Sep 13, 2024

Greetings,

Starting Sunday following the 11:00am Mass, we begin our Annual Eucharistic Devotions. For three days, Sunday through Tuesday night, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on our altar day and night, available for adoration by the faithful. Every parish in the diocese is assigned a certain weekend so that every week, someplace in the diocese, our Lord is worshipped throughout the year.

At adoration, we not only come to worship and show our gratitude to God, but it is also a time for us to recalibrate, to take a little time to remind ourselves that Christ in the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. As our church building works hard at making the point that the Eucharist, which is not a thing but rather a Person is at the heart of our community, so we also, by our presence pay tribute to this reality.

There are many sites online to help a person determine how to make a holy hour, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Don’t worry too much if you are unprepared. Remember when you were in love, and you didn’t care if you had something planned or not. Just being in the other person’s presence was enough. So, it can be with Jesus. For some people it is very difficult. But pay attention to how you feel after you have finished and go
on with your day (or night.)

There will be prayer every night at 7:00pm. There will not be confessions this Tuesday due to Eucharistic Devotions. The closing will be on Tuesday.

Thank you to those who were able to adopt a holy hour. As of this writing, a number of hours only have one person signed up and 1:00pm needs to be filled. For those who can’t do a specific hour, come when you can, for as long as you can, as often as you can. Of particular help is to come before the strike of the hour and stay until
sometime after in order to cover the changing of the shift in case someone is late.

Thank you to everyone who helps make our Eucharistic Devotions such a special time for our parish life.

IN OTHER NEWS:

SANCTUARY SOCIETY: The St. Sebastian Sanctuary Society is the oldest and among the most crucial groups in the parish. It was founded immediately after the establishment of the parish. Its purpose is to keep our sanctuary beautiful and well stocked. Candles, vestments, flowers, hosts, plating and all manner of things
happen because of this organization. As has been the tradition for nearly one hundred years, all women of the parish are automatically members of the Sanctuary Society. Today, we are looking for a few women to step up and lead this special service to both our Lord and this community. If you think you might be interested, please contact Lori Oakes at 330-861-6417 or if someone taps you on the shoulder and asks you to consider the role, please do!

THOMAS EDISON AWARD: Congratulations to the following teachers in our parish school who have won the Thomas Edison Award for Excellence in STEM education: Allyn Rose, Anne Riede, Cassie Laube, Christina Friedl, Debra Landis, Giana D'Andrea, Jennifer Bradley, Jennifer Kidder, Jennifer Slegus, Jennifer Smee, Karen Swartz, Kathy Cardarelli, Kristin Dekatch, Lesley Starcher, Maggi Blischak, Mary Heffern, Mary Weitzel, Megan Sanford, Michele Kellner, Michelle Antochow, Molly Burns, Robert Dedinsky and Sue Vernon.

NEW SOCIAL MEDIA: St. Sebastian Parish has recently been invited to participate in a pilot program from the Diocese of Cleveland that allows us access to a Catholic social media tool to help spread the Good News. As a result of this we will be launching NEW parish Facebook and Instagram pages and encourage you to Like, Follow, and Share with your friends. Even if you already follow us on Facebook, you'll need to Like this new page to get these updates. Social media has become a new evangelization tool, and we're excited to take our parish pages to the next level. Click HERE to follow us on Facebook. And Click HERE to follow us on Instagram. 

God bless,
Fr. Valencheck