Saint Patrick Parish 1 Cross Street, Whitinsville, MA 01588
Welcome St. Patrick Parish: A Faith Community since 1870 - Rectory Phone: 508-234-5656 MASS SCHEDULE: Saturday: 4:30 PM; Sunday 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 5:00 PM ; Monday-Wednesday 8:30 AM Parish Staff Rev. Tomasz Borkowski: Pastor FrTomasz@mystpatricks.com Deacon Patrick Stewart: Deacon DeaconPat@mystpatricks.com Deacon Chris Finan: Deacon DeaconChris@mystpatricks.com Mrs. Jackie Trottier: Operations Manager Jackie@mystpatricks.com Mrs. Aileen Lemoine: Pastoral Associate to Youth Ministry & Interim Coordinator of Children s Ministries. Aileen@mystpatricks.com Mrs. Shelly Mombourquette: Administrative Assistant Shelly@mystpatricks.com Mr. Kiel Krommer: Music Director Kiel@mystpatricks.com Mr. Christopher Bilodeau: Worship Leader for Sunday,5:00 PM Mass Chris@ mystpatricks.com Sacrament of Reconciliation: Confessions are offered every Saturday from 3:30-4:00 PM in the Church or by calling the Parish Office for an appointment. Members of the family requesting the Mass are asked to bring the gifts of bread and wine to the altar. Please make yourselves known to the lector and sit near the gifts. Weekend of December 16/17: Sat., 4:30 PM + Seth Proulx (1st ) Sun., 8:00 AM - by his Family + Louis Remigio - by his Family & Friends Sun., 10:00 AM + Barbara Sullivan - by Ron Sullivan Sun., 5:00 PM + Sarah Kilby (1st) - By Family 8:30 AM Daily Mass Intentions December 18-22: Monday Tuesday Wednesday + - + Holy Souls in Purgatory - by Helpers of Holy Souls + John & Alice Cook - by their Family Thursday - No Mass Friday - No Mass Mr. Jack Jackson: Cemetery Superintendent: Jack@mystpatricks.com -Volunteer Support Staff - Mrs. Mary Contino: Wedding Coordinator Maryc@mystpatricks.com Ms. Jeanne LeBlanc: Ministry Scheduler Jleblanc@mystpatricks.com Mrs. Marylin Arrigan: Staff Support, Bulletin Marylin@mystpatricks.com Sat., 4:30 PM *Sun., 9:00 AM **Sun., 4:30 PM Weekend of December 23/24: + Clare (2nd Anniv.) & Joseph ( 8th Anniv.) Briand - by their Family + Austin & Lorraine Mombourquette - by their Family + People of St. Patrick Parish *Note time of the Mass on Sunday morning. ** Christmas Vigil The Mass book is open for the months of January-March. If you would like to book a mass in memory of a loved one please call the rectory at 508-234-5656.
FAITH FORMATION RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SCHEDULE Pre school: Sunday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Kindergarten: Sunday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM First Grade: Sunday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Grades 2-5: Sun. 8:45 AM including attending the 10AM Mass Children are to attend the 10:00 am Mass with their parents/ guardians and take part in the Children s Liturgy of the Word. Grades 6, 7 & 8 Monday 6:45 PM - 8:00 PM High School: Sunday 5:00-7:30 PM Formal High School Classes will take place September-February at varied dates. Special Sessions take place throughout the year check the weekly schedule for times. Upcoming December Faith Formation Classes: 17: No Faith Formation grades Pre-5 Faith Formation Gr. 9 & 10, 5-7:30 PM, Church Weekly Prayer Group & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00-8:00 PM (Center) All Are Welcome! Adoration Continues: Every Wednesday 3:00-7:00 PM in the Chapel Do you have a 1/2 hour or hour to spend before the Blessed Sacrament? Stop in, and say a prayer. You will be glad you did. Welcome LIFE IN THE PARISH Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Rectory Phone: 508-234-5656 Rectory Fax: 508-234-6845 Religious Ed. Phone: 508-234-3511 Parish Website: www.mystpatricks.com Find us on Facebook at St Patricks Parish Whitinsville Follow us on Social Media! St Patricks Parish Whitinsville stpatsville @stpatricks20 st.patricksparish Are You New to St. Patrick Parish? Become a member by going to mystpatricks.com to register on-line. Do you have students to register for Religious Education? Go to the Religious Education tab and register on-line, or by the office. 18: Faith Formation, Gr. 6-8, 6:45-8 PM, Center Upcoming Second Collections: Dec. 17: Utilities Upcoming Special Collections: Dec. 24/25: Christmas No Date: Christmas Flowers Upcoming December Meetings/Events: Dec. 17: Christmas Basket Program, Center Dec. 17: SPiN Action, 1:15-4:15 PM, Start Chapel end Center Dec. 20: Laudato Si, 7-8:30 PM, Center Dec. 21:: Laudato Si, 9-10 AM, Center OUR LADY OF THE VALLEY REGIONAL SCHOOL 71 Mendon Street, Uxbridge, MA 01569 508-278-5851 www.ourladyofthevalleyregional.com Sacrament of Baptism: For information concerning our Parent and Godparent Preparation Program, please contact the Parish Office approximately three to six months before the child is born. Sacrament of Reconciliation: Confessions are offered every Saturday from 3:30-4:00 PM in the Church or by calling the Parish Office for an appointment. Sacrament of Matrimony: Couples should contact a Parish Priest as soon as they decide to marry and before any other arrangements are made. The Diocesan policy requires a minimum one-year period of preparation. Sacrament of the Sick & Homebound Visits Please inform us when a family member is admitted to the hospital. Communion visits to the aged, sick, convalescing and homebound are a major concern to us. Please call the Rectory at 508-234-5656 to arrange these ministerial visits. Upcoming Baptism: Dec. 17: Eloise Armstrong,11:30 AM, Church RCIA The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults teaches the history, traditions and Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. Non- Catholics or Catholic Adults seeking information about full initiation into the Catholic Church, through Baptism, Eucharist or Confirmation, should contact Deacon Chris Finan at (508) 234-5656. Music Ministry Cantor Rehearsal: First and Third Tuesdays 7:00-8:30 PM Contemporary Music Ensemble Rehearsals: Second & Fourth Tuesday 7:00-9:00 PM New Members are Always Welcome in any Music Ministry. Prayer Shawl Ministry As a parishioner of St. Patrick s, you can request a Prayer Shawl for someone whom you feel needs comfort by calling or e-mailing Lucille at 508-234-2255 or blharper@verizon.net or call Shelly or Jackie at the rectory at 508-234-5656
STEWARDSHIP / MINISTRIES Gifts for Needy Families Please be sure to return all gifts to the Parish Center no later than 12:00 Noon this Sunday, December 17th with the tags securely attached to all of the packages. Toys and clothing gifts should be wrapped. It is very important that all gifts are returned on time. The needy families who are receiving these items are coming to St. Patrick s on the same day to pick up all of these very generous donations. There are many gifts to check in and assign to the appropriate family. If you are late returning your tag or do not return your tag at all, some family that is depending on your gift will be disappointed. Even in bad weather, we will still have our distribution. If you cannot return the item within the requested time frame, please contact Jackie at the rectory at 508-234-5656 or Jackie@MyStPatricks.com as soon as possible so that we can make other arrangements. As always, your continued support is greatly appreciated! Welcome St. Patrick s Parish Advent and Christmas Calendar of Events Sacrament of Reconciliation: Confessions are offered every Saturday from 3:30-4 PM in the Church Adoration: Quiet time before the Blesses Sacrament will be offered every Wednesday in the Chapel from 3:00-7:00 PM. Stop in, light a candle and say a prayer. Sunday, Dec. 24th: Regular Sunday Mass will be at 9 AM Christmas Mass Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 24th: Mass at 4:30 PM & Mass at Midnight Monday, Dec. 25th: Mass at 10:00 AM Live streaming of St. Patrick s Mass: Access it through YouTube on your computer and mystpatrick channel or go to our website. There are angels among us! St. Patrick s Church has 85 angels inside and outside its walls. Can you find all 85? Here s a hint for 2 that are hard to find: they only come out on Wednesdays! See if you can count them all. Knights of Columbus- Upcoming Meeting The monthly meeting of the Mumford Council #365, will be held this Tuesday, December 19th at Mumford Hall. There will be a pre-meeting meal at 6:15 PM, followed by the meeting at 7:00 PM. If you are not a member of the Knights of Columbus and would like to join us, please talk to any Knight or visit www.kofc365.org. If you don t plan to take the Bulletin home with you after Mass we ask you to please return them to either the Chapel or the back of the Church and don t leave them in the pews. But please take them home as a reference to what s coming up! Prayer for Those in the Service Almighty God, we stand before you asking for your divine mercy and protection. Embrace with your invincible armor our loved ones in all branches of the service. Give them courage and strength against all enemies both spiritual and physical and hasten their safe journey back to their homes and families. Amen Please remember the following service personnel in your Prayers as they serve and protect our country: Pvt. Tyler Finnigan, US Army, Ft. Devens, MA L.Cpl. Aaron Marshall, Okinawa, Eric Hoyt, Machinist 1st Class, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. Army, L.Cpl. Troy Monteville, Stateside Help Decorate for Christmas! The Christmas Committee invited you to help decorate the parish for Christmas and needs your help to make this successful! We will be working on Thursday 12/21 from 3:30-7:30 PM, there will be pizza and drink for volunteers! In addition, we will work at 3:30-6:30 on Friday 12/22. Please know that any amount of time you are able to volunteer is important to accomplish everything! If you have any questions, please contact Ray Kane at rjkane76@gmail.com or call 508-341-2240.
Reflections: Welcome Rejoice in the Lord Always Gaudete Sunday, celebrated this year on December 17, reminds us that we have passed the midpoint of our Advent season of looking inward at the places in our lives where God seems to be absent. It reminds us that where God is, there is always joy, even when we seem to miss the joy that our ever present God wants us to have, for whatever reason. How has your Advent gone this year? The angels we have been reflecting on can help us to capture that joy. Like Fr. Tomasz said last Sunday they are messengers for God and even when the message is not clear, if we listen and trust that it is of God, we will find the joy. The Angel Gabriel, a primary character in the Christmas story first speaks to Zachariah in his and Elizabeth s old age, telling them that they would have a child and name him John. At first they were perplexed, but later rejoiced in the Lord for the birth of their long awaited son who became a herald for the Messiah. Mary and Joseph both heard from Gabriel, and found it very hard to believe what they had been told. But trusting in God, they too, soon became overjoyed at the birth of their Son, our Lord, and I am sure that God continued to speak to them through their angels to help guide in raising Jesus. Do you desire to experience joy? Open yourself up to the message this Advent that God wants you to have joy and trust in God s messengers, the angels that surround us, and find joy and share it. Peace and joy, Deacon Patrick Here are some simple prayers for the next two weeks of Advent as you prepare for Christmas with your family. Say the prayer in the morning. Say it at the beginning of a meal. Say it at night. Whatever works for you. Give it a try and let the prayer guide your heart: Week 3, Joy Dear Jesus, help us focus on you during this busy season. May we stay aware of the joy you bring into our lives. We want to find you in the everyday moments and come with hearts of gratitude to your manger on Christmas. May the Angels of God guide us. Amen. Week 4, Love Dear Jesus, may the light of your love always shine in our hearts. As Christmas draws closer, we marvel at you great love for us. Let your love transform every aspect of our lives and touch everyone we encounter. Our hearts are open to you, Jesus. May the Angels of God guide us. Amen.
Welcome Introducing the Blackstone Valley Emergency Shelter Sponsored by the United Presbyterian Church in Whitinsville So many people in our society are overlooked, under served and in need of a helping hand, especially during the harsh winter months. Many right here in our own community do not have a warm place to sleep at night, and their lives are endangered by the cold and snow. As a community of faith, we have seen this need and feel called to respond by literally opening our doors and offering a warm welcome to all those in need. We believe that this kind of loving care is at the center of our call to discipleship, and that anything that we do for the least of these, we do for Christ. In response, we will begin to open our doors on the harshest of nights from 7pm to 7am in order to provide a warm place to sleep for men, women and children. Teams of volunteers are needed to help supervise the shelter throughout the night. The decision of whether to open the shelter on any given night will be made by our Shelter Coordinators 24 hours in advance. Volunteers will then be contacted to welcome our guests and the shelter will be opened to all those in need. - Volunteer Get involved! Volunteers are needed to staff the shelter in four hour shifts throughout the night. Fill out the application that is in the bulletin racks and join us for one of our training sessions on Sunday January 29 from noon to 2pm or Thursday February 2 from 7 to 9pm. Bring a bagged lunch if you are joining us on Sunday, refreshments will be provided. Volunteers need to be 18+ to apply and both men and women are needed! Contact our church office to pick up an application, or download it on our church website at www.whitinpres.org/shelter -Donate Help provide a warm place for somebody to sleep by donating towards the startup costs of this ministry. Just $25 provides a comfortable mat for our guests to use and donations over and above that help us turn up the heat and provide for those in need. Giving is easy. Checks can be made out to the Friends of Peace of Bread and mailed to the church office at 7 Spring Street, Whitinsville MA 01588 or you can give online by visiting us atwww.whitinpres.org/shelter. Learn More To learn more about the heart and soul behind this ministry, visit us online at www.whitinpres.org/shelter to view a short video clip by one of our Peace of Bread Team Members and download program forms. Questions? Contact the Blackstone Valley Emergency Shelter at (508) 266-5122 or email bv.emergency.shelter@gmail.com to find out more.