July 30, 2020
Dear
Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,
This weekend we hear the famous passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans (Rom. 8: 35-39). A portion of Romans that has always captured my attention, my mind, and my heart. Paul eloquently speaks of God’s solidarity with us in Christ. In this memorable passage, Paul assures us that nothing in the whole creation can separate us from the love of God.
Paul was talking from experience. He had known plenty of troubles, as he tells us in another of his letters (2 Cor. 11: 23-29). We are talking of major stuff. He was imprisoned and abused gravely by his captors. Once he was stoned and left for dead. Three times he was shipwrecked, spending a day and night adrift in the sea. He traveled thousands of miles, often narrowly escaping death from robbers and enemies. He knew hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness. Yet he somehow overcame all of these through the power of God who loved him in Christ. His strength came from the conviction of God’s love for him.
Each of us could draw up a list of troubles we have experienced, especially these days. The list would be different for everyone. But how many of us, including me, immediately jump to negative conclusions where we feel abandoned by God’s love.
I encourage all of us to not forget the lessons learned from Paul and others like him. The more troubles abounded, the more he clung to God. A love trustworthy, a love that never changes, even when times are challenging.
If we try to do as Paul did, then our trials, far from separating us from God, will bring us closer to God, because in them we experience God’s power and abiding love.
Blessings,
Fr. George Couturier
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Important Announcements
- A word of congratulations to the young women and men of our parish who received the Sacrament of Confirmation (in four separate ceremonies) here at St. Josephine Bakhita Parish at St. James Church. We pray that they rely on the profound love of God that comes to them as gifts of the Holy Spirit. A word of gratitude to their families, the catechists and the coordinators of our Faith Formation Program. By their profound love of God and these your people they have been drawn closer to God and the Church. Now it is up to these young people to embrace the Spirit in their lives and find what they need to journey forth.
- Also, a word of congratulations to the young third graders who received the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist for the very first time (in four separate Masses). May they find the nourishment and presence of the Living Christ in the Eucharist again, and again, and again in the community of the Church. Blessings to their families as they continue to bring their young ones up in the faith and life of the Church. Again, gratitude to the catechists and Faith Formation Staff for their sharing of faith and diligent work.
- I would like to encourage you to consider making a donation of support for our sister parish of St. Anne in Haiti. This past weekend was our annual collection (which happens to be the Feast of St. Anne). Our parish sends financial support to our sister parish quarterly. Your generous donation will help us keep our commitment to this wonder community of faith in Haiti…a bright light in a nation that struggles more than ever with stark poverty and oppression. Your donations can be made to us and we will forward your generosity with our quarterly support.
- Just a reminder, we are still supporting our local shelters and soup kitchens via your support through the monthly Change for Change/Special Needs Collection. We have increased our regular donations during this time of stress due to the covid-19 pandemic. Even though many of us are not able to attend church in person, we are still taking donations for these outreach programs.
- Guidelines for safety in attending weekend Masses are still in place and in effect. I suspect it will be rather strict until we have a vaccine. Therefore, a reminder that we still have three weekend Masses (Saturday at 4:00 p.m., Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.) and seating capacity is still capped at 80 people for the St. James Masses and 50 people at St. Elizabeth Seton. The 7:30 a.m. is suspended until further notice and the Sacrament of Penance has been moved to Monday evenings at 6:00 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Seton. We still strictly require reservation of seats to attend the weekend Masses: online at the parish website (Tuesday through Thursday each week) or by calling the parish office on Tuesday and Wednesday each week at 860-529-8655.
- A word of gratitude to our committee and the participants in our first ZOOM meeting to discuss the Catholic Church teachings about Racism. It was a poignant meeting about our experiences and our understanding of racism. Please be in touch with Deacon Michael (dcnmichael@sjbrh.org) and our committee as they continue to plan for more opportunities to gather in discussion and learning. Please consider joining us in this process.
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Sunday Mass Schedule
Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at St. James
capacity of 80 people
Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Seton
capacity of 50 people
Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at St. James
capacity 80 people
Note: We have suspended the 7:30 a.m. Mass temporarily
Reservations are
required!
We have a limited seating capacity & we need a written record of attendees for contact tracing.
There are two options for making your reservations:
Online
Sign up online at
www.saintjosephinebakhita.org
for the upcoming weekend starting Tuesday morning.
Reservations will close by Thursday evening or before if we reach capacity. We need to close the reservations by Thursday evening so that we can prepare for the weekend Masses. When you make your reservation, enter the # (quantity) of people attending from each household. We will set up the reservation system one week at a time.
By Phone
If you have no access to internet, call 860-529-8655 and our office staff will assist you with reservations. Please call only on Tuesday or Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. You will need to call each week for the upcoming weekend. Do not leave a voicemail, there will be no guarantee to reserve a seat by voicemail.
Read the Guidelines for attending Sunday Mass
-
Click Here
.
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The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 2, 2020
We will continue to livestream the 9:00 AM Sunday Mass using Facebook Live. The recording will also be available afterward on the Parish Facebook page at the link below. You do not have to have a Facebook account to watch. You can click 'not now' when invited to join Facebook. Click on "Videos." On the "Videos" page, click on the red "live" button to watch the livestream starting at 9:00 AM Sunday. If you visit the "Videos" page after the mass is over, you can click on the image of the mass to watch the recording.
For a helpful guide to participating in Mass at home and partaking in Spiritual Communion
,
Click Here
.
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Congratulations to our Adult
Confirmandi
Along with many of the young people who were confirmed by Father George at Saint Josephine Bakhita these past two weekends three adults were also confirmed. Please join us in extending a warm congratulations to Jason Furman, Ronna Post and Michelle Ouimette on the occasion of their full initiation into the Roman Catholic Church. They join Erica MacKenzie, who prepared for the sacrament with them earlier in 2019-2020 and was confirmed by Bishop Betancourt before the onset of COVID-19 in our state. Also, join us in extending an additional congratulations and welcome to Jason Furman as he was received into the Church and received his First Holy Communion just prior to his Confirmation. Current circumstances posed some challenges to making this all happen...but the road for all these folks reached its joyful destination these past two weekends. We welcome and congratulate them all!!!
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Not Confirmed?
Want To Be?
Well...it’s never too late. Even if you are way “past the age” or even a little ;-) ...and not yet Confirmed...you can be. You certainly are not alone.
Many, for a variety of reasons, find themselves in this situation. We can help with that!
So..If you have not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation and would like to, contact Deacon Michael at
dcnmichael@sjbrh.org
(best) or by phone at 860-529-3222 Ext 14. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you.
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Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry Conference Focuses on Racism
The Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry’s Annual Bishop Peter Rosazza Social Justice Conference for 2020 was moved online this year. In light of COVID-19 this conference has taken the form of a series of online presentations and discussions on
"Open Wide our Hearts: The Enduring Call To Love”
the 2018 pastoral letter on racism offered by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
This online series is free, though registration is required. The third conference in the series is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday August 5, 2020 and is now open for registration. It is called, "The Black Catholic Experience and Racism in the Catholic Church." For further information and registration details,
Click Here
.
To see resources to address racism with children at home and in the classroom as well as for all of us,
Click Here.
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Donate to Our Shelters
& Pantries
Now more than ever, the shelters and food pantries that our parish supports need our help. Food or gift certificates can be ordered online (Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.) and shipped directly to the organizations. Please contact
with any questions. As always, thank you for kindness and generosity! To learn what items are most needed and the mailing addresses,
Click Here
.
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St. Josephine Bakhita Parish
767 Elm Street
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
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