Thursday, October 31, 2019

Volunteer Spotlight October 2019

Volunteer Spotlight-Summer Malinzak 

This year, the Home and School Association will be honoring volunteers who help make a difference at All Saints Academy. No matter the size of their efforts, these volunteers are a wonderful example of our core value of service. 

Summer Malinzak is our first volunteer that we will be recognizing. Students in kindergarten through third grade have gotten to know Mrs. Malinzak well over the last few years. Whether it is giving underdogs on the playground, opening drinks and snacks in the lunchroom or helping to check out books in the Library, Mrs. Malinzak is always serving with a smile.  Mrs. Malinzak has also led our school community in planning Trunk or Treat for the last two years.  She even assisted in organizing the uniform exchange at the Elementary Campus, spending hours in the garden room sorting skirts, pants, and shirts!  Thank you Summer for all that you do, Mrs. Malinzak! 

At All Saints Academy, our mission is to serve and partner with our families, parishes, and communities as we focus on the spiritual, intellectual, moral, social, and physical development of our children. We also believe We Are One as we work together to form Saints to serve All! It takes a team to do what we do each day and we are so thankful for ALL of our volunteers, and families for partnering with us at ASA! We look forward to highlighting more of our amazing volunteers throughout the 2019-2020 school year! 

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Celebrating St Francis of Assisi

Blessing of the Pets at the Elementary Campus

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As a way of celebrating the Feast of St. Francis, the elementary students held a special “Blessing of the Pets” prayer service on Friday, October 4th. Monsignor Ed Hankiewicz, Pastor of St. Isidore Parish presided. It was a perfect day for furry friends to join us at All Saints Academy. We had many dogs, cats and even a few guinea pigs! 



Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, Creator of all things and giver of all life, let your blessing be upon all these animals. May our relationships with them mirror your love, and our care for them be an example of your bountiful mercy. Grant the animals health and peace. Strengthen us to love and care for them as we strive to imitate the love of Jesus Christ our Lord and God’s servant Francis. Amen.



Thursday, October 3, 2019

Respect Life Month




New Service Partnership

"...in our daily prayer as individuals and as a community, praise and bless God our Father, who knitted us together in our mother's womb..."
Evangelium vitae, 84

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We are beginning a new 2-year all-school, service-learning partnership with HELP Pregnancy Crisis Aid this school year: http://helppregnancy.org

Our previous partnerships have been with: 

  • Kids Food Basket 2017-2019
  • Catholic Charities of West Michigan: Foster Care 2015-2017
  • Special Olympics 2013-2015

HELP Pregnancy Crisis Aid, Inc. is a Catholic, non-profit organization dedicated to helping pregnant women carry their babies to term by offering them support and alternatives to abortion, regardless of their faith, origin or background.

To kick-off this partnership we will:

  • Offer up a series of rosaries together as a school in October for Respect Life Month
  • Have a $1 Jeans Day for HELP Pregnancy Center on Friday, October 18th 

St Jude’s October 19th Blackthorn Concert also benefits HELP! http://helppregnancy.org/events

On November 2nd St Jude Parish is hosting a Theology of the Body workshop with HELP for anyone interested in learning more about Theology of the Body:  http://helppregnancy.org/tob-west-mi

In December we will: 

  • Have $1 Jeans Days to benefit HELP
  • Host a Baby Shower with Paula Veneklase from HELP to learn about the HELP Layette Program for new moms

Prayer for Respect Life Month: 
Eternal God, creator and sustainer of life,
bless us with the courage to defend all life
from conception to natural death.
Bless us with the strength to respect all peoples
from east to west, from north to south,
so that we may truly follow the call of Jesus to be neighbor.
We ask this in the name of Jesus,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.
Amen



Reflection: https://www.respectlife.org/reflection

From the time we are knit together in our mothers’ wombs until we take our final breaths, each moment of our lives is a gift from God. While every season of life brings its own challenges and trials, each season also gives us new opportunities to grow in our relationship with God.

Today the gift of life is threatened in countless ways. Those who are most vulnerable, rather than receiving the protection they deserve, are all too often seen as a burden and as expendable. As new attacks on human life continue to emerge, we can be tempted to despair, but Christ instead offers us unfailing hope.

Hope is not false optimism or empty positivity. Christian hope is something much more profound and goes to the very depths of our identity as followers of Christ.

Hope is the virtue “by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC, 1817).

Like us, Christ entered the world through the womb of a woman. He willingly experienced the fullness of human suffering. He breathed his last on the Cross at Calvary in order that He might save us. Therefore, “God is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end” (Spe salvi 31).

Christians know “they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness” (SS 2).

For this reason, a woman experiencing a difficult pregnancy can find the strength to welcome her precious child into the world. A man facing a terminal diagnosis can see that the end of his earthly life is only the beginning of eternal life with Christ.

The Church teaches us that “the one who has hope lives differently” (SS 2). Christ’s promise of salvation does not mean that we will be spared from suffering. Rather, the promise of salvation ensures that even in the darkest moments of our lives, we will be given the strength to persevere. By virtue of this Christian hope, we can face any challenge or trial. When the seas of life swell and we are battered by the waves, hope allows us to remain anchored in the heart of God. May we hold fast to Christ our hope, from the beginning of life to its very end.        

That during this Respect Life Month
we may recommit ourselves
to upholding the dignity
of every human life;
We pray to the Lord:
That during this Respect Life Month
our hope in Christ’s resurrection
will strengthen us in protecting
the gift of human life;
We pray to the Lord:

That the life of every human person, 
from conception to natural death, 
might be protected in our laws
and cherished in our hearts;
We pray to the Lord:  
For women and men suffering after abortion:
May the Church’s abortion healing ministry
help them find peace and healing 
through Christ’s endless mercy;
We pray to the Lord:
For those nearing the end of life:
May they receive care that respects their dignity
and protects their lives
as they place their hope
in the promise of eternal life;
We pray to the Lord:
May God grant us the wisdom and courage
to lovingly protect His gift of human life
at every stage, in sickness and in health;
We pray to the Lord:


Check out this video to learn more about the core of Catholic Social Teaching as it relates to Respect Life Issues:
https://www.crs.org/get-involved/learn/resource-center/respect-life-month

All human life is made in God’s image, sacred, and deserving of dignity!