December 13, 2009

We send our deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Vladas Vaitkus, who died peacefully yesterday morning at his home in Juno Beach, Florida. Vlada Vaitkus is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ona, daughter Onile Šeštokienė, sons Linas and Paulius Vaitkus, and six grandchildren.

Dr. Vlada Vaitkus was instrumental in initiating the field of dental implantology in Lithuania. In acknowledgment of his work, he was awarded the medal of St. Apolonija, an award given to the most distinguished Lithuanian dentist. He is the only dentist not living in Lithuania to have received this prestigious award.

Funeral services for Dr. Vladas Vaitkus will be in Putnam, CT on Dec. 19th.

Traditional Christmas wafers are available at St. Casimir in the church on weekends, and at the rectory during the week.

2010 calendars, courtesy of Jakubs and Son Funeral Home, are available at St. Casimir church entrances.

Korp Giedra invites you to a jewelry show and sale this morning at St. Casimir. The show will feature works by Lina Palubinskas, Dr. Roma Jasinevicius-Degesys and Dr. Birute Balciunaite-Penkiuniene.

Also this morning, Santa is coming to visit St. Casimir parish. The mothers of the Tevynes Zibureliai preschool group have arranged for the Big Guy in the Red Suit to stop in the lower hall around 11:00 am. Children up to 11 years of age are invited to spend the morning with Santa and have their picture taken with him.

Work on the the St. George Memory Project CD we talked about back in October has been completed and CDs are available starting today after 10:00 am mass in the lower hall at St. Casimir, and at Lithuanian Village. The CD features audio memories from parishioners (from as far back as 1924) along with excerpts from the parish closing mass with Bishop Richard Lennon, and Fr. Bacevice's homily from the last parish mass. The CD packaging includes beautiful recent and vintage photographs of St. George church.


St. Casimir will be the host parish for an Advent Penance Service tomorrow evening, December 14th at 7:00 pm. Six priests from St. Jerome, St. Mary, Holy Redeemer and St. Casimir will be on hand to hear confessions in English, Lithuanian, Slovenian and Italian.

Christmas Masses at St. Casimir will be celebrated on Thursday, December 24th at 4:00 pm in English and Lithuanian, and at 10:30 pm in Lithuanian. Christmas Day masses will be celebrated at 8:00 am in English, 10:00 am in Lithuanian, and 12 noon in English.

On Sunday, December 27th, all members of St. Casimir parish are invited to a special Christmas Coffee after 10:00 mass in the lower hall. Please bring a plate of Christmas goodies, and your Christmas spirit to share with fellow parishioners.

The after-mass Coffee Schedule for 2010 at St. Casimir is now being organized. As in the past, all parish and community organizations are invited to host these coffee socials. This coming year, parish families are also invited to host a coffee hour. The parish provides the coffee and supplies; you only need to bring the baked goods, brew the coffee and be the good hosts.

To volunteer, please contact Dalia Armonas, Loretta Gudenas at 216-481-0465, or Ingrid Civinskas at 440-838-0652 before December 27th.

You are invited to a New Year's Eve celebration at Lithuanian Village, sponsored by the Lithuanian American Community of Cleveland. Doors open at 8:00 pm on December 31st, and the party starts at 9:00 pm. The evening will feature appetizers, dinner desert, champagne at midnight, and dancing to the music of Arturas Blazukas from Chicago. Tickets are available after 10:00 mass at St. Casimir, or by calling Zita Mascinskas at 216-235-5212.

The LaSalle Theater on East 185th Street will be open for tours, followed by a public forum seeking community input on future uses for this historic facility. The event takes place on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 7:00 pm. Full details available in the Collinwood Observer.

Coming up next month, on January 30th, the Svyturys dancers will attempt to warm things up with a Beach Party-themed fundraiser. The party, which will be held at Lithuanian Village will feature burgers, hot dogs, dance contest, prizes and more. The proceeds will be used to help fund the upcoming dance concert on April 24th, which will include not only Svyturys, but also dancers from Toronto and Chicago. More details to follow, but mark your calendars now for the January 30th Svyturys fundraiser.