February STOCCC Gazette

12

18

20

Additional Liturgical Dates for February

CHURCH CALENDAR

Stations of the Cross video is found on the website at: www.stoccc.org

• February 1, Wednesday, First Day of Black History Month

• February 1, Wednesday, 9:00 am, Morning Mass on Saint Teresa of Calcutta Facebook

• February 2, Thursday, Ground Hog Day

• February 5, Sunday, 10:30 am, Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time LIVE STREAM AND MASS

• February 8, Wednesday, 9:00 am, Morning

Mass on Saint Teresa of Calcutta Facebook

• February 10, Saturday, 8:00 am, Parking Lot Gang Popup

• February 12, Sunday, Lincoln’s Birthday

• February 12, 10:30 am, Sunday, Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time LIVE STREAM AND MASS

• February 12, Sunday, After Mass, House of Ministry Meeting

• February 14, Tuesday, Valentines Day

• February 15, Wednesday, 9:00 am, Morning Mass on Saint Teresa of Calcutta Facebook

• February 18, Saturday, 7:00 pm, THE ANNUAL GIDDENS MARDI GRAS

PARTY

• February 19, Sunday, 10:30 am, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time LIVE STREAM AND MASS

• February 20, Monday, President’s Day

• February 22, Wednesday, Ash Wednesday

• February 22, Wednesday, 9:00 am, Morning Mass on Saint Teresa of Calcutta Facebook

• February 26, Sunday, First Sunday Of Lent

For Readings Visit: https://bible.usccb.org/F

LIVE STREAM AND MASS

FELLOWSHIP AFTER MASS:

Wearebackupwithrefreshmentsinthe TeresaRoomfollowingMass.Coffeeand water,cookiesorpastries.Thereisasign-up sheetonthewallintheTeresaRoomjust overthefellowshiptable.Pleasewriteyour nameontheSundayforwhichyouwantto bringcookies;thechurchprovidesdrinks. Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontact CindyGiddensorPaulaThomasBaker

Paula and Buddy Baker

February 2, 1994

Britt and Gerry Galipault

February 24, 1996

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND

PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA A rodent only captures the national spotlight once a year, and that time is upon us. Groundhog Day, an illogical tradition that relies upon an animal's supposed meteorological skills, occurs on Thursday.

The country momentarily will be riveted as Punxsutawney Phil prognosticates on the weather ahead based on his shadow. If he sees it, he predicts six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, break out the suntan lotion because the forecast calls for an early spring.

Phil's forecast usually attracts tens of thousands of people to Gobbler's Knob, located just outside of Punxsutawney about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

This marks the 137th time Phil attempts to show meteorological mettle.

February 12th

Is Lincoln's Birthday a Public Holiday?

Lincoln's Birthday 2023 is a state holiday in 5 states and a state legal holiday in Florida.

Celebrate Lincoln's Birthday

Some states observe the day as part of Presidents’ Day, which is officially known as Washington’s Birthday. Various activities such as re-enactments, concerts and birthday parties are often organized for the day. Organizations such as the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum often plan large-scale events to honor and remember Lincoln on or around his birthday.

A wreath-laying ceremony and reading of the Gettysburg Address at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC are traditional events on February 12. Republican Party members may also hold Lincoln Day fundraising dinners because he is known as the first president of the Republican Party.

Many government offices are closed within most these states. Some schools are open, so it is best to check with your local school district. Some businesses also remain open. Not all states observe the day on the same date. Lincoln’s Birthday is also absorbed into Presidents’ Day in other parts of the United States, such as Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio. It is a legal observance in Florida.

About Lincoln's Birthday

Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, on February 12 in 1809. He lived for a time in Indiana before moving to Illinois. He worked on a farm, split rails for fences, worked in a store, was a captain in the Black Hawk War, and worked as a lawyer. He married Mary Todd and together they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity.

Lincoln began his political career at the age of 23 in 1832 when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Illinois General Assembly, as a Whig Party member. He joined the newly formed Republican Party in 1854 and was nationally recognized during the 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas despite Douglas’ win in the race for US Senator. Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 and, despite being a Republican, rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union case during the Civil War (1861-65).

Lincoln was known as the Great Emancipator, the Rail Splitter and Honest Abe. He was the president throughout the American Civil War and is known for his struggle to preserve the Union and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC on Good Friday, April 14, 1865. The assassination occurred less than two weeks after the Confederacy surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865.

It has been recorded that Lincoln’s Birthday was first celebrated as a holiday in 1866, one year after his death. Many states have a joint holiday to honor both Lincoln and George Washington, sometimes calling it Presidents’ Day.

Abraham Lincoln is one of the United States' most popular presidents.

Whether you love Valentine's Day or hate it, one thing's clear: Valentine's Day history goes way back. And while Valentine's Day is now known for kissing, Valentine's Day gifts, and hard-to-get dinner reservations, the origins of the holiday are far less romantic. Here, the Valentine's Day history that wouldn't make it into a rom-com, featuring a saint, a massacre, and even the sinful nuns of Valentine's Day (seriously!).

When is Valentine’s Day?

First, a quick refresher: Valentine's Day always falls on February 14. Valentine's Day 2023 is Monday, February 14, and Valentine's Day 2022 fell on a Monday. (For those wanting to make big plans, Valentine's Day 2024 will be Wednesday, February 14.)

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day, and since then, February 14th has been a day of celebration though it was generally more religious than romantic.

How did Valentine’s Day start?

Valentine's Day is a fixed day on the calendar that got lumped into a mid-February holiday on the ancient Roman calendar called Lupercalia which some historians believe is what led to Valentine's Day being all about love. Lupercalia celebrated fertility, and may have included a ritual in which men and women were paired off by choosing names from a jar. In Ancient Greece, people observed a midwinter celebration for the marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera.

Who was Saint Valentine? (And what does he have to do with chocolate hearts?)

Not much, it turns out. St. Valentine's Day was a feast day in the Catholic religion, added to the liturgical calendar around 500 AD. The day was commemorated for martyred saints named you guessed it Valentine. Differing legends celebrate three different saints called Valentine or Valentinus, but since very little was known about these men and there were conflicting reports of the St. Valentine Day story, the feast day was removed from the Christian liturgical calendar in 1969. But even though not much is known about the real history of the Saint Valentines on whom the holiday is based, the legend of Saint Valentine has several tellings. One legend says that Saint Valentine refused to convert to paganism and was executed by Roman Emperor Claudius II. Prior to his execution, he was able to miraculously heal the daughter of his jailer, who then converted to

Christianity along with his family. Another legend says a bishop called Saint Valentine of Terni is the true namesake of the holiday; this Saint Valentine was also executed.

But according to others and this is how Saint Valentine became affiliated with a love-focused holiday Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, because of a Roman emperor's edict decreeing married soldiers did not make good warriors and thus young men could not marry. This Saint Valentine wore a ring with a Cupid on it a symbol of love that helped soldiers recognize him. And, in a precursor to greeting cards, he handed out paper hearts to remind Christians of their love for God.

Because of this legend, Saint Valentine became known as the patron saint of love. The Saint Valentine prayer asks Saint Valentine to connect lovers together, so that two become one, and the couple remembers their devotion to God.

While the Saint Valentine story set the groundwork for establishing the day as a holiday for romantic love, what truly solidified the connection between Saint Valentine and love was a poem by medieval author Geoffrey Chaucer in 1381, which historians consider the origin of the "modern" celebration of Valentine's Day, where we celebrate our romantic partnership with one other person.

Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400)

from The Parliament of Fowls

A garden saw I, full of blossomy boughs. Upon a river, in a green mead, There as sweetness evermore enough is, With flowers white, blue, yellow, and red, And cold well-streams, nothing dead, That swimming full of small fishes light, With fins red and scales silver bright.

On every bough the birds heard I sing, With voice of angels in their harmony; Some busied themselves birds forth to bring; The little coneys to here play did hie. And further all about I could see. The dread filled roe, the buck, the hart and hind, Squirrels, and beasts small of gentle kind.

Of instruments of strings in accord. Heard I so play a ravishing sweetness, That God, that maker is of all and lord, Had heard never better, as I guess. Therewith a wind, scarcely it might be less, Made in the leaves green a noise soft. Accordant to the fowls' song aloft.

Th'air of that place so a-temperate was That never was grievance of hot nor cold. There wax also every wholesome spice and grass; No man may there wax sick nor old; Yet was there joy more a thousandfold Than man can tell; never would it be night, But always clear day to any man's sight.

From all of us at Saint Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Community: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Presidents Day originally honored the nation's first president, George Washington, whose birthday falls on February 22nd.

However, through the years both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (who was born on February 12th) have come to be honored on the third Monday in February.

What's closed (and open) on President's Day?

As an official federal holiday, post offices and stock markets will be closed - meaning many consumer and commercial banks will be closed, as well. Government agencies such as the DMV and US passport offices will also be closed. Around the nation, school children have the day off as public schools traditionally observe President's Day as an official holiday.

What's open? Department stores celebrating 2023 President's Day sales along with most restaurants and retail stores. Target, Costco, Walmart, supermarkets and grocery stores will also be operating on President's Day.

President's Day fun facts

• Hear the story about George Washington's wooden choppers? It's a myth. Throughout his lifetime, the first president was variously fitted with false teeth made from ivory, gold, and even human teeth.

• America's 10th president, James Tyler, had 15 children -- the most of any president. James Buchanan, the 15th US President, was the first unmarried man to be elected president while Ronald Reagen was the first to have been divorced.

• At 5'4", James Madison was our shortest president. Abraham Lincoln was the tallest at 6'4".

• William Taft got stuck in the White House bathtub the first time he used it. A larger one was ordered to better fit his hefty 332 pound frame.

• Rutherford B. Hayes banned beer, wine or any other type of alcohol at the White House. At official functions Mrs. Hayes was known as “Lemonade Lucy.”

• Left-handed Presidents? There have only been eight. They includee James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

• Barack Obama, the first African-American president, collected comic books. His favorites were Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian.

This year, President's Day is observed on Monday, February 20, 2023.

Celebrate Black History Month 2023

Black Resistance: A Journey to Equality

No one has played a greater role in helping all Americans know the black past than Carter G. Woodson, the individual who created Negro History Week in February 1926 to ensure that school children be exposed to black history. Woodson chose February for reasons of tradition and reform to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass’s birthdays.

The second black American to receive a PhD in history from Harvard following W.E.B. Du Bois by a few years Woodson had two goals. One was to use history to prove to white America that blacks had played important roles in the creation of America and thereby deserve to be treated equally as citizens.

Is Black History Month still relevant today?

Despite the profound change in race relations that has occurred in our lives, Carter G. Woodson’s vision for black history as a means of transformation and change is still quite relevant and quite useful. One thing has not changed. That is the need to draw inspiration and guidance from the past. And through that inspiration, people will find tools and paths that will help them live their lives.

Because it helps us to remember, there is no more powerful force than a people steeped in their history.

Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III Smithsonian Institution

Black Resistance: A Journey to Equality

When Carter G. Woodson established Negro History week in 1926, he realized the importance of providing a theme to focus the attention of the public. In support of this year's theme, Black Resistance, our museum shares key stories to celebrate how African Americans worked collectively to serve and strengthen their communities, often "Making A Way Out of No Way."

By resisting, African Americans continue to mobilize resources and shape social movements to create a space for Black Americans to thrive. We invite everyone to join us in exploring the histories of Black freedom movements from slavery and abolition to other ongoing struggles for civil and human rights.

https://youtu.be/bm2Si3zdRlE Click Link above to learn more!

HOUSE OF MINISTRY MEETING

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH 12:15 TERESA ROOM

Is It One Category Or, All Three?

TIME, TALENT, TREASURES

1) Time – Live Mass, Live Stream, or Participation in events (Live or Zoom)

2) Talent – Adding Input to Gazette, Parking Lot Gang, Inspiring Others, etc.

3) Treasures – Ensuring Church Meets Its Needs. Online Giving in Website @ stoccc.org or App @ Saint Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Community

Purpose of this Newsletter: One format in which to “Keep the lines of Communication OPEN” and inform the congregation, friends, and guestsof Saint Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Community of what ishappening.

SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA CATHOLICCOMMUNITY STATS:

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:

3803 HAINES ROAD NORTH, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA 33703

MAILING ADDRESS:

SAINT TERESA OFCALCUTTA CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

P.O. BOX 47921, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA 33743

PHONE NUMBER IS: 727-245-0102

Line #1 is the Church Office

Line #2 is Father Victor Ray

Line #3 is Prayer Request

Line #4 is Healing Ministry

Existing Ministry Teams:

HOUSE OF MINISTRIES

Moderator: William Schwartz

Assistant Moderator: Michelle Mazuros

Financial: Jon Laubscher

Advertising: Michelle Mazuros

Card Ministry: D.A. Marx and Dee Spano

Decorations: Cindy and Dennis Giddens

Hospitality: Paula Baker and Cindy Giddens

Liturgical: Alexandra Kahn

Media: William Schwartz

Outreach: (Cindy Giddens/Frank Matzelle as needed)

Parking Lot Gang: Shelli and Kelvin Muncy, Frank Matzelle

Welcome: Susanna Glisson

Immediate Needed Ministries: Records Keeper Planning Marketing Future Goals Mats Ministry

Pastor is Father Victor Ray

HOUSE OF TRUSTEES

President: William Schwartz

Vice President: AVAILABLE

Treasurer: Jon Laubscher

Legal: Catherine E. Blackburn, Esquire

If anyone is interested in participating in an Existing Ministry, please contact the Ministry Leader. If anyone is interested in Leading any of the Immediate Needed Ministries, Please contact Father Victor Ray or William Schwartz.

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