1-8-08

Greetings!

One of the benefits of traveling over the Holidays is seeing what different Catholic Churches are up too. The 4^th Sunday of Advent found my family and I in Milwaukee at the Basilica of Saint Josaphat(beautiful church that everyone should visit if they get the opportunity.) At one point during the Mass, Father asked all those expectant parents to come forward for a special blessing. So Patty, William & I went up to the front and Father proceeded to offer a Blessing for Expectant Parents. After the blessing he congratulated us, gave us some information on the Elizabeth Ministry, and some other nice resources. We were very touched, and indeed went up to Father afterward to thank him.

What a beautiful way to honor the gift of life, pledge support to expectant parents, and magnify the rapidly approaching birth of the Savior. Might have to look at doing something like this at our own parish!

Phil's Tidbits:

The Golden Compass has now been out for 5 weeks and has pulled in $65 million in box office receipts. Not small change, but paltry when you compare it to the $180 million it cost to produce. Now, compare the movie to another recent "blockbuster"—yes, I'm talking about the new hit movie, "Alvin and the Chipmunks." J The Chipmunks movie has been out for 4 weeks (one fewer then the Compass) and has already pulled in $176 million. (And I doubt it cost $180 million to make!) Given the poor performance of the Golden Compass, don't expect the next two books in the series to be filmed anytime soon, if ever.

For all you homeschool families and the ones who know/love them. This is a great video on YouTube…tongue-in-cheek to the music for the "Adams Family". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc

Why Midas---a car repair place---and a hotel chain—both of which need live customers to stay in business, would financially support Planned Parenthood—the largest provider of abortions in this country is beyond me.

Midas, Carlson Among Newly Identified Corporate Supporters of Planned Parenthood

FRONT ROYAL, VA, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Life Decisions International (LDI) has released a revised edition of The Boycott List, which identifies corporations that are boycott targets due to their support of Planned Parenthood, the world's primary abortion-advocacy group.

"As a direct result of the commitment, action and prayers of pro-family people, at least 160 corporations have stopped funding Planned Parenthood," said LDI President Douglas R. Scott, Jr. It is estimated that the boycott has cost Planned Parenthood more than $40 million since the Corporate Funding Project (CFP) began nearly 16 years ago. "This should be a testament to those who believe it is impossible to change corporate philanthropic behavior," Scott said.

Corporations appearing on The Boycott List for the first time include BBJ Linen (home products), Carlson Companies (travel agencies, hotels [Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Radisson, and Regent], and restaurants [ T.G.I. Friday's and Pick Up Stix]), FastSigns (graphics/printing), InterContinental Hotels (Candlewood, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Indigo, InterContinental, and Staybridge), Midas (motor vehicle care), and Paul Ecke Ranch (poinsettias), among others.

Corporations continuing as boycott targets from the previously released Boycott List include AlphaGraphics, Basics Office Products, Wachovia, Nike, Time Warner (Cinemax, HBO, AOL, etc.), Bank of America, the Dallas Cowboys, CIGNA, Walt Disney, Johnson & Johnson, Lost Arrow (Patagonia, etc.), Chevron, Wells Fargo, Whole Foods Market, and Nationwide (insurance), among others.

The new Boycott List includes a significantly expanded "Dishonorable Mention" section, which identifies charitable groups that are associated with Planned Parenthood and/or its agenda. Groups named in this section include Amnesty International, the American Cancer Society, Camp Fire, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, Human Rights Watch, Kiwanis Clubs, Doctors Without Borders, the March of Dimes, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Rotary Clubs, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the YWCA, among others.

"This has not been some sort of 'Jesse Jackson boycott' where we make news for a few days and then go away," Scott said. "Corporate officials are learning that those who value life are among the most dedicated people on earth. We will not go away until corporate involvement with Planned Parenthood comes to an end."

"The Pro-Life Movement will succeed only to the extent that pro-life people are willing to be inconvenienced," Scott said. "The very lives of children are worth that much -- and a whole lot more."

More information about the CFP: http://www.fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=boycott

Some humor:

On New Year's day, my wife and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

So she got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out my Pepsi.

Veggie Tales is a cartoon featuring vegetables as characters which tell stories from the Bible. It's been phenomenally successful, both with kids and "big kids." Back in 2002, having just purchased my first house, I invited some of the college students from the parish over to help paint. They were a great help—until about 630PM when I lost all of them to the movie theater. What movie drew my helpers away? "VeggieTales" J

New Veggie Tale Movie Opens in Theatres January 11, 2008

By John-Henry Westen

HOLLYWOOD, December 24, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One TV movie production LifeSiteNews.com can wholeheartedly endorse is the Veggie Tale series by Big Idea Productions. What began in 1993 as a direct-to-video option for Saturday-morning fare is now, 27 episodes later, the world's best-selling faith-and-values-based property that is beloved by kids and trusted by parents.

On January 11, 2008, Universal Pictures and Big Idea, makers of 2002's wildly successful Jonah-A VeggieTales Movie, present The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - A VeggieTales Movie. The CG-animated adventure, from Big Idea's enormously popular VeggieTales franchise is a new story of heroism in the beloved VeggieTales' world. Big Idea founder Phil Vischer and his partner Mike Nawrocki have brought another family friendly film to the big screen.

The new adventure follows three wanna-be hero vegetable pals zapped into the past and called to real heroism. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything must each face their fears-becoming unlikely heroes in a battle to rescue a royal family from an evil tyrant, and themselves from living the life of common couch potatoes.

The latest in a franchise that has sold more than 50 million DVDs/videos since its 1993 inception, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything-A VeggieTales Movie continues the hit series' faith-and-values-based lessons approach by illustrating to kids what it really means to be a hero.

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More Catholics than Anglicans in Britain

Jonathan Wynne-Jones in London
December 24, 2007

CATHOLICS have overtaken Anglicans as Britain's most dominant religious group, reflecting great waves of migration from Catholic countries.

More people are now attending Mass every Sunday than are worshipping with the Church of England, confirming that the established church has lost its spot as the most popular Christian denomination after more than four centuries of unrivalled influence following the Reformation.

Leading figures warned on Saturday that the Church of England faced becoming a minority faith and that the findings should act as a wake-up call.

The figures show that attendance at the Church of England's Sunday services has dropped by 20 per cent since 2000. A survey of 37,000 churches to be published in the new year shows that the average number of people going to Mass each Sunday last year stood at 861,000 compared with 852,000 Anglicans worshipping.

The rise of Catholicism has been bolstered by an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa, who have packed the pews of parishes that had previously been dwindling.

It is part of the changing face of churchgoing across Britain that has also seen a boom in the growth of Pentecostal churches, which have surpassed the Methodist Church as the third-largest Christian denomination.

--The article title is a little misleading—for there are still more self-proclaimed Anglicans in England then Catholics. However, as far as actual Church attendance goes, there are more Catholics in the pews then Anglicans—according to the study.

God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)

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