May 31, 2009

Congratulations to the Lithuanian youth ensembles Svyturys and Naujoji Intriga on an outstanding performance at last night’s concert. In addition to the young singers and dancers, we send a special note of recognition to Ausrine Sirvinskas, Saulius Kliorys, Ricardas Sirvinskas, Rita Kliorys and Marius Juodisius for the countless hours they invested in making last evening’s program a resounding success. They are taking the show on the road next weekend with a performance in Detroit.

Congratulations to Paulius Nasvytis, owner of the Velvet Tango Room, who was recently featured in Lietuvos Rytas. USA Today named the Velvet Tango Room to its list of Top 10 bars in the United States, and Conde Nast Business magazine put the club on its Top 30 bars in the world. Continental Airlines will soon feature Nasvytis' iconic establishment in its in-flight magazine.

Summer is here, and the Lithuanian Cultural Garden Society reminds you that it's time to renew your membership, or to become a member for 2009. The Society will host a get-together today at noon in the Beachland Pavilion located at the north end of Neff Road. The event is free for Cultural Garden Society members, and you can join at the door. The Cultural Gardens are one of Cleveland's many wonderfull and unique features, and your support of the Garden Society helps keep the Lithuanian Garden in top condition.

The Cleveland Lithuanian Pensininkiu Klubas will meet this coming Thursday, June 4ht at 12 noon at Gintaras dining room in Lithuanian Village.

Amanda and Algirdas Muliolis will be at St. George to ask for your support of APPLE on Sunday, June 7th.

We regret to tell you that Abiturientu Balius or Graduates Spring Fling is being rescheduled. Vilija Nasvytis and Shirley Kizys are still collecting information on this year's graduates to share with the community. You can contact Vilija 216-381-9318 or Shirley at 216-554-9729.

The Baltic communities of Greater Cleveland will gather on Sunday June 14th at Our Lady of Perpetual Help to commemorate the 1941 deportations of Baltic peoples to Siberia. The prayer service begins at 3:00 pm.

Mark your calendars now for the Lithuanian Club picnic, to be held on Saturday, July 25th at the Italian American Picnic Grounds on Euclid Avenue in Wickliffe.

WJCU has a new 128k AAC webstream, which offers better-than-FM quality sound, and in addition to being able to listen on your computer, you can now listen to WJCU on your iPhone or other mobile device anywhere you happen to be. Check it out at wjcu.org.

Parish Naming News

Open parish meetings will be held after all Masses today at St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Members of the Parish Naming Committee will be on hand to explain the bishop’s directives concerning suggesting and choosing the name for the newly formed parish. All are urged to attend.

The naming committee met this past Thursday to mail out letters containing the name suggestion ballots to parishioners of both parishes. As the parish list from Our Lady of Perpetual Help was unavailable, they were only able to send letters out to the parishioners of St. George. The committee expects the same letters to be sent out to Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishioners by their pastor.

Both parishes now have attractive bulletin boards, containing the latest news about the parish merger. You will find subcommittee members’ names and other pertinent information posted on these boards. Take the time to look. Get involved in your parishes’ merger process.

Parish Closing & Opening Dates/Times

Bishop Richard Lennon has released the dates and times when he plans to celebrate the closing Masses at St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes, and the opening Mass of the as yet to be named parish on the site of the current Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish.

This information was contained in letters sent to Fr. Bacevicius and Fr. Kijauskas. These letters were read to parishioners at all Masses this past weekend.

The details are:

• The closing Mass at St. George will be Sunday, October 18, at 9:00 am.

• The closing Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help will be Sunday, October 18, at 12 noon.

• The opening Mass of the new parish will be Sunday, October 25, at 10:00 am.

May 24, 2009

Today we mourn the loss of a member of our WJCU radio family. Jon Carroll Salerno, host of Memories from Italy for the past 29 years, died peacefully this past week in Summit County. Jon leaves behind his wonderful wife Karen, two stepchildren, Anthony and Gina, granddaugher Olivia, and many, many friends and devoted radio listeners.

I had the good fortune to work with Jon on Memories from Italy several times over the years, and he was truly a pleasure to be around. He was easygoing, quick-witted, and well-informed on many subjects. As his technical producer, I sometimes had to interrupt our wide-ranging off-air conversations to remind him that it was time for the next set of community announcements for which he was so well-known.

Through all the challenges life presented him, Jon always had a smile and a positive outlook to share with those around him. We'll miss you Jon, and we send our deepest sympathies to the Salerno family.

Calling hours in the Cleveland area for Jon Carroll Salerno were Friday and Saturday, and calling hours in the Akron area will be today and Monday from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Anthony and Biscan Funeral Home, 4178 Massilon Road, Uniontown. Complete obituary details are available at Cleveland.com.

Parish Merger News On Tuesday, May 19th, parish representatives from St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes met to finalize the subcommittees necessary to implement the parish merger. After an opening prayer, diocesan representative Deacon Jim Armstrong, Special Assistant for Reconfiguration, addressed the audience; both parish pastors gave their remarks, and the eight subcommittees went into session to plan their work.

Open parish meetings will be held next weekend at both St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes after all weekend Masses May 30th and 31st. (Saturday evening Mass as well as both Sunday morning Masses) Members of the Parish Naming committee will be on hand to explain the bishop’s directives concerning the process for choosing the name for the newly formed parish. All parishioners are urged to attend one of these important meetings to be held at both parishes next weekend, May 30th and 31st, after all weekend Masses.

Parish Merger Information Bulletin Board Bulletin boards containing information about the parish merger are being prepared at both parishes. All information regarding the parish merger will be posted there as it becomes available. They should be in place by next weekend.

Amanda and Algirdas Muliolis wish to apologize to the parishioners of St. George. Because of some traffic issues last Sunday, they were unable to reach St. George church to collect for APPLE. They will be at St. George to ask for your support of APPLE on Sunday, June 7th.

The Lietuviu Bendromene will hold its annual meeting on today at 12 noon in the conference room at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The Lithuanian youth ensembles Svyturys and Naujoji Intriga will perform a concert entitled "Tree of Life: A Celebration of 1,000 years of Lithuania". There will be singing by Naujoji Intriga and dancing from Svyturys, including the little Svyturukai. The event gets underway next Saturday, May 30th, at 6:00 pm in the auditorium at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Memorial Day marks the start of the summer season, and the Lithuanian Cultural Garden Society reminds you that it's time to renew your membership, or to become a member for 2009. The Society will host a get-together at noon next Sunday May 31st in the Beachland Pavilion located at the north end of Neff Road, on Lake Erie. The event is free for Cultural Garden Society members, and you can join at the door. The Cultural Gardens are one of Cleveland's many wonderfull and unique features, and your support of the Garden Society helps keep the Lithuanian Garden in top condition.

We regret to tell you that Abiturientu Balius or Graduates Spring Fling is being rescheduled. Vilija Nasvytis and Shirley Kizys are still collecting information on this year's graduates to share with the community. You can email Vilija at vilija@nasvytis.com or Shirley at smkiz-476@yahoo.com. Phone numbers for Vilija and Shirley are 216-381-9318 or 216-554-9729.

The Baltic communities of Greater Cleveland will gather on Sunday June 14th at Our Lady of Perpetual Help to commemorate the 1941 deportations of Baltic peoples to Siberia. The prayer service begins at 3:00 pm.

(UPDATED) Parish Merger Subcommittees

[There were some changes in the membership of the parish merger sub-committees since I posted the initial list on May 17th. The list below represents the group that began work at the kick-off meeting on May 19th.]

Joint Subcommittees of the Parish Merger of St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parishes, and the Parishioners serving on them:

1. Liturgy and Worship

St. George: Aušra Babickas & Kęstutis Civinskas
OLPH: Rita Kliorys & Rauda Gelažis

2. Education and Formation/Youth Ministry

St. George: Julija Čepulis & Virginija Rubinski
OLPH: Dalia Armonas & Vida Bučmys

3. Parish Ministry and Community Outreach

St. George: Anthony Bacevice & David Rubinski
OLPH: Danute Belzinskas & Amanda Muliolis

4. Internal and External Communication

St. George: Vilija Klimas & Julie Živilė Vaitkus
OLPH: Dalia Puskorius & Zita Macinskas

5. Naming

St. George: Birutė Vedegys & Julie Živilė Vaitkus
OLPH: Ingrida Bublys & Algis Rukšėnas

6. Parish Joining

St. George: Anthony Bacevice & Ingrid Civinskas
OLPH: Teresa Kalvaitis & Maria Hoffman

7. Memorial

St. George: Rimvydas Čepulis & Kęstutis Civinskas
OLPH: Romas Bublys & Rita Matas

8. Finances, Facilities, Legal Matters/Parish Staffing and Administration

St. George: Aurelija Jucaitis, Algirdas Matulionis, Antanas Minkūnas & Larry Stochl
OLPH: Remigijus Belzinskas, Vytas Matas, Romas Bublys, Kestutis Steponavičius, Vladas Plečkaitis, Edvardas Baltusis, Eugenijus Silgalis, & Salomeja Sukys

May 17, 2009

The Parish Merger Committees of St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes met on Tuesday, May 12th A final list of eight subcommittees needed to take care of the details of the parish merger was agreed upon. Committee responsibilities were outlined and representatives from each parish were named to serve on them.

All subcommittee leaders will meet on Tuesday, May 19th, and then begin their work. The list of subcommittees and their members will be available this weekend at both parishes. Pick one up after Mass or ask at the rectory for your copy. The subcommittee lists will also be available today at Lithuanian Village.

You are encouraged to contact the subcommittee leaders with your ideas and concerns. Volunteer to help. Tell fellow parishioners who may not be aware of this process about this opportunity to join in the work of creating a new parish.

APPLE, the American Professional Partnership for Lithuanian Education will continue its yearly fund raising campaign today at St. George after the 10:30 Mass in the lower hall. More information about APPLE is available at applequest.org.

Lithuanian citizens living in Cleveland can cast their vote for president from 11:00 am to 12 noon today in the lower hall at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunday May 17th.

You are invited to stop in the upper hall at Our Lady of Perpetual Help today after 12 noon mass for coffee and fellowship.

The Lietuviu Bendromene will hold its annual meeting on Sunday, May 24th at 12 noon in the conference room at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Today the Bendromene's Ohio Apygardos will hold elections, also at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The Lithuanian youth ensembles Svyturys and Naujoji Intriga will perform a concert entitled "Tree of Life: A Celebration of 1,000 years of Lithuania". There will be singing by Naujoji Intriga and dancing from Svyturys, including the little Svyturukai. The event gets underway on Saturday, May 30th, at 6:00 pm in the auditorium at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The Lithuanian Cultural Garden Society reminds you that it's time to renew your membership, or to become a member for 2009. The Society will host a get-together at noon on Sunday May 31st in the Pavilion located at the north end of Neff Road, on Lake Erie. The event is free for Cultural Garden Society members, and you can join at the door.

Mark your calendar for Abiturientu Balius or Graduates Spring Fling, coming up on Saturday, June 6th at Lithuanian Village. The optional dinner buffet starts at 5:00 in the Gintaras dining room, followed by the official program, desert and dancing in the upstairs ballroom at 6:30. If you or a member of your family is a graduate this year, contact Vilija Nasvytis or Shirley Kizys right away to be included in this special event recognizing graduates in the Cleveland Lithuanian community. You can email Vilija at vilija@nasvytis.com or you can call Shirley at 216-554-9729.

The Baltic communities of Greater Cleveland will gather on Sunday June 14th at Our Lady of Perpetual Help to commemorate the 1941 deportations of Baltic peoples to Siberia. The prayer service begins at 3:00 pm.

May 10, 2009

Today is Mother’s Day, so don’t forget the flowers and a card, and maybe a nice dinner out somewhere to say thanks for all your mom has done for you. You know, no matter how old we get, our mothers never stop worrying about us, so make sure to give her the day off this one day of the year.

Parish Merger News
The process merging of St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes continues. According to the bishop’s directives, spiritual and community events should be planned so that parishioners have the opportunity to properly remember, and say goodbye to their current parish before coming together into the new faith community.

The St. George Parish Council met last Tuesday and invited Ruta Degutis and Mike Blau to lead the “Farewell to St. George Parish” committee. All parishioners who are interested in helping, or have ideas or suggestions on how to plan the farewell events should contact Ruta, Mike, or Fr.Bacevice.

This Tuesday, May 12, the merger committees from both parishes will meet to finalize the subcommittees which will work on specific merger tasks, and to list the people who will serve on the committees. Listen to next Sunday’s program, when we expect to announce the names of committee members. Once announced, all parishioners should feel free to approach committee leaders with their ideas or concerns, as well as volunteer to join in the work of specific committees.

Remember, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. George are your parishes, and the new united parish will be yours as well. Be sure to get involved in the merger process and provide your input and sweat equity to ensure that this new parish is a reflection of the vision of all its members.

APPLE, the American Professional Partnership for Lithuanian Education will hold their yearly fund raising campaign Our Lady of Perpetual Help today after the 10:00 Mass in the lower hall. Next Sunday, May 17th, APPLE will ask for your support at St. George church. More information about APPLE is available at applequest.org.

Gintaras at Lithuanian Village is offering a Mother’s Day brunch buffet today from 11:30 to 1:30. Reservations are required, and if you call Ruta at 440-669-4145 and ask nicely, she can probably still get you a table. Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish invites you stop by the upper hall for a cup of coffee next weekend after 4:00 pm mass on Saturday, May 16th, or after 12 noon mass on Sunday, May 17th.

Lithuanians will go to the polls to elect a new president week, and Lithuanian citizens living in Cleveland can cast their vote from 11:00 am to 12 noon in the lower hall at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunday May 17th. Contact Honorary Consul Ingrida Bublys at 216-486-8692 for more information.

The Lietuviu Bendromene will hold its annual meeting on Sunday, May 24th at 12 noon in the conference room at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Today, and on May 16th and 17th, the Bendromene's Ohio Apygardos will hold elections, also at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

On Saturday, May 30th, the Lithuanian youth ensembles Svyturys and Naujoji Intriga will perform a concert entitled "Tree of Life: A Celebration of 1,000 years of Lithuania". There will be singing by Naujoji Intriga and dancing from Svyturys, including the little Svyturukai. The event gets underway at 6:00 pm on May 30th in the auditorium at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The Lithuanian Cultural Garden Society reminds you that it's time to renew your membership, or to become a member for 2009. The Society will host a get-together at noon on Sunday May 31st in the Pavilion located at the north end of Neff Road, on Lake Erie. The event is free for Cultural Garden Society members, and you can join at the door.

Mark your calendar for Abiturientu Balius or Graduates Spring Fling, coming up on Saturday, June 6th at Lithuanian Village. The optional dinner buffet starts at 5:00 in the Gintaras dining room, followed by the official program, desert and dancing in the upstairs ballroom at 6:30. If you or a member of your family is a graduate this year, contact Vilija Nasvytis or Shirley Kizys right away to be included in this special event recognizing graduates in the Cleveland Lithuanian community. You can email Vilija at vilija@nasvytis.com or you can call Shirley at 216-554-9729.

The Baltic communities of Greater Cleveland will gather on Sunday June 14th at Our Lady of Perpetual Help to commemorate the 1941 deportations of Baltic peoples to Siberia. The prayer service begins at 3:00 pm.

A youth baseball team from Kaunas will be visiting Cleveland in late June and early July to play in the Continental Cup Tournament to he held right here at John Carroll University. They are looking for assistance with transportation while in Cleveland, and also lodging for players and coaches. They will arrive on June 24th and depart on July 6th. If you can help make a group of 13 to 15 year old athletes welcome in Cleveland this summer, please contact Algis Gudenas by email at linrik@adelphia.net.

I have a question about the parish merger process

The bishop announced his decision to merge St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes back in mid-March, which was about six weeks ago now. And since then we’ve heard about various executive committee meetings, and the now the formation of subcommittees to decide various nuts and bolts aspects of the merger.

Committees are certainly needed to bring order to the process, and to make key decisions about the parish name, mass schedule, religious art, etc., but if it's to be successful, there needs to be a grassroots component to the process as well, where the body of parishioners gets to know each other, not simply as fellow Cleveland Lithuanians, but as fellow parishioners.

So my question is this: when will the people of St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes begin to come together to start actually forming a new, united parish community? This is starting to seem like an arranged marriage, where the bride and groom are not allowed to meet each other until the wedding ceremony.

It seems to me that getting the members of the two currently separate parishes together (sooner rather than later) for some informal socializing in the presence of one of Lithuania’s two national beverages (coffee and alcohol) could be as important as all the committee meetings I’ve been hearing about.

This is your future parish, and the new parish will help set the direction and tone for the future of the Lithuanian community in Greater Cleveland for the next 15 to 20 years. What are you personally doing to further that end?

May 3, 2009

Congratulations to Dr. Andrius Kazlauskas, who will be honored on June 5th with a distinguished alumni award from Cleveland State University. Dr. Kazlauskas earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology and a Ph.D. in chemistry from CSU. Currently, he is a senior scientist and associate professor of ophthalmology at the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard Medical School. Andrius Kazlauskas' mother Stase still lives in the Cleveland area.

Parish Merger News
As you are aware, the pastors of St. George and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes have submitted a proposed closing date of October, 2009. The bishop's decision with the specific dates for the closing of our two parishes and the establishment of the new parish is expected by the middle of May.

On Tuesday, April 28th, the Parish Merger Committees from both parishes met to establish the various subcommittees needed to take care of the details of the merger and to outline their responsibilities. During the next two weeks, parishioners will be contacted and asked to serve on these joint committees.

The Parish Merger Committees will meet again on Tuesday, May 12th in order to finalize the formation of the subcommittees and to give them a mandate to begin their work.

The Cleveland Pensininkiu Klubas will hold their monthly lunch meeting this coming Thursday, at 12 noon at Lithuanian Village. Members and guests are invited.

The Knights of Lithuania Council 25 will meet on Friday, May 8, at 1:00 PM in the lower hall at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

APPLE, the American Professional Partnership for Lithuanian Education will hold their yearly fund raising campaign Our Lady of Perpetual Help on May 3rd and May 10th after the 10:00 Mass in the lower hall. On May 17th, APPLE will ask for your support at St. George church. More information about APPLE is available at applequest.org.

Gintaras at Lithuanian Village will offer a Mother’s Day brunch buffet on Sunday, May 10th, from 11:30 to 1:30. Reservations are required, and you can call Ruta at 440-669-4145 for details.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish invites you stop by the upper hall for a cup of coffee after 4:00 pm mass on Saturday, May 16th, or after 12 noon mass on Sunday, May 17th.

Lithuanians will go to the polls to elect a new president this month, and Lithuanian citizens living in Cleveland can cast their vote from 11:00 am to 12 noon in the lower hall at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunday May 17th. Contact Honorary Consul Ingrida Bublys at 216-486-8692 for more information.

The Lietuviu Bendromene will hold its annual meeting on Sunday, May 24th at 12 noon in the conference room at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. And on May 9th and 10th and May 16th and 17th, the Bendromene's Ohio Apygardos will hold elections, also at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

On Saturday, May 30th, the Lithuanian youth groups Svyturys and Naujoji Intriga will perform a concert entitled "Tree of Life: A Celebration of 1,000 years of Lithuania". The event gets underway at 6:00 pm on May 30th in the auditorium at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The Lithuanian Cultural Garden Society reminds you that it's time to renew your membership, or to become a member for 2009. The Society will host a get-together at noon on Sunday May 31st in the Pavilion located at the north end of Neff Road, on Lake Erie. The event is free for Cultural Garden Society members, and you can join at the door.

Mark your calendar for Abiturientu Balius or Graduates Spring Fling, coming up on Saturday, June 6th at Lithuanian Village.

The Baltic communities of Greater Cleveland will gather on Sunday June 14th at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church to commemorate the 1941 deportations of Baltic peoples to Siberia. The prayer service begins at 3:00 pm.

A youth baseball team from Kaunas will be visiting Cleveland in late June and early July to play in the Continental Cup Tournament to he held right here at John Carroll University. They are looking for assistance with transportation while in Cleveland, and also lodging for players and coaches. They will arrive on June 24th and depart on July 6th. If you can help make a group of 13 to 15 year old athletes welcome in Cleveland this summer, please contact Algis Gudenas by email at linrik@adelphia.net.