GLVN Bulletin
News for GLVN Volunteers (Thông Tin cho ThẦy Cô GLVN)
October 21, 2016
Made for Holiness
Dear Catechists and TAs:
Next Sunday, 10/30, as a school we will celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. Together, we will learn about the Saints, we will pray with the Saints, and we will love like the Saints!
There are many ways for us to help our students know that they were made for holiness and share with them how they can strive for holiness. In this bulletin are some resources for you to use with your students this upcoming Sunday 10/23 if possible to prepare them for the upcoming all-school celebration of All Saints on 10/30.
As we think about how to teach our students about the Saints and about holiness, we have the opportunity to teach it to them in a very powerful way -- through our own lives of holiness. To quote a great saint: "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words." (St. Francis of Assisi)
We can lecture and do crafts and read our students stories of the saints, but the best way to teach our students about holiness is to constantly strive for holiness ourselves. Through our own lives of prayer, sacrifice, love, mercy, we can be living examples of holiness for our youth.
But amidst our crazy, chaotic lives as adults, as parents, as professionals, holiness can seem so hard. Especially when there's not enough time in the day, when we are running on empty, when others are uncaring and disrespectful, when temptations loom in front of us, and when we've fallen into sin. Yes, holiness is hard.
I read an article on LifeTeen.com once that talked about holiness, and I wanted to share with all of you one thing from that article that I hope can remind each of us of all the ways that God seeks to help us attain the holiness that we were made for:
"The Lord does not keep holiness out of reach. He isn’t hiding from us. He’s in the Eucharist at our parishes. He’s waiting in the confessional to shower us with mercy. He’s waiting to speak in the silence and in scripture. He’s present as we share our faith with one another. Holiness is accessible. You don’t have to reach far, but you have to take the steps." (Nick Labrie, LifeTeen Missionary)
I hope you will find time in the upcoming weeks as we approach All Saints day to take that step to seek Christ. In doing so, He will grace your life with the courage and strength to be His holy child.
Thank you for all you do, and have a blessed week!
In Christ,
Chi
Resources About the Saints
10 Saints Who Encourage Us to Reach for Heaven
9 Saints that Were Superheroes in Their Free Time (And Their Great Captain!)
“Not all superheroes wear capes, mine wears a cross.” (Anonymous)
Speaking to children about Jesus can be difficult, but it’s vital that we share who He is and how much He loves them. A great way to do so is to teach them about the lives of the saints, who, although they don't have x-ray vision or shoot cobwebs out of their hands, they do receive divine gifts. To a child’s eye – and let’s admit that to ours as well – can be pretty darn cool: the holy stigmata, the capacity to be in two places at the same time, levitate and others. View this fun infographic by Catholic Link about 9 Saint superheroes (and their great captain)...
Videos About Saints & Becoming Saints
All Saints Day Celebrations (Sunday, Oct. 30)
Here's the plan for Sunday, 10/30, so that you can prepare your lesson day appropriately.
10:00-11:15 – Blessing in the Classrooms
Please be prepared to take short break from your regular teaching time as Cha stops by your class for the blessing of your saint image, crucifix and class. This will take about 2-3 minutes per class, and Cha will begin at 10:00 with VL1 first and ending with L11 by the break time. He will also bless the GLVN office and Teacher’s Lounge and Student Lounge at the end (possibly during the break time), so join us if you can for our own blessing.
Here's a link to all the Saints of each class for your reference. Please take some time on 10/23 or 10/30 to share with your students about this Saint.
11:45-1:00 – All School All Saints Activity (Guest Presentation)
- 11:45 – students meet in their classrooms as normal after break
- 11:50 – teachers bring their classes to the gym (please be prompt so the program can start on time)
- 12:00 – entertainment program begins
The parish Family Ministry program will also be inviting parents to come and enjoy the entertainment program and learn with their children.
Your Class Saint & Adopt-A-Room Funds
The Saint for your class was chosen because of their unique stories, lives and virtues that we thought were relevant and perfect for your students' ages. Here's a list of the Saints that each classroom is named after. Please take time to find other info about your Saint to share with your students throughout the year. This is a really great resource for information about the Saints: http://www.catholic.org/saints/
Through the Adopt-A-Room fundraiser campaign, we were able to purchase the Saint image that will be displayed outside the door to your classroom. We had such generous donors that there is also an extra money for each class to purchase additional learning resources or other inspirational gifts or items related to your Saint if you would like. In the coming weeks we will let each of you know how much your class has to spend (it's different for each class based on the amount the sponsors donated).
Holy Door Pilgrimage (Saturday, November 5)
As the Year of Mercy comes to a close, we want to take the opportunity to go on a mini-pilgrimage with our GLVN Ban Dieu Hanh, catechists and TAs and your families!
We have 40 people signed up to go! Join us for a day of faith, fun and friendship.
Why: Read more about the Year of Mercy.
Who: Open to all GLVN catechists/TAs/Lớp 11/volunteers & Huynh Truong TNTT (and their families)
When: Saturday, November 5 from approximately 8 am until 4:30 pm
Where: Holy Door stops in Southern MN (Winona & Rochester)
What: Saturday, Nov. 5:
- 8 a.m. departure from our church
- Approx. 9:30 arrival at Assisi Heights Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Rochester, MN
- Walk through the Holy Door
- Free time & Personal prayer and reflection time
- 10:45 depart for Winona, MN
- Approx. 12:00 arrival in Winona, MN -- Lunch (GLVN will be providing lunch for everyone!)
- 12:30 visit at the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Winona, MN
- Walk through the Holy Door
- Guided tour of the Cathedral
- Divine Mercy Chaplet together
- 2:00 depart for Minneapolis
- 4:30 arrival back at our church
Cha Pho will be coming with us and will be available for Confession for anyone that wants to receive the Sacrament.
Transportation: Free!! We will be taking a school bus together there.
Lunch: Free!! Lunch will be provided.
RSVP: Please confirm your participation via this survey by this Sunday, 10/23 at the latest.
Advent Retreat (Saturday, December 3)
To help our students and catechists prepare their hearts to welcome Baby Jesus this Christmas, we have invited Frère Phong to come to our parish for our Advent Retreat.
Please mark this date and times on your calendar. Teachers/TAs for L3-L10, we ask that you be present during the youth retreat time to support your students.
- L3-L10 Youth Retreat – Saturday, December 3 from 9:30 am until 1 pm
- Catechists, TAs, Lớp 11, Huynh Truong/HTIT – Saturday, December 3 from 5-9 pm
Thank you for your extra time and commitment! It will be a wonderful day together! More details to come!
Important Reminders
Clean Up
Please help Ban Phu Huynh who are cleaning our classrooms by having your students place their chairs on their tables at the end of class.
Safety of Students
The parish office has reported to us that recently, a black woman about 55-60 y.o., skinny, 5'6", short curly hair, dyed red/brown has been spotted hanging around our church property. She has been sighted loitering at the front steps of church, and when anyone approaches her, she responds in inappropriate language. A police report was filed. She has made appearances around our church even on Sundays.
Teachers and TAs, please watch our students closely. Do NOT dismiss them from classes until the bell rings. During break times, please help us keep the students in the school building (do NOT allow them to go to CVS). After mass, please help us make sure that the kids are going into the basement to wait for their parents (NOT outside).
We need to all work together as a Ban GLVN team to keep our students safe. Thank you for your extra attention to this.
Early Dismissal
For the safety of the students, all parents who come to your class to pick up a child early should have a pink Early Dismissal slip. If they do not have this slip, please do NOT allow the parent to take the child. Please politely ask them to go to the office to get a slip. It only takes them a minute to do so and ensures the safety of all our students. Thank you for your help with this.
Prayers for One Another
Morning Prayer Together
Don't forget to join us exactly at 9:45 a.m. each Sunday morning in the Teacher's Lounge for morning prayer together. It will be brief (2-3 minutes) so that you can get to your classrooms before 10. Whether there are 30 of us or just 2 of us -- this brief prayer time will take place every Sunday, so please join in to offer up our day to Jesus!
All-School Prayer for 2016-2017
KINH NHẬT TỤNG THÁNH TÔ-MA AQUI-NÔ
Lạy Thiên Chúa của con, xin cho con một trí tuệ để nhận biết Chúa, một trái tim để tìm kiếm Chúa, sự khôn ngoan để gặp gỡ Chúa, mọi hành động được đẹp lòng Chúa một lòng kiên trì chờ đợi Chúa, và sau cùng là niềm hy vọng sẽ được ôm chặt lấy Chúa. Amen.
St. Thomas Aquinas Daily Prayer
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
Important GLVN Documents & Forms
New updates to the calendar below as of 10/11/16. See pink highlights.
Chuong Trinh Giao Ly Viet Ngu
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Email: chipham.sasjhparish@gmail.com
Website: www.gxannagiusehien.net
Phone: 00000000