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| Our Lady of Fatima 7th and 8th graders. Fr. Bill Elser presenting check to school principal, Jan Cash. |
Thank you to everyone who participated in the basket program during 2014! All who donated to the fund, those who participated in the acquisition and distribution of food from Project Hope and, most of all, those who delivered the baskets. During the year 144 baskets were delivered: 36 baskets at Easter, 48 baskets at Thanksgiving and 60 baskets at Christmas. At Christmas 113 children received 449 presents and a certificate for a pair of shoes. The value of the Christmas Baskets totaled about $25,000. Donations to the basket fund totaled over $11,000 in 2014, including $1,000 from the Knights of Columbus, $1,200 from the Men's Club and $1,780 from the Ladies of the Sacred Heart. A special thanks to Anna Suttor who donated $500 resulting from the sale of her wonderful jellies. In addition, $1,500 was donated to the Village Outreach Shoe Fund through donations placed in the shoe box.With more than 60 individuals participating in delivering baskets and about 435 angels being taken from the tree, this is truly a wonderful example of the willingness to help those in need and the generosity of our parish!
The Knights of Columbus would like to invite everyone to their delicious Parish Breakfast on Sunday, March 1. The menu includes biscuits and gravy with sausage and scrambled eggs, hash browns and juice, coffee and milk. We will be welcoming new parishioners who will be guests of the Knights. Please join us in welcoming them to the Sacred Heart Family. All breakfast proceeds are used to fund Knights charitable activities throughout the year. See you there! 
Ever wish you could just talk with someone about your loss? Or that there was a safe place to be with others who had suffered the loss of a loved one, and just share what worked for you and what you still struggle with? There is such a place! We will begin a Grief Support Group here at Sacred Heart in the library on Monday mornings at 10:00 a.m. beginning February 23.Within the Grief Support Group, there will be six sessions facilitated by Deacon John, and each one will last about one and one-half hours. If you know someone who is grieving and could use support - that is, anyone (does not have to be a parishioner), please have them contact Deacon John. The size of the group is limited, so please make a reservation by calling Deacon John at 226-5506 or 226-9035.
There will be a VIRTUS training session on Monday, February 23, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the classroom area of the A&E Building. If you are a new volunteer minister and have not attended a previous training session, you are required to attend to meet the bishop's directive. To register online, go to www.virtus.org, select "Registration," then "Little Rock Diocese," and lastly, "Sacred Heart of Jesus at Hot Springs Village;" select the date and follow instructions. Call Russ at 922-1767 with questions. 
Some kind parishioners donated the following DVDs to our library: Amazing Grace, God's Not Dead, Purgatory, the Forgotten Church, More Than Chance, Therese, An Ordinary Girl (St. Therese) and Homeless for the Holidays. These DVDs are in the first room of the library on the DVD racks. Please legibly fill-out the check out card with the date and your first and last name. Place the check-out card in the box between the racks. 
The AARP Driver Safety Program will be held on Thursday, February 12, from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the Upper Hall. Sign-up for this one-day class. Bring your driver's license and AARP card, along with a check made payable to AARP for $15 each for AARP members and $20 each for non-members. Call Gene Widlowski at 922-5170 with questions. 
The Sacred Heart Singles will meet at noon to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 6, for "A Sweet Afternoon" in the Lower Hall. Dessert will be available, and Bingo is the game. Please bring one unwrapped prize and one dollar. Sign-up in the narthex, and call Ann at 922-6963 with questions. Friends and neighbors are welcome. 
Save the date! The movie, "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock, will be shown on February 5, at 5:30 p.m. in the Lower Hall of the church. Hot dogs and baked beans will be served for a donation - as well as beer, wine and popcorn. The movie will run for two hours and six minutes. Mark your calendars and join us for a fun night with family and friends. The first VIRTUS training session of the year will be held on Monday, January 26, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Classrooms A & B in the Administration & Education Building. If you are a new volunteer minister and have not attended a previous training session, you are required to attend to meet the bishop's directive. To register online, go www.virtus.org, select "Registration," then "Little Rock Diocese," and lastly, "Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church." Call Russ at 922-1767 with questions. 
The Knights of Columbus invite everyone to stay for a parish breakfast in the Lower Hall this Sunday, January 25, after both morning Masses. New parish members are special guests. Biscuits, gravy, hash browns, sausage and eggs are on the menu. Breakfast is only $6.00 a plate and as always, kids eat free. All breakfast proceeds are used to fund the Knights charitable activities throughout the year. 
Tickets are sold-out for our first Mystery Dinner Theater. Call Gary Wolfer at 501-204-1192 to place your name on the waiting list should cancellations occur. 
The annual Mass and March for Life will take place Sunday, January 18, 2015 in Little Rock. Bishop Anthony Taylor will celebrate the Mass for Life at 12 noon at the Statehouse Convention Center Ballroom. The March then begins at 2:00 p.m. at Capitol and Battery Streets. Our parish will charter a bus for the day, leaving the church parking lot at 9:30 a.m. and returning about 4:30 p.m. The March will take place entirely on the State Capitol grounds. You can bring chairs to sit on. So, please give prayerful consideration to joining fellow parishioners in support for the most vulnerable members of our human family, the Unborn who have NO VOICE. Call Jim or Patricia Goodson at 226-5312 or Mary Ellen Costello at 922-3915 with questions. 
Our parish has again provided a bus for the 2015 Mass and March for Life. The sign-up sheets are in the A & E hallway. Please print clearly. The bus hold 56. All who sign up after the first 56 will be placed on a back-up list in case of cancellations. Please sign-up only if you plan to attend, and notify us if you must cancel so another can take your seat. If you plan to drive and would like to offer a ride to those who are on the back-up list, please sign the "I plan to drive" sheet and write in how many you can take. For more information, contact Jim Goodson at 501-226-5312 or 501-224-2494 (cell). 
The next Red Cross Blood Drive supported by the Knights of Columus and hosted by the Village United Methodist Church, 200 Carmona Road, is 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 13. Previous donors at this site with email addresses have been sent an email reminder. New donors can go to www.redcrossblood.org for detailed information and to schedule an appointment. Contact John Bodensteiner with questions or to be placed on an email reminder list (915-0339 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Thanks in advance for sharing your "gift of life." 
The babies we "spiritually" adopted back in April, are due to be born January 12, 2015. To welcome them into the world, we are planning a Parish Baby Shower. All parishioners are invited to participate.To participate, please purchase a baby item, and bring it to the church, UNWRAPPED, beginning Saturday, January 3, and no later than Monday, January 12. Members of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart can consider their gift as "something extra" for January, and bring the gifts to the general meeting the morning of the 12th.
A display area will be set up in the narthex where the gifts can be left. The donated items will be sorted, and then delivered to Catholic Adoption Services and local Pregnancy Help Centers in Hot Springs, Benton and Malvern, based on need.
Disposable diapers, all sizes, are always needed. Also, crib sheets, blankets, clothing for preemies and just about anything else parents would need for a newborn baby. Please remember NOT TO WRAP your gift. A flyer, listing the specific needs of each agency, will be available in the narthex. For information, call Edie Gray at 922-4694.