IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH In this issue:

• Highlight of events from

February.

• March Birthdays,

Candy Sale and More

February Photos. Pg. 2

• Praying with Children

and Pope tweets. pg. 3

• New Altar Servers, See

More Photos, & Save the

Date! pg. 4

I. C. Angels February 2017 Newsletter

Highlights from February:

Encounter & Conversion Journey of Faith

On February 8th our High School students went on a field

trip to attend the Kerygma Experience at St. John the

Baptist in Howard. This event was presented by the

WSYM group which we are a part of. The Kerygma

experience was put together for our youth by Fr. Michael

Theil. Students came together for praise and worship

music, personal testimonials about conversion, the

Kerygma Experience, Eucharistic Adoration, fellowship

with their peers and confession was offered.

The core message of the Gospel is called the kerygma. The kerygma informs the central mission and identity of the Church and the identity of every baptized Christian. The most basic form of the kerygma contains five elements. It is the declaration that: 1. God is love and has created me for relationship with Him. 2. I have broken my relationship with God by my sin. 3. Jesus restores my relationship with God through his life, death, resurrection. 4. Jesus invites me to trust him, to turn from sin and to give my life to Him. 5. Jesus has poured the Holy Spirit into my heart to bring me to new life in His Church and sends His Church on mission so that others can experience that new life. Thank you to Rose De Coster, Donna Laabs and Dennis Eggener for

escorting our students to and from this event and thank you to the students

that participated.

SPIRITUS

On February 19th our Confirmation Candidates attended a SPIRITUS retreat at

St. Nicholas in Freedom. They started out with Mass and then came downstairs

for the retreat with the SPIRITUS team. SPIRITUS members gave witness stories

of their lives, their Confirmation, and of their conversion stories. They watched

part of the movie, The Passion of the Christ. The SPIRITUS team did a skit

showing how peer pressure and other vices leads us away from God, but that

God is always there for us and calling us back to Him. Students wrote on small

slips of paper the things they felt kept them/their age group from a close

relationship with God. Some of the things were; alcohol, drugs, sports, peer

pressure, and relationships (boy friend/girl friend). They also came up with

solutions to some of these issues; Mass, faith music, Eucharist, Adoration, and

faith friends. They ended the day with Confession and prayer time.

SPIRITUS

On February 22nd the SPIRITUS team came and put on a

Faith on Fire Retreat for our 6th — 11th grade students. The

name of the retreat was The Spiritual Battle. The SPIRITUS

team started out with a game, congratulations to Brandy for

winning! They gave testimonies about struggles they experienced and had to

overcome. They did a wonderful visual using ropes, showing the relation between

our connection/friendship with God and the things of the world that pull us away

from God. Thank you to Brandon Buck for being Adam, you did a wonderful job.

Thank you to Gracie Anderson, Madlin & Amanda Goffard for being the things

of the world that pull us away from a close relationship with God. They also

portrayed Satan trying to keep us from God, by telling us we don’t need Him, we

just need our friends, sports, and other activities to be happy. It was a fun filled

night! Also, thank you to Brandon Buck and Brandy Meyer for their help, giving

personal testimonies to help raise money for SPIRITUS at Mass on February

26th!

Snow Day

Once again we experienced a snow day on March 1st. Thank you to those who emailed or

texted me asking if we were having classes due to inclement weather (thanks to winter

storm Donna). I emailed and texted (those who have given me cell numbers) all parents/

guardians and catechists to let all of you know classes were cancelled. If you did not

receive a text or email, please let me know so I can make sure going forward you are

notified. I also contacted Fox 11 New to have them post our cancellation on their station.

Another place to check for our cancellations.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH

I. C. Angels February — 2017 Newsletter pg. 2

God’s Blessings on Your Birthday

March Birthdays:

Bryanna Farrell on March 11th

Alex Garvey on March 27th

More February Photos

Seroogy’s Fundraiser

Grades 5th-11th are doing a fundraiser to raise money for our programs and to help our Middle/

High School students pay their way to “Love Begins Here” Missionary Camp this summer. The

students approached me about selling Seroogy’s candy as a fundraiser to help pay for this won-

derful new opportunity to serve our community (as Christ has asked us to do). Our students are

taking orders for boxes of chocolates, coffee (regular/decaf), chocolate bunnies or lambs and selling assorted candy

bars. The will be taking orders through March 22nd and deliveries will be between March 29th and April 8th.

Anyone who has not already picked up at least one box of candy bars (grades 5th-11th) please do so on Wednesday

nights or Sundays after Mass. We have 20 boxes to sell and they can’t be returned. The candy bars are $1.50 each and

there are 48 assorted candy bars per box.

We will be selling candy bars and taking orders after Mass on Sundays in the gathering space.

Please help support our youth, by purchasing some candy/coffee, or by picking up a box of candy bars to sell. I know

it’s easy to come up with excuses why we don’t like to sell things or don’t feel we can, but really it is about supporting

our youth. Your support is greatly appreciated by our youth!

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH

I. C. Angels February — 2017 Newsletter pg. 3

Praying with Children

Blessings and Family Prayers

In ways large and small, parents seek what is best for their children. This desire is expressed in a variety of

practical ways every day: preparing healthy foods, ensuring adequate opportunity for sleep, teaching good

manners, and sharing enriching activities as a family. Incorporating prayers of blessing into your family’s dai-

ly routine is another way to express this desire for the very best for your children. When we pray for God’s

blessing, we acknowledge that God is the source of all that is good. In prayer, we ask God to bless us, to

bless others, and to bless our activities. We do so with confidence and trust in God, who also seeks what is

best for each of us. To pray in blessing for our children is to join our desires for them with God’s own desire

for them. Daily life provides parents with many opportunities to offer prayers of blessing with and for their

children.

Bedtime Blessings

As part of bedtime prayers, invite your child to name the people he or she would like to pray for. This can

take the form of a simple litany, praying, “God bless . . .” as your child names family and friends. As your

child grows older, you might offer a simple prayer intention for each person as you pray. For example, if a

sibling is sick, you might ask for God’s healing presence, praying, “God bless [name] and help her [him] feel

better soon.” Later, you might suggest that your child offer the prayer intention. Conclude by praying your

own prayer of blessing for your child as you trace the Sign of the Cross on your child’s forehead.

Morning Blessings

Even in the most organized households, mornings can become a frenzy of activity as family members pre-

pare to leave for work, day care, school, and daily errands. Establishing a morning routine that includes a

prayer of blessing for family members as they leave the home can help to strengthen and encourage each

person to live faithfully as a follower of Jesus. Ask each family member to name particular challenges or ac-

tivities he or she may face during the day, and pray together, asking God to bless each person and his or

her activities. Parents can trace the Sign of the Cross on each child’s forehead in blessing before leaving the

house each day.

Mealtime Blessings

The importance of gathering for family meals cannot be overstated. Not only are meals important for provid-

ing daily nourishment, but they are also occasions for strengthening our spirits by connecting with the people

who are most central to our lives.

Meals are natural occasions for prayers of blessing. We pray in thanks to God for his goodness to us. We

ask God to bless our food and make our lives a blessing to others. Pray together Grace Before Meals and

Grace After Meals. Mealtime can also be an opportunity to ask family members to name the good things that

God has shared with them throughout the day and to pray together in thanksgiving.

Prayers of blessing for these occasions and many others can be found in Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers: Revised Edition (Washington,

DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2008). http://www.loyolapress.com/praying-with-children-blessings-and-family-prayers.htm

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“God is always faithful and never stops for a moment loving us, following our steps, and running after us when we have strayed from him.”

Pope Francis Tweets – 3/2/17 @pontifex

“Take action! Live life to the fullest! And when others see the witness you give, they may ask: why do you live this way?.”

Pope Francis Tweets – 2/4/17 @pontifex

“Christian unity is not the fruit of our human efforts but a gift that comes from above.”

Pope Francis Tweets – 1/20/17 @pontifex

Altar Servers

Parents, if your student is in the 3rd grade or above and they would like to be an

Altar Server at IC, please contact: Sue Meyer at joensue46@yahoo.com

We Welcome our New Servers in Training:

Jacob Garvey

Ivy Van Den Heuvel

Alicen Gonnering

Josie Geurts

Thank you, to all who serve our Parish!

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See more photos of program events

To see more photos from our events go to our website and look under Faith Formation then Pictures or

Parent Center then Pictures — http://imcffinformation.weebly.com/ or http://www.imconeida.org/ and

click on Faith Formation on the list on the left side of the page and follow same instructions. For more photos

of the blessing of our new addition go to www.imconeida.org and click on pictures (left hand side menu),

then on New Addition.

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Save the Date! (Dates to remember)

March 1st - Prayer Service - Ash Wednesday 6 pm with family and parish (all are welcome)

March 12th (Sun) — Bishop Ricken is coming to present our Accreditation during Mass

March 23rd — First Eucharist Retreat for grade 2 and parents 6 pm to 8 pm at St. Nicholas

March 24th-26th — Anchor TEC weekend for grades 10th & 11th (Friday to Sunday)

March 29th — K-11th grades — Stations of the Cross with family (all are welcome)

April 12th - Seder Meal - Confirmation Candidate, Sponsor & Parents - 6 pm

April 12th - Service day for grades 9 & 10 - attend and help with Seder Meal — 5:30 pm

April 12th - Holy Week — No Classes for grades 1-8

April 13th - Holy Thursday - Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper - 6:30 pm

April 14th - Good Friday - Celebration of the Lord’s Passion - 1 pm

April 15th - Easter Vigil - 7:45 pm

April 20th - First Eucharist Practice for grade 2 and parents 6 pm (was 5:30 pm)

April 23rd - First Eucharist Mass for grade 2 and parents 8 am

April 26th - Closing ceremonies - All are Welcome!! Pizza party after prayer service.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH

I. C. Angels February 2017 Newsletter pg. 4