A House Fire

This e-mail came from Mary Jo Hitz, RCIA Director for the parish:

In case you hadn't heard, Pat and Allen Pollock's house was struck by lightning during last night's storm and was badly damaged by fire. It occurred about 7:00 p.m. and the fire was finally put out at 12:30 a.m.Fr. Don and I went by around Noon today just to offer support and see ifthey needed anything else.Please keep Pat and Allen and their family in your prayers. We will keep you informed if any needs are identified. It is not recommended that you stop by at this point.

Thanks,
Mary Jo

Pat and Allen's son, Patrick, was also affected by the fire. Patrick is one of our parish youth as well as a Helias sophomore-to-be. As Mary Jo said, let's keep all of them in our prayers.

-Shannon

Music for Your Soul

If you're looking for something to listen to this summer, and you're tired of what's on the radio, I have an idea. You might check out Spirit and Song. Spirit and Song is a great company that specializes in producing Contemporary Catholic Christian music. This website has all sorts of cool things. One of the best, though, is their streaming radio. They have four "radio stations" depending on taste. They are:


Spirit and Song Radio - "Our most expansive contemporary Catholic playlist, with styles ranging from acoustic, Celtic, calypso and pop to rock, rap and jazz." (spiritandsong.com)



Acoustic Soul - "Your favorite folk- and pop-style praise and worship tracks - more mellow and acoustic in flavor. " (spiritandsong.com)




The Edge - "Contemporary Catholic music that pushes the envelope with gritty, edgy, urban rock, rap and hip-hop styles." (spiritandsong.com)




Choose Christ - "A rotating playlist drawing from the more than 50 songs in the best-selling choose Christ collection." (spiritandsong.com)

Enjoy!
-Shannon

For all you crazy kids with your skateboards and whatnot

Let's get something very clear. I am not cool now, I have never been cool, and I don't ever anticipate a time when I'll suddenly ascend the ladder of coolness. In my life, I have always either been a step behind the trend or I've missed it completely. Now at 30 years old, I don't really care about it anymore. That's why I don't really feel qualified to refer someone to a skateboarding website. I will, though, because that's what un-cool people do.

I found a great company called Freedom Skateboards. It's a ministry that, according to their website, 'exists to spread the Love and Good News of Jesus Christ. This is done by being a positive role model to skaters, by meeting the needs of hurting people, and by teaming up with churches and other organizations to reach the skateboarding and youth culture. Freedom's vision is to assist indivduals in finding freedom through Jesus Christ.'

It sounds like a great ministry. Enjoy!

-Shannon

Something Fun

Hello!

Since school is officially out now, I figure you're dealing with a void. Since I'm sure you're not interested in filling that void with anything useful, I'll try and post something useless on this blog every other day or so. Today it's Homestar Runner (http://homestarrunner.com).

Homestar is a ridiculous (and very funny) website. It's also very hard to explain. You can go here and check it out. If you click here, you'll see an example of one of my favorite parts of the site, the Strongbad E-mails. Trust me, it's definitely worth seeing.

-Shannon

3 Years!

Today is the third wedding anniversary for my wife, Erin, and I. I wrote a little about it on the blog for my side ministry, Oddwalk Ministries. You can find that entry by clicking here.


-Shannon

Prayer in a Time of Loss

As some of you know, John F. Gassner passed away on Friday. John is the father of Sheila Gassner and Laura Dampf. He is the grandfather of David, Andrew, Megan, and Matthew Dampf, as well as Cory, Michelle, Melissa, and Jacob Gassner. You can click here to read the obituary from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Please keep Mr. Gassner and his entire family in your prayers during this difficult time.

-Shannon

Da Vinci Code Information

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code, a best-selling book by Dan Brown, and a hit movie by Ron Howard. While The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, there are still a lot of people up in arms about the book's (and the movie's) supposed attack on Christianity. While I think we should defend our faith at all times, I think the anger and bitterness created by opponents of The Da Vinci Code has ultimately led to even greater book sales for Dan Brown and box office receipts for the movie's producers.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has created a very helpful website designed to address some of the "allegations" made in this work. If you've had questions about the book or movie, you may find this website to be very helpful. You can find it by clicking on the link below:

http://www.jesusdecoded.com/

I hope this helps.
-Shannon

Youth Group This Week

Just a reminder the High School Youth Group meets this week from 6-7:30 in the Parish Life Center. Come join us for a great evening of faith, food, and fun! If you've never checked it out, now would be a great time. The teens are getting ready for a very exciting summer. The next few months will include a mission trip to Biloxi, MS, a float trip, and a trip to Six Flags! Hope to see you there.

-Shannon

Congratulations Graduates

Tonight is the graduation ceremony for St. Peter School. These next few weeks will see a lot of graduations, from grade school on through college. I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the graduates. May God be with you, guide you, and bless you as you move on through life.

-Shannon

Upcoming Events

Hello!

Here's what's on the schedule in the next few weeks:

August 2 - High School Youth Group – 6-7:30pm, Parish Life Center
August 14 - Youth Scripture Study – 6:30pm-7:30pm – Parish Life Center
August 16 - High School Youth Group – 6-7:30pm, Parish Life Center
August 28 - Youth Scripture Study – 6:30pm-7:30pm – Parish Life Center
August 30 - High School Youth Group – 6-7:30pm, Parish Life Center

See Ya,
Shannon