TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
October 19, 2003

BAPTISM PREPARATION - Baptism preparation sessions are available here at St. Albert. We encourage parents who are expecting a child in the near future to sign up for a session. The first session will take place on Sunday, October 26th at 1:00 PM in the school building. Please call Sister Jean Rene at 412-884-7744 for more information. The next session will be November 23rd at 1:00 PM.

RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS (RCIA) - Our parish will soon begin a new journey into the faith for those interested in joining our Catholic family. During this time, those interested will come together for Catholic information sessions and sharing of their faith experiences with one another. If you know adults who would like to join the church or are just interested in learning the faith, please inform them about this opportunity and encourage them to call Sr. Jean Rene at (412)884-7744. I am still looking for volunteers to join this group. The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 28th, at 7:00 PM. No R.C.I.A. class on October 21st.

OCTOBER 21st at 7:00 PM PARENT CLASS for 2nd graders of both Bishop McDowell Regional School and St. Albert the Great Parish.

PLEASE INFORM US when a member of your family is in the hospital or nursing home. We will visit them. Please call Sr. Jean Rene.

RESPITE PROGRAM ASSISTS FAMILY CAREGIVERS -- Catholic Charities Volunteer Respite Care Services Program assists families caring for an older adult or an adult with a disability at home. Trained and screened volunteers provide up to 4 hours of respite weekly. Duties include supervision, companionship and assisting with mobility. Respite volunteers are available in your area. Contact Catholic Charities at 412-456-6974 for more information or to request services.
Work while your children are in school -- Cafeteria Workers are needed in the South Hills area. 3 - 5 hours daily, no evenings, weekends, summers, or holidays. If interested call Cindy Miller at 1-412-922-6400 ext. 18, Diocesan Purchasing Commission.

URGENT: THE SCHOOL BINGO is in dire need of a bingo caller on Monday nights. Previous experience preferred. Please contact Angie Bobak at 412-881-2398 or Maxine Anthony at 412-885-0677. THANK YOU!

PROVIDENCE VOCATION WEEKEND November 7-9 (Friday evening through Sunday morning) Visitation Convent, Allison Park, PA. Have you ever wondered what God had in mind for you? Have you ever considered becoming a sister but didn’t know where to begin? Come and join us as we explore what it means to be a Sister of Divine Providence. If you are a woman age 18 or older, we invite you to learn about community living, prayer and ministry as we strive to make a difference in our world by loving God and God’s people. For more information or to register, contact Sr. Elena Almendarez, 412-635-6309 or e-mail elenacdp@ juno.com. There is no cost for this weekend and room and board is provided.

OCTOBER 25th AND 26th. The Ladies Auxiliary of Baldwin Fire Company No. 1 will have a Flea Market and Bake Sale at their Location on Churchview Avenue. If you want to rent a table, the price is $10.00. Please call Mrs. Barker at 412-882-8833.

DIAPER DRIVE FOR ANGEL’S PLACE (formerly Mom’s House). Rebels for Life of Seton-La Salle High School will hold it’s annual Diaper Drive to benefit Angel’s Place. Diapers, baby items and paper products may be dropped off at the school between 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM weekdays, October 20 - 31. The school is located at 1000 McNeilly Road in Mount Lebanon.

OUR CHILDREN’S CHOIR will resume practices on Thursday, October 23rd from 7:00 to 7:40 PM in the church. The choir will sing for a Christmas Concert here, Sunday, December 14th at 3:00 PM, with a dress rehearsal on Thursday, December 11th from 7 to 8:30 PM; and for the 4:00 PM Mass on Christmas Eve. Call Ken Danchik at (412)884-8622 for further information. We hope to expand the role and membership of the children’s choir in our parish. All parish youth in grades 1 thru 8 are invited to sing with this choir.

BISHOP McDOWELL SCHOOL - MARKET DAY APPLE PIES - In conjunction with our November Pie Bonus Days through Market Day, we are asking you to donate an Apple Pie to the Pittsburgh Food Bank or Oakleaf Personal Care Home. Pies are $6.00 each. All orders must be returned to school or the rectory by Wednesday, October 22. The pies must be ordered on the form that is with the Market Day order sheets at the back of Church. Thank you for your generosity and helping Bishop McDowell School fundraising. If you have any questions, please call Diane Lyle (412) 882-2926 or Chrissie Reimond (412) 881-1424.

LA ROCHE COLLEGE - is offering scholarships of $5,000 to academically talented high school seniors through the Parish Scholarship Program. To be considered, the student must be a member of a parish in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, be recommended by their pastor and have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Any student receiving the award must enter LaRoche College in the fall semester as a full-time freshman, and the award is annually renewable if the student meets the colleges required standards. Please contact the parish office if you are interested in more information on the program or if you wish to be nominated.

FLU SHOTS, no appointment necessary;
Giant Eagle: Fri. 5 pm - 8 pm; Sat. & Sun. 11 am -2 pm
Baptist & Grove Rd. Oct. 19 (Sunday)
Carrick: Oct. 24, 25, 26 (Fri. Sat. & Sun.)

Shop ‘N Save: Sunday 11am - 2 pm
Baldwin, Joseph St. Oct. 19
Bethel Park, Library Rd. Oct. 19
Castle Shannon Blvd. Oct. 19
Century Square Oct. 19

A LIFE-SAVING AED IS NOW AT ST. ALBERT THE GREAT Thanks to Baldwin EMS and Mercy Hospital an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) has been purchased for us and will be placed on site for the safety of those present at the school and throughout the parish campus. The AED has been mounted to the wall on the left side, inside the vestibule of the church, by the usher’s closet. Baldwin EMS will be training the school faculty and pastoral staff on Monday, October 20th at 1:00 PM. The EMS is also seeking interested parishioners to attend the FREE AED training that will be offered on Wednesday, October 29th, 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM. The goal is to have AED trained individuals during school hours and also at every Mass celebrated. If you would be interested in learning this life-saving skill, please contact Asst. Chief Curt Neill of Baldwin EMS at 412-884-0666 to register.

FUN LOVING INDIVIDUALS THAT LIKE TO PLAN PARTIES AND SOCIAL EVENTS. The Half Way to St. Patrick’s Day event was so entertaining and so much fun that we would like to continue to offer a wide variety of events that we think everyone would enjoy. We are looking for a group of individuals to plan and execute affairs like the Half Way to St. Patrick’s Day event (October 4). This group will be a part of the Development Committee to plan these fund raising events. Please consider joining the group and help provide entertaining events that will aid in our fund raising efforts. If you are interested, please call your friends and sign up as a group. The more the merrier. Call the rectory and add your name to the list.

SOCK DRIVE As we enter the winter months we all know how uncomfortable it is to have wet or cold feet. Many people that are homeless develop serious problems with their feet. Operation Safety Net is a ministry that delivers medical and social services to people that are homeless. They visit them in their neighborhoods each week bringing sandwiches, clean socks, fellowship and much more.

On the weekend of November 1 and 2,
High School Youth will be collecting socks
for Operation Safety Net.

Please bring new, white socks to mass on those days to help keep others warm!

This weekend the Church celebrates the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate. Masses celebrated today throughout the Diocese of Pittsburgh will be offered for the Holy Father. This weekend’s edition of The Pittsburgh Catholic features a special section about the life and ministry of Pope John Paul II.

The Polish Pontiff: Following the untimely death of Pope John Paul I after just 34 days as pontiff, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected as Bishop of Rome and 263 rd successor of St. Peter on October 16, 1978. He is the first non-Italian pope since 1523, the first-ever Polish pope and the fourth longest reigning pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Over the course of his ministry, Pope John Paul II has:

Written 14 encyclicals, 13 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, 42 apostolic letters and 28 Motu proprios (Motu proprios are often administrative documents issued by the pope).
Proclaimed 1,341 Blesseds in 138 ceremonies and has canonized 469 Saints in 48 liturgical celebrations.
Held eight consistories (an assembly of cardinals presided over by the pope for the promulgation of papal acts) for the creation of cardinals and named 201 cardinals. The last consistory was held in February 2001. The current College of Cardinals is comprised of 168 members, of whom 112 are eligible to vote in a conclave.
Held 1,083 weekly general audiences and has welcomed nearly 17 million faithful from all over the world. Other audiences, including various groups and heads of State and government, total just over 1,500.
Amassed more than three-quarters of a million miles traveling on 99 foreign apostolic trips and 142 apostolic trips within Italy.
Visited 133 countries, many of which were welcoming a pope for the first time.
John Paul II is also a pope of many “firsts.” He is the first pope:
* to visit a prison cell (when he spoke in December 1983 with Ali Agca, his attempted assassin)
* to visit a synagogue (April 1986, Rome)
* to celebrate Mass in the northernmost Catholic community in the world (1989, Tromso, Norway)
* to celebrate Mass in an airplane hangar (December 1992, Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport)
* to hold press conferences in airplanes and one in the Holy See Press Office (January 24, 1994)
* to call for a Day of Pardon (2000, Jubilee Year)
* to visit a mosque (May 2001, Omayyad Great Mosque of Damascus)
* to stay at a hotel instead of residing in the apostolic nunciature during his travels (May 2002, Irshad Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan)
* to add five new mysteries to the Rosary (October 2002)
* to publish books of prose and poetry
* to use a letter on his papal crest, the letter M for Mary.

This weekend, on the occasion of our Holy Father’s 25th anniversary of election as Supreme Pontiff, Masses are being celebrated in parishes throughout the world and in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in gratitude and thanksgiving to God for the life and ministry of Pope John Paul II. May the Lord continue to pour forth abundant blessings on our Holy Father as he leads the Church universal on her pilgrim journey.