Welcome to Sacred Heart

We extend a warm welcome to those who attend our Church. We hope that you will find ourparish community a place where your life of faith will be nourished. We also hope that you will share your special

gifts within the community. Your prayers, your presence and your talents are most welcome. Parish registrationforms are in the back of the church or may be obtained at the Parish Office.

Sacred Heart CATHOLIC CHURCH

Main Church7190 Highway 17 South

Fleming Island FL 32003

Mission Church207 Palmetto Avenue

Green Cove Springs FL 32043

PARISH OFFICE7190 Highway 17 SouthTel 284-3811 Fax 529-8845Office Hours: Monday – Friday8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Pastor: Father Michael Pendergraft Business Manager: Tish AguilarReceptionists: Mary Bullington, Silvia AlexanderYouth Director/RCIA Coordinator: Mike Curtis Hall Director: Arlene Manalo

RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONTel 284-9983Kristin Michler-Belleza (K-5)Sandra Curtis (6-12)

MUSIC MINISTRYKaren Otto, Lisa Moser, Mike Curtisand Ann Marie Barta

ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL1610 Blanding Blvd., Middleburg 32068Tel. 282-0504Principal: Victoria Farrington

MASS SCHEDULESaturday Vigil: 5:30 p.m.; Spanish 7:30 p.m. (Mission Church)Sunday: 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.Holy Days: 8 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Weekdays: Monday through Friday 8 a.m.Sacrament of Reconciliation: Sat. 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. or by appointment

To arrange for Baptism or Marriages please call the Parish Office.Homebound Parishioners: Please call the office if you know of anyonewho needs Eucharist brought to the home or would like a visit.

Web site: www.sacredheartgcs.org

MISSION STATEMENT

Compelled by the Gospel, we the parish family of Sacred Heart, promote and support Christian Life by serving our parishand community through the celebration of the sacraments, educational programs and other parish ministries.

STEWARDSHIP Rejoice! The Word became flesh and dwells among us! Oh, come, let us adore him! Your Gifts to God and Parish ~ December 11th Sacrificial Giving: $ 10,878.00 Building Fund: $ 7,695.00 Not in envelopes: $ 4,511.87 Children’s Sharing Treasure: $ 29.53

The Nativity of the Lord December 25, 2016

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.— John 1:5

May the wonder and peace of Christmas be yours all through the year.

From Fr. Mike and the Staff of Sacred Heart Parish

The Parish Office will be closed

on Monday, December 26th,

for the Christmas holiday.

No Mass on Monday December 26th.

NEW YEAR’S SCHEDULE Fleming Island Saturday, December 31st 5:30 pm Vigil Mass 7:30 pm Vigil Mass in Green Cove (En Español) Sunday, January 1st 8:00 am 10:30 am 5:30 pm

Sacred Heart Parish offers sympathy to Lesli Betts on the death of her father, Charles Moody.

Youth Corner

Religious Education CHRISTMAS BREAK

Religious Education Classes will resume:

Sunday, January 8th Tuesday, January 10th

and Wednesday, January 11th

NO SHEEP this week.

Think a Catholic Education is too expensive for your children?

How about a $5,677.00 scholarship?

Please explore the Step Up for Students Scholarship Program

which makes a Catholic elementary education affordable for our families.

www.stepupforstudents.org

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * At Annunciation Catholic School, your parish school, it is our goal to make a Catholic education available to every parishioner.

ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL NEWS

See you for Youth Group on Wednesday, January 11th.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Education News...

THE COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN (CCW)

Please join us at this month’s CCW meeting in the Activity Center on Monday, January 9th. Fellowship and refreshments begin at 6:30 p m and the meeting will start at 6:45 p m. Gemma, from the Sacred Heart Healing Ministry, will be our guest speaker. Come learn and pray with us as we continue to grow in spirituality and friendship. All women of the Parish are invited to attend. We hope to see you there !! Like us at:

https://www.facebook.com/CouncilOfCatholicWomenSHGS

In Our Parish...

ITALIAN NIGHT by our Knights of Columbus

Council 11220 Saturday, January 28th

in Sullivan Hall after the 5:00 pm Mass

Menu Chicken Marsala, Lasagna, Baked Ziti,

Breadsticks, Salad and Dessert.

Cost: Adults $12.00 a person; Family (of 3-5) $35.00

POTLUCK SENIOR LUNCHEON Our Senior Luncheon this month will be a potluck. Please bring your favorite dish to share. It will be held on Wednesday, January 18th, at 11:30 am in Sullivan Hall. Come and enjoy the fellowship of other parishioners! RSVP to the Parish Office, 284-3811, by Friday, January 13th. All are welcome, but please no walk-ins!

Sacred Heart Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2016

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION: Isaiah 11:9 FINANCE REPORT: Other than maintenance expenses that include re-placing the A/C in the church and upholstery of the pews and kneelers, there were no unusual expenses. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Better all-around communication from te parish

survey was discussed. Soon there will be a new app available and could be beneficial for parish-ioners to keep informed of parish events.

2. Regarding the sign, as of last week, permits are in have. Construction should begin as soon as an estimate for materials is submitted.

3. Father reiterated that Father Juan Alexis is not assigned to Sacred Heart. He is in residence at the rectory and his responsibilities are to learn English at FSCJ four days a week and celebrate Mass in Spanish at Green Cove Springs. There is no plan at this time to add responsibilities at Sacred Heart.

NEW BUSINESS: 1. A church clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, De-

cember 17, 2016, starting at 9:00 am. 2. A bid was received from the company that in-

stalled the pews for reupholster of pews and kneelers.

3. A fence will be installed in the back of Sullivan Hall.

4. There is a plan in place for landscaping on the church property.

KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS The monthly meeting of the Knights of Columbus Council 11220 will be held Thursday, January 5th, 2017 at 7:00 pm in building C. Plan to attend this important meeting to receive important

information on the Spaghetti Dinner to raise money for Annunciation School.

MLK DAY-N-CLAY Diversity and Awards Breakfast

Monday, January 16, 2017, 8:00 am Shiloh Church, 939 Blanding Blvd. Orange Park

The focus of the celebration will be “Empowered Women of Clay County” and is about the education and economic development within the low-income community. Our parish is reserving a table of eight; four seats are available. If you are interested, contact the Par-ish Office.

Marriage Preparation Marriage Preparation: To schedule a wedding, an engaged couple must meet with their parish priest or deacon at least eight months before their pro-posed wedding date. Preparation for the sacrament includes attending a diocesan program such as Engaged Encounter or Pre Cana. Also, cou-ples of child-bearing age will need to take a full course of Natural Family Planning. Pre-registration for each of these programs is mandatory. The next Engaged Encounter program will be January 15th -17th at Marywood Retreat Center. The next Pre Cana program will be February 20th in Jacksonville. For more information about the di-ocesan requirements or to register for any of the di-ocesan programs, please visit www.dcfl.org or call (904) 551-2619.

THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD Mary was called to be open to the extraordinary. What do you need to say, “let it be” in response to God’s call to you? Trust that the Lord is with you and will guide you always.

(Luke 1:26-38) If you think God is calling you to be a priest, call Fa-ther David Ruchinski at (904) 262-3200 ext. 101, or email vocations@dosafl.com.

Pray For

Vocations

Exercise Classes for People with Parkinson's Disease AND their Caregivers Mondays and Thursdays at 9:30 am and Mondays at 6:00 pm in the Activity Center.

Contact Mike Bleecker for more information at 502-5055.

The Prayer for Christian Unity Since 1926, the Catholic Church has set aside a spe-cial time to pray for unity among Christians. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary year of the begin-ning of the Reformation, the theme: “Reconciliation - The Love of Christ Compels Us” (2 Corinthians 5: 14-20) has been chosen for our prayer service. Unity and openness to the changing power of the grace of God is essential to the followers of Jesus. The Prayer Service , on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00 pm at St. Luke Parish, will include uplifting music provided by participating choirs in the area as well as the St. Luke Music Ministry. A reception in the hall will follow the program; all are welcome.

Around the Diocese...

Joy to the world, the Lord

is come! Let earth receive its

King; Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room. And

heav’n and nature sing. Joy to the earth the Savior reigns!

Let all their songs employ. While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

repeat the sounding joy!

PRAYER LIST Names will be printed in the bulletin for four weeks, then removed. Please call with names you would like to have includ-ed on our list. Thank you for helping us keep our list current. Please pray for… Acacia Bratt, Donna Guzinski, Brandon Kellogg, John Lanham, Levi Shepherd, Clara Turner, Leonard Turner, Mercedes Lopez, Charley Strayer, Lois Battisti, Amanda Castelli, Jeanne Gallina, Guy Gallina, Judy Henderson, Alexis Lato and Family, Karen McCallan, Tabitha Perry, Molly Polone, Donna Ramos, Keith Willis, Dang Andux, Brenda Chester, Frances Harshaw, Hugh James, Mary Alice Marley, Jean Phelps, Marshella Ramos, our prayer blanket recipients and our homebound parishioners.

TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — All the ends of the earth will be-hold the salvation of our God (Isaiah 52:7-10). Psalm — All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God (Psalm 98). Second Reading — God has spoken to us through the Son, the very imprint of God’s being (Hebrews 1:1-6). Gospel — The Word became flesh; from his fullness we have all received grace (John 1:1-18 [1-5, 9-14]). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab, 16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22 Tuesday: 1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; Jn 20:1a, 2-8 Wednesday: 1 Jn 1:5 — 2:2; Ps 124:2-5, 7b-8; Mt 2:13-18 Thursday: 1 Jn 2:3-11; Ps 96:1-3, 5b-6; Lk 2:36-40 Friday: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or Col 3:12-21 [12-17]; Ps 128:1-5; Mt 2:13-15, 19-23 Saturday: 1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96:1-2, 11-13; Jn 1:1- 18 Sunday: Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Gal 4:4- 7; Lk 2:16-21

Monday, December 26th, 8:00 am – No Mass Tuesday, December 27th, 8:00 am - In memory of Kyle Klocek requested by his Parents. Wednesday, December 28th, 8:00 am - In memory of Richard Hoffman, requested by his wife, Katie. Thursday, December 29th, 8:00 am - In memory of Stephen DeLuca requested by Debbie and Roger Rich. Friday, December 30th, 8:00 am - In memory of Dr. Deborah Coletti Blakley requested by her moth-er, Anne. Saturday, December 31st, 5:30 pm - For the Spe-cial Intentions of the Parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish. Sunday, January 1st, 8:00 am - For the Special Intentions of Vicki Farrington requested by Tara Biggs. Sunday, January 1st, 10:30 am - For the Special Intentions of Ginger and Armando Roces requested by Eileen and Shawn McFarland. Sunday, January 1st, 5:30 pm - In memory of Maryann Koopman requested by Cheryl Canni.

THANK YOU to all who are using the container in the park-ing lot to recycle aluminum cans. The profit is used by our Outreach Ministry to help others. Please no tin cans, boxes or plastic bottles!

SULLIVAN HALL All events held at Sullivan Hall will be scheduled through Sullivan Hall director, Arlene Manalo. For prices, availability and more infor-mation, call Arlene at 284-3811 or email arlenemanalo34@gmail.com www.facebook.com/shsullivanhall

PARISH WEBSITE Be in the know… check out our website at www.sacredheartcatholicchurch.org Contact Parish Office at 284-3811 or email shbulletin3811@ bell-south.net if you have something for the website.