministry Giving Tree served over 100 families and their children. Time and time again, this ministry brought God’s mercy to those in need of His touch. However, after the first of the year and after more than 33 years of service, the Flame Ministry decided to pass the torch of the Giving Tree Ministry to the Pastoral Council. The change was underway, and then COVID-19 hit and all plans became no plans! In late September, Carmy Baca, Chair of OLA’s Pastoral Council, said that the Giving Tree Ministry needed to continue no matter what. We found a way! For 2020, the names of families from OLA’s St. Vincent de Paul Food Locker will be given to a Pastoral Council Giving Tree Ministry Committee. Although the Food Locker has been closed since the pandemic, each recipient family was contacted to assess current situations and needs. Celeste Depner oversaw the volunteer phone callers and put together the master list of our gift recipients. A mother
signed up to receive gifts for the 14 children she has been caring for — 14! As a client in the spring, she had eight children, and then COVID-19 hit, and she took in six more children who needed a home! The ministry was able to reach out to OLA’s parishioners this year by utilizing an online database featuring a list of unidentified families who requested gifts. Thanks to the incredible generosity of parishioners, all of the requested needs were filled within two days, and we were even able to add additional families to the list. Fifty families are being assisted through the program this year. “We won’t get to have an actual ‘giving tree,’ but parishioners signed up online to buy things for the families, wrap them and return them to the parish in early December,” Carmy says. “We will use the food locker shelves to store the gifts, and on the distribution day volunteers will bring them out to the recipient families in their cars. It is a no-touch strategy. We are glad we have found a way to maneuver around the pandemic, and we believe it will work out very well.” Amazingly, amid the coronavirus situation in our nation, the Giving Tree Ministry has been able to
overcome great obstacles and keep itself up and running. “At the end of the day, no one should ever have to spend Christmas without being remembered!” Carmy says. OLA and its Giving Tree “Givers” make sure that every Giving Tree Family and its members are remembered. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. God’s blessings to you and yours in this most holy and joyful of seasons.
If you would like further information on this wonderful outreach of compassion, please contact Carmy Baca at 916-483-2980 or Casey Oliver at 916-335-1918.
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ver 10 years ago, our parish made a promise to the faithful of Our Lady of the Assumption to begin building for our future with the addition of a brand new parish hall. After completing Phase I maintenance and improvements to our existing church and school structures, parishioners continued to show their generous support of the parish hall project, with construction Rendering of the new parish hall on the building beginning in earnest last year. If all goes according to plan and the Lord continues to bless this school up to snuff and repair a number help secure a dynamic future for Our project, our faith community will of things in the church and get our Lady of the Assumption. “The parish knew that a new parish soon have a beautiful space for our infrastructure to be solid and stable. preschool, indoor sporting events, and We promised we’d come back with an hall was paramount,” Kelly says. “I countless gatherings and celebrations! idea for a new hall in the next 10 years, framed it as a life-or-death proposition. In recognition of the commitment and we did. It was kind of like a dream In our community, there will be a number of schools and churches that that our parish made years ago to delayed.” In addition to a large gathering will shut down in the next years, and improve our church campus, the capital campaign is titled “Fulfilling space, the beautiful new parish hall I didn’t even want OLA considered structure will house our preschool, for that. You’re either growing and the Promise.” “I think the promise was that even a gym equipped to host basketball building and getting better, or you’re back in 2008 when we began this and volleyball games, a performing dying. If we really wanted sustainability, process, the number-one priority was arts stage, and an industrial kitchen. we needed a parish hall. The old hall a new parish hall,” says Kelly Brothers, Future parish dinners, school auctions, was the original church on the site — parishioner and capital campaign Crab Feeds and Country Fairs are sure it was not intended to be a parish hall Chair. “It simply wasn’t feasible at to fill the hall with fun and fellowship and didn’t suit the purpose.” Of course, no parish takes lightly that time, so our point to the parish in the years to come. With its many was that we were going to get our modern amenities, the building will the proposition of spending roughly continued on page 5
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$8 million on a building project. However, the incredible were able to donate to a cause at the church, it would be for generosity of our parishioners was never in doubt — even a new parish hall. Re though our Phase I improvements were implemented set form Nancy’s gift to the campaign — like those of so many during the 2008-10 economic crisis, our faith community others — was made with an eye to the future of Our Lady stepped up and honored pledges made to the capital of the Assumption and a desire to see the great promise in campaign. our parish fulfilled for generations to come. With a total “This is a parish that when they say they are going to give, of about $6.5 million pledged toward the $8.3 million they will,” Kelly says. “We have some large gifts, we have building project, our parishioners are continuing to show medium-sized gifts, and we are eternally grateful for the their great love for our faith community. How wonderful people who pledge any amount! It’s all hard-earned money. it will be to gather once more as a parish family this spring We don’t take any of it for granted, and we celebrate all of and celebrate the fruits of our giving as the new parish hall our donors.” opens! The most significant donor to the campaign is parishioner “A lot of people are stretching to give to the campaign,” Nancy Affinito, whose $2 million contribution to the project Kelly says. “I hope they feel a sense of ownership because is the largest gift ever made in the Diocese of Sacramento. they helped make it happen, and that will lead to a greater Years ago, as Nancy and her late husband attended a parish stewardship in the future. People will be amazed at what event, they looked around at the old hall with parishioners they are able to build. I think that people have appreciated crowded in shoulder-to-shoulder and decided that if they the stewardship of it all.”
Rendering of the new parish hall structure, with view of the preschool
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OLA Live:
Connecting Virtually With Our Family of Faith
A
Volunteer Michael Chambers
Volunteer Sam Oliver
Volunteer Ivan Florez
Volunteer Jenny Teeters
year ago, most of us would have scoffed at the idea that the celebration of public Masses could suddenly cease by March. How quickly the world changed. Within a matter of weeks, we went from life as usual, including Sunday Masses, to the entire world screeching to a halt, as we gave our best efforts to contain a virus that we knew so little about. However, here at Our Lady of the Assumption, we immediately sought to discern the best way to support our parish community in this difficult time, living through circumstances none of us could’ve ever imagined. Thanks to our parish tech support, faithful volunteers, a generous donation from our Knights of Columbus, and the creativity and quick thinking of our pastor and parish staff, it wasn’t long before we dove into new territory — livestreaming our Masses. And while we continue to offer livestream Masses for those who are still unable to attend Mass in person, this fall, we have expanded our outreach to parishioners, providing them with additional opportunities to gather — virtually — for prayer and community, through OLA Live. For Casey Oliver, this initiative was inspired by seeing the joy people had, coming together to pray, at our initial outdoor Masses. “We had that real, beautiful sense of togetherness,” Casey says. “The beauty of community stood out in those outdoor Masses. People were just so happy to be worshiping together, so we thought, ‘What else can we do to build community because things aren’t just going back to normal?’” The OLA Live initiative began in October, offering parish-wide Zoom Rosaries for the month of the Rosary, continued on page 7
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OLA Live: Connecting Virtually with our Family of Faith continued from page 6 and it wasn’t long before our monthly Lectio Divina and Taizé prayer were added to the schedule. As time goes on, we hope to offer even more opportunities for parishioners to connect, through town halls, opportunities to learn about our new stewardship efforts, and more. “In an effort to bring us safely back together for prayer and community, the parish will be hosting weekly virtual events — either livestreamed or on Zoom so you can watch and participate from the safety of your home,” Casey says. “Each week the web page is updated based on what is happening during the week.” “I feel like our Zoom meetings are little family reunions,” she adds. “The OLA Live initiative is to supplement the livestream Masses we’re already offering weekly. We’re adding opportunities for prayer, opportunities for community, opportunities for discussion.” Casey also points out that, as people offer their feedback, that will be incorporated into the initiative. For many of our parishioners who were homebound before COVID-19, OLA Live has provided a valuable chance to pray alongside fellow parishioners, perhaps for the first time in years. “I think that COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to expand the ways we communicate and the effectiveness of our communication,” Casey says. “I hope that going forward, this technology will be a permanent part of what we do and we’ll be able to reach out and include more parishioners in meetings and discussions and prayer.” Casey hopes, in addition to helping people grow in their connection to God through prayer, that the Zoom Rosaries and other events will be an opportunity for people to connect — or reconnect — with other members of the parish family and build meaningful friendships, supporting one another in these challenging times. “My hope is that people know they can still pray at OLA,” Casey says. “And if people don’t feel comfortable coming to the physical church building, we’re trying to offer more and more online events so people can still pray in community. “For years, Fr. Eduino has been talking about how important small groups are for faith sharing and building community,” she adds. “I’m hoping that with this OLA
Live initiative, we can provide support for bringing people together in small groups to help them pray and discuss their faith. We want to empower people to pray together in small and large groups.” As we continue to develop this new initiative, the various ministries of the parish are invited to lead Zoom Rosaries at various times. Our staff has worked to compile a packet of resources, making it easy for anyone — even those who struggle with technology — to initiate an event hosted for OLA Live. Casey encourages parishioners to prioritize virtually attending OLA Live events, and invite a friend to come along, too. “I think we need to take small steps towards living our faith,” Casey says. “Reach out to parishioners or friends in the school community. Check in with them. Offer to pray together. Maybe as a group, decide to attend these online parish events. “I think everyone can benefit from prayer and trying something new,” she adds. “Prayer can sometimes be challenging. You have to be brave and open when you log on, but I think that’s good for us to be open to trying new things and learning new ways to pray.”
A special thanks to the Knights of Columbus, Bob Kay, Sam Oliver, Michael Chambers, Tim Spinelli, Deacon Michael Tateishi, Deacon Paul Friedrich, Ivan Florez, Jenny Teeters, and Lynn Sweeney for their help with our livestream Masses and OLA Live. For more information on OLA Live, or to learn how you can participate in our live events, please visit https://olaparish.net/ola-live. If your ministry would like to host a parishwide Rosary via OLA Live, or if you would like to volunteer as part of our technical support team for livestreamed Masses, please contact Casey Oliver at worship@olaparish.net.
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5057 Cottage Way Carmichael, CA 95608 (916) 481-5115 | olaparish.net
Our New Parish Stewardship Newsletter The renewal is the time each year when we ask each other to re-prioritize the way we use God’s gifts in the Church. It is the time we write down how we will become more devoted to Christ over the next year with our commitments of time (using our time on earth wisely; making time for personal prayer, family prayer, and quality time with friends and loved ones); talent (using our God-given gifts to strengthen the Church through service to parish ministries and other activities), and treasure (the wise and just management of our financial resources; giving a proportionate amount of my income to the parish). As we strive to develop stewardship as a way of life at Our Lady of the Assumption, the support and involvement of each parishioner are necessary to sustain the life of our
continued from front cover
parish. All of you have a place here, and all of you have a role to fill in the life of the parish as we live our lives as disciples of Christ. May the Holy Spirit renew and refresh all of us as we work together to build our parish family through the use of our time, talent, and treasure. Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Eduino Silveira Pastor