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YEAR END FINANCIAL PLANNING SEMINAR
Tuesday, November 18, at 7:00 pm
St. John's Pastoral Center
Do you know what to do before the end of the year to lower your income taxes? What should you do to reduce your taxes and lower your living expenses for 2004 and beyond? Have you planned, saved, and invested enough for your retirement? Are you and your family adequately insured for possible lawsuits, loss of or damage to your property, health care & disability, or nursing home care? Are you and your records fully organized for your benefit and for your heirs? Are your plans to pass on your house and savings supported by a will? Are the named beneficiaries of your 401k plan and your IRA's up-to-date?
These and many other financial planning issues will be the topic of discussion at the 2nd Annual Year-End Financial Planning Seminar to be held at St. John's at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18. This presentation by parishioners of St. John's is free. There will be no appeals, nor any selling of products or services. The seminar is offered by the Stewardship Committee solely as a service to you.
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BIRTHRIGHT OFFICE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for our Coon Rapids Office for two hours, one to two times per month, to help those experiencing a crisis pregnancy. Birthright offers free pregnancy testing and educates people in making alternative choices to abortion. Volunteer training is Saturday, November 22, 8:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 23, 11:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please call Judy Quayle, 651-633-0459, for more information.
"A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope."
(Pope John Paul II,
1995)
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We will be collecting toys and gift certificates for the churches of Blessed Kateri and Holy Rosary and for our local food shelf through Salvation Army's Operation Joy. Angels will be on the trees in St. Paul's Plaza starting the weekend of November 22/23. Gifts can be returned to St. Paul's Plaza the weekends of November 29/30 through December 14. Gift certificates can be mailed to St. John's or returned to the Parish Office. Please Note: December 14 is the last day to return gifts and certificate because the agencies need time to deliver their gifts.
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PICTURE DIRECTORIES If you haven't gotten yours yet, directories are available at the Welcome Desk through November. If you didn't have your picture taken, but would like a copy, you may purchase a directory for $5.00. If you are unable to come in to get one, please call Judy at 651-633-8333, ext. 1229.
Dear Parishioners of St. John's,
Heartfelt thanks to all of you who prayed for us and consoled me in the loss of my brother, Bob Pearson. I am sincerely thankful. God bless you all!
Mindy Schlien & Family
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We will be collecting toys and gift certificates for the churches of Blessed Kateri and Holy Rosary and for our local food shelf through Salvation Army's Operation Joy. Angels will be on the trees in St. Paul's Plaza starting the weekend of November 22/23. Gifts can be returned to St. Paul's Plaza the weekends of November 29/30 through December 14. Gift certificates can be mailed to St. John's or returned to the Parish Office. Please Note: December 14 is the last day to return gifts and certificates because the agencies need time to deliver their gifts.
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED
Collecting the gifts during the weekends of November 29/30 through December 13/14.
Delivering the gifts to Ralph Reeder Food Shelf on Monday mornings, Dec. 1 through Dec. 15, at 9:00 am.
Please call Judy at 651-633-8333, ext. 1229, if you can help.
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Connections: November 16, 2003 33rd Sunday of the Year
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"In those days after the tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light … and then they shall see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory…
"Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch
becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Son of Man is near … "
ROMAN LECTIONARY:
Mark 13:24-32
When you see the desolating sacrilege … the one on the housetop must not go down or enter the house to take anything away; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat."
COMMON
LECTIONARY: Mark 13:14-23
As You Begin, Remember the End
Working with engaged couples in preparing for their weddings is a gratifying experience for most pastors and church ministers. While a time of great anxiety for many couples, it is also a time of great hope and promise.
But one priest puts the true meaning of the marriage relationship in stark realism when he begins his counseling sessions with this:
"Remember, one of you will some day close the eyes of the other."
CONNECTION: There are signs all around us - like the late autumn winds of November - that remind us that we live in the shadow of eternity. In everyone's life, the "fig tree" grows and flowers, reaps its precious harvest, and then withers. But the signs should not frighten us or terrify us into submission before the horrible wrath of God. Jesus urges us to recognize such "signs" with a spirit of hope and a perspective of faith in God's providence: to appreciate what a precious gift our limited time on earth is; to realize that every changing world and passing away of our own "heaven and earth" is part of our journey to the dwelling place of God. With every sign of age, with every change in direction, with every new milestone, we journey closer to the promise of the Easter Christ.
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