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1 Church of the Immaculate Conception We at Immaculate Conception are a group of people bound together by our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior. When we were baptized, we were called to share in His work. Therefore we pledge ourselves to build a community where all are welcomed, loved, needed and appreciated. Armed with the faith in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, we will celebrate the gift of life together in word and sacrament. December 31, 2016 & January 1, 2017 Church of the Immaculate Conception 1180 State Highway 206, Greene, New York Rev. Msgr. John P. Putano, Administrator Website: iccgreene.wordpress.com immcongreene@syrdio.org Facebook: Church of the Immaculate Conception Parish Office: Tue. thru Thurs. 10:30 am to 4:30 pm Mary Wentlent, Parish Manager Audrée Beach, Admin. Asst Fax Baptism & RCIA ICC Parish Office Youth Ministry: ICC Parish Council: Nancy Amell, Eileen Browning, Kelly Erickson, Robert Hanrahan, Donna Heisler, Joanne Moxley, Francis Feldpausch - President. ICC Trustees: Jackie Henninge ; jackiehenninge@frontier.com Robert Larkin ; robertmlarkin@gmail.com Feel free to contact the Trustees or Council Members with any concerns you have about our parish. Knights of Columbus Council Grand Knight Charles Browning Meetings the 1st Thursday of each month. Gluten free hosts are available. Notify the Sacristy before Mass if you need one. The Solemnity of Mary H, H M, h g t Kn h!e# e$ n% e& f(. Weekend Mass Schedule Pastoral Care Area South: Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:00 pm Immaculate Conception, Greene 5:45 pm St. Joseph, Oxford Sunday: 8:45 am St. Joseph, Oxford 10:15 am Immaculate Conception, Greene 4:00 pm St. Paul, Norwich

2 Mass Schedule SATURDAY 12/31/16 New Year s Eve 4:00 pm Stella Trepa, Anniversary, by Trepa Family SUNDAY 1/1/17 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 10:15 am Charlie Coppola by Ruth Coppola TUESDAY 1/3/17 8:30 am Communion Service THURSDAY 1/5/17 6:00 pm Communion Service SATURDAY 1/7/17 4:00 pm For Parishioners SUNDAY 1/8/17 Epiphany 10:15 am Charlie Coppola by Kristen & Justin Mercurio John Stecyk by M. & A. Beach Church of the Immaculate Conception, Greene, New York Page 2 ICC WEEK AT A GLANCE SUNDAY 1/1/17 Happy New Year! Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 10:15 am Mass MONDAY 1/2 7 pm American Legion TUESDAY 1/3 8 a Rosary & Communion Service WEDNESDAY 1/4 THURSDAY 1/5 8 a Rosary & Communion Service 10 a Bible Study 7 p Knights of Columbus FRIDAY 1/6 SATURDAY 1/7 2:30 p First Saturday Fatima Rosary 3:30 pm Confession SUNDAY 1/8 Epiphany 9 a Rel. Ed. Classes, Circle Of Care Lesson AC 10:00 am Mass 11:30 am Confession 4-5 p Confirmation Class L LAY PERSONS SCHEDULE This Week Next Week Saturday 4:00 pm Saturday 4:00 pm December 31, 2016 January 7, 2017 E. M. s: S. Carlin S. Northrup J. Trepa H. Connelly Lector: C. Gibbons M. Delaney Servers: Adult Volunteer Adult Volunteer Sunday 10:15 am Sunday 10:15 am January 1, 2017 January 8, 2017 E. M. s: B. Norton C. Gibbons Z. Urda L. Detweiler E. Browning B. Doughty Lector: D. Heisler M. O Keefe Servers: J. Eroshevich K. Browning C. Flanagan C. Leonard L. Flanagan J. Browning Counters: D. Brown A. Browning J. Norton E. Hadlick Sacrificial Giving and Expenses for the month of November 2016: Total Income: $ 15, Total Expense: $ 14, Income includes: St. Pauly Shed, votive candles, Garden donations, Lasagna Dinner profit, funeral donation Expense includes: New hymnals, Missionary appeal, monthly Diocese fees, garden tags, plumbing repairs in Rectory, Young family & college age outreach. Remember St. Paul s advice: God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor.9:7) Location Codes: S Sanctuary; H Parish Hall; K Kitchen; CR Cry Room; L Library; P Pavilion; AC All Church; OF-Out Front; OB-Out Back; SJ St. Joseph s, DT Downtown. The Parish Office will be closed for vacation December 26-January 2. ICC Bible Challenge! Each week a different verse from the Bible. Try to memorize it over the week. Use it as a family contest each week or just as a personal challenge. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Romans 12:12 to everyone who participated in this year s Giving Tree. All 57 tags were taken from the tree and the gifts returned for distribution. You helped brighten each recipient s Christmas! Fr. Lupa s Schedule: Dec.31/Jan. 1- Father Lupa Jan. 7/8 - retired Priest from Binghamton Jan. 14/15- Father Lupa Jan. 21/22- retired Priest from Binghamton Jan. 28/29- retired Priest from Binghamton

3 January 1, 2017 Church of the Immaculate Conception, Greene, NY Page 5 Did you get your free gift? Our parish is giving away another great book by Matthew Kelly called "Finding Happiness". Pick yours up in the vestibule today! Take one to a friend! The Thursday morning Bible Study will start a new short study on The Women of the Gospels. Join us from am beginning on Thursday, January 5. Our parish will once again have a winter fundraiser with a Super Bowl Football Pool and a March Madness Basketball Pool. Beginning the weekend of January 7/8 you can purchase a chance to win. Chances will cost $25 each and we would like to fill both pools beginning in January. There will be a table set up in the hall after both Masses for anyone interested. Feel free to pass the invitation on to friends and neighbors. Save the date...knights of Columbus Roast Pork Dinner will be Sunday, January 15, Noon 3...The Catholic Men s Conference is Saturday March 25 from 8-5 pm, in Syracuse. The Annual Parish Bingo/Chili Night will be Saturday January 21, immediately following the 4:00 Mass. Bring your favorite Chili recipe to share. There will be fun prizes and there is no cost to play. This is a fun night to get out with the family and share a laugh or two. Please sign up in the vestibule if you plan to bring Chili to share. The Greene Central School PTO will be offering a BBQ dinner to the community as a winter fundraiser. This delicious BBQ is from "Smokin Bones BBQ" and will be available for pick- up Sunday, January 22 from 11-2 pm. The PTO has asked to use our church facility and we are happy to welcome them. They will utilize a drive-thru style, using our circle out front, while keeping the food warm in our kitchen. We see this as an opportunity for Evangelization, if just one person starts a discussion in their car about the Blessed Virgin Mary statue out front and who she is in our world! All tickets must be pre-sold and are available in our church office. Volunteer Opportunities Greene Food Pantry - We collect non-perishable foods for our local food pantry. May & November we cover the hours at the Pantry. Meals On Wheels Our volunteers make the deliveries for August & February: Mon, Wed, Fri, 11:15am. Call the Parish Office to join our team! Bottle & Can Drive - drop off your refundable items n the bin next to the Rectory garage. St. Pauly Textile collection shed in our parking lot. Donate your unwanted clothes & fabric items & ICC receives 4 cents per pound collected. Johanna Trepa s Birthday Wish is to raise funds for a local animal shelter, Every Dog s Dream. This no-kill shelter is housed in the Johnson City Petco. The funds raised will help with shelter expenses & also the foster homes that save the animals. They need supplies, toys, and money is always welcome. They are in desperate need of Purina cat & kitten food, litter & cat toys for the fostered cats as well. This is a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. Johanna has a huge love for animals and would like help raising the funds to fulfill her birthday wish. She has forsaken presents in exchange for donations to this cause. In February she and six friends will celebrate her birthday at the shelter; playing with the animals, grooming them and cleaning the animal s kennels. More details to follow regarding the donation process. Thank you A New Year s Blessing May the Lord give you the grace to turn your sufferings into strengths. May He walk beside you and fill your lives with the warmth of His healing love. May He give you faith, courage and fortitude to overcome the human frailties that challenge you each day.

4 Continuing Our Tradition of Service Since 1914 NEVILLE LAW OFFICE Chris P. Neville, Esq. Robert M. Larkin, Of Counsel P. O. Box 570 * 36 Genesee St. Greene, New York Molly S. Nolan Licensed R.E. Salesperson Cell Bartles Pharmacy 10 Lafayette Park. Oxford, NY After hours - Brian Bartle KENNEDY FUNERAL HOME, INC. 21 North Chenango St., Greene, NY kennedyfuneral@frontiernet.net kennedyfuneralhome.net Your Ad Here! $ small; $ medium; $ large; for one year. The ad is shared with St. Joseph s bulletin. Call Mimi s Italian Cuisine Genesee Street, Greene, NY Mon-Sat: 11 am - 9 pm, Sun: 12 pm - 8 pm Facebook: MimisItalianCuisine Twi*er: MimisGreene We Deliver! Free within Village of Greene, $1/mile outside ($20 minimum order) Root Funeral Home Greene s Oldest Funeral Home Member New York State Funeral Director Assoc. Serving Greene, Oxford and the surrounding communities. Charles C. Dietrich North Chenango Street Greene, New York Construction Lawn Mowing/Brush Hogging Home Improvement Excavating Gerry Reiss Mike Reiss Oxford, New York St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery Oxford, New York A beautiful, peaceful resting place Double Plot $700 1 casket & 1 urn or 2 urns Name: Address: Parish Registration Form City: State: Zip Code: Phone: I am new to the parish and wish to register. I am previously registered. I want offering envelopes. I am interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith. Mail to: Immaculate Conception Church, 1180 State Hwy. 206, Greene, NY or place in collection basket

5 January 1, 2017 Church of the Immaculate Conception, Greene, New York Page 3 Father s Notes How do I join the Church? I am a 17 year old Protestant. However, I feel that I belong in the Catholic Church. I have been reading about the Church & going to Mass. Should I recite the creeds & prayers along with the church members? How can I be sure that I am ready to become a Catholic, & how do I go about joining? I have thought & prayed about this for over a year. My heart tells me I m headed in the right direction. Your letter was a cool breeze on a warm day. As a Catholic who loves our Church & our Faith a great deal, I m happy for you. Obviously you even now feel God working in your heart through the contacts & experiences you have with the Catholic faith. My first advice is that you talk with a priest, or perhaps to a Catholic friend who might lead you to a parish program for someone like yourself. While we are always happy that someone wishes to join our faith, we are concerned, as you are, that this decision be made with sufficient understanding of what it means to be a Catholic. Our faith is not simply a list of doctrines we accept. It is a way of life based on friendship & intimacy with Jesus, a special relationship with God the Father, the Holy Spirit, & others. This relationship is enlightened & supported by the Scriptures & by our shared life of prayer, worship & service. Every Catholic parish has some process to help people know when, as you say, they can be sure they are ready. For most parishes today that journey of faith involves what is called the Rite of Christina Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Over a period of several months you will pray & learn, share your faith, doubts & questions with others, & have plenty of time, guidance & companionship as you weigh the decisions you will need to make. In the meantime keep going to Mass every Sunday. Listen & participate attentively. You may stand, kneel, join the prayers, & do what everyone else does, except receive Holy Communion. That should wait until you finally become a Catholic. Please talk to someone about your desires soon & get moving with your plans. Fr. John J. Dietzen, Catholic Q & A Wisdom from our Catholic Tradition We do not consume the Eucharistic Bread & wine as if it were ordinary food & drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh & blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh & blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh & blood of the Incarnate Jesus by the poser of His own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving. St. Justin, Martyr, from his First Apology in Defense of Christians. Free From Sin By Grace Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you. Luke 1:28 Jesus is truly God, and is uniquely holy by reason of His divinity. Mary is human, and is holy by the grace and merits of her Son. Jesus is free of original sin because He is God. Mary was kept fee of original sin by the grace of Jesus. She was conceived by her parents in the normal way, but from the moment of her conception she existed in a state of holiness which would have belonged to all human beings had there been no original sin. It is also Catholic dogma that Mary remained free from personal sin throughout her life. She was not immune to the problems of living in a world touched by sin. She had to cooperate with God s grace, and she had to cope with evil, above all the unjust murder of her Son on the cross. Mary was tempted as we are. But she did not sin. She cooperated with God s grace, and in this she is a model for us. When we are tempted to think that sin cannot be defeated, Mary witnesses to the fact that the grace of Christ can conquer the powers of hell. Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, C. M. The Church s Hymn of Praise, The Te Deum You are God: we praise you; You are God: we acclaim you; You are the eternal Father: All creation worships you. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When you became man to set us free you did not spurn the Virgin s womb. You overcame the sting of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God s right hand in glory. We believe that you will come, and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, Bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting. Amen.

6 Religious Instruction No class until January 8, 2017 Family Blessing Activity T Go f A Ae Christmas Readings: Isaiah 9.1-6; Titus ; Luke Mary, Mother of God Readings: Numbers ; Galatians 4.4-7; Luke REFLECTION The Gospel readings for Christmas and Mary, Mother of God stand in quiet contrast to our actual holiday season, filled with activities, parties, and endless to-do lists. Mary is our model of quiet contemplation. She treasures the words the shepherds share. She ponders the words and keeps them in her heart. She encourages all of us to slow down and savor the message that Jesus is born joy to the world, indeed! Question from Life: What holiday traditions bind your family together? Question from the Gospel: How will you share the Good News of the Incarnation with others? Parents and Grandparents, try using this information as a basis for discussion at home. Catholic Schools Night at the Binghamton Senators, January 21. Sponsored by Catholic Education Foundaion. Special Ticket Prices: $16 for Adults and $7 for students/youth. A $2 donation will be made to the school of your choice or the CEF to benefit schools. Enjoy great ticket pricing, pick your own seats, and meet Sebastian, the new Seton Catholic Central mascot. On ice group photo after the game. Call the B-Sens at SENS to order (ask for Group Sales Rep). Church of the Immaculate Conception, Greene, New York Page 4 Dear friends, Thank you to all the folks who pitched in to help prepare for the Christmas weekend Masses. We had over 275 people attend Christmas Eve and closer to 45 on Christmas day. I added up the number of people who decorated, played chimes, lectured for Mass, sang with the choir, altar served, assisted as Eucharistic Minister, taught the children s liturgy time on Christmas Eve, managed the sacristy and participated in the children s pageant. I came up with 76 adults and children! It was great to see so many family members and friends! Our parking lot was packed and folks were parking out on Route 206. I am sorry some folks had to sit in the hall in chairs set up, and next year we will bring speakers over to make sure they can hear. We will be discussing this overflow situation as well as other goals at the next Parish Council meeting in February. We are working on plans for additional parking as well as lights for the parking lot, as our parish continues to grow. Have you made goals for 2017? I ve been thinking of our parish goals and feel there are two ways we can improve: participation at special worship services and communication. If you have ideas on how we can improve attendance at special opportunities for worship, let me know. We can work on this second goal by making sure you have given the parish office your current cell phone and addresses. We send the bulletin to everyone we have an address for. If you aren t getting the bulletin, contact the church office so that we can update our records. Thank you for worshipping with us today. Peace! ~Mary Wentlent The Diocesan has set guidelines for parishes approached by individuals for assistance. We are to refer them to Catholic Charities for help, such as, emergency clothing and food assistance. To contact Chenango County Catholic Charities, whether to make a donation or to seek assistance, visit Would you like to give a donation to our Marian Garden as a gift to someone this Christmas? Donna Heisler has created some lovely cards with a collage of pictures for this very use. These cards are available in the vestibule. This is a special Christmas Gift opportunity.