November 13-14, 2010
Our HANDS ACROSS THE COUNTY Ministry will be again be offering 65 families from St. Polycarp Parish for Christmas adoption. The ‘adoption’ of families takes place on the weekends of Weekend of 12/4-5 and 12/11-12 (please remember, these families traditionally get adopted VERY quickly…and when they are gone, they are gone.) Gifts will be returned to Corpus Christi on the weekend of 12/18 – 19 and then the gifts will be delivered to St. Polycarp during the week of 12/19.
Make your plans….our 12th Annual Parish Thanksgiving Dinner is November 22nd!!!
Mark your calendars for a WONDERFUL Corpus Christi tradition that brings our family together in a delicious and delightful way….Monday, November 22nd will be the occasion of our 12th Annual Parish Thanksgiving Dinner and YOU are invited. For those new amongst us, the way it works is the parish purchases 50 turkeys and we distribute them to our volunteer ‘cookers’ on the weekend of November 20-21.
These volunteers return the roasted turkeys on Monday night…and the rest of us bring one of the side dishes, a pot-luck of sorts, just make sure that it is enough to give a decent serving for 12+ people. Dinner gets underway at 6:00 p.m. and did we mention that it is FREE! Yep, just a really cool opportunity for our Corpus Christi family to come together and give thanks for all the blessings God is bestowing on our community. Mr. Scotty Eisenbart is coordinating services for the dinner, if you would like to be a part of the team, please give him a call at 395-3073. Sign up tables and sheets are now outside after Mass so please sign up to make our Family Thanksgiving bigger and better than ever (and yes, we rented an additional 30 6’-rectangular tables and 300 chairs to help with our crowds!)
1. Assorted potluck food items are requested (sign up lists are the lunch benches). We also need turkey cookers. The parish purchases the turkeys…we just need 50 people to cook them with love …and lots of bacon….and bring them back on Monday, November 22nd. Turkeys will be available for pick up on the weekend of November 20-21 in the parish kitchen.
2. The majority of SET-UP will occur starting at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 21st.. Please note that this is different from previous years…claiming and decorating of tables will NOT occur following the noon Mass!
3. Monday, (November 22nd) the kitchen crew arrives at 4:00 p.m. Turkey carvers, please bring your own favorite knives/equipment.
4. This year….we THINK we finally have enough of our own/+rented tables and chairs, but, it wouldn’t hurt for you to throw a card table and some folding chairs in your trunk.
5. You are invited to bring a wine or beverage and perhaps a holiday loaf of bread that you will be serving at your own family Thanksgiving celebration. Place it near the altar and we will bless them as a way of connecting what we do in the Church with what you do at your home.
6. Our Thanksgiving Dinner gets underway at 6:00 p.m. (remember, the turkeys need to arrive at 4:00 for proper carving) and the evening comes to a close at 8:00 p.m. Disposable aluminum pans are the most suitable for containing your food offerings but if you bring an item in a pot or dish please make sure to mark the container clearly with your name AND phone number….and don’t go home without it!
7. Please bring some canned or packaged (non-perishable) food for donation to The South County Food Bank.
8. As mentioned in previous Bulletins while the chairs will still be emptied from the Grand Hall following the Noon Mass on the 21st and all our tables will be already set-up… THOSE DESIRING one of the INSIDE tables WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE Grand Hall UNTIL 4:00 p.m. AND THEY WILL BE ADMITTED BASED ON A FIRST COME-TICKETED-NUMBER SYSTEM!!!! Following the 12-Noon Mass, as people arrive to await entry, they will be provided a ticketed NUMBER. At 4:00 p.m. those with tickets will be admitted in numeric order. There is no pre-ticketing…this is available on a first-come/first-entrance basis. People may enter when their number is called….if you wander away or are not ready when your number is called….you forfeit your place in line. Table set-up and decoration for INDOOR tables gets underway at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 21st. (outdoor tables may be claimed/decorated at any time) and throughout the morning/afternoon on Monday, November 22nd. Decorate well and compete for a special prize! (Remember, if you are using a table for 8 or 10, you need to have 8 or 10 people sitting at it…otherwise you will share your table with others…like any good family would!)
The annual NATIONAL NEEDS COLLECTION will be accepted as a second collection NEXT weekend, November 20-21. This collection combines three national collections into a single effort:
+ Catholic Campaign for human Development, mandated by the U.S. Bishops to address the root causes of poverty in America through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and transformative education.
+ Catholic Communication Campaign, whose essential mission is to contribute to the process of evangelization by fostering activities in relation to television, radio and other media as well as the Catholic press.
+ Catholic University of America, funding is provided for academic scholarships to this university in Washington, D.C. Catholic University is the only United States university with Pontifical faculties. Students are enrolled from all 50 states and almost 100 countries in 12 schools, including, law, religious studies, philosophy, arts and science, social service, engineering, music, architectures, canon law and theology. As is our tradition, a basket will be available on the altar for your consideration and participation. Thanks.
Please note that there is NO 8:00 a.m. morning Mass on Friday, November 26th , the day after Thanksgiving. Relax, let your food digest and get ready for the First Weekend of Advent on November 27-28.
With the holidays approaching, please consider trading in your cash or check for SCRIP. An easy dollar for dollar exchange, we make a small profit of a few pennies on each exchange, having bought the SCRIP at a small discount. You may also enroll your grocery affinity card or major credit card so that every time you use any of them, Corpus Christi is automatically credited for a small rebate. Each individual sale is pretty tiny, only a few cents…but multiplied by the thousands of parishioners at Corpus Christi, the potential is HUGE. Please give it a try….THANKS!
Generous donors are being sought for the upcoming holidays….
Corpus Christi relies on the generosity of a few so that our familial festivities benefiting MANY can occur without disruption in these difficult economic times. There are two seasonal events approaching for which we are seeking donors: The 50 turkeys for our Thanksgiving feast and the 5 cases of champagne for our ‘It’s Midnight in New York’ post-Mass champagne and appetizer reception on Christmas Eve. If you would be interested (and in a financial position to help) in assisting with one of these efforts, please give FKB a call at 949-389-9011. Thanks!
Christmas TAMALES are coming….make your ADVANCE orders for easy pick-up!!
On December 18-19 our BOOTSTRAPS Ministry will be offering HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS TAMALES Red Chile Pork or Chile Verde Chicken, $20 per dozen, to benefit our JAMs/HAVEN Youth Outreaches. If you would like to PRE-ORDER a large amount (in one-dozen increments) and have them already packaged for pick-up, please complete one of the ADVANCE ORDER FORMS available on the Concierge Shelves. Make sure to either attach your check or include your credit information and drop in the Offertory/Stewardship Basket or mail to the Parish Offices
In anticipation of ADVENT, Paulist Press of Costa Mesa will be here NXT WEEKEND, November 20-21 (the same Sunday we distribute our turkeys for cooking!) They will offer an array of Advent/Christmas-appropriate books, gifts and materials for both children and adults.. Always thinking of ways to make your life easier!
Are you REGISTERED and using envelopes? If not, we cannot provide you with an IRS-suitable record of your parish donations. Call Susie at 389-9008 to order envelopes. Registration Forms are on the Concierge Shelves.
While many people are checking their sofa cushions for all possible loose change, some of us accumulate the nickels and dimes on our counter tops…and just a reminder that you can always collect all that coinage and drop it in the ‘Children’s Crystal Crucifix’ jars that are next to the Cry Room. This coinage will one day be used to pay for the ‘full-size Crystal Crucifix’ that will hang over the altar in our permanent Church. Thanks.
Our thanks and appreciation to Chris Mackey for organizing and overseeing our recent Corpus Christi Diners Night at The Elephant Bar. Thanks as well to all who came out, enjoyed dinner and added to the 20% rebate we received from the
restaurant! On a similar note of gratitude, thanks to Bridgette Paine and her team of medical professionals who administered 500 FLU Vaccines a few weeks back….thank you for sticking it to us so painlessly!
SNOW-HOPEFULLY in Idyllwild will be back again (hopefully without any broken bones this year!!!) on Wednesday December 29th…
Mark your calendars for our second Winter outing/opportunity similar to our Oak Glen Apple Orchard event…but this time, on Wednesday, December 29th, we will be heading up to Idyllwild for ‘SNOW-HOPEFULLY’. Knowing that a large number of families are on vacation between Christmas and New Year’s, SNOW-HOPEFULLY allows our Corpus Christi parishioners (and friends) an opportunity to head to our local mountains for a day of cold, fresh air, a friendly mountain town filled with assorted shops, an easy-to-find Regional Park with ample hills for sledding and snow-person building (and REAL snowball throwing.)
To make it easy and comfortable we have rented the Parish Hall at the Idyllwild Community Presbyterian Church to host those who want to enjoy SNOW-HOPEFULLY. Modest mid-morning snacks and a light dinner will be provided and the Hall offers a warm, dry place in which to rest, dry off from your exertions…and perhaps most importantly…have bathrooms available (and it has a better kitchen and is closer to town than the Catholic Hall we used last year.) Be advised that each person/family will be responsible for their own adventure, transportation and their own equipment, there is no ski or professional sledding resort in Idyllwild….just lots of HOPEFULLY snow-covered hills! Cost will be the same as last year, $8 per adult and $6 per child (over 2 and under 12.) Registration forms will be available on the Concierge Shelves starting in December…but get the date on your family calendar NOW….Wednesday, December 29th, SNOW-HOPEFULLY in Idyllwild.
Remember….Thanksgiving INDOOR Table Set-Up begins at 4:00 p.m. NEXT Sunday. Numeric tickets will be provided for those assembled FOLLOWING the 12 Noon Mass and people will be allowed into the Grand Hall on an orderly numeric basis for set-up beginning at 4;00 p.m.
