Come Be My Light

This is "Kick-Off Weekend" for the 2012 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. Brochures and pledge envelopes are in the pews.  Please make a pledge and be as generous as possible.  Thank you for supporting the Archbishop's Annual  Appeal.

If you haven't heard about changes in the Roman Missal, read about them here. You can find a summary list of the changes to the mass here.

OLL is considering establishing a Men's Cornerstone Board and would like your input (and potential participation)! We are meeting to discuss the matter on Monday, February 13th at 7:30pm in the Chapel.

Open for discussion:

• Potential Board Members
• Roles and Responsibilities for Board Members
• The future of Men's Cornerstone

If you can not attend the meeting but are interested in participating or nominating a Cornerstone Brother for the board, please email Billy Ward (Cornerstone IX Lay Director) at wardcounseling@gmail.com.

The Archdiocese of Newark will be honoring those  couples who will be celebrating five, twenty-five and fifty years of Christian marriage in the year 2012.  

These anniversary liturgies will be celebrated by Archbishop John J. Myers in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

• April 29, 2012 3PM — 50 Years
• June 3, 2012 3PM  — 25 and 5 Years

It is our hope that every couple in the archdiocese deserving of such recognition be present at the appropriate liturgy.  The presence of a large number of couples will give favorable witness to the strength and stability of Christian marriage in today's society.

Call the parish office 973-239-5696 to register.

Time to refresh our knowledge!  Next weekend, the priests will be conducting mandatory refresher training sessions for all Altar Servers, to refresh our understanding of serving at the Altar during Mass.  All servers are required to attend one of two sessions, on Friday, February 10 at 7pm or on Saturday, February 11 at 2pm in the Church.

Thank you for your continues dedication to our Worship Ministry!

Next Collection: Sat and Sun, February 4-5 (at each mass)

St. John's Soup Kitchen is located at St. John's Church on Mulberry Street, Newark across from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The kitchen feeds approximately 400 people a day. The food is prepared early in the day. The volunteers serve the food at 11:30am.

The people being served are not inside the kitchen. Rain or shine, snow or sunny the people are served outside in a fenced-in area. They are very grateful for whatever they receive.

On the second Tuesday of each month, a group of OLL volunteers car pool to St. John's to help out at the Soup Kitchen by serving meals to these 400+ people. We leave at 10:50 am and return by 2PM. We park in a fenced-in area with attended parking (it is safe) and we invite you to join us. It is a very rewarding experience. If you are interested, call Ida Emma at 973-239-7034 or Nancy Canavan at 973-239-9472.

Most needed items:

• Canned Beans (kidney, white etc.)
• Canned Soup, Cereals, Rice
• Coffee and Tea
• Canned Peas, String Beans

The Events Calendar page is finally updated! (What, you say? Yes. Updated.) Check the Events Calendar page to say current on upcoming events at OLL.

INSIGHT Retreat — Our annual Insight Retreat will be held on March 9-11, 2012.  Information and registration forms are available on the website.  Registration is on a first come first serve basis.

Souper Bowl Sunday — On Saturday Feb. 4 and Sunday Feb. 5 after all masses, the youth group will be collecting monetary donations for a local charity.

Upcoming Youth Group Meetings: 7:30-9:00pm (7:00pm Adoration in the church)

• February 6th
• February 13th  —  Battle of the Sexes

Upcoming Leadership Council Meetings: 7pm-9pm January 30th

Visit the Youth Ministry section of this site for the Newsletter and other downloads!

Tuesdays, 9:30am – 11:30am Lake School Auditorium (use Lakeside entrance -- please just knock on the door.)

Time for Tots is an informal group of Moms and Dads who get together while our children play. We all know the winter months can be long, when you can't get your small children out the door to burn off some energy. Time for Tots allows your children to get out of the house and play with other children, while giving you some much needed "adult time."

There is no sign up or cost involved. Feel free to drop by any time.

Please call or e-mail Carli Crinion 973-433-7249 or carcrin@gmail.com with any questions.

If you know someone us is unable to get to mass due to illness and would like to receive Holoy Communion, please contact the rectory at 973-239-5696.  We have a group of dedicated parishioners who visit the sick and homebound on a weekly basis and bring the Sacrament.

"Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted"

Our Lady of the Lake’s Bereavement Ministry offers a comfortable and safe environment where those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, may seek support from others who are experiencing a similar loss.

Sessions are held on alternating Tuesdays, September through June, at 7:30pm in the OLL rectory.  A modified summer schedule is also offered.

If you would like some company on your journey or would like to experience God’s grace as you walk this difficult path, please contact one of our facilitators, JoAnn Palmisano 973-585-7278 or Joan Stern 973-239-9113 for more information.  

Your presence is always welcome! 

Next Meeting: February 14 at 7:30 Rectory (call to confirm)

Our Lady of the Lake Pastoral Council is happy to announce a new ministry. The Pastoral Council has taken on the mission of trying to help bring together people seeking employment, with those who have job opportunities. To help bring these two groups together, we have launched a new LinkedIn group: "OLL Verona". If you are interested in joining this group in the hopes of finding a job, or if you would like to post an opening you have, or know of, please take the following actions:

• If you are already a member of LinkedIn, simply request admission into the OLL Verona group. Go to Groups, search for "OLL Verona" and join the group. Once a member, you will have full access to all job postings and discussion areas. It may take a day or so to complete the admission process.
• If you are not a member of LinkedIn, simply create an account (at www.LinkedIn.com) then request admission into the OLL Verona group as listed above. If you have any questions about this program, please feel free to send email to OLL_Lists@comcast.net.

Children's Liturgy of the word is celebrated at 9:00 Mass on Sundays except when Family Mass is scheduled. A reading, gospel, homily, act of faith, prayer of the faithful and joyful hymn at the children's level are presented in an interactive fashion.

At a recent liturgy, we described Jesus' age transition over the last few Gospels. Jesus was an infant at Christmas, age 12 when preaching at the temple for Holy Family Sunday, and was 30 years old at his Baptism by St. John. We opened with the question, "How old was Jesus on Christmas Day?" The expected response was 'newborn'. The first answer was "everlasting" followed by "2009" and "very old". The children truly do create the homily!

While discussing the dove as Holy Spirit, an anology was made by one child to the Home Alone 2 movie. One friend had 2 doves and gave one to his best buddy as forever friends, just like we are with Jesus.

When asking why white was worn at baptism, responses included, "God likes that color", "it's like the color of heaven", "it's the color of angels" and "the soul leaves the body and is probably white". Children were asked to check their baptismal date and celebrate it each year in a spiritual way.

Thank you for sharing your faith and allowing the children to continue to develp it.

In order to ensure you receive updates on all events happening at OLL, we encourage you to subscribe to OLL's electronic events email system. Simply complete the form you'll find here and hit submit -- that's it! Once subscribed, you will receive exciting updates about future events at OLL.

Oktoberfest 2011 was another HUGE success! Thank you to all who made it out to join the party or supported the cause in any way!

The first OKTOBERFEST 2011 PHOTOS HAVE ARRIVED!

Have photos or videos from the night you'd like to share? Please upload your best 5 to 10!

So, what have the local website had to say about Oktoberfest and Kinderfest?

• Verona Patch - Oktoberfest Held at Our Lady of the Lake
• New Jersey Hills - Our Lady Of The Lake Hosts Second Annual Octoberfest
• Verona Patch - Kinderfest Rocks Our Lady of the Lake
• My Verona NJ - Under The Big Tent, A Big Event For Kids