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Tag: Planning

Around the Parish – January 7, 2024

Happy New Year! As we step into 2024, I pray this message finds you embraced by the promise and possibilities that the new year brings, filled with the grace and blessings of the season.

Eucharistic Ministers for Nursing Home Visits:

I am grateful for those dedicated individuals who currently visit local nursing homes to bring the Eucharist to residents. However, we aspire to enhance this outreach by restarting weekly visits. We need more volunteers to serve as Eucharistic Ministers for these crucial visits. Your willingness to share the gift of communion is a powerful way to bring comfort and joy to those in need. Please contact the parish office for more details if you are interested in joining this vital ministry.

Mass Volunteers – Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors:

A heartfelt thank you to all who contribute their time as Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors during our masses. Your service is invaluable. Yet, the need for more volunteers persists. Don’t hesitate to step forward and offer your talents. Your involvement strengthens our worship experience as a community.

Epiphany Water and Blessing Bags:

Visit the sanctuary by the statue of Saint Joseph this weekend to find Ziplock bags containing chalk and the Epiphany House Blessing prayer. During mass this weekend, I will bless the water and chalk, which you can then use to bless your homes and workplaces. Please take one bag per family and follow the directions provided.

Spring Bible Study Registration:

Our Spring Bible Study awaits, and I encourage you to register by Monday, February 5, 2024. The cost is $20 per person, and your timely registration ensures that all necessary books can be purchased. We benefit from a parish discount, so let’s delve into the Word together.

Vacation Bible School Planning Meeting:

Although it may seem distant, Summer 2024 Vacation Bible School is on the horizon. Join our planning meeting on Wednesday, January 31, at 6 pm. Your input and enthusiasm are crucial to making this experience memorable for our children. Please mark your calendars and attend if you can.

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

Strength does not come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. Fear has two meanings: forget everything and run or with God, face everything and rise. The moment you received God’s forgiveness in confession, God forgave you; now do your part and leave the guilt behind.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy




Around the Parish – September 3, 2023

The air is abuzz with anticipation as we gear up for the upcoming Second Annual Simply Sweets Fundraiser. Keep an eye on your mailboxes this week, for soon you’ll receive the forms that mark the commencement of this delectable endeavor. Join hands with us in support, ensuring those forms with payment find their way back to our parish office by October 9, 2023. Together, we can weave sweetness into our community initiatives. Thanks again to Mrs. Peck and her dedicated team for their outstanding contributions, crafting delectable treats that have become the cornerstone of this fundraiser’s success.

Today, following the 11 am mass, we extend an open invitation to all our students. Gather your cherished book bags and step into our sanctuary. Here, we’ll share a special book bag blessing, infusing the tools of knowledge with the spirit of learning given to us from God. Let this ritual guide you through the pages of wisdom that await.

Heartfelt gratitude flows to all who’ve embraced the convenience of Flocknote. If you’re yet to join this interconnected web, worry not. Registration details are still in this weekend’s bulletin and church entrances.

Our thoughts turn to the recent unveiling of the Diocese of Erie’s pastoral plan for Erie County. While our parish, county, and deanery remain unaffected, let’s embrace our fellow believers undergoing change. As we unite in prayer, let this serve as a reminder that change is inevitable. Yet, through proactive planning, we unlock potential for a brighter tomorrow. To explore these proposed changes, visit the Diocese’s website, and will be available on our parish website as well.

Pray for our students as well as their vocations. In a particular way, please pray for Parishioner Joseph Dumais who entered the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City this past week. It is a special joy for a parish to claim a man as he studies and discerns religious life and priesthood. Please continue to remember him in your prayers in a particular way as you pray for more vocations to come forth from our parish community.

Here are a couple of thoughts for the week ahead: Don’t ruin a good day by thinking about the possibility of a bad day in the future. Just enjoy the present moment. Scars tell where we have been. They do not have to dictate where we are going. No matter who gives up on you, don’t you ever give up on yourself or God.

        Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy