SAINT MARK THE EVANGELIST. Welcome Home! We, as a Parish Family, are so glad you are here!

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1 Welcome to the Catholic Community of SAINT MARK THE EVANGELIST A Catholic Community of Caring Since 1981 Serving Londonderry, Hudson & Windham - New Hampshire Fr. Mike Zgonc Deacon Lee Abbott Deacon Bob Turner Cathy Kinnon Susan Joncas Brandon Sargent Kate Ciarletta Rebeccah Nusbaum Allan Fernald Richard Dussault Church and Parish Center (603) One South Road, Londonderry, NH Pastor Pastoral Associate Deacon Religious Education Director Business Manager Evangelist/Youth Minister Assistant Youth Minister RCIA Coordinator Music Director Custodian MASS SCHEDULE 5:00 PM 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM Monday through 9:00 AM Welcome Home! We, as a Parish Family, are so glad you are here! As sharers of the one baptism & the one Spirit of the Risen Christ, we have come together as the Parish Community of St. Mark the Evangelist to proclaim our identity as the People of God. The Eucharist is the center of our life and work together. Through the one bread, we become the one body of Christ, a living sacrifice of praise. In our worship of God, the Author of life and holiness, we proclaim our hope in the life of Christ s Resurrection; we open our hearts and minds to the Spirit of God dwelling in our midst. In our work, together, we seek to enable our children to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God; to accompany our young sons and daughters on their journeys of discovery toward adulthood; to deepen our faith commitment through prayer & study; to be present to one another in the joys and sufferings, the victories and struggles of life; to give witness to the Gospel of justice and compassion to our hurting world. We welcome to our parish family all who share our Catholic faith & traditions & our search for God in all things. -Parish Mission Statement Facebook: stmarkslondonderry Website:

2 Deacon s Pencil. Blindness What areas in our life are we blind too? The Gospel story today of the Man born blind really brings home that Jesus is the Light of the world. The Pharisees were opposed to Jesus from the very beginning of his public life. He preached love, mercy, and forgiveness; he even ate with publicans and other sinners considered outcast of society. He was becoming extremely popular because he was not a legalist; rather, he was a compassionate lover of all people, and the oppressed and broken recognized this and flocked to him. They could see this because they were looking at his heart. They were not blinded like the Pharisees. The Pharisees looked first at the Law and then at the power and wealth of the person. They were legally blind in the areas of love, compassion, and justice. Today s Gospel reading is a story of faith, love, pride, and prejudice. The blind man was born blind, and he didn t know how or why he was healed, but he knew he could now see. He believed in the man who gave him sight, and he shared his new faith in him. Jesus love was so strong that even though he knew the opposition was waiting to trap him, the desire to make people free was stronger. Jesus not only gave him bodily light (eyesight), but, more importantly, he gave him the Light of Faith. The Pharisees tried so hard to discredit Jesus and then the man born blind. Their pride and total lack of humility led them to their prejudicial attitude by attributing the Sign (that which points to a deeper reality note: The Gospel of John never uses the word Miracle) to Satan. The Pharisees even went as far as to expel the man from the community. The question we need to respond to today is: Do we still refuse to see the truths of God s revelation brought to its fullness in the teachings of Jesus? Are we still blinded by pride and prejudices of culture and habit? Christ is the Light of the World to whom the Pharisees and their followers, and many people of today, shut their eyes. Don t hide your light! Let it shine before all; so, that they may see the good that you do and give glory to God! Let us pray for. being blind to the needs of our family, friends, and co-workers: being blind to the poor and marginalized who walk among us: being blind to the needs of our body for rest, exercise, and healthy eating: being blind to our own faults and shortcomings: being blind, and bowing to, the influence of money, power, and prestige: being blind and neglectful of our relationship with God: God Bless, Dc. Lee

3 EvenSong and Adult Faith Formation Monday Night! The Lenten Season will surely be a special one here at our parish, as there will be plenty going on to help nourish your faith and fully enter into the Season! On Monday Nights, we will have the Blessed Sacrament Exposed at 6:00 PM (with opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation at that time), followed by Lenten EvenSong with Benediction at 7:00 PM. EvenSong is an opportunity for prayer, song, adoration, and worship together! After the prayer service, we will all go down to the Lounge for our Weekly Lenten Adult Faith Formation. Please plan on making Monday night an evening of Spiritual Reflection, prayer and renewal!! This week, Mike Speltz will be speaking on the Pope s call for conversion for care of Creation! Mike is our resident expert on the Pope s encyclical Laudato Si and is truly an engaging and inspirational speaker. So join us on Monday night! As always, there will be plenty of fellowship, wine, coffee, and apps! See you there!! Are You a Health Care Professional? The annual White Mass, offered for all health providers, will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. at Saint Joseph Cathedral in Manchester. The White Mass is sponsored by the NH Guild of Catholic Healthcare Professionals. If you work in the medical field as a physician, registered or licensed nurse, physicians's assistant, nurse practitioner, nursing assistant, emergency medical technician, respiratory therapist or any other position in the medical field, please consider becoming a member of the NH Guild of Catholic Health Professionals. For more information and to sign up for membership go to our website A representative from the NHGCHP will be available to answer questions after Mass this weekend! Spend an Hour with Him Nocturnal Adoration will be held on Friday, April 7 beginning at 8 PM. Please join us for prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel each hour. For information, call Dennis at How s that Carbon Fast Going? It s not too late to give up some carbon for Lent, or to pray with Pope Francis for our Common Home, or to donate to help those most hurt by climate change. Pick up the carbon fast handout in the Welcome Center and get started!! Lenten Suppers are Back! Once again, the Knights of Columbus will be hosting our Lenten Suppers on Friday evenings during Lent! They will be serving from 5:30-7:00 PM in the Church hall and the menu is always excellent!! Our cost remains $5 per person, $20 per family. Come join us for fellowship and good food! All proceeds go to charity. After dinner, come and join us for the Stations of the Cross up in the Church at 7:00 PM. High School Youth Night Next Sunday!! All High School Youth are invited to our next Youth Night on Sunday, April 2. Save the date. Food, Friends, Faith, and Fun What could be better than that? See you next Sunday at 6 PM! This St. Mark s!!! Sunday, March 26: 6:30 PM Confirmation Class (9th and 10th) (Hall) Monday, March 27: 6:00 PM Adoration and Confessions (Church) 7:00 PM Lenten EvenSong (Church) 7:40 PM Adult Faith Formation (Lounge) Tuesday, March 28: 6 AM- 11 PM Eucharistic Adoration (Chapel) 9:20 AM Confessions after Morning Mass 4:30 PM CCD Classes 7:30 PM Choir Practice (Church) Wednesday, March 29: 7:00 PM Grace Within Session (lounge) Thursday, March 30: 7:00 PM Knights of Columbus (Room 209) Friday, March 31: 5:30 PM Lenten Supper (Hall) 7:00 PM Stations of the Cross (Church) Saturday, April 1: 9:30 AM Al Anon (Room 209) Sunday, April 2: 6:00 PM High School Youth Night (lounge)

4 Welcome to the Team, Brandon! There is a new development here at St Mark s that we are very excited about! Brandon Sargent, our Youth Minister, has agreed to become a full time part of our Parish Staff as Evangelist!! We are blessed to have the opportunity to have him in this very vital teaching role!!! Pray for him as he joins us in the office on Monday! Got Games? The parish is seeking easy to play games- Parcheesi, Sorry, Dominoes, Yahtzee, Scrabble, etc. - for future activities. Please drop off (complete) games in the Welcome Center or the Parish Office. Also, look for our announcements about our first Game Night!!! Special Offering Envelopes This weekend, there are envelopes for Catholic Relief Services & Catholic Home Missions. You may put those envelopes in the regular offertory basket. Thanks! The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Lent) Fr Mike will have expanded times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Lenten Season. He will be available: *Monday Nights from 6:00-7:00 PM the Church *Tuesday Mornings after the 9 AM Morning Mass *Saturday Afternoons from 3:30-4:30 PM in Church *And as always you can contact him and make an appointment Reconciliation for St. Thomas Aquinas in Derry: *Mondays (March 27, April 3, and April 10) from 7:00-8:00 PM in their Church *Saturdays from 3:00-4:00 PM in their Church Holy Week Fast Approaching As a parish, we are drawing closer to the Holiest Week of the Year! The Sacred Triduum are the Best of the Best as far as our liturgies are concerned! Please make every effort to come to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Great Easter Vigil! New this year, we will be offering the opportunity to pray at the tomb of Christ on Good Friday and Holy Saturday as well as the Blessing of Food Baskets stay tuned for all the information. Holy Week will be a memorable and every special time here at St Marks. Religious Education News *9th and 10th Grade Confirmation Students are reminded of their meeting on Sunday, March 26 at 6:30-8 PM in the Parish Hall *Registration forms have been mailed out. Please return them to the Parish Office Please Keep in Your Prayers This week as a parish family we pray for Marianne Campbell, Mother of Tim Stewart. Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she and all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, Rest in Peace. St. Mark s! Our Lenten Almsgiving project is dedicated to helping the homeless through our support of Webster House of Manchester and Family Promise of Greater Rockingham County. Do you know somebody who has been homeless? In fact, you may, and not even know it. According to HUD's tally, nearly 565,000 people were living on the streets in cars, in homeless shelters or in subsidized transitional housing during a one-night national survey in January (2015). Nearly one-fourth were aged 18 or under. HUD reported separately that roughly 1.49 million individuals used a shelter in 2014, up 4.6 percent from 2013, agency spokeswoman. Who are the homeless? Did you know that these people, from all walks of life, were in the foster care system at one time: Scott Hamilton, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, J.R.R Tolkien, Edgar Allen Poe, Tolstoy, Wordsworth, Andrew Jackson, George W. Carver, Coco Chanel, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Ruth, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Malcolm X, Vidal Sassoon, Sam Goldwyn, Eddie Murphy, Cher, Ray Charles, and the list goes on. You can make a difference in someone s life! More information is available in the entryway to the Church.

5 Sacrificial Giving (March 18-19) Operating Funds Offertory Envelopes (223) $6, Loose Cash $ Electronic Giving (5) $ Parish Pay Weekly Avg (78) $2, Flowers $ Social $58.00 Mass Donations $30.00 Fuel $50.00 Total $10, Designated Funds Capital Development $ Charitable $50.00 Poor Box $ Diocesan Collection(s) $21.00 Grand Total $11, Mass Intentions for March 25-April 2 3/25 Saturday, 5 PM: Pat Trongo by his wife and family 3/26 Sunday, 8 AM: Dorothy Difava by the family 3/26 Sunday, 10:30 AM: Jacques Savoie by Phil and Jodi Hardcastle 3/27 Monday, 9 AM: Mimi Webster by the Belliveau family 3/28 Tuesday, 9 AM: Mary Crawford by the Ashburn family 3/29 Wednesday, 9 AM: Don Connelly by Mary Y. Lynch and family Thursday 3/30 9 AM: Dennis Herlihy by Ken Rahilly Saturday 4/1, 5 PM: Pat Trongo by Clara and Marlene Deltoree Sunday 4/2, 8 AM: Genevieve Velt by Bill and Brenda Donroe Sunday 4/2, 10:30 AM: Carmen and Roberto Carminos by Edgar and Maria Medina Parish Contact Information Parish Office (603) Religious Education Office FAX (603) Parish stmarkevan@comcast.net Web Page saintmarkevangelist.com Office Hours Mon-Thurs 9 AM- 4 PM Fr Mike Deacon Lee Deacon Bob Cathy Kinnon Susan Joncas Brandon Sargent frmike.stmarks@comcast.net leestmark@comcast.net turnerjhn76@aol.com cathystmark@comcast.net susanstmark@comcast.net brandon.stmarks@comcast.net Pastoral Council Justin Paré Finance Council Kevin Cronin Music Allan Fernald (603) Outreach Dianne Zdankiewicz (603) Knights of Columbus Bob McGuirk (603) Men of St Joseph Bill Donroe (603) Prayer Line (603) Safe Environment Susan Joncas (603) Al-Anon Saturdays, 9:30-11 AM Birthright (603) NH Catholic Charities, Windham (603) Sacrament of Baptism Parents are asked to participate in the baptismal catechesis program prior to their child s baptism. Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturday 3:30-4:30pm or by appointment Mondays from 6:00-7:00 PM (Lent) Sacrament of Marriage Couples should contact the parish office at least six months in advance and before making any other wedding arrangements. Sacrament of the Sick Please call us to request the Sacrament of the Sick or to receive communion in the home. Eucharistic Adoration Tuesdays, 6:00am-11pm / First Fridays 8pm-12am