CHURCH OF CHRIST THE KING 16 Blue Mill Road PO Box 368 New Vernon, New Jersey

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2 CHURCH OF CHRIST THE KING 16 Blue Mill Road PO Box 368 New Vernon, New Jersey PARISH DEVOTIONS Novena Prayers in Honor of the Sacred Heart First Fridays during morning Mass at 7:00am. Novena Prayer in Honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Mondays after the 7:00am Mass Rosary Tuesdays and Thursdays after the 9:00am Mass Holy Hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament First Saturday of the month, 8:00am Reconciliation (Individual Confession) Saturday 9:30-10:15am PASTOR Rev. Brian C. Sullivan, ext. 11 PAROCHIAL VICAR Rev. Marcin Kania, ext. 30 WEEKEND ASSISTANT Rev. Richard Cronin, O.S.B. PASTORAL ASSOCIATE Adult Education, RCIA & Social Outreach Sister Mary Joseph Schultz, SCC, ext. 13 PASTORAL ASSOCIATE Music & Graphic Arts Elias G. Scultori, PCC, MM, ext. 21 DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Catechesis Erin Ranft, ext. 22 YOUTH MINISTER Confirmation Coordinator Christa Romano, ext. 15 PARISH SECRETARY Office Manager Carol Scanlan, ext. 10 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Pastoral Ministry Susan Clifford, ext. 14 CUSTODIAN Douglas Reisch, ext. 25 BAPTISMS Sundays after the 11:00am Mass at 12:15pm, schedule permitting. Please call the Parish Office to make the necessary arrangements for a Baptismal Preparation Session. MARRIAGES Please contact the Parish Office a year prior to the requested wedding date so the proper marriage preparation can be completed. Pre Cana takes place in the spring and fall. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Kindergarten Optional program for families whose oldest child is in Kindergarten Monthly on Sunday 10:00-10:45am (as scheduled) Family Based Model Grade 5 may select FBRE or Jr. High option Families with children K-5 Thursday 4-6pm or Friday 6-8pm, (monthly as scheduled) Junior High Grades 5-8 Sundays 5:30-8:00pm (twice a month) RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION (RCIA) September May Adults interested in becoming Roman Catholic Christians should contact Sister Mary Joseph Schultz, SCC, ext. 13. MINISTRY TO THE SICK & HOMEBOUND Priests and Ministers of Communion are available to visit the sick and homebound. Please call the Parish Office to schedule. NEW PARISHIONERS We welcome new parishioners to register at any time. Please call the Parish Office. enewsletter (monthly) Do you want to know more of what is happening in our parish community? SIGN UP to receive our parish enewsletter at

3 2 nd Sunday of Advent The Lord will purify us, perfect us and prepare us for himself. M any of us have likely heard the phrase All roads lead to Rome. The Roman Empire prided itself on its complex system of roads connecting every part of the empire with the capital. These stone-paved roads stretched throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. They were built by slaves and paid for by taxes from conquered lands. These roads were feats of engineering, passing over hills and mountains, under aqueducts, taking many twists and turns to avoid nature s obstacles. They were anything but straight. John the Baptist would have traveled Roman roads many times in his life, as did those who came out into the desert to hear him preach. It was there, where the roads end in the desert, that John tells his disciples to build a new road one for God s Son: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John was not telling them to pick up shovels and pick axes. Rather, he prayed that they might pave a way for the love of the Lord to enter their hearts and touch their souls. John is the last prophet before Jesus, as well as his first disciple. For those willing to undertake this ambitious task of making a straight path for the Lord, John tells them they will be met along the way by God in the flesh. He comes alongside us to assist us in our road-making and bridgebuilding, making winding roads both straight and smooth, by forgiving us our sins and removing obstacles from our path. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The Lord will purify us, perfect us and prepare us for himself. This road work began in us on the day of our baptism, and it continues until we meet the Lord at our death, as Paul told the Philippians: I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it. To help things along, the Apostle encourages us to increase in knowledge, love and perception, discerning what is of value. This Advent season, what is of greatest value is not the large number of gifts soon to appear under the tree. Rather, it is the gift of God s only Son who hung on the tree of the cross for us and for our salvation. During this busy season, we do so much to prepare for the coming of Christmas. Let us make sure we spend at least as much effort this Advent season preparing for the coming of Christ, both his birth in Bethlehem and his return in glory as our King. At this Eucharistic table, we partake of the promise found in the words of Isaiah, and John: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. May we too, then, prepare the way of the Lord as we go forth and proclaim the Good News we have heard and received. Mass Intentions Monday, December 10 7am Patricia Elliott and Clement Furey Tuesday, December 11 9am Marion Hauck Wednesday, December 12 7am Rev. Donald J. Sella Thursday, December 13 9am Joseph P. Sella Friday, December 14 7am Louis Thebault Saturday, December 15 9am Oscar Perez 5pm Dorsey & Lou Thebault Sunday, December 16 7am Robert Ahlers 9am Kevin Savage 11am Philip & Dorsey Thebault 5:30pm Benedict Aspero, Sr. If you are a family member or friend of the person being remembered at Sunday Mass, please feel free to approach an usher and offer to bring up the gifts. Pray for the Sick Joan Dagostino, Kristen Johnson, Kathryn Olden, Grant Martin Scruggs, John Allen, Tawny Wamack, Theresa Padula, Susan Alai, Anne Sullivan, Jim Dwyre, and all those listed in Our Lady s Chapel prayer book of intentions. Baptism This weekend we welcome into the Church through the waters of Baptism Bridger Lambert Donohoe, son of Thomas and Emily (Nee Lambert), and Nicholas James Grau II, son of Nicholas and Jianna (Nee Spadaccini). Collection Last Weekend Collection: $16,275.00* *Included in this number is Faith Direct, electronic giving. The weekly average for electronic giving is $5, For an easier more consistent way of supporting Christ the King, please consider using Faith Direct at Our parish code is NJ658. Book of the Month The next meeting of the Book of the Month will take place Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 10am in the Parish Library. The book to be reviewed is Washington Black by Esi Edugyan.

4 Religious Education Grades 1-5 Learning Session Thursday, December 13 4 to 5pm Parish Hall Junior High Religious Education (Grades 5, 6, 7 & 8) Parent & Student Session Sunday, December 16 6:30 8pm All sessions will gather in the Parish Hall. We encourage families to attend the 5:30pm Sunday Evening Mass. Christmas Flowers Meetings & Happenings Sunday, December 9 2pm Christmas Concert (at St. Patrick, Chatham) Monday, December 10 10am Women of Grace 7pm Women of Grace Tuesday, December 11 9:30am Prayer Shawl Ministry 5pm Family Promise Thursday, December 13 9:30am Bible into Life 11am Harding Seniors 4pm RE Learning Session / Pageant Rehearsal 5:30pm Rose Troupe (at Overlook Hospital) 7pm Prayer Shawl Ministry Friday, December 14 10:30am Bible Study 8pm Family Promise Saturday, December 15 10:30am First Reconciliation Sunday, December 16 2pm Christmas Pageant Lector Workbooks Beautiful Christmas trees and flowers will fill our church s sanctuary during this holy season, which are donated by parishioners who contribute an offering in memory of a deceased loved one. All the names of those loved ones will be printed in one of the Christmas season bulletins. Christmas Flower envelopes were included in your bimonthly collection envelope mailing. If you would like to make such an offering, please return the completed envelope in the collection basket. Family Promise Family Promise provides emergency shelter, meals and support services. Christ the King is a support congregation and is assigned four commitments a year. On those dates we provide and serve dinner and breakfast. We also need two volunteers who are willing to stay overnight. Would you like to help? Christ the King is responsible for: CTK Homeless Support Dinner Evening Tuesday, December 11 Tuesday dinner (5 8:30pm) CTK Homeless Support Weekend Friday & Saturday, December 14 & 15 Friday overnight stay (8pm 8am) Saturday breakfast & visitation with guests 1 st Shift: 8 9:30am or 2 nd Shift: 9:30 11:30am Volunteers are still needed for Saturday s shifts! Please contact Britta Gangemi for more details at (973) or brittagangemi@gmail.com. Lector Workbooks for the new liturgical cycle, which begins December 2, are available in the Priest s Sacristy. Please stop in the Sacristy and pick up your Workbook before you leave Mass. Giving Tree Today is the deadline for all gifts from the Giving Tree to be returned. Communion for the Sick and Homebound Eucharistic Ministers are available to visit and bring Holy Communion to anyone who is sick or homebound. If you, or someone you know, would like to be visited by a Eucharistic Minister, please call the parish office. Daily Reading Find Today s Readings at

5 Saint of the Week December 15 St. Mary Di Rosa Rose Troupe The RoseTroupe will be visiting such places as Overlook Hospital, Care One Nursing Facilities, King James, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Inglemoor Nursing Center, to name a few - and wherever a fellow parishioner is in need of spirit-lifting. If you can sing, join us. If you can read poetry, join us. If you can act, join us. If you can tell jokes, join us. If you can read a story or perform a monologue, join us. If you can serve cookies and juice, join us. If you can smile, join us. If you can care, sympathize, love - join us, join us, join us. The RoseTroupe will meet occasionally during the year just to polish up a presentation, review the program, and arrange transportation. Participants need not attend each visit. Please contact Livia Galante at to discuss how you might like to contribute or offer the name of a facility you d like RoseTroupe to visit. Our first visit for this year will be Overlook Hospital on Thursday, December 13 at 5:45. After singing in the main lobby, we will sing Christmas Carols to the patients as we stroll the halls of the Hospital wards. P aula Di Rosa was born in Italy in She was thought to be frail and timid, but at the age of 17 she undertook huge projects for the Church. She established parish missions and retreats, and set up a women s guild. At the age of 24 she became the supervisor of a workhouse for poor girls. After two years she grew concerned that these poor girls had no safe place to stay at night. So she quit her position at the workhouse and instead opened a boardinghouse for them to safely come home to, while at the same time she helped her brother run a school for the deaf. At the age of 27 she was appointed superior of the Handmaids of Charity, a society that devoted their resources and attention to the sick and suffering in hospitals. With a faithful friend, Gabriela Bornati and the support of Msgr. Pinzoni, her work progressed. St. Mary Di Rosa was always ready to drop what she was doing and help others at a moment s notice. In 1848 St. Mary lost both of these faithful friends and Italy was invaded. She always seemed to be able to overcome insurmountable obstacles as she put her faith in God and saw each difficulty as a new opportunity of service. When the war began she turned her attention and that of her sisters to nursing the wounded soldiers. She even went to the battlefields herself in order to bring care and comfort to those on the verge of death. St. Mary died in St. Mary Di Rosa, teach us how to overcome discouragement. Pray for us to be courageous in doing good works for others. St. Patrick School Chatham Santa Claus To Read at Tiny Tot Thursdays Parents and caregivers of toddlers, please join St. Patrick School for Tiny Tot Thursdays on December 13 at 10am Free and open to the public, Tiny Tot Thursdays features story-time with Santa Claus in the SPS Makerspace, followed by creative craft-making with SPS Art Teacher, Mrs. Vowells. Transfer Grants St. Patrick School invites families with children currently enrolled in non-catholic schools to consider the benefits of our Parish school environment where Gospel values are combined with National Blue Ribbon and STEM certified academics every day. Transfer grants are available to new students entering in grades 1 through 7, coming from public, charter or home schools. Join St. Patrick School Every Wednesday Did you know St. Patrick School is one of only four Catholic elementary schools in the nation to be nationally STEM certified? Is that the kind of education you want for YOUR child? Learn more at Walk-In Wednesdays stop by St. Patrick School any Wednesday between 9 11 am for a personal tour. For more information, log on to or admissions@st-pats.org or call

6 Roles chosen: Dec. 6th and Dec. 7th Costume fitting: Dec. 9th 10am-11am Rehearsals: Dec. 13th from 4pm-6pm Dec. 16th at 12:30pm Actors (Grades K-4) Narrators (Grades 5-8) Choir (Grades 4-8) For more information, please contact Erin at