St. Nicholas Catholic Church 412 W. 4th Street Carver, MN 55315 952-448-2345
"A community committed to welcoming, stewardship and evangelizing since 1868."
How did St. Nicholas unite Summer Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 9am to 4pm
the East and West? Fridays 9am to Noon or call office at 952-448-2345
Click Here **
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
*Summer Picnic for Children and Trip to Como Zoo - Coming Soon! July 20-24 - Click here to register
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Confession - Saturday
8:30-9:00 a.m.
3:30-4:00 p.m.
6:00-7:00 p.m.
or anytime requested
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MARIAN PILGRIMAGE WITH
FR. THOMAS JOSEPH
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Family Rosary
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Hope to gather 1,000 people! As part of our effort to finance the expansion of the parish center, on Friday, August 7, 2009, we will gather at the Park Ballroom in New Prague for a pleasant evening of dinner and fellowship. Please call the parish office and Jodee will help you purchase tickets for this important parish event. Each ticket costs $100 of which $75 is tax deductible. The price of each ticket covers the cost of speakers, and a delicious dinner including drinks. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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Sheila with her Mother Jean Laumann
Please pray for Jean as she is battling cancer. Please visit Caring Bridge - jeanlaumann for more information
Come help us celebrate the life of Jean M. Laumann on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at the Waconia VFW. Live Elvis from 6-9 P.M. and karaoke from 9-10 P.M. There will also be a bake sale and TV raffle. $10/person and $2/TV raffle ticket, all sales are in advance. Contact Kathy @ 952-443-2088. The proceeds will help pay for Jean's medical bills. Thank you all.
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Job Search Networking Help
St. Andrews Lutheran Church,
Eden Prairie
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Fr. Thomas Joseph
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Sitio
JULY 5, 2009 – 14th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Ez 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6
A message from Fr. Honoratus Mwageni! “Dear Friends of St. Nicholas, what we especially share with the people on our Appeals is about what happened in Rwanda in 1994. Genocide killed about 1 million people. Our efforts seek aid for education to the youth in the Diocese of Butare-Rwanda. The genocide left behind many, many, many broken hearts and many destroyed infrastructures like schools, medical centers, and churches. And now we are looking for some help to rebuild, especially the schools, for our young people because they are our future. We need to educate them to live together, to love one another, and to share the gifts given to them by God. Our youth now need extensive training about love, forgiveness, and sharing power so we will never again see genocide in Rwanda. It was terribly sad to see people killing other people and neighbors killing their neighbors. The Diocese of Butare is one of nine such church regions in Rwanda. More than 62% of Butare residents (and about 60% of the country's population) are Catholic, according to 2006-2007 estimates by Catholic-hierarchy.org. We are all brothers and sisters because we believe in one God and we believe in one Catholic and Apostolic church. From East to West, from North to South, from Africa to America, we are all children of God. That is why we come to you, to you Americans of St. Nicholas Church to ask for help. My home diocese can construct one school for every $200,000 US it receives. I say you give because you love us as your brothers and sisters. You give from your heart. But you can also give because you love us, and that's the main thing. Americans have come to know more about national suffering since the country launched its “War on Terror”. Despite the horror of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, the nation's Catholics still cling to their faith, and many non-Catholics still hunger for the Gospel. We suffer, but we forgive even if we do not forget, because forgive does not mean to forget.”
Happy Feast day St. Thomas the Apostle! On July 3rd we celebrated the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. This time, in particular it is a great joy for me in writing a brief reflection on the life of St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ--because I was able to visit his tomb recently as I always do whenever I am in India. As always, the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle in Mylapur (Chennai, India) is flocked by so many of God's people--people of all nations and religions throughout the day. As far as I know, there are only three Basilicas/Cathedrals built on the tomb of the Apostle in the entire world. The first is St. Peter's Basilica which is built on the tomb of St. Peter, the first Pope. Second, is the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, under which is buried the body of the Apostle St. James. Third, is the Basilica of St. Thomas the Apostle, under which is buried the body of the Apostle St. Thomas, the only Apostle to go outside the Roman empire to preach the name of Jesus. Today, 2% of the one billion people in India are Christians and the credit goes to St. Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ who brought the seeds of Christianity around the year 51 A.D. (almost 2000 years ago). As I knelt in prayer at the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle, I prayed for all of God's people in particular for the good people of St. Nicholas in Carver that we too like St. Thomas may always say, "My Lord and my God." Yes, Jesus is our Lord and God.
Happy Independence Day! We come to Church on this happy weekend of Fourth of July. I hope you all had a nice celebration with family picnics, grilling with neighbors, spending time by the lakes and pools, concerts, etc. Our nation's Pledge of Allegiance reads, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." As we have just celebrated our independence, let us once again remind ourselves that this great nation stands under God and not on our own power. Let us not be afraid to bring in God in every realm of our daily lives.
Summer Bible School is approaching! Tammi Anderson has done a tremendous job preparing for the summer Vacation Bible School. VBS is July 20th-24th and runs from 8:30 am to noon. Parents please be pro-active in doing the registration. Financial help is available as well as afternoon childcare. Please call the office for more information.
Sunday Reflection! In today's Gospel which is from Mark 6:1-6 we read about the incident where Jesus was in the Synagogue. While Jesus was there, he noticed other people in the Synagogue talking among themselves about His incredible wisdom. "Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him? Is He not the son of a Carpenter, the Son of Mary?" Here we see people taking for granted who Jesus was. Instead of taking a moment to admire Him, to come to know Him, people came to a hasty conclusion, "Is He not the son of a Carpenter, the son of Mary?" Susan Boyle, a Scottish singer, recently came to International public attention after her appearance on “Britain’s Got Talent." When she first appeared on stage to sing, "Dreamed a Dream," the people present appeared very judgmental and apprehensive. And we know that she surprised the whole world by her amazing gift of a beautiful singing voice. Every day we interact with so many Susan Boyles--the people in Synagogue who judged Jesus, 'Is He not just the son of a Carpenter, Son of Mary?" Let us pray so that in our daily lives we may not judge people prematurely, we may not take people for granted, remembering there are so many great but humble giants sleeping in our midst. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power." Let us pray that you and I may be the people of virtue, so that in our interaction with others we are able to apply virtue--may our eyes be deep enough to read the depth of the person.
In Christ Jesus,
Fr. Thomas Joseph
Come help us celebrate the life of Jean M. Laumann on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at the Waconia VFW. Live Elvis from 6-9 P.M. and karaoke from 9-10 P.M. There will also be a bake sale and TV raffle. $10/person and $2/TV raffle ticket, all sales are in advance. Contact Kathy @ 952-443-2088. The proceeds will help pay for Jean's medical bills. Thank you all.
Thank you for your generosity in last week’s Peter’s Pence Collection. Because of you, Pope Benedict XVI will be able to help millions of people around the world quickly and effectively. Your contributions are helping those most in need.
Thanks for your continued support of the food shelf this weekend. If you forgot your donation you can leave it in the basket in the entry of church anytime. During the month of June we donated a total of 89.5# of food to the CAP Agency food shelf in Chaska.
Since the Franciscans combined our three Catholic grade schools many decades back, times have rarely been as interesting for our G.A. School. G.A. School successfully renovated our lower level, a second educator in six years’ time was nationally recognized for excellence, and our school was not only accredited again until 2016 by the Minnesota Nonpublic School Accrediting Association (MNSAA), we were essentially given an A+ … with special praise given for the advanced technology integrated into our school curriculum and culture, as well as the integration of spirituality and religion into a student’s day. What’s more, this past year has seen parishioners and alumni rising to the occasion presented by the terrible recession. The tuition assistance fund was greatly expanded through contributions, and 800% more aid was given out for next year. Consequently, while many parochial schools are struggling to keep their doors open or suffering enrollment declines, our school’s increase in enrollment last year is holding its own. Thanks to a great many peoples’ generosity, our G.A. School is increasingly able to keep faith with every Catholic parish’s commitment to make a Catholic education available to every young parishioner. And the generosity continues with our school’s annual fund drive. The rather large tuition assistance fund needs replenishing, of course. And your assistance is all the more needed in these difficult times. Please consider making one of the best investments in the Mission of Jesus Christ through our tuition assistance fund. During these tough times, this fund is needed now more than ever before. Please contact Jennifer Salwei about any contribution to the Annual School fund (to be used for tuition assistance or some other directive you have in mind): 952-227-4001 or email her at jsalwei@GAchaska.org. If you have any questions about the school, you can also ask Jodee Korkowski, St. Nicholas parishioner, 952-448-2345.
St. Francis Regional Medical Center Offers Free CPR Classes with Free Take Home CPR Kit. If a cardiac arrest happened to your loved one or a close friend, would you know how to perform life-saving CPR, which can double a victim's chance of survival? Surprisingly, the vast majority of Americans don't. That's why St. Francis Regional Medical Center, in Shakopee, offers FREE CPR Anytime training classes. The classes are held at St. Francis in the Joy/Justice conference room at 6:00 PM on any of the following dates: September 17th, October 22nd, November 17th and December 10th. St. Francis provides each attendee with a CPR Anytime Kit including DVD and mini-Annie. Please call 952-428-2000 to register, groups of up to 25 people are welcome.
Dunrovin Retreat Center proudly hosts the 17th Annual Sunset Dinner Cruise Benefit on Monday, July 27th. This 2 ½ hour cruise aboard the Midwest’s largest paddlewheel boat, the Avalon, includes a scrumptious buffet dinner, a live bluegrass band, and a silent auction. It leaves from Stillwater. The ticket donation cost of $35 (Group rates available) benefits summer camps for disadvantaged youth and Catholic junior and senior high retreats. Contact Dunrovin by phone 651-433-2486, email Dunrovin@dunrovin.org , or learn more on the web at www.Dunrovin.org.
Are you wondering what the plans are for the Parish Center Addition Fundraising Dinner on August 7th? The event will be held at the Park Ballroom in New Prague. Social hour begins at 5:30 pm. Refreshments include soft drinks, liquor, wine and beer. Dinner will begin at 7 pm and includes roast beef au jus, herb baked chicken, mashed potatoes with county gravy, sage dressing, green beans almondine, mixed greens salad with house dressing, assorted rolls, coffee, milk and cake. We will have a speaker after dinner. We will also have a DJ to provide a variety of music for dancing on the new dance floor until 11 pm. There will also be drawings for door prizes! While the tickets are $100 per person, this is an all inclusive event. We will not ask you for any additional money at the event as everything (including drinks) in included in the cost of your ticket. Please consider joining us for this special event if you have not already purchased a ticket. More information and tickets are available at the parish office.
The parish office is still in need of some volunteers to help answer the phone and greet visitors on Mondays and Fridays during the summer. Please call the parish office at 952-448-2345 if you can help for any period of time. Thanks!
Archdiocesan Planning Process
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Faith Formation Registration Deadline! July 1st is the deadline for Faith Formation registration. Jackie Christianson, our Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Coordinator, is working hard to make sure the coming the year will be a year of great learning for all our children. *We are working on finalizing the details for our local mission opportunity for our youth this summer. Please call Jackie at (952) 448-9861 or the parish office at (952) 448-2345 for more information.
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In conjunction with the
Fall Festival and the Carver Steamboat Days celebration,
St. Nicholas Parish will once again be heading
up the Steamboat Days 5K Run/Walk. The event takes place Sunday, September 13,
at 8 a.m.
Everyone is welcome to participate!
Click below to obtain a registration form.
See you on the starting line!