B.N.L. [Sunday, December 20]

The Sounds of Christmas

Advent Prayer Series

Turkey Bowl [November 29, 2009]

The first Annual

B.A.S.I.C. Turkey Bowl 2009

MVP

Emily "Sure Hands" Denhard

Most Comical

Kara "Stone Hands" Perry

Biggest Turkey

Trevor "I Can't Catch" Todor

Most Penalties

Andrew "Potty Mouth" Blanchard

Coffee House [Friday, Nov. 20 @ 7:00p]

Festival of Praise & Thanksgiving

Advent Prayer Series

B.N.L. [Sunday, November 22]

Turkey Bowl 2009

Poinsettia Sale 2009

Every year we try to do some service project around Christmas time. This year we will be taking children and teens from the South Oakland Shelter (S.O.S.) bowling on Sunday, December 13. By purchasing a Poinsettia or Wreath you will help us pay for this event so we can share in fellowship and love with our young brothers and sisters in need.

2009 ORDER FORM HERE

Place your order BEFORE:
November 19, 2009

B.N.L. [Sunday, November 8]

B.N.L. [Sunday, November 1]

Just a thought about Texting

Food Drive - Sunday, November 1, 2009

Support the St. Anastasia

Food Pantry:

THIS Sunday, November 1, at 6:30p we are having a food drive for St. Anastasia’s food pantry which supports the local communities needs. Teens will be having a competition between their small groups for most items. But you can drop items off in the Davidson Center at 6:30p on Sunday evening.

Please bring the following items:

Laundry Detergent & Softener, Complete Pancake Mix, Syrup, Oatmeal, Spaghetti Sauce, Noodles, Tuna Helper, Pasta, Rice and Potato side dishes, Hearty Soups, Crackers, Jelly, Bagels, English Muffins, Apple Sauce, Shampoo, Hand Soap, Toilet Paper and Paper Towels.

Invitation to Fall Camp 2009

Dear Parents:

There is an opportunity next weekend (November 6-8) for your high school teen to experience our Catholic faith over an amazing weekend retreat. B.A.S.I.C. Fall Camp 2009: FaithDriven is a retreat designed to have young people examine whether or not their faith guides their decision making and life choices or if their life style dictates how they practice their faith. This is achieved through various low ropes challenge course elements and discussion, a high ropes challenge course and discussion, Mass, Adoration and Reconciliation, games, prayer and just some good clean fun. It is an all weekend event from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. Transportation, Food, Cabin and High and Low Rope elements are included in the cost [$80.00].

The registration packet and medical card are attached in a PDF document. The deadline for registration has been changed to this Friday, October 30 @ 5:00p (and is subject to another extention). Below there is a list of teens who have already registered for the retreat - there are approximately 10 spots remaining.

Finances are not a valid reason for your son or daughter to miss out on this experience with God and their peers. There are funds for scholarships, payment plan options, and other economical means to help make this affordable for you and your family - everything is confidential. So if finances are tight, please call or come and speak to David Graves and work out a solution before ruling this retreat out!. Please, please, please do not let your son or daughter miss out on this potentially life changing weekend!

God bless and I hope to see your son or daughter on Fall Camp 2009!!!

If you have any questions please contact:

David Graves

Youth Ministry Coordinator

248-840-7671

dgraves.youthmin@gmail.com

Here is a list of teens already signed-up for the retreat:

Blanchard, Andrew

Bowker, Sean

Brosseau, Michael

Clancey, Scott

Collison, Jake

Commarford, David

Dalian, Amber

Denhard, Emily

Grappin, Jackalyn

Iles, Andrew

Kast, Brett

Key, Kimmie

Minchella, Gabrielle

Monis, Carol

Naughton, Dylan

Ortel, Luke

Perry, Kara

Pinneo, D.J.

Schmidt, Kristi

Schnuphase, Mallary

Shehu, Indri

Sliney, Amanda

Sliney, Jeff

Stagner, Natalie

Stoll, Haley

Sullivan, Laura

Todor, Trevor

Youhan, Daniella

B.A.S.I.C. Night Live [Sun. October 25, 2009]

Wear clothes that can get wet, dirty and beat up!!!
See you "Beyond the Doors!"

Faith Driven

An outdoor fall camp retreat experience...

Friday, November 6th
thru
Sunday, November 8th

for more information click on the registration packet in the column on the left under "downloadable forms."

Registration begins Sunday, October 4
ends Sunday, October 25

Faith and Fun on Wednesday, October 14, 2009

All the Youth Groups in Birmingham, Bloomfield and Troy proudly present:
An evening of Christian Vaudeville...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
@ 7:30p
to see the flyer please click the image above


Please join us for a night of fun and laughter as Gene and Brad of APeX Ministries spread the Word of God through storytelling, faith sharing, comedy, drama, music, death defying juggling, and prayer. WE WANT YOU THERE! Bring your friends-no questions asked.

For more information on APeX Ministries, visit: http://www.apexministries.com

F.E.A.S.T.: Saturday, October 10, 2009

3rd Annual "CIDER" WALK
Children In-utero Deserve Equal Rights

Saturday, October 10, 2009
at Rochester Municipal Park in Downtown Rochester
we will meet at 12:00p by the playground

Walk 4.1 miles as a group while discussing why our faith makes us Pro-Life!

We will have pizza, pop and water for you when you arrive
Bring a $10 donation if you'd like to get a t-shirt from this event


Click here for more information
This event is sponsored by Right to Life - LIFESPAN Educational Fund

Earn Service Hours - Daycare (Sunday, September 27)

We are looking for some high school teens to help run an daycare day in the Davidson Center this Sunday, September 27.

Help out parents from our parish family by watching some of your younger brothers and sisters in Christ for a few hours. Earn service hours for National Honors Society, play games and get a free lunch.

THIS Sunday, September 27, 2009
9:00a - 4:00p
The Davidson Center

To help, please sign up by calling:
Pam Pipas at 248-879-9917
OR David Graves at 248-689-8380 x106

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The 5:00p Youth Mass for Sunday, September 20, 2009 has been canceled because of the Priests Convocation.

B.A.S.I.C. Night Live will STILL begin at 6:30p in the Davidson Center!
See you then! and Bring a friend!

God bless,
David

FAITH DRIVEN

Fall Camp Registration Packets are AVAILABLE.
Click Here

"FAITH DRIVEN"
Friday, November 6
thru
Sunday, November 8

Registration begins Sunday, October 4th at 6:30p!
Space is limited!!!

BASIC Kick-Off (Sunday, September 13, 2009)

Click on the image to enlarge...

KICKOFF 2009

B.A.S.I.C. KICKOFF
2009

September 13, 2009
Family BBQ
2:45 - 4:45p

2:45p - doors open
3:00p - food served
please bring a dessert to share (on a tray you don't want back)
3:45p - games begin
4:45p - leave for Mass
5:00p - Youth Mass

Teen Blowout
6:30p - 8:30p
bring change of cloths and towel
Food, Fun, Craziness and Christ among us!!!

Whitewater Rafting Reflections & Info

For those whitewater rafters who did not attend the BNL on Sunday, July 12 - Heather Hernandez has made a CD with more than 300 pictures for each of you. Please come and pick them up at the BNL on Sunday, July 26 at 6:30p in the Davidson Center - we'll be watching a movie.

My trip to West Virginia was amazing! I had a lot of fun, and the trip really increased my faith in God. West Virginia is an incredibly beautiful place and the scenery blew me away. I appreciated being able to take it all in and enjoying the beauty of nature that God created. Another thing I enjoyed was the service project. It was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it. I realized that there are a lot of people who litter, and we should do whatever we can to prevent that. The service project made me feel good about myself and it also made me more aware of the environment. My favorite part about the trip was definitely the white water rafting. It was one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done in my life! After the first time I fell of the boat, I was extremely shaken. But when I got back on the raft, I started to enjoy myself and I was no longer afraid. I loved jumping off the rock as well. I am really glad I went rafting because it is something I can look back at years from now and never forget. I also loved how we carried our faith wherever we went. Even though we were not at the church, we still had mass. It showed that mass is really any place that people are gathered in the name of God. Our camp site was awesome and I really enjoyed the bonfires. They were a real bonding experience for the group. I loved singing the campfire songs. I was definitely not ready for the trip to end because I had become so close with everyone on the trip. The ride home was really fun and I loved being in a car with Karl, Chelsea, Kristi, Amanda, Alex, and Jeff. Overall, the trip was an amazing experience and I am really looking forward to going to West Virginia again next year.

~ Carol Monis



The Whitewater rafting trip to West Virginia was an awesome experience. The car ride wasn’t bad thanks to our awesome driver, Karl Schmidt, and the rest of my car mates who always kept things interesting even though it took eight hours to get to our destination. During the evening, we all sat around the camp fire and chatted and made s’mores. The next day we worked almost all day picking up trash and ripping out foreign plants at the Gauley National Park. You wouldn’t believe the amount of garbage that was on this steep hill we were on. We found soccer balls, diapers, cups, beer bottles, and anything you can possibly think of. Luckily it was cool though because we were in a thick area of trees and bushes. Then, the second part of the job was we had to use racks, saws and motor powered tools to rip out a plant that was overgrown and not native to the park. It was sweltering in the hot, boiling sun, but after all this I felt satisfied that we at least made a difference. After we were done, the ranger was nice enough to take us to a gorgeous river called the Gauley and we just relaxed there for a while. The surroundings were stunning and the water chilly and refreshing. We also hiked up the Endless Wall trail and looked down on the river we were going to raft on from 1000 feet above. When we got back to camp, we relaxed and had dinner. Then Father Mark arrived and we had mass in the camp which was casual yet awesome. The next day we had to get up extra early because today we were going to go rafting! I was scared before we went because I had heard someone say that we were definitely going to fall out. But it turned out that falling out was what made it so much fun. I got soaked and also lost a shirt along the way, too. I also learned the real meaning of “surfing”: rowing hard, straight into a hole where water from everywhere is pouring into. We also jumped off a 20 foot rock which was definitely a fear I conquered because when I first saw how high the drop was I totally freaked out because I hate heights. I couldn’t even talk well when the guy was filming me. The moment I stepped off the end, I felt my stomach rise and before I knew it I had hit the water. When I surfaced, apparently I was laughing, and I realized it wasn’t so bad, yet I can still feel what I felt when I was falling, right now. After we got back from rafting, we watched our video and then relaxed the whole rest of the day. Then, we had our last campfire and we sang songs and David Graves played his guitar. It was awesome yet that was when it finally hit me that we were going home the next day. The next morning we packed and loaded up the cars and we were back on the road again home. Though all I have from the trip is a shirt, a video, and I lots of pictures, I will remember the friends I made and all the memories created. I also want to thank the chaperons that kept us safe, everyone that came on the trip that I got to share this experience with, and of course last but not least David graves for organizing and making this trip possible. Thanks so much!! I had so much fun. :)

~ Kristi Kotrapu

Children's Liturgy at 8:15 Mass - Teen Volunteers Needed

St. Anastasia is looking for teen volunteers to help with the Children's Liturgy of the Word at 8:15am masses beginning in September. Young children will be lead from the church to the social hall to hear God's Word at a level that they can easily understand. The children will then return to their parents in the church once the homily has concluded. Teens are needed to assist the parents who will facilitate the Children's Liturgy by helping to look after the children as well as set-up and tear-down for this activity. There will be a training session at the beginning of September. Interested teens should contact Anne Marine at 248-740-9745 or via email at annebakmarine@mac.com. Teens are asked to volunteer as little or as often as they like and a schedule will be created based on everyone's availability.

July Bible Study Series

B.A.S.I.C. Bible Study
Catholicism in Scripture
3:00 - 5:00p
at Faith@Work

Come learn about our Catholic beliefs and teaching and their scriptural background. It begins at 3:00p this Wednesday at Faith@Work!! Encourage your teen(s) to attend!

Series dates & times:
Wednesday 7/8 3-4:30p
Thursday 7/9 2-3:30p
Friday 7/10 3-4:30p
Monday 7/13 3-4:30p
Tuesday 7/14 3-4:30p
Wednesday 7/15 3-4:30p

God bless!!!

All New Faith Cafe

Click on the image to enlarge & read!!

FAITH CAFE
Thursday, June 25, 2009 (7:30 - 9:00p)
and
Sunday, June 28, 2009 (1:30 - 3:00p)

Service Opportunity (Saturday, June 20)

Click on the image above to enlarge

B.A.S.I.C. Night Live
Sunday, June 12 @ 6:30p
Jaycee Park
On Long Lake Rd. west of John R.

Kickball/Volleyball

See you Sunday! God bless!!!

Summer B.A.S.I.C.

Summer Events for B.A.S.I.C.

A few weeks ago we had the B.A.S.I.C. BASH - a celebration of the past year of B.A.S.I.C. More than 70 of you were there for the food, fun, prayer and chaos!!! B.A.S.I.C. is NOT over, I repeat B.A.S.I.C. does NOT end for the summer. We still have tons of stuff going on through June and July (take a look to the right at upcoming events...) Did you do it? We got Service Projects, B.N.L.'s, Bible Study, White Water Rafting, and the Golf Outing!

Keep checking the blog for information, listen to the announcements at Mass, look for the B.A.S.I.C. bulletin board in the Narthex, check your e-mail and facebook profile for updates!

God bless and see you this summer!!!

Praise & Worship

Praise & Worship
Sunday, April 26
7:00p in Church

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

Music will be led by the Youth Band. Join us as we offer praise and thanks to God!!

Upcoming Events

There are some exciting things coming up in the next couple months...

Service Project at St. Jude's
Spring Camp
&
White Water Rafting

If you to go to these events you MUST download (under downloadable forms) a permission slip and turn it into David or to the front office at church.

Registration for White Water Rafting opens
this Sunday, April 26
And you have one week left to sign up for
the Spring Camp Retreat

Lunch 'n Learn

Sat., April 18
Pastoral center @ 12:00p
(Free Lunch)

U.S. Current Events

March & April Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Katie Webber
Jeff Sliney
Kristi Schmidt
Daniella Youhan
Kristi Kotrapu
Trevor Todor
Camila Carrillo
David Commarford
Kim Christie
Lisa Lavelanet
Nick Jensen
Rachel Senopole
&
Pat Parker

Spring Camp & White Water

Spring Camp and White Water Rafting Packets are now available!!

How much faith is enough?

First, hello to everyone ... it has been a little quiet around here recently. Last week at BASIC we had a discussion about where we stand in our faith lives. I heard from many people that they feel that their faith lives are in a good place, others I heard that they feel like their faith life could use some work. In today's culture it seems like we are constantly being bombarded with messages that urge us to get more of something or bigger is better. So the question arises, how much faith is enough?

First, lets look at what faith is and how its defined. According to Merriam-Webster (the dictionary) faith has the following definition:

1. allegiance to duty or a person

2. fidelity to one's promises

3. sincerity of intentions

4. belief and trust in and loyalty to God

5. belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion

6. firm belief in something for which there is no proof

7. complete trust

8. something that is believed especially with strong conviction, especially a system of religious beliefs

Another way to illustrate what faith is, is by the following story I was once told (and now I'm passing it on to you). There were a group of spectators gathered at Niagara Falls watching a stunt artist cross the falls on a tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks. The stunt artist made several passes across the tightrope with the wheelbarrow. The stunt artist then turned to the crowd and asked if anyone in the crowd felt that he could perform the same stunt with a person in the wheelbarrow instead of bricks. A man in the crowd spoke up and said that he believed that the stunt artist could do it. The stunt artist then told the man to get in the wheelbarrow. Faith is not just saying that you believe in something; faith is getting in the wheelbarrow.

The next question that comes up when talking about faith is, how much faith is enough? To answer this let's turn to scripture. Two passages come to mind when asking this question, both of which deal with a mustard seed. First, in Matthew 17:20 Jesus says "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." Second, in Luke 17:5-6 the apostles ask Christ to increase their faith, and Christ responds, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you." In order to grasp the meaning of these passages its good to know how truly small a mustard seed is, below is a bunch of mustard seeds next to a penny, you can see how very small they are:

In the first passage from Matthew the apostles are attempting to cast out a demon from a possessed man. Their attempts to do so were unsuccessful, Jesus then came and cast the demon out. When the apostles asked why they were unable to cast the demon out Jesus responded that they did not have enough faith. The apostles didn't believe that they could cast out the demon, however they didn't realize that they were not the ones casting out the demon, it was God who was casting out the demon.

At BASIC events we don't go around saying "With God all things are possible" because its catchy, we say it because its true. If we have the smallest bit of faith that through God and with God we can do anything, that we can move mountains - then we can, because truly with God all things are possible.

God is good all the time!

PS ... Don't forget about the ongoing canned food drive, bring in your cans to BASIC on Sunday nights. If you want to go on Fast - a - Thon make sure you get your permission slips filled out and turned in ASAP ... if you are already signed up for Fast - a - Thon don't forget to keep getting pledges.

See you all Sunday

Check Your Belly Buttons ... You've got Lent!

Last night at BASIC the idea of an all BASIC Lenten sacrifice/service project was proposed. You all voted on having a canned food drive every Sunday night for the duration of Lent.

SO ... remember to bring in canned food items, these items will be donated to a local food pantry, on Sunday nights to BASIC.

Upcoming Events!!!

If you are planning on attending the Detroit Pistons Game and/or Fast-a-thon you need to turn your permission slips and money in ASAP!!!

Bring them to BASIC this Sunday!

February Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Lindsay Penkala
Sarah Curran
Lauren Harden
Jenna O'Dell
Emily Vecchioni
Jake Collison
Carl Rizzi
Michael Brosseau
Bryan Berquist
Kara Perry
& Kathy Carroll

Lunch 'n Learn

JOIN US FOR...

Saturday, February 21
12 - 2:00p
Davidson Center

BASIC Bible Study

Join us for our next Bible Study Series (Tuesday, Feb 17 - Thursday, Feb. 19: 4 - 5:30p). The focus of this series will be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in the New Testament. It is a great way to learn about the Bible, discover your faith and see how a collection of books thousands of years old is still relevant today!

Join us for some Theology - Faith Seeking Understanding!

Monday Night Prayer

8:30-9:00p in the Divine Mercy Chapel
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!

Souper Bowl of Caring

THIS WEEKEND [Jan. 31 - Feb. 1] BASIC is participating in the nationwide Souper Bowl for Caring event. After each Mass this weekend BASIC will be in the entrance ways of the Church with soup pots ask everyone for $1.00 or whatever they are willing to give.

WE NEED TEENS - we need help with this collection! We need at least 4 teens for each Mass. The times for help are listed below. If you are available to help at any of these time please e-mail at dgraves.youthmin@gmail.com

Saturday, January 31
5:00p Mass - need to be there by 5:45p.

Sunday, February 1:
8:15a Mass - need to be there by 9:00a
10:15a Mass - need to be there by 11:00a
12:15p Mass - need to be there by 1:00p
5:00p Mass - need to be there by 5:45p

Last year through our efforts we raised about $3,000 to donate to St. Jude's Warming Center and Food Pantry. PLEASE HELP OUR EFFORT THIS YEAR to help our brothers and sisters less fortunate than us.

New BASIC Chatter Wall

Calling all teens and CORE members:
I'm checking out possible software for us to use to host some kind of message board or "wall" like FaceBook. I set up a free account with hyperboards--please click on the link to the right and put in some posts, replies, etc. And include comments on what you think or if you have another source you'd like us to check out.

Communication:

Parents just don't understand!!

Friday, January 16 @ 7:00p
Cafe Zuzu

Join us for an open mic and open discussion on relating to your parents and why it can seem like they're from another plant! David Graves and his mother, Rosemary Graves, will be speaking. Bring your friends!

January Birthdays

Happy Birthday!!!

Dan Rochon
Scott Clancey
Drew Voight
Laura Sullivan
Marisa Kozikowski
Jenn Radowick
Alayna Ivan
& Karl Schmidt

Lunch 'n Learn (Saturday, Jan. 10 @ noon)

RELATIONSHIPS

Saturday, January 10 @ noon

Join us for a free meal and great discussion about relationships, sex and dating.

Coffee House

Communication:
Can you hear me now?

Friday, January 9 @ 7:00p
Cafe Zuzu

Join us for an open mic and open discussion on communication and why it can be so difficult. David Graves will be speaking. Bring your friends!

Giving Gifts to God

If Christ were born today (2009) and you had the opportunity to give him a gift, what would it be and why?

Often we hear phrases such as, "Surrender your will to Christ", "Trust the Lord in all things", "Offer all of yourself to God and He will take care of you". BUT, how often do we really, truly and completely do those things we hear so often. Many times in our lives we'll say to God, "Ok, Lord, here you go. I'll give you part of me but I'm gonna hold on to the rest of me for now." It is hard to offer ourselves completely.

This past Sunday (Jan. 4) was The Epiphany of the Lord. Which is the when we celebrate the Wise Men's visit to Christ in the manger and offered Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. At BASIC we talked about giving gifts to God. Everyone took some time to write down all of the gifts/blessings in their lives; from talents to personality traits. These lists create us. All of the gifts, talents, personality traits, love, knowledge and things you have in your lives create you and makes you a unique and wonderful individual.

After making these lists and seeing what creates us, its not hard to see that all that we are is of God. And this season of Christmas every year is to remind us of what we must do all year long. That is that we should give to God what belongs to God. Or in other words, we should surrender to God and the "gift" we should offer to Christ is our very lives and all that we are. Saying, "Here I am, God, this is all of me, from my unique smile to my stubbornness, and it is all yours. Take it and make me what you will. It is all I really have to give."

It is such a wonderful gift we are given. The ability to offer ourselves completely to God who loves us unconditionally and without end. I invite all of us to take that leap and place our lives in God's hands and offer Him 100% of you.

If Christ were born today (2009) and you had the opportunity to give him a gift, what would it be and why? I would like to give him myself!