Happy Pentecost!

 Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,

This weekend is the great Feast of Pentecost! And we are invited, once again, to receive the Holy Spirit! But what/who are we receiving? Who is the Holy Spirit in our lives? May I suggest an answer in an interesting analogy for us to ponder, about the Holy Spirit—as God’s midwife? A midwife is a person, who assists a woman in childbirth.
 
One of my very favorite PBS (BBC) dramas is “Call the Midwife." It is about a fascinating group of Anglican nuns and laywomen working/ministering as midwives in the East End London neighborhood of Poplar in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. The show is derived from the memoirs of Jennifer Worth who worked with this convent/clinic community.
 
It is an awesome set of stories of the day-to-day lives of very real people. Every episode has, obviously, several scenes of beautiful births. But, even more important, they are stories of the very human struggles around those births. Every episode not only depicts the birth of new babies—but they are stories of the birth and rebirth of relationships, resolved problems, and profound new starts.
 
Maybe, the Holy Spirit, is God’s assistance to us as we give birth to new things in our lives. Acting as God’s guidance through the transitions (births) of life. Of course, we all know, life is full of transitions. I think we can all sense some transition in store for us, on our immediate horizon, these days.
 
Certainly, God’s Holy Spirit assists us in the birthing. The Spirit does not do it for us. Rather, the Spirit encourages, advises, and sometimes challenges us, just like a good midwife. But our initiative, insight and participation are all necessary to giving birth to new life.
 
What needs to come to birth in your life these days? Who is your midwife—the Holy Spirit?
 
Happy Pentecost!!

Fr. George Couturier  

Do you find yourself in need of a compassionate ear for your grief due to a loss of a loved one from the coronavirus? Send your name, email address and phone number to me via email and I will connect you to a local bereavement minister from the parish: frgeorge@sjbrh.org
Pentecost Sunday Mass
May 31, 2020
We will 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 left hand side of the Facebook page. 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 .

For fun ideas and activities to celebrate Pentecost at home as a family, Click Here .

To join in the singing of the mass hymns view or print the music, Click Here .
Join Father George for Daily Prayer
Fr. George will livestream Evening Prayer on Monday-Friday at 5:00 PM 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 left hand side of the Facebook page. On the "Videos" Page, click on the red "live" button to watch the livestream starting at 5:00 PM. If you visit the "Videos" Page after short prayer time is over, you can click on the most recent image of Fr. George to watch the recording.

Giving Garden
Plant Sale
The Giving Garden Committee (our parish community garden) is
sponsoring a Plant Sale of Vegetable Plants beginning Friday May 29th at 3:00 p.m. until Saturday May 30th until plants have sold out at St. Elizabeth Seton Campus. The proceeds will assist the team in upkeep of the garden. The vegetables of the garden support local soup kitchens and shelters. Each plant is $1. You can place your donation in a an envelope provided and then leave the envelope at the St. Elizabeth
Seton Office door mailbox.
“Letting Go of Stress and Worry”
Starting Wednesday evening June 10th at 7:00 PM Deacon Michael will be convening a three week online scripture reflection series on finding peace in the midst of the realities swirling all around us - looking to the Word for inspiration on dealing with stress and worry. No prior experience with bible study is necessary. All are welcome..(even friends and family that aren’t parishioners!!’)
To learn more, Click Here .
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
Sandy Ambrose amb321@cox.net or
Carl Bach abcb1922@yahoo.com  
with any questions. As always, thank you for kindness and generosity! To learn what items are most needed and the mailing addresses, Click Here .
Sew Good Works Masks
The Sew Good Works Ministry has produced over a 1000 masks for the Vets Home and area hospitals, and now has begun to make masks for parishioners of St. Josephine Bakhita. Masks will be available at St. James and St. Elizabeth Seton. For Adult masks, contact joy@sjbrh.org for St. James pickup or elizabeth@sjbrh.org for St. Elizabeth Seton pickup. A donation to the Rocky Hill Food Bank is appreciated, but not necessary. 
Vivian Orsini, mask maker extraordinaire, will make a mask for your children. Email vorsini24@aol.com your child's age and gender. You will be contacted when the mask is ready. 
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St. Josephine Bakhita Parish
767 Elm Street
Rocky Hill, CT 06067