Holy Trinity Parish St. Matthew, St. Agnes and Our Lady of Grace Plymouth Office Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-3:30 PM 46 Langdon Street Plymouth, NH 03264 Phone: (603) 536-4700 Fax: (603) 536-4709 E-mail: holytrinitynh@gmail.com Website: www.holytrinityparishnh.org Facebook Page: Holy Trinity News and Info PARISH STAFF Pastor Rev. Leo A. LeBlanc Deacon Rev. Mr. Michael Guy Pastoral Minister David M. Gravel Parish Operations Sandra Hauser Director of Music Ministries Bristol Coordinator Bulletin Editor Christine Chiasson Phone: (603) 724-1825 holytrinitybristol@gmail.com ~ St. Matthew Church ~ 11 School Street, Plymouth 4:00 PM Saturday 7:30 & 11:30 AM Sunday 8:00 AM Monday Reconciliation: 3:00 PM Saturday or by appointment ~ St. Agnes Church ~ 19 Hill Avenue, Ashland 9:30 AM Sunday (Summer) Closed for the Winter ~ Our Lady of Grace Chapel ~ 2 West Shore Road, Bristol 8:00 AM (Summer) 9:30 AM Sunday North American Martyrs Oratory 17 West Shore Road, Bristol Mass 8:00 AM Thursday Eucharistic Adoration 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Holy Trinity Parish - Plymouth, Bristol, Ashland Saturday, December 22 Guy Brisson by his wife, Lorraine Sunday, December 23 7:30 AM St. Matthew Church 9:30 AM Our Lady of Grace Chapel Douglas Paterson by his wife, Phyllis Peter Olesnevich by a friend 11:30 AM St. Matthew Church Joseph Laufenberg by his son, Peter Kathleen Cyr by Elizabeth Wilkin Monday, December 24 - Christmas Eve 4:00 PM Our Lady of Grace Chapel Jane Hennessey by Terry Casey 6:00 PM St. Matthew Church 9:00 PM St. Matthew Church Tuesday, December 25 - Christmas Day 10:30 AM St. Matthew Church For all Parishioners Wednesday December 26 5:00 PM North American Martyrs Oratory Rosary Thursday December 27 NO ADORATION Friday, December 28 Saturday, December 29 Sunday, December 30 7:30 AM St. Matthew Church 9:30 AM Our Lady of Grace Chapel Wallace Cogean by the family Joanne Moriarty by her husband, Patrick 11:30 AM St. Matthew Church indicates Mass Intentions for deceased person(s). If you have scheduled an announced Mass and would like to bring up the Gifts at that Mass, please let one of the ushers know before Mass. Sunday, December 23 NO FAITH FORMATION CLASSES Thursday, December 27 Day Away Program Bristol: Simard Hall, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Boy Scout Meeting, Ashland: St. Agnes Hall, 6:00 PM Sunday, December 30 NO FAITH FORMATION CLASSES The Parish Office will be closed Monday, December 24th through Wednesday, December 26th in observance of Christmas. The office will reopen on Thursday, December 27th at 9:00 AM. General Offertory Loose $1680.21 Envelopes $3062.50 Second Collection: Snow Removal Loose $385.79 Envelopes: $1006.42 Christmas Flowers $144.00 Christmas Offering $260.00 Immaculate Conception $45.00 Religious Retired $15.00 Easter Flowers $50.00 Thank you for your continued generosity. Have you ever thought about making your contributions online? It s easy! Just log on to www. holytrinityparishnh.org, click on parish life, and then online giving. Call Sandy at 536-4700 for more information. Rest Room Use by Children Children MUST be supervised by a parent when using the rest rooms at both the Bristol and Plymouth campuses. This is a Safe Environment policy that is put in place to protect your children. Please abide by it.
Fourth Sunday of Advent Our new parish center is really taking shape! The roof is on, the windows are positioned, and the fruit of the workers labor is beginning to be evident. The interior work will soon begin. Soon, there will be heat in the new building so the workers will be able to work more efficiently in the middle of a cold winter. Much work remains to be done but the progress in encouraging and our dreams for a new space are moving forward. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who are participating in this endeavor. Your prayers are appreciated. Your donations keep coming in to help make our dream a reality. We appreciate your pledges and donations. Please keep them coming as we still have a long way to go. This new center will help our parish to grow and to serve you better in a facility which is accessible and very inviting. If you have not yet been part of this endeavor, we would welcome you to come aboard so that you too can take pride in this very important venture. We have placed donation cards in the pews and in the back of church if you wish to donate. Our completion date should be in mid spring. From the staff and myself, we wish you a most Blessed Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year! Fr. Leo WHY DO WE DO THAT? CATHOLIC LIFE EXPLAINED Question: Why do we celebrate Jesus' birthday on December 25th? Answer: As you may notice from the Christmas stories, there is no calendar date listed for Jesus' birth! The Christians in the East - Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor - celebrated Christmas on January 6th. This was a calculation based on the estimated date of Jesus' crucifixion. In the Western Church - centered in Rome - January 6th became celebrated as the feast of the Epiphany. So why December 25th? A popular theory relates to the time period. The Roman Empire had lavish festivals for the winter solstice as light began to return to the earth. These festivals culminated with the day to celebrate the birth of the "Unconquered Sun." The parallels are easy enough to see. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." With the birth of Jesus, a new light shines into the world. The unconquered Maker of the sun dwells among us! Some historians believe that Christians "baptized" this feast, in a sense, turning people's attention away from worship of creatures towards worship of the Creator. This Christmas, celebrate the true Light of the World! A Christmas Gift For Parishioners At this weekend s Masses we will be offering copies of the book, The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity by Matthew Kelly to our parish family. This may sound like a book about lies, but it s really a book about truth. In part it is about changing the world, and our world needs changing. We can collaborate with God in a powerful way every day but in order to do that we have to get beyond the lie detailed in the book. We suggest you read the book and keep it as the basis of our Lenten program next year. Read it and pass it on. That s how Christianity transformed the world! WHO ARE THE CATHOLIC CAMPUS MINISTRY? Catholic Campus Ministry is a vibrant student group that meets at the Reflection & Spiritual Care Center at Plymouth State University. They meet weekly to discuss topics from a Catholic perspective and experience different types of prayer. They do social activities and engage in service projects such as Thanksgiving Baskets. Fr. Leo hosts the group monthly for a prayer service, created by the students, and supper, cooked by parishioners. Christmas Message of the Week I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all of the people." Merry Christmas! This familiar story dances with new life and vigor today. We, too, have waited in darkness. We, too, have felt in the desert of the modern world. Our hearts lift at the candles of midnight Mass. The Eucharist - that simple little host resting in the stable of our hearts - has new meaning. Our joy lifts at the sight of longunseen family. The wonder of the season is here. Glory to God indeed! But for some of us, perhaps the patterns feel too familiar, almost grating. Or someone is missing from our story this year. Unlike Mary and Joseph - who found refuge in a stable - perhaps we still feel like we're searching for a place to rest. This Christmas season, let Jesus be that place. Let the Christmas story wash over you in all its human relevance. In the Holy Family, we see the fear of a first-time father trying to shelter and protect his family, a deeply vulnerable moment on a cold, uncomfortable night, and giving birth with little assistance. In the shepherds, we see an entirely unexpected encounter with wonder, a divine revelation none were expecting. We see the dazzling hope of a promise fulfilled. In the celebration of Christmas, we celebrate the Incarnation. God becomes man because we humans need someone we can touch, see, and feel. Some of us may be especially sensitive to a lack of incarnate love in our lives. Whatever our experience, God invites us to receive HIM - His story, His presence, His love. And He invites us to give it away, to make His love a little more incarnate in the world by our actions. Look for someone to love today that they, too, might recognize Emmanuel, God with us! Christmas Christmas Eve: Monday, December 24th 4:00 PM: Our Lady of Grace 4:00 PM : St. Matthew Church 6:00 PM : St. Matthew Church 9:00 PM: St. Matthew Church Christmas Day: Tuesday, December 25th 10:30 AM St. Matthew Church
December 23, 2018 The Catholic Daughters would like to thank all who participated in the Holiday Bake Sale. All proceeds go to the charities they sponsor. Catholic Daughters of the Americas is a group of women who do wonderful works for the parish and beyond. They support many charities through their bake sales and Cabin Fever Supper. They also support the Haven Pregnancy Center and sponsor a service of remembrance for those who have lost children through miscarriage and abortion. For more information about the Catholic Daughters contact Kim Elfstrom at (603) 786-9995. Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus have a council both in Plymouth and in Bristol. Both councils meet regularly and perform numerous duties to help the parish. Both councils offer scholarships to students entering college, along with events within the churches to sponsor various charities. For more information, call Rich Manzi (Plymouth Knights) at 536-4225, or Tom Babcock (Bristol) at (603) 744-6442. Eucharistic Adoration on Thursdays Help Needed Eucharistic Adoration at North American Martyrs Oratory is every Thursday from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Adorers are needed from 11:00 to Noon, Noon to 1:00 PM, and 3:00 to 4:00 PM. Please call Sandy at the office at 536-4700 if you would be willing to help. Day Away Program Day Away is a social program for adults with early stages of Alzheimer s or related Dementia. This program provides their caregivers a much-needed respite and relief from constant care and responsibility every Thursday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. For the participant, activities include games, crafts, bingo, local entertainment etc. Volunteers are needed from 8:30 am - 12:00 pm or 11:30 am -3:00 pm. Contact Sandra Coleman RN, BSN by email sjrhett@roadrunner.com, or call at Kairos Prison Ministry Men s Weekend The Kairos ministry is a three day weekend where a team of men go into the state men s prison and through talks, prayers, meditation and songs help the residents understand that God truly loves them. They also learn about forgiving others that have harmed them and forgiving themselves. The team brings approved supplies and food for the residents during this wonderful weekend. If you are interested in becoming a part of the men s team, or supporting the work we do, please all Dave Hemeon at 603-671-8063. Contribution Envelopes Contribution envelopes will be available at the back of the churches on the weekend of December 29 and 30th. There has been some reorganization of the envelope system and some will find that their envelope numbers have changed. There will be complete continuity in the reporting of funds. Thank you for your cooperation. Parishioner Contact Update If your contact information has changed, please email holytrinitybristol@gmail.com or call Chris at (603) 724-1825. Having your current information on hand allows us to serve you better! The Alpha Program Alpha just finished running their very successful fall program. What is the meaning of life? Through a series of interactive talks, FREE DINNER, music and discussion, the Alpha program helps you to answer that question. Stay tuned for the next Alpha session! Cursillo is a short course on Christianity intended for those who wish to strengthen their faith and develop a deeper understanding of their relationship with Jesus. Talks are given at this weekend by clergy and lay people which leads to lively discussions and are interspersed with music, sharing, making new friends and celebrating Holy Mass. Cursillo is a wonderful tool to assist you wherever you are on your faith journey. For more information call Sandy at the office at 536-4700. Parking at St. Matthew Church The construction gates around the church will stay closed throughout the winter. The two university lots on the corners of High St. are available for your use. We ask that you please leave the street parking and the lot across from the church for our elderly and handicapped parishioners who have trouble walking. Thank you for your cooperation.
Ministries for Youth Youth Faith Formation: Elementary, Middle and High School Our youth faith formation program is in Ashland and Bristol. The youth of this parish also participate in Youthfest, Steubenville East, programs at the NH Food Bank and other youth programming. Boy Scouts: We have Troop 56 here at the parish. The Scouts, along with the regular program of scouting, perform many community service projects for the parish, like cleaning the church grounds and organizing spaghetti suppers. We celebrate Scout Sunday every year. Venture Program: part of our Scouting program, the program is for high school aged boys and girls. Venture is a ministry based on outside activities like hikes and biking and service to the community like baking pies for the Senior Center. Junior Catholic Daughters: The Junior Catholic Daughters an extension of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. The group is open to girls aged 6 to 18, and they meet regularly to engage in social and spiritual activities, as well as many service projects for the parish. For more information on our ministries and organizations, log on to our website at holytrinityparishnh.org or call Sandy at the office at 536-4700.