NKCC

One ‘Ohana

The next One ‘Ohana will be held on Sunday, December 11th at 12noon.  As usual, we will begin with lunch.  This month’s topic will be the SACRAMENT of MARRIAGE.  The event for the month is preparing for Christmas and celebrating the Holy Family.  The Adult Session will be conducted by Father Marvin Samiano from the Marriage Tribunal in Honolulu.  Father will talk about marriage, the freedom to marry, and annulment.  There are always so many questions about this subject and Father will be here to help provide answers.

Liturgy Calendars

The 2012 Parish Liturgical Calendars will be distributed this weekend.  These calendars were produced by the Heritage Committee.  They are free to parishioners because they are funded through the generous support of our advertisers.  The calendars include all the major dates and colors of the liturgical year, feast days of saints, and dates of parish events.  Each month includes pictures of our Churches and parish life.  Pick up a calendar for your family while supplies last.  Additional calendars are available for $5 at the Gift Shop.

Social Justice Book Club

The Social Justice Book Club will be discussing Imagine No Religion: The Autobiography of Blasé Bonpane, by Blasé Bonpane at its January 5th meeting.  This is the personal story of the life of Blasé Bonpane.  The Book Club meets on Thursday – January 12th, 2012 after the noon Mass, at 12:30pm in Immaculate Conception Hall.

Baptism Classes

December Baptism classes for those who will be baptized in January are Wednesday, Dec. 14th at 7PM or Sunday, Dec.18th at 1PM, both in Immaculate Conception Hall.

Cooks With Time and Big Hearts Needed

We have been asked to recruit volunteers to cook an evening meal at the HOPE Emergency Shelter in the Old Industrial Area.  The food is already there in the kitchen.  The commitment is just a matter of preparing it for the residents.  Most volunteers have selected one day a month.  The whole thing should take no more than 2 hours.  The days remaining uncovered are the following: 2nd, 3rd, 4th Mondays and the 2nd Thursday of the month.  We also need a few people who might be willing to substitute when a regular person and/or group is unable to make it.  The time would be 4:30PM to 6:30PM.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to “feed the hungry.

Engaging Spirituality

Are you deeply concerned about our world?  · Are you looking for wisdom about how to follow Jesus with integrity in times like these?  · Are you open to opportunities for spiritual growth?

If your answer to these questions is an enthusiastic “YES,” then you may be ready for a spiritually-intensive experience called Engaging Spirituality.

Engaging Spirituality is a prayerful process that invites us to draw this world down into ourselves, to hold it in prayer together, and to practice living deeply.

If you would like a glimpse into this process, join us for an introductory discussion on Saturday, December 10th at 10am at Immaculate Conception Church Hall.  For more information on Engaging Spirituality, contact:  Zola Ingram – 329-4049 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / Cynthia Taylor – 960-0734 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Giving Tree

Like last Advent, this year we will have a GIVING TREE.  This is one way in which we, as a parish, can assist those less fortunate in our foreign missions.  The Global Solidarity Committee asks that you remove an ornament from the tree and place your donation in the provided envelope below the tree.  Regardless of how little we feel we have to offer our own family and friends this Christmas, we still have more than those who live in extreme poverty in the Philippines and Africa.  Children and adults, alike, lack the very basic things we take for granted.  A child in the Philippines does not look for a toy at Christmas.  These kids are thrilled with a pair of shoes or a little something extra to eat.  St. Michael's Parish has made Christmas a little brighter before and we can do it again this year!

Sew-A-Thon

Mahalo to all.  Our efforts to provide dresses for girls around the world are yielding results.  The recent “Sew-a-Thon” yielded 45 dresses in one day, due to the generous donation of time,  materials, machines, and the talent of about a dozen women. Hundreds of Kona-produced “pillowcase” dresses were shipped to Cambodia and several locations in Africa and the Philippines.  Several Big Island physicians have sponsored shipments.

We extend our thanks also to those who provided the seed money to get things started in the summer, and to those from HOPE Services who provided instruction to several women at The Friendly Place!  Our next shipment of 100 dresses is heading for the Philippines, just in time for Christmas.  Check out the One ‘Ohana web pages for pictures from the event.

Girl Scouts Project Helps Soldiers

We, the Cadettes of Girl Scout Troop 2028 are working on our Silver Award.  Our project is to provide stockings for soldiers deployed in defense of our country.  Time is an issue:  we need to prepare, complete and ship out by Monday, December 12th.  Our cutoff for completed stockings is December 9th.  Therefore, we would like to have donations in by December 4th.  We humbly ask for donations that can be placed in a Christmas stocking.  Items needed:

Christmas Stockings/ chapstick/ dice/ deck of cards/ hard candy, gum, candy canes, mints/ notepads (small)/ Spam/ pencil & sharpener/ sunscreen/ tissue/ shampoo & conditioner/ toothpaste & toothbrush / dental floss/ hand sanitizer/ batteries-AA & AAA/ flashlights/ razors & shaving cream/ chips, mac nuts, cookies/ puzzle books (small)/ cotton balls/ First Aid Kit (small)/ sewing kit/ nail file/ CDs & DVDs

We welcome stockings already stuffed, as well as items to stuff into stockings.  Any monetary donations will be used toward postage to send these packages to the troops.

A Hui Hou Crematory & Funeral Home, 74-5615 Luhia Street (Palm Terrace Plaza) in the Old Industrial Area is a receiving station Monday through Friday from 9am–4pm; other hours by appointment:  329-5137.

Thankfully, Cadettes Paulette Abaire, Sarah Emmons, Madison Brumbaugh

The Readings for This Week

Mark’s Gospel is composed using a course style of Greek. The evangelist tends to use an economy of words. Some scholars have caricatured Mark’s Gospel as a passion narrative with an extended introduction. During the course of our reading of Mark’s Gospel throughout Year B of the lectionary cycle, we will be confronted numerous times with foreshadowing of the Passion and crucifixion of Jesus. Today’s Scripture plunges us into the story of Jesus by presenting the itinerant preaching of John the Baptist. In Mark’s Gospel, John has the sole function of pointing to Jesus as the one “mightier than I.” John’s clothes and food recalls the Jewish Scriptures’ story of Elijah sent by God to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are presented as deaf and blind at times to the reality of who Jesus is and the import of Jesus’ ministry and preaching. John however, is presented as a faithful disciple who recognizes and points to the person of Jesus who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

The passage of Isaiah proclaimed today and immortalized in Handel’s Messiah, sets the stage for how we are to hear the story of John the Baptist in the Gospel. The Lord comes with power, rules with strength and shall be like a shepherd who cares for his flock. The hieratic language of a “mighty God” is tempered with the gentle image of a shepherd and sheep.

The selection from Second Peter hearkens to the end times that the Christians expected without delay. The image of the “day of the Lord” coming like a thief and the whole world passing away, model the eschatological themes presented in last Sunday’s Scriptures. The three selections together this Sunday proclaim a message of watchfulness and preparedness that needs to be part of our lives as we ready our hearts to celebrate the nativity of the Lord.

By Dale J. Sieverding | © 2008, OCP. All rights reserved.

Stewardship Report - Nov. 26th-27th, 2011