December 18-19, 2010
Can you help our Grand Hall BLOOM with Christmas color????
We are once again asking for your help in procuring the LARGE number of poinsettias needed to transform our Grand Hall into a scene of Christmas beauty. Can you help? We need lots and lots of six-inch poinsettia (nothing smaller, but bigger ones are great) plants, any shade or color. Please leave them on the concrete shelf outside the Parish Kitchen. Thanks for your help!!
The candlelight, music and Mass will be just the beginning…
Another wonderful Corpus Christi tradition drawing near is our Christmas Eve 9:00 p.m. – ‘It’s Midnight in New York’ Mass followed by a potluck appetizer and champagne reception in the lower hall.
The Mass is leisurely, oriented toward a more mature, older crowd, reduced lighting and an emphasis on candlelight heighten the special mood. Participants are invited to bring an appetizer for sharing (something that does not need refrigeration or heating) and drop it off in the Lower Hall when you arrive. Appetizer should be suitable for 15 people (last year we had upwards of 350 people participate in the reception!)
Following Mass, all are invited downstairs to continue the celebration, the parish (through the generosity of donors) providing complimentary champagne to augment the appetizers. Non-alcoholic beverage will of course also be available but again, the evening event is much more adult orient and is not directed towards kid’s appetites. So break out your heritage cookbooks and dig through your grandmother’s recipes for that special treat…Christmas Eve is approaching…and what better way to reawaken an old memory that with your Corpus Christi family!
Please note that street parking permission has been obtained for Friday, December 24th and Saturday MORNING, December 25th. You may park on both sides of Aliso Viejo Parkway from Pacific Park to Liberty.
You are invited to the Annual Rectory Christmas Open House: A very special Corpus Christi tradition continues Sunday, December 19th, the annual Rectory Holiday Open House will occur from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Located at 44 Vista del Valle, come and enjoy this year’s Golden Pine Cone Tree, some festive eggnog, home-made cookies and basically have a look-see around. You might be surprised to find that it is not all that different from your own home!
From the parish property, go back to Pacific Park and turn left. Go up the hill to PEPPERTREE and turn LEFT. Once you have turned left on Peppertree, at the very FIRST left—turn LEFT…it is the gate entrance to the community. The gate code is 1661 (just those four numbers, nothing else.) Go through the gate and turn LEFT, follow the street as it makes a right turn at the pool…and then in about 800 feet it widens into a cul-de-sac. The Rectory is at 44 Vista Del Valle, on the cul-de-sac. Please park on any of the streets, NOT in any of the courtyards. Come on in for a while and enjoy some pre-Christmas cheer.
Hey Corpus Christi Collegians… Corpus Christi is hosting a Christmas-Break dinner for YOU!
If you are a Corpus Christi COLLEGE STUDENT (18-22ish) we are hosting the first-ever Corpus Christi ‘Christmas Break Collegiate Dinner’ on Monday, December 20th at Salt Creek Grill. It will be an opportunity to gather, talk, enjoy some quality Salt Creek cuisine, share experiences and perhaps offer some suggestions/ideas on how Corpus Christi can provide better outreach to YOU, our College-aged young adults. Reservations are necessary and the forms are available on the Concierge Shelves…simply fill one out, include a $10 payment (the parish is covering the rest of the meal) and we’ll set a place for you at the table! RSVP by December 19th!! (Reservations are available on the Concierge Shelves.)
(By the by…if anyone would like to donate to help offset the cost of this Collegiate outreach, please feel free to send your offering to Fr. Fred at the Parish Offices…we are always happy to accept the generosity of our parishioners in order to expand our outreach to those preparing to accept the mantle of future leadership).
The Parish Offices will be closed on this Thursday and Friday, December 23-24..and again on December 30-31. Thanks.
Our JAMs Retreat is Right Around the Corner…January 21st – 23rd at Lazy W Ranch!
JAMMERS, don’t miss our upcoming JAMS retreat! It promises to be an amazing experience! There will be time for conversation, games, prayer, relationship building, and exploration of our retreat theme: “Called to be Peacemakers”. We will learn and consider how we can be peacemakers, as modeled by Jesus, at home, at school, in our community, and in our world. Register now, space is limited. Download forms at www.avcatholics.org/faith/jams . Please contact Linda Palomino at palomino6@cox.net if you have any questions.
Corpus Christi THRIVES because our family claims ownership for what we do. Here are 2 ways to give back…
There are two ESSENTIAL Ministries that provide invaluable service to Corpus Christi…and BOTH could benefit from a fresh infusion of volunteers. With the passage of time and changing work/life schedules the ranks of our Mass Set-Up Team and our Maintenance Ministry have been severely depleted. The Mass Set-Up generally arrive on Saturday mornings around 8 and set-up necessary outdoor tables/canopies, prepare the Bulletin and Worship Aids for the weekend Masses.
The Maintenance Ministers are part of designated teams who sweep (pardon the pun) into action on either Sunday afternoon following the weekend Masses or on Saturday morning in preparation for the weekend. Maintenance Ministers mop, sweep, vacuum the Grand Hall (and kitchen as necessary), prep the bathrooms and generally make sure that our family comes into a spotless home whenever we gather. Maintenance Ministry is about 1-2 hours max of time and Set-up is generally an hour at most.
Both ministries allow you an opportunity to not only meet other parishioners but experience an enriching feeling of ‘giving back’ to the parish…and in the process saving us upwards of $70,000.00 in cleaning expenses that we would other wise have to pay!!!! If one of your Advent resolutions is to become more involved within Corpus Christi…please give a call to either Steve Gottron (581-6681) for Set-up or Shawn Collins (637-0809) for Maintenance Ministry. THANKS!!!
As the New Year approaches, please remember that IRS suitable donation statements will be available in mid-January ONLY for those parishioners who are REGISTERED and have used envelopes. We automatically send out acknowledgments for all monetary gifts of $250+ but we do not keep a record except for those Registered and who are using envelopes. For those who use checks, copies of your cancelled checks will usually suffice with the IRS, as will your credit card statements indicating payments to Corpus Christi. Thanks.
Please remember that as confusing as it may be, NEXT WEEKEND, December 25-26 is the final weekend of the month and is our food collection effort to benefit South County Outreach Food Pantry. The big bin will be out on the courtyard for your non-perishable food items. Thanks!
*The Christmas wrappings will have finally been cleared away… *The post-Christmas sales will have already been enjoyed… *In that quiet time between Christmas and New Year’s…. *When you think it might be fun to go to the local mountains, but don’t want to get all wet and not have anyplace to go… Might we suggest….
SNOW-HOPEFULLY!
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Similar to what we do with our October Apple Orchard event, SNOW-HOPEFULLY is a Corpus Christi outing open to the entire parish, to the lovely mountain community of Idyllwild (in the OTHER mountain range, the ones that tower above Palm Springs.) We have arranged use of the parish hall at Idyllwild Presbyterian Church as our ‘home base’ for the day, thus allowing everyone a place to congregate, dry off, enjoy simple meals and perhaps MOST importantly, have bathrooms!
Idyllwild is a quaint and safe mountain community. At 6,000 feet it does not have any ski resorts (but usually has winter snow,) thus it attracts a family-oriented clientele and the traffic is pretty light, especially in mid-week. There are ‘mountain shops’ and a smattering of eateries, BUT, we will be providing a simple lunch and a modest supper around 4:00 p.m. to nourish you for your drive home.
You provide your own transportation, arriving when you wish and departing when you desire. There is no snow-resort or ski/sled-facility in Idyllwild, but there is a nifty Regional Park (Humber Park) with lots of hills for sledding (at your own risk…and you must bring your own equipment!) Also…no towropes or lifts…this is old-fashioned play in the snow sort of stuff….if you want to slide down the mountain…then you need to trudge UP the mountain (and discover why we built ski-lifts!)
Want to just hang out in the warmth of the Hall and play board games? Cool, throw the Scrabble set in the car and come on up! Want to walk the town and have a hot cocoa? We can arrange that! Want to build a snow-man/woman and throw REAL snowballs at each other? With a little cooperation from mother-nature, we can probably make that happen! Want to just lounge around and watch people have a good time….no problem! The day is pretty much of your own making.
For a budget-friendly price of only $8 per adult and $6 per child (over 2 and under 12) we will provide a warm ‘home-base’ at the parish hall, along with lunch, dinner and hot cocoa throughout the day. We will have easy to understand maps to find Humber Park (about four miles from the Church hall) and plenty of directions on how to find whatever it might be that you’re looking for in Idyllwild.
Reservations are necessary and the RSVP cut-off date is Monday, December 27th! Reservations forms are on the Concierge Shelves.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses will naturally be SUPER-CROWDED, the 4:00 p.m. Mass being the most attended. Please plan accordingly and do not arrive at the last minute expecting to be seated inside…or even parking in the parking lot!
BUT…Christmas is a wonderful time for us to put on our BEST faces and smiles, break out the Christmas cheer and welcome everyone who seeks us out…so, let’s remember to ‘make room within our inn’ for everyone who comes…and let’s do it with smiles and graciousness…and don’t forget to lovingly let visitors know where the bathrooms and cry room spaces are located!
THANKS!
FKB
