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The Epistle Online: February 28, 2017
St. Paul Catholic Parish
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Ash Wednesday
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March 1, 2017
Ash Wednesday at St. Paul Church
Mass at 7am, 9am*, 5pm, 7pm
Prayer Service at Noon
*All are welcome to join t
he students for the
9am
School Mass
Catholics age 18-59 are required to fast (1 meal + 2 snacks) and to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday
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Better Together
Merger of St. Paul and Sacred Heart
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Click/tap on the image for more information about our parish and the merger of
St. Paul and Sacred Heart
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Lent 2017
Making it Meaningful
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including Mass times, Confession, Adoration, Stations of the Cross, the Rosary
Deciding what to "give up"?
These beautiful ideas may inspire you...
Besides giving up chocolate
What is Lent All About?
This video includes a brief but powerful explanation.
Dying to selfishness and sin...
Rising with Jesus Christ to a new life...
We all know the things that make us happy, but we don't always do them. Lent is an opportunity to change that. Dynamic Catholic invites you to do something different.
Click on the image to find out about
a FREE, video-based email program featuring internationally acclaimed speaker and New York Times bestselling author Matthew Kelly. From Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, Matthew will help you identify what stands between you and happiness . . . and what to do about it.
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Our Faith
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2017 marks
the 100th anniversary of the miraculous apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.
The apparitions began when Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal
on May 13, 1917 and
continued until Oct. 13, 1917. The apparitions were later declared 'worthy of belief' by the Catholic Church.
Click on the image or headline above to learn more.
EWTN
, the global Catholic news network, has been running special programming for the past year to commemorate the anniversary. The specials will continue through May 2017.
Fifty years ago, "Catholic Charismatics" as a group didn't exist. Today, they number about 120 million. The emergence of this group began when the Holy Spirit came to a few college-age Catholics in a Pennsylvania forest in February 1967....
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St. Paul Parish App
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St. Paul Parish will soon be launching our own app!
The "myParish" app for St. Paul Parish will include bulletins, prayers, homilies, parish calendar, and m
uch more.
All of our parish information will be available at the touch of a button. The app will
make it even easier for you to stay connected to parish life and to inspire your faith everyday.
There will be an official "launch" weekend in a few weeks.. watch for details in the bulletin, on the website and in your Inbox!
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Our Ministries
Love to sing?
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The St Paul Parish
Adult Choir and 'Exultations' Children's Choir
are welcoming new members!
If you love to sing,
contact our Director of Music, Jeff Batter, for more information.
Our parish is blessed to have wonderful singers
(old and young!) in our Choirs.
Take advantage of the opportunity to make beautiful music with your fellow parishioners and with our talented music director!
Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth
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Psalm 96
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Men's ACTS Retreat
A great experience
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Several men from St. Paul Parish attended the
ACTS Retreat
over Presidents' Day Weekend from Feb. 16th-19th.
Here are some comments we received after the weekend from a few of the participants:
"The ACTS retreat was amazing! I was able to experience God's love through the ACTS brothers at the retreat. I left the event with a new perspective on life and my faith."
"I had an incredible time, learned a lot, and its has helped deepen my faith and build up my self-discipline. I am excited to continue this brotherhood through our occasional events and through prayer for each other."
"All of us thoroughly enjoyed the retreat ... The Holy Spirit was very strong among the retreatants and there was a lot of sharing and healings. The sacrament of reconciliation was very powerful for the men who attended."
If you missed it and would like to attend one of these retreats in the future, please
click here or contact Jerry Cavaliere at 860-919-6826.
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Our Annual Parish Report
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| 2016 End of the Year Report |
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The Pastor's Inbox
...and the Replies
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Reactions to the Annual Report
Inbox:
Fr. Robert, I don't come to church to be yelled at. I come to feel good about myself.
Response:
I didn't mean to yell at anyone I simple pointed out somethings that we as a parish need to work on. I'm sorry you took offence. I still feel it is wrong to leave church after communion.
Inbox: D
ear Father, I
attended the 4 pm mass today and was grateful that you addressed the talking, excessive noise, and early exit issues. Never could understand what the rush was to get to the parking lot.
Response: Thank you for your kind words
Why do you hate us?
Inbox: Fr. Robert, why do you hate us? (In Stop and Shop next to the frozen pizzas)
Response: Who are you?
Inbox: I'm from Sacred Heart
Response: What happens to Sacred Heart is not my decision. Trust me, no one would be happier than me if it remained as it is. Sadly the attendance is down, the finances are just making it, and there are not enough priests. I am hopeful that Sacred Heart and St. Paul will make one strong parish in Berlin. Have a good day.
Dance During Lent
Inbox: Dear Fr. Robert,
Why are the school children having a dance during Lent?
Response: Yes, Lent is a period of fasting and penance, however to my knowledge there is no prohibition regarding dancing during Lent in the United States. If I'm wrong show me the rule, and I'll cancel the dance. I certainly wouldn't have a dance on Good Friday out of respect for our Lord's passion.
Boy Scouts
Inbox:
Dear Fr. Robert,
I think it's terrible that you threw Troop 24 out of St. Paul Church. Who do you think you are?
Response: Sadly you are misinformed. We did not throw Troop 24 out of St. Paul Church, they left us and never told us. They are now chartered by the South Kensington Fire Department. We are going to use the precious space they occupied in the Church Basement as a food pantry for the poor. Happily, when Troop 24 left St. Paul and the Knights of Columbus, Troop 44 asked to be affiliated with us and we are happy to comply.
Parish Office Inbox: I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Fr Charles's homily... He equated [the story] to Jesus dying for us so that we could be with him in heaven. It made it so clear how much our Father loves us!
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Our Staff
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This section of the newsletter aims to help you put names with faces and allow everyone in our parish family to get to know each other better.
Patty LaVette and Maura Gaffney in the Parish Center... working "Better Together"!
Patty LaVette
is our Coordinator for Parish Bulletin and Membership. After working at Saint Paul School as a music teacher for 5 years, she began working in the Parish Center in 2002. In addition to publishing our 9-page weekly bulletin, Patty organizes our monthly Registration night, providing a warm welcome to all new parishioners.
Friends refer to Patty as "McGiver meets Martha Stewart". She can fix just about anything
and
make it look pretty. Patty and her husband live in Berlin and enjoy spending time with their two grown sons (alum of our parish school) and their families.
Maura Gaffney joined the parish staff as Coordinator for Parish Communications in 2015. She works part-time, maintaining the parish website, keeping the community informed about what's happening in our parish, and connecting with parishioners through Facebook, email and
soon through the parish app as well! Maura has a background in marketing research and writing. She and her husband live in Kensington with their four boys (one alum and two currently attending our parish school). Maura is also the Athletic Director for the parish school.
If you are planning an event or if you have news for the bulletin or website, send it over to Patty and Maura and they'll be happy to get the word out!
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March/April 2017 Calendar
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| March 1 |
Ash Wednesday Distribution of Ashes at all the following:
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7:00am Mass |
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9:00am School Mass - All Are Welcome! |
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12:00pm Ash Wednesday Prayer Service |
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5:00pm Mass |
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7:00pm Mass |
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7:30am First Friday Breakfast after 7am Mass |
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7:00pm Stations of the Cross, at Sacred Heart Church
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| March 4 & 5 |
Welcome Weekend! Refreshments after all Masses
Welcome, Sacred Heart Parishioners! "Better Together" |
| March 5 |
9:00am Scout Sunday Mass Followed by Coffee |
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9:30am Mass at Sacred Heart Church |
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6:00pm EDGE Youth Ministry Event - Human Tic-Tac-Toe! |
| March 6 |
1:00pm Rosary Makers Meeting - New Members Welcome! |
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7:00pm Leave the Light On - All Are Welcome!
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| March 7 |
6:00pm Exultations (Children's Choir) Rehearsal |
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7:00pm Adult Choir Rehearsal |
March 8
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6:00pm The Rosary, held at Sacred Heart Church |
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7:00pm Ladies' Guild, held at St. Paul Church |
| March 10 |
7:00pm Stations of the Cross, at Sacred Heart Church
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| March 11 |
5:00pm Boy Scouts' Pasta Supper |
| March 12 |
9:30am Mass at Sacred Heart Church |
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4:00pm Altar Server Training |
| March 13 |
12:00pm 13th of the Month Rosary |
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7:00pm Leave the Light On - All Are Welcome! |
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7:00pm Registration Night for New Members |
| March 14 |
1:00pm Prayer Shawl Ministry |
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6:00pm Exultations Rehearsal |
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7:00pm Choir Rehearsal
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| March 15 |
6:00am Men's Group |
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6:00pm The Rosary, held at Sacred Heart Church
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| March 16 |
1:00pm Knights of Columbus Blood Drive |
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6:30pm Ladies' Guild, Fr. Carroll Hall, Sacred Heart Church |
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March 17
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7:00pm Stations of the Cross, at Sacred Heart Church |
| March 18 |
3:00pm Confession |
| March 19 |
9:30am Mass at Sacred Heart Church
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| March 20 |
7:00pm Leave the Light On - All Are Welcome!
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| March 21 |
6:00pm Exultations Rehearsal
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7:00pm Choir Rehearsal
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| March 22 |
6:00pm The Rosary, held at Sacred Heart Church
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7:00pm Adult Faith Formation Program |
| March 23 |
Reminder: NO 5pm Mass |
| March 24 |
NO 7am or 5 pm Mass |
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12:00pm Food Share at Sacred Heart |
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7:00pm Stations of the Cross, at Sacred Heart Church
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| March 25 |
3:00pm Confession
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| March 26 |
9:30am Mass at Sacred Heart Church
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| March 27 |
7:00pm Leave the Light On - All Are Welcome!
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| March 28 |
6:00pm Exultations Rehearsal
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7:00pm Choir Rehearsal
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| March 31 |
6:00am Men's Group |
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7:00pm Stations of the Cross, at Sacred Heart Church
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See web calendar for changes and future events. |
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The Epistle
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We hope this newsletter will be a helpful resource for you, providing information about what's
going on in our parish and sharing content on both spiritual and practical matters related to our Catholic faith.
The Epistle
is so named as a tribute to our patron, Saint Paul, whose letters to the earliest Christians still guide and inform us today.
As always, w
e value you and your opinions. Feel free to share your thoughts with us.
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PASS IT ON
Please forward this Newsletter to a family member or friend so they too will have an opportunity to learn something new and to see all the great things that are happening at
Saint Paul Parish.
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"For it is in giving that we receive."
-Saint Francis of Assisi
A Ministry of the Conventual Franciscan Friars,
Our Lady of the Angels Province
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