Soup Supper Night at St. John’s
        The next Soup Supper Night will be held on Thursday, April 11 from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Choose one of our delicious homemade soups! Dinners will also include a tossed salad, bread and butter, crackers, a beverage, and dessert. The cost is $5 per person, and an extra bowl of soup is $1.50. We hope to see you there! Proceeds support St. John’s School through grant matching funds.

Polka Party
        Save the date for the annual spring social – a Polka Party featuring The Buffalo Touch – sponsored by the Holy Name Society on Saturday, April 27. Stay tuned for more information! The parish sweepstakes drawing will also be held that evening; extra sweepstakes tickets are available at the rectory office and at the back of the church.

Faith Formation News!
        We will be having a Family and Parish Faith Formation Day on Sunday, April 28. The theme of the day will be “The Eucharist.” The Eucharist is the most important mystery of our faith, and together we will learn how the Catholic Church encourages us to receive the Eucharist and embrace Jesus’ love.  The Faith Formation families, the St. John’s School families, and the parishioners of St. John’s are strongly encouraged to participate in this very special event. This is a beautiful opportunity for our adult community to share their faith and love of Jesus with our children.  The event will begin with the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass and end with a closing prayer at 12:50 p.m. We have received positive responses from those who have shared in a parish event with us.

St. John’s Cemetery
        A reminder that all winter decorations should be removed from gravesites at St. John’s by April 15 (as stated in our cemetery regulations) in preparation for our spring clean-up. Thank you!

Youth Night
        For middle schoolers and high schoolers! Join us for activities, prayer, and snacks on Friday, April 12 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in St. John’s School!

Palm Sunday Easter Egg Hunt
        All youth 8^th grade and younger are welcome to participate on Palm Sunday, April 14 starting at 12:30 p.m. The Easter egg hunt will be done near the baseball field, weather permitting. (In case of bad weather, we will move inside.) This is a Youth Group sponsored event.

Stations of the Cross
        The Stations of the Cross will be prayed in the church during Lent on all Fridays at 7:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays (starting March 13) at 1:00 p.m. (with the school children).

Attention Altar Servers
        The sign-up sheets for Holy Week and Easter are posted in the priest’s sacristy. Thank you for serving at St. John’s!

 Is the Spirit Calling You to Serve?
      Our parish always welcomes additional helpers in our various liturgical ministries. Lectors, those who are appointed to proclaim the Word of God in the liturgical assembly, are particularly needed at this time, especially for the 8:00 a.m. Mass. More Eucharistic Ministers, those who assist at Mass by distributing the Holy Eucharist and Precious Blood to members of the congregation, are also needed for all Masses. To learn more about becoming a lector, please contact Judy Bowman at 523-9287. Those interested in serving as Extraordinary Minsters of Holy Communion, please call Pat Heslin at 937-9293. You could also speak to Deacon Marc or Deacon Peter or call the rectory (937-6959) during the week. If you know someone who would be good in one of these ministries, please encourage them, too!

Reflections of Fr. Vince Becker, Priest Moderator – Love and Prayer

      On the weekend of February 2 & 3, I introduced myself as the priest designated by the Bishop of Buffalo to be the Parish Moderator. In short that means I am the go-between person for Debbie Brown, Pastoral Administrator, and the Diocese of Buffalo. Thank you for welcoming me. I immediately feel I have a lot in common with you. I’m glad to be a part of St. John the Baptist Parish.

       I did, however, notice that there is some friction in the parish. Perhaps some would prefer to not bring that out in public, thinking that making it public only worsens the problem. My feeling would be more like: people already know there is some problem, better bring it out in public so we can talk about it. One person told me that I insulted many people by what I said. I certainly did not mean anything like that, and I sincerely apologize if I did offend anyone. Please forgive me. I’m not really certain what I did to cause negative feelings but maybe it was I appeared to be taking sides. Or perhaps some felt I was being sent to squelch any resistance. I certainly don’t feel my role as anything like that. My role is to help unify the parish and, as St. Paul says so often in these cases, “I want you to be happy.” I’ve always lived with the principle in my own life: in an argument no one is totally right, no one is totally wrong – meaning that there is always room for dialogue and talking out a difference.

       To return to making the tension public, some might feel it is better not to talk about it. And yet in several of Paul’s letters, he talks about tension and problems and in no way expects the problem will go away if we don’t talk about it. It’s true that the kind of problems Paul experienced in his day are different from the types of problems we experience in churches today. Nonetheless the inner dynamics are the same – when there is a difference of opinion, silence will not solve the problem. I’ve included here some of the Bible passages about conflict in the early New Testament Church: Colossians 2:16-19; Acts 17:2-9; Ephesians 4:1-6; Galatians 4:17-20. It is noteworthy that Paul had a special affection for the community at Philippi and he loved the people in a special way. Yet, at the end of his letter, he names names. “I appeal to Euodia, and I appeal to Syntyche to come to agreement with each other in the Lord and I ask Syzygos to be truly a companion and to help them in this” (Philippians 4:2).

       To summarize, Paul really has only one answer to alleviate problems of tension. It is the law of love. Read Romans 12:9-21 especially. “Love one another with the affection of brothers.” “Be patient under trial, persevere in prayer.” “Bless your persecutors.” “Never repay injury for injury.” “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” Final summary. As Jesus was preparing his apostles at the Last Supper for when they would be in charge of the Church, he said: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for one another. This is how all will know you for my disciples: your love for one another” (John 13:34-35).