Bulletin Blurbs

February - April 2012

Thank you for your continued outreach ministry to separated and divorced and The Third Option in the Syracuse Diocese. It is our pleasure to support your efforts.  We would appreciate your help in bringing the following events and programs to the attention of your parishioners and community by highlighting them in your parish bulletins and newsletters. The flyers on our upcoming events page have been designed for you to post not only on your parish bulletin boards but also to insert in your bulletins and post throughout your local community.  If your local parish is interested in starting up a separated and divorced support group, please call Dean Brainard at 472-6754 ext. 5 for guidance, training and support. If interested in a The Third Option, please call Pat Ennis at 472-6754 ext. 6. Thank you for your continued support!  May God Bless You!  The Family Life Staff

 

PLEASE PUT IN THE BULLETIN  WEEKENDS  Now through March 17/18

Kaleidoscope of Care:  Annual Day of Renewal for Separated and Divorced will be held Saturday, March 24th, 2012 at Bishop Grimes Prep Jr. / Sr. High School, 6653 Kirkville Road, NY 13057. Reverend Christopher Ballard will provide an inspirational keynote. A full palette of activities including a Healing Liturgy and practical workshops on Financial Matters, Helping Our Children, Spiritual Direction, Dating and more is offered. Registration includes lunch and all activities. Only $45 before March 1st, $50 after March 1st.  All are welcome! To register or learn more call Dean /315.472.6754 ext 5 or click on www.familylifesyracuseeducation.org

ATTENTION SEPARATED/DIVORCED: BRANCH OUT AND GROW, a support group for separated and divorced, meets Wednesday, March 7,  2012, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Bishop Ludden High School, 815 Fay Road, Syracuse, New York.  Besides support, we will also be showing a meditative video: “Facing My Depression”by DivorceCare and discussing it. All are welcome. Sponsored by Family Life Education (A Hope Appeal Agency).  For information call:  (315) 472-6754 x #5.  www.familylifeeducationsyracuse.org

“ENDING THE BLAME GAME IN MARRIAGE.”  Come learn how.  Sponsored by THE THIRD OPTION, a program to build better marriages. Meeting is Sunday, March 4, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00pm.  Holy Cross Church, 4112 East Genesee St, Dewitt/Syracuse, New York. Walk-ins welcome. For more information call (315) 472-6728.  A Hope Appeal program.

ATTENTION SEPARATED/DIVORCED: BRANCH OUT AND GROW, a support group for separated and divorced, meets Wednesday, March 7,  2012, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Bishop Ludden High School, 815 Fay Road, Syracuse, New York.  Besides support, we will also be showing a meditative video: “Facing My Depression”by DivorceCare and discussing it. All are welcome. Sponsored by Family Life Education (A Hope Appeal Agency).  For information call:  (315) 472-6754 x #5.  www.familylifeeducationsyracuse.org

“ENDING THE BLAME GAME IN MARRIAGE.”  Come learn how.  Sponsored by THE THIRD OPTION, a program to build better marriages. Meeting is Sunday, March 4, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00pm.  Holy Cross Church, 4112 East Genesee St, Dewitt/Syracuse, New York. Walk-ins welcome. For more information call (315) 472-6728.  A Hope Appeal program.

PLEASE PUT IN THE BULLETIN THE WEEKENDS OF  March 10/11 and 17/18

ATTENTION SEPARATED/DIVORCED: BRANCH OUT AND GROW, a support group for separated and divorced, meets Wednesday, March 21,  2012, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Bishop Ludden High School, 815 Fay Road, Syracuse, New York.  Besides support, we will also be showing a meditative video: “Facing My Loneliness”by DivorceCare and discussing it. All are welcome. Sponsored by Family Life Education (A Hope Appeal Agency).  For information call:  (315) 472-6754 x #5.  www.familylifeeducationsyracuse.org

“UNDERSTANDING EXPECTATIONS CAN TRANSFORM YOUR MARRIAGE.”  Sponsored by THE THIRD OPTION, a program to build better marriages. Meeting is Sunday, March 18, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00pm. Holy Cross Church, 4112 East Genesee St, Dewitt/Syracuse, New York. Walk-ins welcome. For more information call (315) 472-6728.  A Hope Appeal program.

ATTENTION SEPARATED/DIVORCED: BRANCH OUT AND GROW, a support group for separated and divorced, meets Wednesday, April 4th,  2012, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Bishop Ludden High School, 815 Fay Road, Syracuse, New York.  Besides support, we will also be showing a meditative video: “What Does the Owners Manual Say?”by DivorceCare and discussing it. All are welcome. Sponsored by Family Life Education (A Hope Appeal Agency).  For information call:  (315) 472-6754 x #5.  www.familylifeeducationsyracuse.org

“REDEFINING POWER STRUGGLES IN MARRIAGE: Getting on the Same Team.”   Sponsored by THE THIRD OPTION, a program to build better marriages. Meeting is Sunday, April 1, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00pm.  Holy Cross Church, 4112 East Genesee St, Dewitt/Syracuse, New York. Walk-ins welcome. For more information call (315) 472-6728.  A Hope Appeal program.

 

A Family Perspective

February - July 2012

 

February 11 & 12, 2012                    

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - Family life is about decisions. The leper in today’s gospel knew this when he said to Jesus. “If you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus knew this when he said, “I do will it.”  Love is not an emotion. It is a decision to be with and for another person in “good times and bad,” even when we don’t feel like it.

February 18 & 19, 2012                    

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - The friends in today’s gospel climbed onto the roof, took it apart and lowered the “paralyzed man.”  If friends would do this, how much more should we expect of family? Everyone is “paralyzed” in some way. In families, we are called to carry one another and to make up for each other’s deficiencies.

February 25 & 26, 2012                    

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVEfrom the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - Jesus went into the desert to put his life in perspective. This Lent, take a fresh look at a difficult relationship in your life. Concentrate on the positive things that person does, not just the negatives. Try to understand why their behaviors ‘bug’ you. Can you honestly share your feelings with them without attacking them? Make Lent a time to MEND and FORGIVE!

March 3 & 4, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - The apostles thought they knew Jesus, but when he changed in front of them at the Transfiguration, they were “afraid.”  In families, we cannot freeze relationships because change and growth are inevitable.  Children grow up, parents grow old and spouses change.  Transfigurations are all around us and within us. Relationships can only grow when we embrace the new and let go of the old.

March 10 & 11, 2012                        

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - Today’s gospel says Jesus chased the merchants out of the temple, it doesn’t say He was angry. Jesus teaches us to act from conviction and not from anger. He didn’t condemn the merchants, only their business practice. Attack the behavior and not the person.

March 17 & 18, 2012                        

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - Today’s gospel speaks of light and darkness. Often a parent is deliberately “left in the dark.” Darkness can be comforting for it makes no demands on us. Light can be disturbing for it forces us to take action. Parents walk a delicate balance of when to “sit in the dark” and when to “turn on the lights.”

March 24 & 25, 2012                        

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - Relationships come with a price tag. We must be willing to entrust ourselves to another, to let go of our autonomy and die to our independence. It is in dying to our independence that we find interdependence with others.

March 31 & April 1, 2012                 

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency) - The Passion of Jesus makes it clear, no one escapes suffering. Suffering is inevitable but no one should suffer alone. That is one of the primary roles of families, to stand with and support each other in suffering.

April 7 & 8, 2012                               

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
That first Easter morning was confusing. Jesus was missing and Mary Magdalene, Peter and John “did not know” what to do.  In family life there are confusing moments when “we don’t know” what to do. Like the apostles, we are Easter people when we believe and trust in each other even when all seems lost.

April 14 & 15, 2012                           

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches, “Blessed are those who have not seen and believe.” Accepting someone as they are, without demanding they prove themselves or meet our expectations, creates a rich relationship.  Without acceptance, a home is only a house and a family is just a group of house mates. 

April 21 & 22, 2012                           

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
The apostles were afraid of Jesus until he ate with them and they touched him. In your family the ordinary acts of eating together, touching, embracing not only confirm our love for each other, but also celebrate God’s presence in your family. These ‘ordinary’ moments contain the ‘Extraordinary.”

April 28 & 29, 2012                           

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Today’s gospel is a job description for Christian parents. For most people, the most influential shepherds in their lives are their PARENTS. Every parent is called to be a “good shepherd” to “freely lay down their life” for their children, to “love” and “know” their children and to “lead” them so “they know your voice.”

May 5 & 6, 2012                                

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Like the vine grower in today’s gospel, parents must “prune and cleanse” the branches in their family if their children are going to be rooted. Discipline, limits and setting goals are a necessary part of parenting so our children will grow and “bear fruit.”

May 12 & 13, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Today’s gospel challenges us to “love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus is our model and he asks us to “lay down our life” (our time, attention, opinions and needs) for each other. This is the sacrament of the family, when God is made visible in our sacrificial love for one another.

May 19 & 20, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Jesus was worried about his disciples and he turned to prayer. No matter how much time we spent trying to “guard and protect” our children, each day they become less dependent on us and we must let go and let God. Prayer and parenting go together.

May 26 & 27, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Today, on Pentecost, we remember Christ has given us the Holy Spirit to assist us in raising our family and he expects us to use this personal gift.  Let’s turn-off the noise, apps  and distractions in our lives and let the Holy Spirit “guide us to the truth.”

June 2 & 3, 2012                               

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
The Trinity is remembered in the sign of the cross.  Do we find moments to pray as a family?  Is grace before meals a part of our daily routine?

June 9 & 10, 2012                             

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
We celebrate Eucharist in family when we prepare a meal, set the table, give thanks for a meal, put the coffee on, help with dishes and carry a tray to one who is ill.

June 16 & 17, 2012                           

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Parenting is a lot like the story of the farmer in the gospel parable today. All growth is the Lord’s work. We have no control over the process.  In fact, the farmer doesn’t even understand it, for the seed grows even when he sleeps. As parents, we can influence our children but nothing we do can guarantee results.

June 23 & 24, 2012                           

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord.  Parents prepare the way for a child by teaching him or her how to play a sport or learn a skill, how to make a fort or a friend, bounce back from adversity or accept an honor with gratitude, how to enjoy a hobby and how to pray.

June 30 & July 1, 2012                     

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
The healing of the woman and the child in today’s gospel is a reminder we are all wounded.   We retreat to those we love looking for acceptance, listening, understanding and support.  Families must be healing communities where Jesus is present in our care for one another.

July 7 & 8, 2012                                

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Today’s gospel is so familiar, it hurts!  The home town folks couldn’t accept the presence of God in Jesus. After all, they had watched him grow up. We can easily make the same mistake if we don’t see God present in the ordinary routines of our family.  “The Lord be with you” is a statement of fact. Believe it. Live it.

July 14 & 15, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
Jesus sent out His apostles without a lot of “things” because THINGS distract.  We collect, argue about and protect our “things.”  Garage sales only transfer “things.  ”We even ignore each other because we have “things” to do.  What “things” are separating you from your family?

July 21 & 22, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
In today’s gospel, “the apostles gathered around and told Jesus all they had done.”  Listening allows the other person to express, understand and appreciate their experiences. Whether it is the excited chatter of young child or the repetitious stories of an aging grandparent, listening is important. It is not just time well spent, it is sacred time. 

July 28 & 29, 2012                            

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE from the Office of Family Life Education (a Hope Appeal agency)
In today’s gospel, Phillip worried about “enough food” for the crowd. What is ENOUGH? When does our ENOUGH deprive another family of their fair share? Jesus performed today’s miracle because one child was willing to share and risk living with less. Can your family live more simply so that other families can simply live?