Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
A People            A Mission            A Structure
 

MINISTRIES

"Ministry".
Ministry is the ongoing attempt to put one's own search for God, with all the moments of pain and joy, despair and hope, at the disposal of those who want to join in the search, but do not know how.
'Henri Nouwen'

ALTAR SERVERS
Altar Servers are very important to have a Mass run smoothly. The servers do many of the important things, like carry the candles and cross, and they also serve the celebrant during the Mass. Altar servers used to be boys only; but girls are now welcome to join as well.
Contact person: Father Malcolm.

Ten of the Altar Servers at Blessed Sacrament Parish.

BAPTISM PREPARATION
As part of our parish's work of helping our many young families prepare well for Baptism of their babies, couples will come to the office to see Father to discuss the Sacrament and arrange dates, then attend a 1-hour session, usually on the first Sunday of the month, from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. Members of the lay team share, discuss, and prepare for the Baptism ceremony, using a video, reflection, questions, personal witness, and a little walk-through of the ceremony and symbols in the Church. We usually have 4-6 couples engaged in this ministry.

CATHOLIC WOMEN'S LEAGUE
 The Catholic Women's League of Canada is a national organization rooted in gospel values calling its members to holiness through service to the people of God.
It was established in this parish soon after its founding. The Ladies meet monthly, usually on Tuesdays, and are engaged in a host of activities, spiritual, social, fundraising and charitable.
The current president is Anita Bergauer, President - 519-576-1397
Email: abergauer@sympatico.ca
 

Catholic Women’s League
Agenda 2009-2010

CENACLE PRAYER GROUP
Every 3rd Wednesday of the month in evening, from 7:30 - 9:00 in the Church or the Rectory Basement, as available, a devoted group of parishioners and friends gather to reflect on the messages of Our Blessed Mother, to pray the Rosary, and intercede for the needs of the world, under the auspices of the Marian Movement of Priests.
One of the group's projects has been to sponsor Eucharistic exposition in the Church every First Friday, usually from 1:00 - 11:00 p.m.
A group of mothers meet Monday evening at 7 p.m. to pray the rosary in church.

CHILDREN'S LITURGY OF THE WORD

Children's Liturgy of the Word is for Grades 1,2,& 3 at the 10:00 a.m. Mass only and is held in the back meeting room of the church. It will look at the readings for the day and discuss them in an interesting and exciting way.
Marilyn Koehler heads children's ministry
Children partaking in an exciting activity at their Liturgy of the Word.

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
The Eucharistic Ministers are a dedicated group of people; they are the ones who distribute the Holy Eucharist during the Mass, and bring Holy Communion to the elderly at the Village of Winston Park and the Westmount nursing home.
Winston Park is located just down Blockline Rd. from the church.  Besides weekly Communion, the residents also benefit from the celebration of Mass on the last Tuesday of every month, at 10:30 a.m. in the Nursing Home common room.
In the Westmount Nursing Home, located at DavidBergey Dr., Mass is celebrated every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m.

FINANCE COUNCIL
In accordance with Church regulations, a Finance Council exists in the parish. This excellent advisory group, under the chairmanship of Chartered Accountant Michael Stephenson, helps to keep order in the exercise of our responsibility to use well the generous offerings made by God's people.
An elevator linking Church level and Parish Centre has been installed a few years ago.
The Council's most recent project has been to renovate the Church interior.
Council meets with Father Lobsinger about 5 or 6 times a year.

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD PRAYER COMMUNITY

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!
Jesus The Good Shepherd Prayer Community meets every Wednesday evening at Blessed Sacrament Church from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. 
We have the great privilege of having the Blessed Sacrament present at every meeting.   Gathering before Our Eucharistic Lord we offer prayers of praise, adoration, thanksgiving and petition.  We also offer opportunities to explore our Catholic Faith through teaching. This evening begins with the rosary.
For more information about our community, a brochure has been made available on the bulletin board at the back of the church.

LECTORS
The lectors of Blessed Sacrament Parish proclaim the Scriptures at Mass. The Sunday readings are both from the Old Testament and from the letters in the New Testament. Pictured below is the Pulpit where the lectors stand to read.

YOUTH GROUP
The Youth Ministry of our Parish has existed in its present form since 1994, when it was founded by a dedicated group of youth and volunteer adult advisors under the leadership of parishioner Rita Rittenhouse. In July, 2000, the parish hired a part-time professional Director of Youth Ministry, Debbie Frey. Debbie is an American citizen who married and made her home in Waterloo. She has been an extraordinary addition to our parish ministry family. Open to all high school students, and governed by a core group of youth and adult advisors under Debbie's direction, the "Youth in Action" community participates in a host of activities, ranging from the social to the educational, from the spiritual to the charitable. On many occasions the group's members have assisted at other parish functions, or raised money for worthy causes, or done some special thing for our children or the elderly. The youth love to have fun in everything they do. Young people have an astonishingly full involvement in almost every facet of parish life.

TEEN ANGEL PRAYER MINISTRY:
In February , 2001, a new initiative was begun, involving some 35 of our young people, including Grade 8's. They pledged themselves to prayer for the intentions of our people. Intentions for prayer are deposited in a box in the lobby of the Church, or phoned or E-mailed in, and a prayer chain goes into motion. A moving commissioning ceremony was held at Mass on Sunday, February 18th-2001, and the community affirmed this commitment. For further information, contact Ministry Leader Stephanie Zettel at 519-576-1166.
See Youth In Action
 

THE RITE OF CATHOLIC INITIATION OF ADULTS
The team members of The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process work hard sharing our faith, getting candidates ready for initiation into the Catholic Church in our Parish community. The program runs on Wednesdays 7:30 - 9:00 p.m., from late September until Easter, when the candidates will be baptized and/or confirmed. The R. C. I. A. team is under the direction of Mr.Jerry Brienza.

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
"The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth. Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." (John1: 43-46)

You are welcome to Come and See just as Philip and Nathanael were invited. The process of the Rite of Christian Initiation begins with the first stage of Precatechumenate. Those who come and see are inquiring about the faith and are called to conversion. They will discern through prayer and reflection how the Lord is calling them.

A liturgical rite marks the second stage where those who continue are now called Catechumens because they have indicated that they wish to respond to God's call to follow the way of Christ. This time is spent in prayer, reflection and learning more about the faith from the community.

A liturgical rite called Election or Enrollment of Names marks the third stage. The elect enter into a period of purification and enlightenment where they continue to learn more about the faith and prepare for the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. There are other celebrations that occur during this time of intense prayer and preparation. The culmination of this stage takes place at the Easter Vigil Celebration where the elect are fully initiated into the Catholic Church.

The fourth stage is the Mystagogia (Study of the Mysteries). The new members celebrate and deepen their faith. They find their place in the Parish community where they are called to serve God and the community of believers.

The experience of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a process of discernment through prayer, liturgical rites, reflection and study. Therefore the time frame depends on the faith journey of the individual. In most cases, candidates are in fact ready to take the step after one full year of preparation. For further information, contact the parish office.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY
The Saint Vincent de Paul Society of Blessed Sacrament Parish receives calls for food and other assistance from those in need in our neighbourhood, and visits them in their homes. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society also organizes food drives especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas food/toys hamper project involves a lot of people. Likewise, the Society's sponsoring of the weekend Soup Kitchen, or Sandwich Project, at Saint Mary's High School, several times a year involves many people. The Society meets bi-weekly on Mondays. It also supports the used items store at the corner of Water and Victoria Streets in Kitchener --- you may bring donations there. (Phone 519-742-8622)

USHERS
The Ushers are the men and women who help to keep order before, during and after Mass. They greet you upon your arrival, they help you find a good seat when the church is full, they pass around the collection baskets, and distribute the Parish bulletin after Mass. They are very important to this Parish.

Contact persons are: