Reflection
In this Sunday’s gospel, there is a conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus himself reminds them of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “these people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Is 29:13). With this phrase, I want to invite you to meditate on what it means to have your heart near or far from God. What happens when the heart is close to God? First and foremost, we can feel His presence closer, know how important we are to Him, help us discover and develop the mission we have in this world, find everything more bearable, and find the meaning of our life, etc. What happens when the heart is far from God? If it is far from God, it is not because He wishes; it is rather because we want it. When the heart is far from God, hypocrisy, envy, hatred, resentment, bad actions, and thoughts appear; life becomes eternal and meaningless.

Homework: How close or far is my heart from God? Please think about it.

Back to Class
Many of our children have already returned to class in their schools and colleges – a place where they will learn for life – and be able to contribute to society, putting into practice everything they learn in the classrooms. Now, it is time to start for the first time, or to return to, training in faith through our catechesis. Thanks to the families who have said yes to the Lord; increasing our faith will help us enjoy this life and eternity if we wish.
Important: The catechesis on Wednesdays of this year will cause a small change in the Mass starting time, which will go from 7:00 pm to 7:15 pm. I promise you that the Mass will not be extensive, since I am aware that you must get up early the next day.

Festival Date: Saturday, October 5 – 10am to 4 pm

A Note from Father Fabio:

I want to thank with all my heart everyone who has been contributing their time, talent, and treasure to this great parish project. Thank you to all the people who attended the meeting last Tuesday to plan this event. Also, I want to thank all those who have been carrying envelopes with the raffle tickets, either to buy them or sell them to friends. I remind you that the raffle is what leaves us with the greatest profits from the festival, so
please let’s bring more envelopes so that we can have very good earnings and profits that we will allocate to the Capital Campaign of the Parish.
Reminder: From now on, you can bring sodas and water for the festival. This way we can reduce expenses for the festival, which means greater dividends for the parish.

And an update from Jane Brown, our Festival Chair…

First of all, great big “THANK YOU” to all the parishioners who showed up for our
festival meeting last Tuesday and volunteered their time to help with the plans for the fall festival. For those of you who still want to help, we need parishioners to volunteer for 2 hour shifts the day of the festival. Look for the VOLUNTEER SIGN UP board in the narthex of the church beginning the weekend of September 7/8.
Parishioners might also consider donating items from our FESTIVAL WISH LIST:
 Soft drinks and bottled water
 Medium to large baskets for our silent auction items
 Individually wrapped candies for prizes: skittles, tootsie rolls, gummies
(no lollipops)
 A nice bottle of wine for our Wine Toss Game
SILENT AUCTION NEWS: Our parish ministries have been asked to put together items
for a themed basket. Perhaps your family, group of friends or neighbors, club, sports team, bridge group, etc. would like to do the same. It’s a fun project.
Arts and Crafters: Please consider donating your handmade items: paintings, pottery,
quilts, knit or crocheted items, dried floral wreaths/arrangements, live trees or bushes,
embroidery, cross stitch, Swedish weaving, rag rugs, leather goods, metal fabrication, etc.
Do you have home décor items or small furniture in excellent condition that you would like to donate? Questions: [email protected] ~ 678-936-5303
RAFFLE TICKETS are available in the narthex of the church. If each family in the parish would sell at least two envelopes (30) of tickets, we could sell out of raffle tickets!
Copies of the solicitation letter for sponsorships and donations, the accompanying form to turn in sponsorships or donate items from businesses and a Vendor Application form are available in the narthex or in the parish office.
*If you are unable to volunteer for the fall festival and cannot attend, please consider a
$100 family sponsorship. Make check payable to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church,
write “For Festival Sponsorship” on the bottom left of your check.

St Paul Gift Shop Ministry MANAGER
Immediate Opening
Training available with one-to-one mentoring through Jan. 31, 2025.
Ideally, a team of people should assist with direct sales after each
weekend mass. However, one person is required to have the
responsibility of Manager.
Contact Carol Balaun for details at 706-865-0930.

The Knights of Columbus will l be serving their delicious hot breakfast on Sunday, September 8th in the parish hall after the 8:00 am and 10:00 am Masses. Come out and have some breakfast served with pancakes, French toast, potatoes, meats, fruit, omelets & eggs, and beverages for the simple price of a donation. Why go out to eat when you can have a homemade breakfast, visit with friends, and support our Knights? A donation is requested to help support the work of the Knights and continue our breakfasts. Thank you!

Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly known as RCIA) begins, Wednesday, September 11 at 6:30pm in the school building in English and Sunday, September 8 at 11:00am in Spanish. Contact Juan Gutierrez 770-561-4485 for Spanish or Travis Mullis 706-878-6769 for English.
Family Faith Formation begins Wednesday – Sept 4
Meal provided by Jesus Estrada Ministries 5:30pm – 6:00pm.
Class strictly begins at 6:00pm-7:15pm – students must be on time this year!!!! Mass begins at 7:15pm.
Sunday School on Bible/Sacraments begins Sept. 8 – 11:00am – noon

OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) begins, Wednesday – September 11 at 6:30pm in the school building for English and Sunday – September 8 at 11:00am in Spanish.
Contact Juan Gutierrez 770-561-4485 for Spanish or
Travis Mullis 706-878-6769 for English.

The Parish is in need of volunteer ushers for Saturday Vigil Mass 5:00pm and Sunday 8:00am. If interested in helping please contact Andy Brackett: Phone: 706-969-3073 or email: [email protected]

Please click on this link to see the August meeting minutes:

https://stpaulcleveland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Parish-Council-Minutes-August-2024.docx