THE EVANGELIST. Welcome Home! We, as a Parish Family, are so glad you are here! Welcome to the Catholic Community of SAINT MARK

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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 Tom Lavallee Brandon Sargent Claudia Dominguez Vicky Wood Lisa Olsen Artie Carew Amanda Morgan Richard Dussault Church and Parish Center (603) One South Road, Londonderry, NH Pastor Permanent Deacon Director of Evangelization Family Faith Formation Family Faith Assistant Youth Minister Office Manager Music Director Music Ministry Custodian MASS SCHEDULE 5:00 PM 8:00 AM 9:30 AM and 11:00 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 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 Website: Facebook: stmarkslondonderry Flocknote: flocknote.com/smecnh

2 The Epiphany of the Lord January 6, 2019 From Your Youth Minister Dear Brothers and Sisters, When I started my masters program friends often asked me, So what are you studying? After a while, my response became, Mystery with a sigh attached. Some days I felt like I was losing my mind, trying to intellectually conceptualize the incomprehensible. The celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany and the story of the three Wise Men have gently prodded me back to that space, and to the recognition that maybe that was the whole point. Maybe the whole point of my grad school experience was to begin the process of losing my own mind so that Christ could be more fully revealed to me and brought into the light. The term spiritual seeker can get a bad rep these days but, really, that is who the Wise Men were. They were astronomers who used the stars to find the newborn King of the Jews. Though they were outside of the Jewish religion, and considered pagans, they were closer to Jesus than any of the Jewish priests and scribes we hear of in the scripture passage from Matthew. This is a big deal. Matthew was a Jew writing to a Jewish audience and he had a strong message to send. Just because you are going through the ritualistic motions of your religion, does not mean that you are opening yourself to the mystery that God wants to reveal in Christ. Small example: The Wise Men= pagans = encounter Jesus ** King Herod= very Jewish= tries to kill Jesus We let our own minds, our own egos, our own attachments get in the way of actually knowing God. In the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum (The Word of God), we find, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. It is a deep and challenging paradox that our God in Christ is both Mystery and Truth. The Wise Men, without theological education, had a grasp of that paradox and were willing to encounter the Mystery of the incarnate God and the Truth of God revealed to them in the form of a divine person at the same time. They approached Christ overjoyed and lay prostrate to pay him homage, offering gifts. How numb have we become to this mystery? How much do we go through the motions, not even giving a thought to the fact that our very real and personal God seeks us out and that we must seek Her back? We must awaken to what we know of the unknowable and to enter into the Divine dance that is never boring and that is never rote. As we continue to reflect on the revelation of Christ in this brief Christmas season I ask that we be willing to become mindless- of our own ways of thinking- while being mindful of the mysterious experience of Christ in our lives. In peace and gratitude,

3 Calling all children from 3 years of age through 1st grade! The Good Shepherd Program is an approach to the religious formation of children, based on the conviction that God and the child are in a blossoming and ever-developing relationship. We will learn and meditate on scriptural and liturgical themes at an age appropriate level, allowing them to deepen their relationship with God through Jesus Christ! This dynamic program continues Jan 13 and runs until April 28th. It is for grades 2 through 5 and meets on Sundays immediately following the 9:30 AM Mass until 11:30 AM. To promote various learning styles there will be elements of art and music centered around Scripture. If your child is in a Sacramental year (Gr. 2 - Reconciliation, Gr. 3 Confirmation & Eucharist) they are required to participate to receive their Sacraments. Edge is a Catholic middle school youth ministry program. It provides a safe, fun place for youth to find real Catholic community, to get answers to their questions about faith and to experience Jesus in a profound and personal way! Edge will meet on Sundays immediately following the 9:30 AM Mass. This is a GREAT opportunity for our teens to grow in discipleship and lead vibrant and radical Christian lives! There will be awesome social nights issue nights and liturgically centered nights - all chances to have an awesome and challenging time! LifeTeen will meet bimonthly on Sunday nights from 6-8 PM. One Sunday a month we will offer the entire parish the opportunity to participate in G.I.F.T. or Growing In Faith Together! We hope to build community and journey together toward deeper relationships with Christ. G.I.F.T. will be held after the 9:30 AM Mass. There will be breakfast for all participants followed by small group sharing and activities.

4 We are Truly Blessed Our heartfelt gratitude to all those who lifted our Advent and Christmas to the Halls of Heaven! Thank you to all who helped decorate and adorn our worship space. Thank you to all the Lectors, Altar Servers, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who assisted in the sanctuary. Thank you to all the Welcomers, Hosts, and Information Desk Staff who greeted and assisted worshipers. A special note of gratitude to Artie Carew, Amanda Morgan and everyone involved in Music Ministry here at St. Mark s. In this most blessed season, we praise Almighty God with joy for all the talented and generous members of our parish family who contribute to what makes St. Mark s such a special place. Thank you! Vacation Bible School - Summer 2019! Vacation Bible School is back! This epic African adventure engages the whole herd. Kids will explore God s goodness and celebrate a ferocious faith that powers them through this wild life! We look forward to you joining us July 8-12!! Registration Coming Soon. Nocturnal Adoration This will be held on Friday, January 4, beginning at 8 PM until midnight. Please join us for prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel each hour. For information, call Dennis at Adult Faith Formation Our AFF series continues tomorrow evening with Brandon, Monday January 7, at 7 PM! All are welcome at any time! Hope to see you there! St. Gianna s Place - Bottle Support Support baby bottles for our parish-wide St. Gianna's Place Campaign that will take place through the month of January. St. Gianna's place offers God-given dignity and safe, long-term housing for women facing crisis pregnancies and their babies. Contact Hollis for more info. LifeTeen- New Year, New Schedule!! Hello high school students!! Regardless of if you've been to LifeTeen before or if you've even signed up- all are welcome to join us at our new time slot immediately following the 9:30 Mass next Sunday January 13th. It will run from 10:30 to Noon. Wedding Bells!! God be Praised!! Our St. Mark s family rejoices with prayer and thanksgiving for Brandon Sargent (our very own Parish Evangelist) and his fiancé Corinne Remillard who were joined together in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, December 29, in Manchester, New Hampshire!! Lord Jesus, on this happy day we thank you for the joy of Corinne and Brandon. Lord, bless them, for they are united in love of you and of each other. Strengthened by your grace, may they live in kindness and fidelity, in unfailing trust and love so that their whole life may be pleasing to you. Amen. This St. Mark s!! Sunday, January 6: 9:30 AM G.I.F.T. & EDGE 12:15 PM Just 5 Days Fundraising Meeting Monday, January 7: 7:00 PM Adult Faith Formation (Lounge) Tuesday, January 8: 6AM-11PM Eucharistic Adoration (Chapel) 6:00 PM Prayer Shawl Ministry Mtg (Lounge) 7:00 PM St. Gianna s Place Mtg (Room 204) Wednesday, January 9: 9:30 AM Wednesday Witness (Lounge) Thursday, January 10: 7:00 PM K of C Officers Meeting (Room 209) Friday, January 11: 6:00 PM Scouts / Den Mtg (Parish Center) Saturday, January 12: 9:30 AM Al-Anon (Room 209) FLOCKNOTE is HERE! This new tool we re using lets you choose what info you d like to receive - via or text message - from various ministries and groups in our church. You can Visit St. Mark s at: flock note.com/smecnh or Text Mark to from your phone TODAY!

5 Sacrificial Giving (Dec ) Operating Funds Offertory Envelopes (189) $5, Loose Cash & Checks $2, WeShare $2, Christmas Collection $10, Fuel (10) $ Electronic Giving - wkly $ Social/General Donations $ Flowers $ Mass Donations $10.00 Total $21, Designated Funds Capital Development (5) $86.00 Diocesan (Religious Retirement) $92.00 Total $ Grand Total $22, Mass Intentions for Jan. 5 - Jan /5 Saturday, 5 PM: Pauline Mary Sanguedolce by Mary Lou Bartlett 1/6 Sunday, 8 AM: Dorothy Maxwell by her husband & family 1/6 Sunday, 9:30 AM: Peter Lescarbeau by Elaine Wyatt & Debbie Cantrell 1/6 Sunday, 11 AM: Carol Ann Pincince by Mary Y. Lynch 1/7 Monday, 9 AM: Margaret Cleary by her family 1/8 Tuesday, 9 AM: Robert Valway by St. Mark s K of C 1/9 Wednesday, 9 AM: Don Morin 1/10 Thursday, 9 AM: Robert Kelley by his family 1/12 Saturday, 5 PM: Helen Szmyt by the Karthas family 1/13 Sunday, 8 AM: Joan Bompastore by the family 1/13 Sunday, 9:30 AM: Maureen Davidson by the Davidson & Holahan families 1/13 Sunday, 11 AM: Robert George Valway by Mary Y. Lynch Parish Contact Information Parish Office (603) Parish info@stmarksnh.org Web Page stmarksnh.org Office Hours Mon-Thurs 9:30AM- 4 PM Fr. Mike Deacon Tom Claudia Dominguez Lisa Olsen Brandon Sargent Artie Carew frmike@stmarksnh.org dctom@stmarksnh.org claudia@stmarksnh.org hollis@stmarksnh.org info@stmarksnh.org brandon@stmarksnh.org artie@stmarksnh.org Pastoral Council Justin Paré Finance Council Kevin Cronin Music Artie Carew (603) Outreach Dianne Zdankiewicz (603) Knights of Columbus Brian Roche (603) Men of St Joseph Bill Donroe (603) Prayer Line (603) Safe Environment Claudia Dominguez (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 3:30-4:30 PM or by appointment 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, 6:00 AM-11PM / First Fridays 8 PM-12 AM