ANGEL TREE VOLUNTEERS are needed to collect and sort gifts before and after all Masses this weekend, December 9/10. Help is also needed to  deliver gifts on Monday, December 11, at 9:00 a.m. to Pike Lake School. If you wish to help, please call Judy Q., (651) 633-8333, ext. 1229. Confirmation students, families, and adults are all welcome to volunteer!

UP STREAM GIRL: Pure Classic Fashions for Pure Girls is now open in Roseville at 1864 Eldridge Avenue West. A portion of each sale goes to pro-life organizations. To preview fashions online, visit www.upstreamgirl.com. Call (651) 485-0307 with any questions.

NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING CLASSES are being offered by the Couple to Couple League on the Sympto-Thermal Method at St. Raphael's in Crystal on Tuesday, December 12. Call (612) 721-3791.

VOLUNTEER NURSES & Lab Techs needed at our North Side Life Care Center in North Minneapolis for the Wednesday prenatal clinic. Only one 5-hour shift per month! Please call Pat for details, (612) 522-6589.

CATHOLIC ANSWERS TO END-OF-LIFE ISSUES: The Archdiocese has a Commission on Biomedical Ethics with Father Peter Laird as the Director to answer all your sensitive questions. Please visit the Archdiocese's website at www.archspm.org, and click on Commission on Biomedical Ethics on the homepage. Or, call (651) 291-4488.

YOU ARE INVITED to "Follow the Star," our Christmas Program on Thursday, December 14, in St. John's Church at either 2:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. Our students are stellar!

HAVE YOU BEEN WONDERING where to send your soon to be 5-year-old next year for Kindergarten? We hope you have considered St. John's Parish School! We offer both a half-day and a full day kindergarten program. We provide a faith-filled, nurturing, learning environment that is a perfect transition from our Little Lights Preschool. Parents may call to tour the school and meet with the school principal.

KINDERGARTEN ROUND UP is on Wednesday, January 24, at 6:30 p.m. in St. Joseph Hall.  We invite all interested parents to join us to discover the exciting opportunities offered at St. John's Kindergarten. The teachers join the principal to inform, verbally and visually, our Kindergarten classes in action! We hope to see many parents there in making this important decision for your children.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK is Sunday, January 28 - Friday, February 2.  Our theme is "The Good News In Education." Please join our students and staff for Mass on Sunday, January 28, at 11:15 a.m., followed by an Open House in the school until 1:30 p.m. There is a spaghetti dinner in St. Joseph Hall, so don't miss it! We will be accepting registrations for next school year during the Open House. Please include the following items with your registration forms: student's birth certificate; baptismal certificate (unless baptized at St. John's); and a fee of $100 for students in Grades 1 - 8 and $300 for Kindergarten students.  No student is considered registered unless this fee accompanies the registration forms.

HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING for a place to volunteer  where you can make a real difference in a child's life? St. John's School has opportunities for people to work with students one-on-one in our Read Naturally Program with a staff person to assist you:  8:30 a.m. - 9:10 a.m., Tuesday through Friday; or 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.  Please call Deb Zeien at (651) 633-1522, ext. 1131.

ARCHBISHOP FLYNN invites men who are exploring God's call in their lives to his Annual Vocation Retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, 7:00 p.m. Friday, December 15, through 12:00 noon Sunday, December 17. The retreat is open to high school seniors and older, up to age 40. It will include communal and private prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, Mass, and presentations designed to help participants discern their future vocation, with a special emphasis on the vocation of priesthood. Participants are asked to have a reference from a priest or religious. A $50 donation is requested; scholarships are available. Call the Vocation Office, (651) 962-6890, or e-mail Fr. Wilson, twwilson@stthomas.edu. Or, call Fr. Skluzacek  or Fr. Magnuson, (651) 633-8333.