Mark your calendars.  The OLS St. Vincent de Paul Society holds its annual spring clothing drive May 19 and 20, 2012.  Trucks will be available to receive gently used items (clothing, appliances, furniture, toys, etc.) after all Masses that weekend until 6:00 pm Sunday in the Church parking lot.

We need volunteers to help unload items and place them in our truck and storage pod.  Those needing to fulfill their Christian Service/Community Service should consider volunteering for this worthy cause.  There are four opportunities (one on May 19, three on May 20).  To sign up, contact Christopher Sawyer via e-mail at chrisawyer@att.net.  Please mention "Christian Service" in the subject line.

Interested in Praying Like the Monks?!?!?

Already praying from the Magnificat?

 Learn to pray the seven Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) 

"By tradition going back to early Christian times, the divine office is devised so that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God" - Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC #84) - Vatican II Council: Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy by Pope Paul VI, Dec. 4, 1963

Tuesday Mornings, May 8, 22, and 29
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Church Hall South

Presenter: Seminarian Intern, Jeff Allan, assisted by Colleen Powers

Though it is not necessary to bring the 1-volume Christian Prayer or 4-volume Breviary, it is encouraged to bring if you have either. Know that copies of prayers will be available.

Cost: FREE

RSVP by Sunday, May 6^th to Jeff at (248) 761-5993 or jallan@olsorrows.com 

"The divine office, because it is the public prayer of the Church, is a source of piety, and nourishment for personal prayer" (SC #90).

 This opportunity is for anyone interested in deepening their prayer life and in learning a new form of prayer.  Come join us and pray with the Church!

Our upcoming meeting dates are outlined below. All sessions will take place on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 pm in the Family Center, Room #3. (Meetings are cancelled when school is closed due to inclement weather).

May 22

If you have not joined our group yet, and would like to attend, please call Linda Kaminski at (248) 592-0875.

Donate your used eye glasses now!  Lenscrafters and the Lion's club will clean, repair, and classify your glasses by prescription.  They then recycle the glasses to adults and children in developing countries around the world.

For the next few weeks, May 6 through May 27, a collection box will be on the table in the church vestibule nearest the Parish Office building.

Someone special will thank you for the gift of sight.

 Sundays, May 13, 20 & 27
7 PM
Church Hall North

Are you interested in improving your communications and leadership skills?  Come join Toastmasters!  The Friends of Farmington Toastmasters International club has formed at Our Lady of Sorrows, which is open to all interested adults.

For more information, contact Bill Moylan in care of email WAMOYLAN@AOL.COM and/or telephone (248) 473-5451.

SPRING CONCERT

presented by the

Combined Children's and Youth
Music Ministry

Friday, June 1st
7:00 PM
In Church

Reception to follow in the Church Halls

~ SAVE THE DATE ~

OLS PARISH PICNIC

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Many volunteers are needed!

Details and sign-up sheets available next week.

Bottles for Babies
Benefiting
Another Way Pregnancy Center
Running through the weekend of June 9/10

Last year, you may recall, our Lady of Sorrows participated in the Bottles for Babies campaign to raise money for Another Way Pregnancy Center.  Baby bottles are available in the back of church or at the parish office and are to be returned on the weekend before Father's Day (June 9/10).

The bottles can be filled with spare change, bills and checks throughout the drive.  Hopefully, all family members will participate.  (If you'd like a tax receipt for your donations, please fill out the tag attached to the bottle and Another Way Pregnancy Center will issue the receipt.)

The confidential services provided by Another Way Pregnancy Center include: pregnancy tests and options counseling; information and education on abortion procedures; short and long term risks and real options - adoption and parenting; abstinence education; assistance with clothing, diapers and baby formula; post abortion counseling; and Man2Man peer counseling for fathers.  These services and more are provided by Another Way Pregnancy Center free of charge - thanks to the generosity of its donors.

Please help us Protect Innocent Human Life with your Participation
in the Bottles for Babies Campaign 

(Call Diane Martz at (248) 478-8594 with any questions)

Mark calendar now for FREE mandatory

 "Called to Serve" workshop at Sorrows

Who takes it?  All teens, grades 9 - 12, who are paid or receive a stipend
 for parish work, or volunteer to work, with children

If you will be a catechist, or catechist helper next year, plan to help coaches coach kids or volunteer at athletic fund-raisers with other younger volunteer kids, or if you will be in youth group when we host, for example, our Annual Easter Egg Hunt for the kids - you will need to take this workshop.  It's not an option.  It's mandated by the Archdiocese of Detroit.

We have two "Called to Serve" workshops scheduled here at Sorrows to run simultaneously on Wednesday, August 22, from 7:00 - 9:30 pm in the Lower Level of the Church.  Each session can hold by mandate a maximum of 30 kids.  Registration will be first come, first served - but you must register, by calling (248) 536-1188.  Once the workshops are filled, there will be no more openings.  A parent-signed Registration Form will be required for admittance, and will be available in the Religious Education Office, and in the cubby on the wall outside the Youth Minister's Office in the school.

You can take your workshop here - and if that date is not good for your calendar, you can take it at any of the other sites offered on the AOD website.  Please note that just because those workshops are offered does not mean they come to fruition.  They are often canceled for lack of registration.  This can be a problem for you if the event you want to attend requires the workshop to have been taken.  Sorrows has filled both sets of workshops the past two years.  We will hold our workshops.  They will not be canceled.

For more information, to register, or if you have questions, call Sorrows' Coordinator of Youth Ministry, Marilyn Trumper-Samra, at the above number.