SAINT MARY S PARISH GUILD

Transcription

1 SAINT MARY S PARISH GUILD 14 PARK STREET, NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA Volume I, Issue 3 November 2016 News and Activities Important Info: November 15, 2016 From the President: Happy Fall Days, The Execu ve Boards looks forward to seeing all the members on Tuesday, November 15th to par cipate in an evening of "Harvest Blessing." Sisters Ann Whi aker and Anne Marie O'Shea, members of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth will be our guest. The Sisters are co-directors of the Catherine Spalding House, founded in June 1998, located in the inner city of Brockton, MA. Catherine Spalding House is a house of hospitality and spirituality welcoming all who come seeking peace, quiet, and solace. They offer days of prayer, reflec on, seasonal celebra ons, and support especially to women, new immigrants, and youth. They are commi ed to care for our earth which is considered a "li le piece of peace in our world." They offer their land, with its Peace Garden and quiet space, as a sacred and safe place of refuge for those seeking peace and comfort. Tuesday evening the Sisters will invite all who gather to take a moment, in this prayerful and sacred environment, to be grateful. We experience so much conflict, "bad news," and turmoil in our lives that we some mes forget to "count our blessings." As the Feast of Thanksgiving approaches, let us join together in a prayer of gra tude. Wishing you all many Blessings, Joan Marchi o 6:30 p.m. Sister s Act Hosted by Noreen Kiff and Ann Allen Tuesday, November 15th the November Guild mee ng will be held at Parish Center for a Sister s Act. - Two Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Sister Anne Marie and Sister Ann, will join us from Brockton, MA. Their topic will be Harvest Blessings, complete with a harvest table. The raffle will follow the same theme. As always, refreshments will be served. Inside this issue: OFFICERS 2 ST. MARY S MINISTRIES 2 ADOPT A FAMILY UPDATE 3 Did you know: ALL SAINTS DAY/ ALL SOULS DAY 4 We have a Women's Guild Website that Deb Fitzgibbons developed last year. OCTOBER MINUTES 4 The link is at: GUILD CHRISTMAS TREE INFORMATION 5 Check it out! THE MEMORARE 6

2 Saint Mary s Parish Guild Officer s Name President Joan Marchi o Vice President Sandy Coyle Secretary Diana Gray Treasurer Karen Smith Sunshine Connie Schnack Publicity Donna Gilmore Cell Phone # Home Phone # ddsjoanie@aol.com SJCGRAM@verizon.net dgraysix@yahoo.com ksmith715@comcast.net bobcon4492@aol.com westst@comcast.net The St. Mary s Parish Guild meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month, September through June at 6:30 p.m. For information contact Diana Gray at or dgraysix@yahoo.com D ues a re $10 p er yea r. There are many different ministries here at St. Mary s Parish that Guild members are involved in such as Rosary Society Christmas Fair Prep Choir Altar Society Food Pantry Here two Guild members write about the Choir: St Mary s Music Ministry St. Mary s Parish Choir under the direc on of Mike Dias, rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 8:30 p.m. in the main church. The goal of the choir is to contribute to the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sundays and on other special Saint Mary s Ministries church occasions by providing music that enhances the Liturgy of the Mass and to help promote congrega onal singing. In this aspect, we are living up to that well known saying he who sings prays twice. We feel it is a privilege to sing God s praises while being part of a great group pf people. Our members are friendly, dedicated, caring, laugh easily (mostly at ourselves) and are very welcoming to new members. Some are gi ed with beau ful voices - while the rest of us do our very best with whatever voices the Lord has chosen to bless us with. We also try as choir members to give witness as best we can that Christ is truly present in our midst and that His love is reflected in all of us. So if you like to sing, please consider joining us! We are always looking for new members and we do whatever we can to make being a choir member a wonderfully sa sfying experience and we do have a lot of fun! God Bless, Jeanne Small and Jay Malone Page 2

3 Volume I, Issue 3 Adopt-A-Family Updates On behalf of Be2y Poirier and the "Adopt-A-Family" Commi2ee, we would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who par cipated in our annual Bowl-A-Thon on October 21st at North Bowl Lanes in support of the Adopt-AFamily Project. We raised $9, due to the generosity of our amazing sponsors, those who made up gib baskets, and also those who volunteered their me. We are truly fortunate to have such a wonderful community of parishioners at St. Mary's and Sacred Heart Church. It was such great evening of fun, laughs, and friendships! Thank you from the bo2om of our hearts! Feel free to visit our website to see all the great photos from the evening. Go to: and click on the Adopt-A-Family tab at the top of the homepage. Be2y Poirier and Deb Fitzgibbons Adopt-A-Family Commi2ee Page 3

4 Saint Mary s Parish Guild All Saints' Day, Halloween and All Souls' Day: What's the difference? By Kenya Sinclair ( LOS ANGELES, CA - Let's start with Halloween. We all know trick-ortreaters' ask for candy door-todoor in costumes ranging from adorable to frightening, but the holiday does not have roots in either candy or costumes. Long ago in Ireland and Britain, Christians would come together on All Hallows Eve to ask for God's blessing and protection from the evil in the world. The source of the modern celebrations stemmed from the donning of saintly and evil spirit costumes to act out the battle between good and evil. According to dictionary.com, the word "Halloween" is a "direct derivation of All Saints Day" with "All Hallows" in Old English meaning "the feast of the saints." "Halloween" has also been translated to "Eve of All Hallows," which was a holy day celebrating the day before All Saints Day, that Reverend Richard Donohoe, the vicar of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Birmingham, described as "a celebration of the communion of saints, those people we believe are in heaven, through good works and God's grace." All Saints' Day is celebrated the first day of November while All Souls' Day is celebrated November 2. All Saints' Day is a day Catholics offer prayers to those in Page 4 purgatory. Reverend Donohoe said, "All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are related, but they are two separate celebrations. On All Saints' Day there's a call to live as saints, to remind us how we're supposed to live. On All Souls' Day, we're talking about all souls and asking God's mercy for them. "We're talking about those people who have died before us, and their process of getting to heaven, through Christ... It has its roots all the way back to the fourth century." It is on this day that the Book of the Dead is opened to allow parishioners to write the names of relatives to be remembered. Reverend Donohoe described that the book is "placed near the altar" and "That's done all through November. It's an All Souls' tradition..." All Souls' Day is a commemoration of the faithfully departed and is observed primarily in the Catholic Church. Its origins date back to European folklore related to customs of veneration practiced worldwide through evens like the Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) or the Chinese Ghost Festival. To remember the departed, many cultures prepare meals for the souls of the dead, light candles or leave flowers on relatives' graves and some anoint tombstones with holy water or pour milk over them. All Souls' day is celebrated November second and if that day happens to fall on a Sunday, the Mass is of All Souls and Morning and Evening Prayer (Lauds and Vespers) for the Dead can be said while people participate. Each celebration touches on cultural beliefs about the spirit world, honoring the dead and feasts, so when you celebrate Halloween this year remember to prepare for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day as well. October Minutes The October mee ng of the Guild was held at Mount Saint Mary Abbey, 300 Arnold St., Wrentham, MA. Some members carpooled from the church, other members drove themselves. Sylvia Eighmy and Karen Bengtson were the hosts for the evening. Members entered the Abbey at 6:30 p.m., rosary beads in hand and were given a special token by the hosts. Several members then lead the group in the recita on of the Rosary. A er the Rosary the group prayed along with the Sisters for their Hour of Compline. From the Mt. St. May s website: Compline This is the Divine Office (the "work of God") with which we close each day, placing our lives into the hands of God with grateful hope and calling out with Simeon: "And now at last all-powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise..." - Luke 2:29 As at the end of each of the offices, the final words are addressed to Mary, our life, our sweetness and our hope, as we turn to face her image in the Salve (Con nued on page 5)

5 Volume I, Issue 3 (Con nued from page 4) window: "O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary." - Salve Regina The Mount Saint Mary's Abbey was the first monastery of Cistercian nuns to be founded in the United States in Cardinal (then Archbishop) Cushing and Dom Edmund Fu erer (abbot of Our Lady of the Valley) began to talk about establishing a community of nuns in the archdiocese of Boston. Archbishop Cushing promised to help finance the purchase of the property and the building. There was one condi on: they had to be Irish. Today they are a mul genera- onal and mul cultural community, numbering about 42 sisters, who range in age from 26 to 96 and hail from all parts of the United States and beyond. One fourth of the community originates from countries outside the US, including Canada, Brazil, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Germany, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and India. This diversity of age and culture adds to that diversity of character and temperament which is basic to any human community, and we find it both a blessing and a challenge, as we seek to grow in love for one another, so that this love can overflow to all people. The opportunity for a personal blessing was offered from the Sisters at the end of the service. There was no business mee ng this month. Respec ully Submi ed, Diana Gray, Secretary Christmas Fair Guild Tree It's that time of year again! We are once more collecting gift cards for the Annual Guild Christmas Tree, which will be part of the Festival of Trees at St. Mary's Christmas Fair, November 26, For those who are new and not familiar with this tradition, each member of our Ladies Guild is asked to contribute a gift card for the tree. It can be from an establishment you frequent, such curist, auto mechanic, florist, department or grocery store, etc. Or perhaps a card from Dunkin Donuts, Honeydew, Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy - anyplace you'd like, the list is endless! It can be in whatever amount you'd like - last year we collected over $700 in gift cards - let's try to beat that incredible total this year! I will be available to collect the gift cards any time we are getting together - at The Chieftain Pub when we have as your favorite restaurant, hairdresser, manilunch on October 29th or the next meeting, November 15, You can also drop the cards in the collection basket at church, just be sure to clearly mark "Guild Tree" on an outside envelope. They can be brought to my house or I could pick them up at yours - whatever works! You can call me at (landline, don't text that #!) or - karenbmots@msn.com for any questions or to arrange a meeting. Thank you!! Karen Bengtson Page 5

6 Upcoming Events: November 1, 2016 All Saint s Day November 2, 2016 All Soul s Day November 11, 2016 Veteran s Day November 15, 2016 Guild Mee ng Sister s Act 6:30 p.m. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth November 24, 2016 Thanksgiving November 26, 2016 St. Mary s Christmas Fair 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. The Memorare Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me Amen Written by : St. Bernard of Clairvaux If you would like to contribute anything to future newsletters such as stories, recipes or pictures please contact Diana Gray at dgraysix@yahoo.com or Please submit newsletter info by: Monday November 21st Deadline is always the Monday following the general meeting. Page 6