September 4, 2009
Around the Diocese
Blessed
“It was with great joy that I accepted this position as principal of Christ the King Catholic School,” writes Sister Mary Karen Bahlmann in the parent newsletter.
“When school opened and days moved into a week, I realized even more fully how very blessed I am to be here. Your children are beautiful to work with, and a true reflection of your homes.
“Our teachers and staff are powerful, and enjoy our youngsters and each other. Father Ken and his staff are committed to our Catholic school, and welcome us in the parish offices with warm hearts.
“All of this makes for the perfect ingredients for a great school year.”
Happy Birthday!
Anne Pratt, principal at Flaget Elementary School, Vincennes, celebrates her birthday Sept. 10.
Jeanne Heltzel, principal at Holy Family School, Jasper, celebrates her birthday Sept. 13.
Dan Gilbert, principal at St. Joseph School, Princeton, celebrates his birthday Sept. 15.
New staff
Tracey Unfried announces new staff members at Holy Cross School, Fort Branch: Shelley Weiss, second grade; Allison Mesker, physical education; Leigha Reinbrecht, mu-sic; Lisa Bittner, art; Dori Money, pre-k assistant; John Joyce, maintenance.
Trip to Gibault
Members of the youth group at St. John Church in Loogootee recently traveled to Terre Haute to visit the Gibault Home which was founded by the Knights of Columbus.
“The director met our group to explain Gibault’s mission, give us a tour of the whole campus, and answer many questions,” said Shirley Jeffers, youth minister.
Caitlin Ryan said, “I want to be a teacher and wonder what it would be like to teach at a place like Gibault. I can see it being very challenging, but rewarding. They employ some excellent teachers there and students catch up on studies at an impressive pace.”
Chelsea Clifton said, “The atmosphere on campus is positive and up-beat. A kid who goes to Gibault is blessed and comes out a better person, I am sure.”
The group also included Aus-tin Bradley, Lindsay Wininger, Wynter Wagoner, Hannah Wal-ters, Matt Mathies, Kelsey Seals, Cameron Hedrick and Brittany Eckerle. Chaperones included Julie Sutton and Noel Harty.
Anniversaries at St. John
Congratulations to couples at St. John the Baptist Church, Vincennes, celebrating Septem-ber wedding anniversaries: Patrick and Sharon English, 57 years; Herman and Betty Heinz, 57 years; Lawrence and Patty Cardinal, 55 years; Lewis and Carolyn Pohl, 52 years; William and Beverly Marsh, 43 years.
Happy Birthday!
Connie Schnapf, DRE at St. John the Baptist Church, New-burgh, celebrates her birthday Sept. 14.
Saying thanks
“I want to thank Kristi Lueb-behusen for heading up the room mothers for the past several years,” said Jeanne Heltzel, principal at Holy Family School, Jasper.
Vacations
“We were blessed to have several people spend their vacations at Patoka Lake and at the French Lick Casino and Resort,” writes Father Ron Kreilein in the parish newsletter for St. Raphael Church, Dubois, and St. Peter Celestine Church, Celestine.
“I met a lady and her two sons who came to Mass this past week who drove from French Lick each day. She said she loves both of our beautiful churches and was so happy to see that we had daily Mass.
“It gives me hope to know that people are willing to search for a Catholic Mass while they are on vacation because it is important to continually feed our souls.”
Parish Council
David Sauvey is the chairperson of the parish council at Ho-ly Rosary Church, Evansville. Rich Klein is vice-chairperson, and Tom Bennett is secretary.
Members include Mike Brothers, Tom Koetting, Bob Moffett, Brande Springer, Jim Jar-boe, J.T. Kinkel and Mark Samila.
Why Catholic
The Why Catholic program is starting up again at the St. Agnes, St. Boniface and Sacred Heart churches in Evansville. Group leaders include Pat Flake, Margaret Barron, JoAnn Lau-gel, Jenny Chapman, Shirley Haller, Yvonne Floyd, Mark Schnepper, Sharry Thompson, Mary Jo Werner, Jenny Mayer, Mary Kae Lehman, Karen Henry, Della Anderson, Bob Head, Debbie Reis, Ethel Kissel, Art Werner, Bill and Mary Knapp, Tom and Sheldona Kempf, and Jason and Erin Gries.
Summer Social report
Raffle sales at St. Nicholas’ summer social “were up significantly while our grilled chicken dinners sales were quite low,” reports Laurie Wilhite, fundraising chairperson.
“Crowds were slightly lower compared to other years. The children’s games and country store sales remained about the same. Overall profits remained about the same since the increase in raffle sales almost equaled the decrease in dinner sales.
“The popular event was definitely the raffle since it had 76 prizes including a $1,000 top prize and two quilts made by the ladies of the parish.”
2009 Young Artist
Will Sievern, a senior at Memorial High School, Evansville, has been awarded the 2009 Young Artist of the Year by the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana. He was recognized for his contribution to the performing arts in the area of piano.
New CRE
Carolyn Thorpe has been hired as CRE for St. Bernard Parish in Rockport. “Carolyn is a lifelong member of St. Ber-nard Parish and also servers as music minister,” said David Bays.
New playground
“Father Gregory [Chamber-lin] blessed the new playground, praying for the safety of all children and giving thanks for the many efforts and sacrifices that led to this glorious occasion,” said Benedictine Sis-ter Karlene Sensmeier, principal at St. Benedict Cathedral School, Evansville.
“It’s good to give the young-er students a good safe place to play.”
Please send information for AROUND THE DIOCESE to Mary Ann Hughes, The Message, P.O. Box 4169, Evansville, IN 47724. The e-mail address is mhughes@evansville-diocese.org.