Handbook 8110 Jewel Lake Road Anchorage, AK 99502 907-243-2195 www.stbenedictsak.com St. Benedict App: www.myparishapp.com 9/2018 THE NICENE CREED I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: and by the power of the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son he is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. THE SACRAMENTS What is a sacrament? A sacrament is a visible sign of faith and a cause of grace. It is an effi- cacious sign, that is, it is a symbolic act that causes what it points to. A sacrament celebrates what it represents. 9/2018 St. Benedict Parish Handbook Table of Contents Page The Nicene Creed 2 Letter from the Pastor 4 St. Benedict’s Staff 5 The Sacraments 6 of Initiation 6 of Healing 8 of Vocation 9 Funerals 12 Stewardship Guide to Ministries Religious Education Ministries 12 Evangelization and Catechesis 13 Youth Ministry 14 Young Adult Ministry 15 Family Ministry 15 Liturgical Ministries 15 Outreach Ministries 16 Prayer Ministries 16 Fellowship Ministries 17 Health Ministries 17 Service Opportunities at St Benedict 18 Other Volunteer Opportunities 18 9/2018 “From those to whom much is given, much is expected.” (Luke 12:48) Dear Parish Family Member(s), Each year in the fall we commit ourselves to a time of stewardship renewal. We remind ourselves that everything we have is a gift from God and we respond in gratitude by giving of our time, our talent and our treasure. In this stewardship mailing you’ll find a parish ministries booklet and commitment cards on which to make your new pledges. The ministries handbook is more than a list of activities. It is an invitation to become more deeply involved in the life of our parish. Please pray over how God is inviting you to share your time and gifts with others. Then take a deep breath, and commit your name and other family members to particular ministries for the coming year. Please bring the commitment cards with you on “Commitment Sunday,” September 21st and 22nd. If you’re wondering how you might best use your time in committing to a parish ministry, please visit the booths at the upcoming “Festival of Ministries” on September 14th and 15th. In following Christ’s example, I hope and pray that more parishioners will see the many needs of our parish and come forward to share their time, talent and treasure to build a stronger community of faith. In terms of improving stewardship, I hope… 1. That parishioners commit to helping in at least one ministry this coming year. 2. That our efforts at transparency and stewardship will encourage parishioners who are cur- rently giving minimally in time or treasure to our parish to be more generous. 3. That all parishioners will continue to look to the mission and needs of the broader Church by continuing to supporting the Annual Appeal and other causes that are important to them. Thank you for the privilege of serving as your new Pastor. I am very happy to be with you and I continue to be humbled by your remarkable testimony to your faith and love for God, the Church and one another. Thank you, good stewards! May God bless you always! Fr. Tom 9/2018 St. Benedict Staff Pastor Rev. Thomas C. Lilly, [email protected], 243-2195 Deacon Deacon Les Maiman Deacon Dez Martinez Administrative Assistant Katherine Mitchell, [email protected], 243-2195 Business Manager Danna Hoellering, [email protected], 273-1553 Pastoral Assistant Marcy Adkins, [email protected], 273-1554 Director of Music Ken Miller, [email protected], 273-1540 (message) Office of Evangelization & Catechesis Director, Robert McMorrow II, [email protected], 273-1552 Youth/Young Adult Minister, Elise Martinez [email protected] ,243-1541 Junior High Ministry, Gabe O’Lena [email protected] 273-1541 Lumen Christi High School, Catholic Education Principal, Brian Ross, [email protected], 245-9231 Administrative Assistant, Anne Gore [email protected], 245-9231 9/2018 This definition fits both Jesus and his Church. Jesus not only signifies God's love for us, he IS INITIATION OF ADULTS God's love for us. His teaching, his healings and An adult desiring to enter the Catholic Church is other miracles and his sacrifice on the cross all admitted into the Rite of Christian Initiation of symbolize the love God has for us. But Jesus is Adults or “RCIA”. This process is the modern more than just a sign of God's love; he is God- version of the ancient way of formation for new made-man; Love-made-flesh. Jesus is the living believers. It has four stages: 1) Inquiry 2) Cat- proof of God's care for His people The mysteries echesis, 3) Purification and Enlightenment and 4) of His life serve as the foundations of what he Mystagogia. gives to us in the sacraments through the minis- In the Inquiry stage, those who are interested ters of the Church. in the Catholic Church are invited to explore how The Church is also a type of sacrament. We God has been working in their lives and are intro- are an efficacious sign of salvation. The Holy duced to the community of faith. After a period Spirit gives life to the Church. The Risen Lord of discernment lasting no less than six weeks, but lives and works in the community of salvation sometimes lasting over a year, a person may be which serves the cause of God's Kingdom. admitted to the Catechumenate in the Rite of Through the Church, we encounter the Resurrect- Acceptance. ed Christ. We hear him speak to us today when The Catechumenate is a deliberate, sequen- his Word is proclaimed and when his sacraments tial process where one comes to a full understand- are celebrated. ing of how the Church celebrates, educates and Jesus calls us through His Church to be a sac- lives the Paschal Mystery. This stage lasts at ramental people. Jesus invites us to be light to least twelve months so that the catechumen can the world, beacons whose faithful lives of service fully experience the Church’s rhythm of prayer point the way to him and his Father. throughout the Liturgical Year. The catechu- With this rich definition of a sacrament in menate concludes with the Rite of Election. mind, we can see how the seven sacraments are The period of Purification and Enlighten- special actions of Christ entrusted to and working ment takes place in the weeks before the celebra- in the Church. Sacraments are effective, sym- tion of the Easter sacraments, usually during bolic actions that not only point to God's life, Lent. Here through various rites celebrated at the but actually convey it to the members of the Sunday liturgies, the Elect are intensely prepared Church. These Christ-instituted, efficacious to receive the Sacraments of Initiation by prayer- signs of grace bring about the divine life to which ful reflection and the prayers of the community. they point. If we receive them properly, they bear This period usually is concluded with the joyful great fruit in us. celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist at the Easter Vigil . SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION: Once initiated as a full member of the commu- nity, the neophyte enters into a year-long period BAPTISM of “mystagogia” where he or she continues to Baptism is the sacrament which celebrates and reflect upon the experience of the Catholic Faith brings about liberation from Original Sin and the as it is lived in this parish. entrance of a person into life with Christ and His Uncatechized Catholic Adults Church. When Jesus died and rose from the dead, Sometimes, through no fault of their own, a per- he promised that we would follow him into eter- son may have been baptized in the Faith, but nev- nal life. Just as he died, was buried, and rose er received proper instruction or formation for again to new life, so we imitate his actions. In Confirmation and First Eucharist. In this case, Baptism, we plunge into the Paschal (Easter) the baptized, uncatechized person may participate mystery of his passion, death and resurrection in a similar journey. They may participate in the passing over into a new life in a new community RCIA to the extent that it is beneficial to the com- of faith. pletion of their formation in the Catholic Faith. Each of us shares some responsibility for the newly baptized person.