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 Tom Lavallee Brandon Sargent Claudia Dominguez Hollis Dunlop Lisa Olsen Artie Carew Richard Dussault Church and Parish Center (603) One South Road, Londonderry, NH Pastor Permanent Deacon Director of Evangelization Family Faith Formation Youth Minister Office Manager Music Director 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 Facebook: stmarkslondonderry Website:

2 From Your Parish Evangelist There are two things that should never be discussed at the dinner table you remember what they are, right? Yup politics and religion. I ve always thought of that cliche as a double-edged sword: it is certainly sound advice to avoid less-than-civil confrontation, yet it also dodges the two topics that reveal the foundations of our individual passions and world-view. Much is said these days about the decay of civil discourse. While it is certainly obvious and unfortunate, it could be argued that these fervent debates are part of the human condition, as they always seem to ebb and flow throughout history (the Enlightenment, the Sixties, etc.). Globalization and technology seems to have compounded the intensity of communication and information in our time. An ever-expanding consequence of this phenomenon is the paradigm shift from societal objectivity to individual subjectivism. In other words, what is true for me takes precedent over whatever anyone else may think Last Wednesday, we celebrated the incredible gift of our American Independence. Our Founders struggled and fought for the basic human rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. While this is striking in it s assurance of individual freedoms and allocation of subjective pursuits, it is vital to remember that these freedoms are based exclusively on objective Truth. Thomas Jefferson made clear that our rights are endowed by our Creator, and that the preservation of freedom requires firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence. God s Truth is not merely the foundation of Western liberty, it is the Law of the Universe. We know this to be so through Creation and Divine Revelation. Objective Truth is real. I would dare say that there is nothing more real! Created in the image and likeness of God, we are all given the ability to make decisions: to uphold and defend the Truth or to make up our own rules (see Adam and Eve ). Our Scriptures today deal with this very confrontation. Ezekiel is sent to preserve the Truth to the rebellious Israelites. St. Paul finds strength in the face of insults and persecutions. Our Lord was not able to perform any mighty deed in His native place, for without faith it is impossible to be aware of the Truth. A priest friend of mind would often preach on what he called the marketplace of truth-claims. Indeed, that is an accurate analogy in a world full of pundits, demagogues, and commentators. However, our responsibility as baptized children of God is to defend the Truth as it has been revealed to us by our Creator. My feelings, passions, and emotions do not eclipse the objective Truth of God. My desires do not convey rights - my humanity does. So many issues have spilled over the edge of civil debate into the realm of vitriol: Life, Family, Race, Immigration, and list goes on. It is becoming more difficult to defend the Truth in a world that is seemingly growing farther away from it, and many of us shy away from that dinner table debate in fear of offending someone s subjective sensibilities. Ezekiel, St. Paul, and our Lord did not cower in the face the cultural tide. They stood for the Truth. We are all called to do the same. We are all entitled to our opinion, as that hallowed document of 1776 ensures us. Yet that same Declaration makes clear that our freedoms of body and mind emanate from the unchanging and eternal Divine Truth. Let us renew our efforts to get outside of ourselves, and think not as men do, but as God does. Peace be with you, Brandon

3 Summer CCD Volunteer Meeting All volunteers for our Summer Sacramental Prep Session (July 9-13) are kindly asked to attend a very important meeting in the Parish Lounge at 10:30 am this morning Sunday, July 8th. We will be providing the curriculum and reviewing the program as a whole along with answering any questions you may have. Registration table, kitchen help, clean up crew volunteers are also needed. Could this be you? We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting! We are so grateful for your service to our parish!! SAVE THE DATE Parish Picnic - Sunday, July 29th The St. Mark s Parish Picnic will be held on July 29th from 12:00-3:00 PM. Pull out your blankets and chairs Join us for hot dogs, hamburgers and all the fixings! For planning purposes, please RSVP by July 22nd! Wine Tasting - Friday, November 2nd We are looking for sponsors for our 2nd Annual Wine Tasting could this be you? Specifically, we are looking for: Monetary donations: $600 - Glassware Sponsor: This sponsor will enable us to cover the cost of Riedel wine glasses to be used that evening and sent home with attendees as a memento. $100 - Event Sponsor: These sponsors will be listed (or logo displayed) on our Sponsor Board and recognized on the parish website. Gift Certificates/Gift Cards and Items to be used in the silent auction. Questions? Please contact Diana LaMothe at fun.stmarks@gmail.com or call/text Sacramental Preparation Session 1 All eligible youth enrolled in the 3rd through 9th grades in the 2018/2019 school year, will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday, November 17 at St. Joseph Cathedral, 145 Lowell St., Manchester. To accommodate all St. Mark s families, there are three sessions now open for enrollment to choose from. Session 1: SESSION IS FULL Session 2: Mon Aug 6 - Fri Aug 10 (6PM - 8PM) Session 3: Tue Evenings in Oct (6PM - 8PM) Confirmation Day Details Date - Saturday, November 17, 2018 Place - St Joseph Cathedral, 145 Lowell St, Manchester The following three liturgical services will be celebrated: 11:00AM, 1:30PM and 7:00PM. ALL forms can be found at our website stmarksnh.org, the Welcome Center or the Parish Office for your convenience. This St. Mark s!! Sunday, July 8: 10:30 AM Summer CCD Volunteer Meeting 6:00 PM Youth Night Monday, July 9: Tuesday, July 10: 6AM-11PM Eucharistic Adoration (Chapel) 7:00 PM St. Gianna s Place Meeting (Room 203) Wednesday, July 11: Thursday, July 12: 7:00 PM K of C Officers Meeting (Room 206) Friday, July 13: 9:00 AM Steubenville East Weekend Saturday, July 14: 9:30 AM Al Anon (Room 209) *Daily Mass will be at 8:30 AM this week, due to Sacramental Prep Session 1

4 Persecuted Christians Fundraiser Next weekend St. Mark's Knight of Columbus will hold a 50/50 raffle as a fundraiser for persecuted Christians in the middle east. For the first 1000 years Christianity was primarily a middle eastern religion. Recent persecution by ISIS, has decimated the Middle East Christian population. The number of Christians in Iraq has dropped from 1.5 million to around 200,000. Many of the remainder are living in refugee camps as their homes have been destroyed. The United States Knights of Columbus has been a leader in providing relief for these Christians. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 with half the proceeds going to the Knights of Columbus persecuted Christian relief fund and half going to the winning ticket holders. 1st place winner will get 50%, 2nd place winner will get 30% and the 3rd place winner will get 20%. Winning tickets will be drawn by Father Mike. Winning tickets will be published in the July 21st bulletin. There are Knights available after mass to provide brochures providing additional information about this most worthy effort. Care for Creation Corner "I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all." Pope Francis, Laudato Si, ~14 On June 27th, our parish hosted "Building A Care for Creation Community," a gathering for Care for Creation leaders from various parishes around the Diocese of Manchester to dialogue and vision together! It was a great first step in strengthening our resources to better our ability to be stewards of God's beautiful creation here at St. Mark's! If you have any questions or want to get more involved please contact the parish office. St. Mark the Evangelist, Pray for Us!! The youth group asks that all parishioners take some time to pray for us as we attend Steubenville East next weekend. We appreciate all of your support!! And for you high school students, don't forget that there's youth group on Sunday at 6PM in the lounge! PARISH PICNIC - RSVP by July 22nd! We are looking forward to some picnic FUN! You won t want to miss it! Grab your picnic blanket (or chairs) and plan on joining us!! We will provide the hamburgers/hot dogs/water/lemonade! Please bring a side dish to share.. along with your own cooler of spirits if you wish. For planning purposes, please SIGN UP TODAY either on the website or stop by our Welcome Center! Help the Homeless - Final Week! Help us Help the Homeless! We are asking for any NEW washcloths, tubes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, hair brushes, combs, travel size shampoos & conditioners, bars of soap, men s and women s socks, feminine products, winter hats and fleece or wool blankets. The Outreach Committee and Youth Group are teaming up to do this collection for Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter for our homeless brothers and sisters in the area. Please bring your donated item(s) in by July 15th. The items will be sorted and prepared by our Session I Sacramental Prep students. The Poor Box for June, July & August Donations to the Poor Box for the summer months will benefit our local food pantries. The hungry in our community, especially those with children, have an increased need for food during the summer months when the schools (providing subsidized lunch programs) are not in session. This is often the time when the food supplies at the Food Pantries are the lowest. Please consider helping those in need by donating to the Poor Box this summer!! Thank you for your generosity. Summer Blessings School is out and we want to wish all our students a safe and God-filled summer! Are you a High School graduate heading off to college in August? We d love to keep in touch. Please call the Parish Office with your school address for next year.

5 Parish Contact Information The Financial Report will appear in next week s bulletin, due to the early deadline for bulletin publishing leading up to Independence Day. As always, thank you for your continued generosity!!! Without your continued gifts of time, talent and treasure, St. Mark s could not be the vibrant and welcoming community that it is!! We never take it for granted! Mass Intentions for July 8 - July 15 7/8 Sunday, 8 AM: Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Lavallee by Deacon Tom & Kathy Lavallee 7/8 Sunday, 9:30 AM: Dorothy Maxwell by her husband & family 7/8 Sunday, 11 AM: Marie Abbene by Mary Y. Lynch 7/9 Monday, 9 AM: Judith Antonuccio by Rod & Bernice Granese 7/10 Tuesday, 9 AM: Nora Morris by Roger & Paula Hubert 7/11 Wednesday, 9 AM: Richard & Jean Bisson by the Sadler family 7/12 Thursday, 9 AM: Intentions of Monica Rahilly by the Ciarletta family 7/14 Saturday, 5 PM: People of the Parish 7/15 Sunday, 8 AM: Kerry & Patricia Hildreth by the Kelley family 7/15 Sunday, 9:30 AM: Mr. & Mrs. William Clark by Deacon Tom & Kathy Lavallee 7/15 Sunday, 11 AM: John Carbone by Cindy & George Combes 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 Hollis Dunlop 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