May 2, 2010

We send a special welcome to the athletes and spectators of the LAUNA Games which wrap up today Cleveland. The young and young at heart played hard and then partied even harder Friday and Saturday night with the music of Augis Dicevicius and Romas Dambrauskas, with the Cavs game on in the background. Add copious quantities of Lithuanian beer, and you've got a recipe for a very good time.

Mothers Day is coming up and in Lithuania, it's traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday of May, which is today. So this morning, the singers of Naujoji Intriga invite you to honor mothers, grandmothers, godmothers with a special spring Lithuanian Mothers Day brunch in the hall after 10:00 am Mass. You'll have a chance to feast on special foods prepared by Naujoji Intriga as well as hear them perform beautiful songs dedicated to the honored guests, and will present all moms with a spring blossom.

If you can't make it to the brunch, the singers will be glad to pack you a “brunch in a box” to take to your mom to help you celebrate the day. Proceeds from this event will help the group defray some of the expenses at the Dainu Svente this July.

On Sunday, May 9th, the traditional American celebration of Mother's Day will take place with a special buffet from 12 noon to 2:00 pm at Lithuanian Village. Reserve your family table by this Thursday, May 6th.

You're invited to join the faculty and students of St. Casimir Lithuanistic School next Saturday, May 8th at 11:00 am in the lower hall at St. Casimir Parish, as they celebrate the accomplishments of another academic year.

The Cleveland Pensininkai will hold their monthly lunch meeting at Gintaras in Lithuanian Village this coming Thursday, May 7th at 12 noon. Members and guest are invited to attend.

The Lithuanian Franciscans are building a cancer support center in Lithuania. A delegation of Franciscan fathers was recently in Cleveland to see how we do things here, and to ask for financial support for their project. Now through May 23rd, you're asked to make a donation to this cause via St. Casimir. You can make your check payable to St. Casimir, and place it in an envelope marked "Lithuanian Cancer Center".

The Lithuanian Catholic Organization Ateitis was founded 100 years ago in Europe with the goal of promoting Catholic culture among college students. Today, its membership encompasses all age groups and the group has chapters throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. On Sunday, May 9th at 11:15 am, the Cleveland Ateitininkinai will hold their yearly meeting in the upper hall at St. Casimir Parish. Members will renew their pledges and listen to keynote speaker Lukas Laniauskas, S.J. The program will be conducted in the Lithuanian language.

Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek invites you to the official groundbreaking for the Collinwood Community and Recreation Center, Saturday, May 15th at 10:00 am. The new rec center will be located at 16500 Lakeshore Boulevard.

It's good to see that some traditions continue. On Monday, May 31st, Catholic War Veterans Post 613, now sponsored by St. Casimir Parish, will commemorate Memorial Day with a flag raising at the freedom memorial in front of the St. Casimir rectory at 8:30 am. The Memorial Day commemoration will conclude with breakfast in the lower hall. The entire parish is invited.

Don't forget that the Academic Scouts Filisterai will present soprano Virginija Muliolis and pianist Michael Borowitz in the upper hall at St. Casimir on Saturday, June 5th.

The St. Casimir Parish Council Steering Committee is in the process of drafting the parish mission statement. If you're a member of St. Casimir Parish, your input is greatly valued in this process. To present your ideas, please contact one of the committee members. The Steering Committee is comprised of Fr. Bacevicius, Kestutis Civinskas, Vytas Kliorys, Grazina Kudukis, Egle Laniauskas, Marius Laniauskas, Regina Motiejunas, Hilde Novak, Robert Raddell, Erin Randel Faye Roth, Rudolph Simoncic, and Jackie Taylor. The next meeting of the Steering Committee will be this coming Tuesday, May 4th at 7:30 pm in the rectory conference room.

Don't forget that next Sunday, May 9th will be the final broadcast of Tevynes Garsai. We have a special program planned for next Sunday, and it's one you won't want to miss.