Pastoral Staff
Tel: 503-266-9411 Fax:503-263-2293
Pastor: Fr. John Waldrom email: stpatricks@canby.com
Pastor Associate: Sara Creel
Deacon: Rev. Mr. Jerry Giger
Director of Rel. Educ: Sue Unger
email: stpatrickreligiouseducation@yahoo.com
Aministrative Assistant: Debbie Newbury
email: dnewbury@canby.com
Maintenance: Heriberto Aguilar
email: haguilar@canby.com

Rectory Office Hours
Monday thru Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
We are closed for lunch between 12:00-1:00 p.m.

Bulletin Policy
Items for the bulletin are due in the Parish Office no later than Wednesday of each week. Email your items to dnewbury@canby.com

Prayer Needs
If you have prayer needs, please call St. Patrick prayer chain. Contact Kathy Usher, 503-266-2485

Social Service Ministries
St. Vincent dePaul Food Bank:
Bill & Delores Piller: 503-701-9135

Sacrament
Infant Baptisms:
Registered parishioners are expected to complete a Baptismal Preparation program prior to scheduling a baptism. Baptismal preparation programs are offered 3 times a year. For information and /or registration, contact Sara 503-266-9411.
Next Baptismal Prep Class: September 28, 2006

Adult Baptisms:
Adults seeking baptism are expected to participate in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.) RCIA begins in the fall with the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation in the Spring (Easter). For information and/or registration contact Sara at 503-266-9411.

Marriage Policy:
Our parish is a signator of the Clackamas County "community marriage policy", that is a multi denominational agreement for common standards for marriage preparation. Please contact the Pastor at least six months prior to the wedding to ensure adequate time for these preparations.

Solemnity of
Easter Sunday
March 23, 2008

WE WELCOME INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST
On this Glorious Easter, may we welcome into the Body of Christ Carie Smidt, Stuart Hunt, Ariel Mars, Wayne Staehely, Celia Valverde, Manuela Santiago, Alberto Ortiz. May there hearts be filled with Peace and Joy and may Our Risen Lord surround them with his love.

IN SYMPATHY. . .
Please keep in your prayers Joyce Carroll & her family. Joyce passed away this past week. Also Ted Tokarski the Uncle of Linda Baker. Please remember to keep all of our parishioners and loved ones who have passed away in our thoughts and prayers.

PASTOR ON VACATION
Fr. John will be taking some time off and will be out of the Parish Office next week, March 24-March 31.

NO DAILY MASS
While Fr. John is away there will be no daily Mass. However we will have a communion service on Tuesday evening March 25, Wednesday, March 26, Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28.

PARISH OFFICE
The Parish Office will remain open during Spring Vacation. Sara Creel our Pastoral Associate will be out of the Office March 24-March 31. Sue will be out of the Office Monday, March 24-Wednesday, March 26.

SPECIAL HOUR OF DEVOTION
The Parish Knights of Columbus will be presenting a special hour of devotion to Our Lady of Charity Monday, March 17, at 7pm in the church. All parishioners are invited to join the Knights for this devotion.

What a tantalizing gospel to hear on Easter Sunday! Mary of Magdala arises early on the “first day of the week” to go to Jesus’ tomb! What does she see? Merely that the stone is rolled away from the entrance. The gospel doesn’t tell us that she went into the tomb and looked around. Rather, she immediately runs to the disciples and reports that Jesus’ body has been taken. Peter and the Beloved Disciple go to the tomb-not taking their time, but running. They see the carefully laid out burial cloths. The response of the Beloved disciple is eventually the response of all: “he saw and believed.” Perhaps more than any other Easter gospel, this one can speak to us. Unlike the Synoptic parallels and the next account in John where there is an angelic presence announcing Jesus’ resurrection and Jesus himself appears to Mary and the disciples, this account leaves us only with hints of the resurrection. We also have the Scriptures that tell us that “he had to rise from the dead.” Like the disciples in this account, we have no immediate evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Rather, that wondrous event is mediated to us in the same way as for those disciples long ago. For us, Jesus’ risen presence is mediated through servant-disciples who by their witness to Gospel living announce that Jesus is alive and with us. Seeing and believing, we still do not understand. This seeming contradiction characterizes the Christian journey. Through the Scriptures and by the witness of faithful disciples, we gradually come to believe in the Good News that Jesus brought. We gradually learn to encounter Jesus in the ordinary circumstances of every day, seeing his risen presence in the goodness of others, in our worship and prayer, even in our very needs. These personal encounters strengthen our faith in the risen Lord, that he has not died in vain, and that we even now share in the new life his resurrection promises. At the same time, we do not understand. This does not mean we do not believe in the resurrection. It means that this event is so singular, so unique, so unexpected that it cannot be grasped in one encounter. Like the early disciples, we cannot contain ourselves: we run to meet the risen Christ in others, and empty ourselves so others can meet the risen Christ with us. The mystery is beyond us at the same time it is within us! The Lord is truly risen!

OUR PRIVILEGE, OUR RIGHT, AND OUR DUTY
As it is written ‘Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you.’ (Is 49:15):

We in the Catholic Church in the Community of St. Patrick remember, hold in our memory, and pray for the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces especially Ryan Thomas Blackwood, Ryan Bridges, Lonnie Brown, Nathan Brown, Douglas Bower Jr., Carlos Bustamante, Adamm Creel, Isaiah Creel, Brian Dykeman, Bill Ellis, Adam Ferrell, Rob Gamble, Andrew Gibby, David Hannon, April Kennedy, Mike Krzmarzick, Jessica Krzmarzick (wife of Michael Krzmarzick) Johnny Lugo, Alex Martin, Ryan McInnis, John Molamphy, John Nguyen, Tarl Spencer, Leah Sundquist, Kenneth Thorpe, CJ Trillo, Jonathan Tuner, William Walsh, Erik Wiesehan and Ivan Wilson, may they be servants of Christ through service to those in need, and may they be kept safe from all harm.

This is the day the Lord has made:
let us be glad and rejoice!
Alleluia!

PARISH SUPPORT
Parishioners of St. Patrick through the Sacrificial giving program gave to God the gift: March 16, 2008

Building Fund $125.00
Cemetery $
Envelopes $7260.00
Loose $576.39
Children $3.50
Poor $25.00

Total $7989.89

MASS SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2008
COMMUNION SERVICE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2008
COMMUNION SERVICE
Thursday, March 27, 2008
COMMUNION SERVICE
Friday, March 28, 2008
COMMUNION SERVICE

MEDJUGORJE PILGRIMAGE
Please join us on a 13 day pilgrimage, May 27-June 8, 2008. $2,640 includes transportation, board/room, tips and taxes. Final payment due April 21, 2008. Call Center for Peace-West @ 503-646-4435 or email cfpw@aracnet.com with questions or for application.

MONASTIC DISCERNMENT RETREAT
Mount Angel Abbey sponsors vocation discernment retreats for men between the ages 16-35, several times per year. The next retreat is scheduled for the weekend of April 11-13, 2008. If you are interested in making a Monastic Discernment Retreat, please contact Rev. Joseph Nguyen, O.S.B., Abbey Director of Vocations at 503-845-3226, or by email: abbeyvocation@mtangel.edu.

VOCATIONS COFFEE SHOP AND SPEAKER
Every vocation (married, single, ordained, religious life) calls for faith, self-knowledge, healthy living skills, and commitment. On Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 6:15-8:30pm at Queen of Peace Church in Salem, Oregon, Fr. Ray Carey will speak on “Skills for Making and Keeping Your Life Choice Commitment”. If you are a young adult in the process of discerning God’s vocational calling in your life, please come share coffee, conversation, and time with others on the same journey. The evening will include a panel discussion by those living one of the four vocations of our church. There is no cost.

THE VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT OF EASTER
Genesis 1:1-22, Isaiah 54:5-14, Exodus 14:15-15:1,
Herman Melville

My earliest impressions of Easter include a gigantic rabbit wobbling on a float in an Easter parade, baskets of jelly beans, marshmallow chickens, chocolate eggs, and real ones of blue and pink-all of which had little to do (as I found out later) with Christ’s Resurrection and much to do with the pre-Christian cult of Eastre (or Oestre), the Germanic goddess of spring whose seasonal role was to make the sap rise and flowers bloom and bunnies multiply like crazy. Of course, it has always been Catholic Christianity’s genius to “baptize” such pre-Christian cults, to reorient them to celebrate not just a change of seasons but also the rising of Jesus from his tomb.
If I had had a good catechist as I was growing up, she might have offered me an Easter symbol more in line with our biblical heritage-namely water! Not just the water that comes from the tap. No, she would have led me over to the Mendocino coast of a stormy eventide and pointed to that water- the vast, rolling, pounding sea. And she would have reminded me of the opening lines of our Easter Vigil’s first reading from Genesis: “In the beginning. . .darkness covered the abyss while a mighty wind swept over the waters.”
The sea: chaotic, bottomless, full of the stuff of nightmares, suffocating! Yet out of this formlessness God in Genesis calls forth sunshine, the stars, the green earth, and all living things, and ultimately you and me, made in God’s own image. What a wonderful event, issuing in a Garden of Eden set amid so many galaxies.
But it was a garden that could be swallowed up by the sea again whenever we human beings became nostalgic and ran like lemmings back to the oblivion, the formless “sea” whence we came. The story of Noah, referred to in our Vigil’s fourth reading from Isaiah, offers us one instance of such regression. But again, it reveals God’s creative intent to resist such recoil, to pluck us out of the waves as he did Noah and set us on dry land, to insist we become God’s sacramental presence in this world. Yet no sooner do we emerge from one biblical sea than our third Vigil reading describes us confronted by another, the Red Sea of Exodus, waiting to swallow us anew, until once more we hear, “the Lord swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land.” Yet again God provided us a highway out of the suffocating waters of regression to stride once more toward a land flowing with milk and honey.

Water, the sea, symbol of death and yet so strangely-under the influence of God’s Spirit-the source of life! The same sea into which timid Peter almost sank before Jesus lifted him to safety and a sense of mission. The same sea Jesus could quiet with a word. The same sea out of which he would invite his fishermen friends to draw forth a net full of souls, even as tonight we draw forth new members of the Church out of the baptismal waters, out of the mouth of Leviathan, another marine symbol of death.
Speaking of which, the story of Jonah comes to mind. Jesus once said, “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be swallowed up by death, but only to rise again.” And who are you and I but Jonah? Jonah was told by God to live bravely, to convert the regressively violent civilization of Nineveh. And what does he do? He behaves regressively himself. He heads out to sea to escape God’s summons and ends up in the belly of a whale; he “goes down” (as Herman Melville describes it in Moby Dick) “in the whirling heart of such a masterless commotion that he scarce heeds the moment when he drops seething into the yawning jaws awaiting him; and the whale shoots-to all his ivory teeth, like so many white bolts, upon his prison.” Regression! Choosing NOT TO BE! Easter is about the reversal of all that. It’s about our choosing TO BE, to emerge from baptismal water, to grasp anew the hand of Jesus, who would restore us to our proud status as sons and daughters of God-this risen Jesus whose own exit from the tomb, whose own escape from the belly of the whale, has had everything to do with our capacity to breath again. So as you prepare for Easter don’t forget to ponder this biblical symbol of water. Remember that Easter fundamentally has to do with our breaching the surface of baptismal water, of overcoming the physical and spiritual power of death to drag us under. It has to do with our experiencing a resurrection akin to that of Christ. It is a resurrection akin to Jonah, so powerfully retold by Melville: “Yet even then beyond the reach of any plummet-‘out of the belly of hell’-when the whale grounded upon the ocean’s utmost bones, even then, God heard the engulfed, repenting prophet when he cried. Then God spake unto the fish; and from the shuddering cold and blackness of the sea, the whale came breeching up towards the warm and pleasant sun, and all the delights of air and earth; when the word of the Lord came a second time, and Jonah. . . his ears, like two sea-shells, still multitudinously murmuring of the ocean-Jonah did the Almighty’s bidding. And what was that, shipmates? To preach the Truth to the face of Falsehood!” And I might add: to BE true, to BE real, to BE in the fullest sense of the word. Happy Easter.
From: Living the Lectionary: Links to life and Literature

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR GRADE SCHOOL
We meet on Sundays from 9:45-10:45 for 1st -5th grade and 11 am for 18 months through 5 years old. These classes are for all parishioners. We welcome you to join us at any time. Classes will be closed for Easter, March 23 and for the 2nd Sunday of Easter, March 30 because of Spring Break. Contact Sue Unger for more information.

YOUTH MINISTRY AND JR HIGH MINISTRY
The Journey in Faith (6th- 8th grade) group meets on Wednesday night at 7 pm. All are welcome to join us. There will be no class on March 26th because of Spring Break. On April 2nd the teens will be shown a video and have a discussion about Child protection. Our next fun Friday will be April 11th at 7 pm. We are encouraging all 8th graders to attend the Youth Mass on the first Sunday of the month. We need many hands and voices to make this happen.

JR HIGH YOUTH MINISTRY TWILIGHT RETREAT
On Friday, April 18th St John the Baptist in Milwaukie is sponsoring a retreat for all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. It will begin at 7 pm and go to Midnight. The theme is: Just Do It….Right! It will focus on peer pressure and temptations. The fee is $5.00 per student. All will need a permission slip. There will be Pizza, snacks, reflection, fun and music. Contact Sue Unger for more information.

FAITH IN ACTION (9TH-12TH GRADES) meets on Sunday evening from 5:30 pm -7 pm in the Parish Center. All High School teens are welcome to join us. There are no gatherings on Easter Sunday, March 23 or on Sunday, March 30th because of Spring Break. On April 13th the Youth Group will have a presentation on Child protection . Jerry Giger will be presenting and lead the discussion. Watch the bulletin or contact Molly or Liz or Sue Unger for more information. Our next Youth Mass is Saturday, April 5th. We can use more singers and volunteers to help with the different ministries.

SERVICE PROJECT
The April JOIN retreat has been cancelled because of lack of participation. Hopefully we can schedule this next year as a Service project. Contact Sue Unger for information.

LOVE, LIFE AND HOLINESS: THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY FOR TEENS
On April 19th all High School students and Young Adults are invited to hear Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers on Pope John Paul’s statement on The Theology of the Body. We will gather at 11:30 am to leave for Salem St Joseph’s Catholic Church. The session will go from 1 pm-4:15 followed by Mass at 4:30 pm. Entry fee will be $5.00 plus one of the following: For those teens who’s last name begins with: A-I bring beverage, J-Q chips or cookies, R-Z fruits or veggies. For more information contact Sue Unger. Permission slips will be sent to all registered Youth Ministry students.

SPRING CLEANING IS COMING
The Youth Ministry and Religious Education programs will be sponsoring a garage sale in late spring to help with buying bibles and sending the youth to Spokane for a Youth Conference. We will need volunteers and a co-coordinator to make this happen. Please call Sue Unger at the office. I generally am available by phone on Monday –Thursday. Sundays I am in the office but generally do not take messages.

SACRAMENT PREPARATION CLASSES
Our next gathering will be Monday, April 7 at 7 pm. We will be covering chapters 6, 7, and 8. This meeting is for Parents and the child who is preparing for First Eucharist (Communion) for 2008. For more information contact Sue Unger. Remember if you have a child in first grade that will want to receive Reconciliation and Eucharist in 2008-2009 they must be signed up for Religious Education this year.

Our next Confirmation gathering will be April 6th. Be sure you have your Saint paper and Social Justice paper and your Service hours completed and ready to hand in. Be prepared to make your interview appointment with a member of the team. This will need to be completed by May 15th. For those that missed the Holy Spirit retreat you will need to write a paper for that. The makeup retreat had to be canceled because of lack of participation.

ADULT SCRIPTURE REFLECTION LENT 2008 – SMALL GROUPS
Adult scripture reflection will continue on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. The Bible study groups will return to their normal agenda starting the week after Easter. If you would like to join any of the groups either now or after Easter you are more than welcome. Contact Sue Unger for more information.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL TEAM
All parishioners interested in working on Vacation Bible Study are welcome to our meeting on April 6th at 1:15 pm. We will meet in room 7. Contact Sue Unger for more questions. Vacation Bible School is scheduled for July 14- 18th

YOUTH MINISTRY FUND RAISERS

Spaghetti Dinner for
Youth Ministry will
Be April 5th
following the Youth Mass.
We will have
Spaghetti and meatballs,
Green salad, garlic bread, and dessert.
Prices: $8.00 Adults (12 & above)
$5.00 children (4-11)
and $25.00 family (need to live in the same house)
Fun Bingo will be going on as we serve dinner.
Come and join us and support your
Faith in Action Group
Proceeds will go to the Steubenville conference in August of this year.

Volunteers needed: Coordinator, servers, set up people and clean up people.

One way to support Youth Ministry is by supporting the Knights of Columbus fundraisers. They are very supportive to our Religious Education programs. We also have a new opportunity through Safeway to get a percentage of their profit to support our Religious Education programs. If you shop at Safeway and have a Safeway card, St Patrick Religious Education can get a percentage of what you spend. You need to register your card through the company. You can call at 1-800-400-7878 or email at sbucher@escrip.com they will guide you through the registration. This can help support the many programs without the extra work of a fundraiser. Contact Sue Unger with any questions about the program. St Patrick Safeway group ID # is 163944105.

Youth Ministry is collecting cans to support the ministry. If you have cans please bring them to the Parish Hall side entrance next to the gym. If locked they can be left Sunday through Thursday outside the doors between the gym door and the hall door. If open please leave them just inside the gym by the door. Every little bit helps. Please be sure there is no garbage in the bags and that they are redeemable. Thanks for your generosity.

DIVINE MERCY NOVENA & CHAPLET
Next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, March 30, has been designated as Divine Mercy Sunday. Devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy originated with Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, in the early 1930's. In her spiritual
diary, St. Faustina writes of the revelation of God to her of his merciful presence in the world and of the necessity to offer prayers for his mercy. His message to her was three-fold: Ask for his Mercy, Be Merciful to others in
return, and Completely trust in Jesus. St. Faustina’s devotion to God’s mercy has become a devotion honored and recognized by the Church. Shortly prior to his death, Pope John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday. Spiritual preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday begins with a Novena beginning on Good Friday, March 21, and continuing through Easter Saturday in the Octave of Easter, March 29. On Sunday, March 30 a Chaplet to the Divine Mercy is offered.
Here at St. Patrick we will offer the Chaplet to the Divine Mercy on Sunday, March 30 at 10:00am following the 8:30am Mass. You are invited and encouraged to offer the Novena individually and join with others in the community for the Chaplet on Sunday. Brochures on the Novena and the Chaplet are available in the vestibule of the church. As Jesus reminds us, “Blessed are the merciful, mercy shall be theirs.”

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
There will be Eucharistic Adoration next Thursday, March 27th. Adoration will start at 12:00noon and end at 8:00pm with Benediction. All are welcome to come rest and be in the presence of Our Lord.

CHILDREN’S CHOIR
Children of the parish are invited to gather once again to practice for two upcoming liturgies: First Communion on Sunday, April 27 at 1:00pm and Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11 at 11:00am. Rehearsals will be on the following Sundays: March 30, April 6, 20, April 27, and May 4 from 12:15-1:00pm. Please come and help beautify these liturgies with your singing. For more information, call Lora Heli at 503-263-3840.

Dear Lord,
our brothers and sisters have begun
their lives anew,
baptized and anointed as
members of your church.
Grant that the grace they have obtained through the Easter sacraments we have celebrated will strengthen them in their journey to you.
May our joy be everlasting
at their homecoming!
May their dedication and vigor held by the saints such as Paul. Augustine, Mary of Egypt and Edith Stein,
who were always faithful members of your body.
Amen