Happy Easter!
Dear
Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,
This week I will just update you on some things happening in the Archdiocese and in our parish. Then a couple of recommendations for our spiritual journey during this Easter season and our coping with covid-19 isolation.
You may know that our Archdiocese is divided up into Deaneries. We are in Deanery #3 which includes Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Newington, Hartford, West Harford, East Hartford, Glastonbury and Marlborough. The priests of the Deanery meet at a regular monthly meeting. Due to the virus, our last meeting was a Zoom meeting with Archbishop Blair and some of the Chancery Staff.
The online video conference was an opportunity to check in with one another and with the Archbishop to offer support, insight and planning for the future direction of the Archdiocese. Each priest offered details about the successes and challenges confronting their respective parish. We batted around and offered ideas, solutions and encouragement.
And so we all agreed, with the Archbishop’s encouragement, that each parish begin a conversation with Parish Councils about a plan for gradual reentry into some regular attendance at church and other gatherings. Along with directives from the US Catholic Bishops and the Archdiocese (forthcoming), we shall begin that process of planning. We hope reentry will begin fairly soon. But careful planning and very prudent advice by the State of Connecticut and Health Officials will guide us in that planning. Issues to plan: implementing social distancing, use of masks and gloves, limits on church capacity, how to distribute communion safely, etc.
Over the last six weeks the parish has been faithfully maintaining a very healthy and generous amount of financial support from all of you. For some, this may be at great sacrifice. Please know we are very grateful. Many of you have received a letter from me in recent weeks, encouraging you to consider your ongoing support by mail or online.
I would also remind you of the various charitable programs and organizations we support. We are still able to give quarterly gifts to pantries and shelters we fund via change for change/ special needs. Actually we are trying to give more than usual. We continue to support our sister parish in Haiti with reserves we have collected over the last year. Our food and cereal collections have ceased but you can still support directly the pantries we assist. Go to our parish website for directions on how to do that and where to send your gifts:
Click here
.
For our own parish pantry…you can drop items off at Fr. Shea Hall at St. James Church, Monday - Friday from 9:00a.m. – Noon.
Spiritually, a couple of new options:
I am offering a brief evening prayer and reflection Monday through Friday at 5:00 p.m. on the parish Facebook Page.
Click here
. I find it fascinating that about 300 people view the prayers each evening.
Deacon Michael is offering various opportunities for bible study and topical conversations: check our website to find out details:
Click here
.
A few years ago we had a Lenten Project called
Gratitude Journaling
. A simple exercise of daily journal entries about what you are grateful in a given day. A parishioner recommended that we resurrect that practice again.
Finally, Pope Francis is strongly encouraging us, during the Month of May (Mary), to pray the rosary with the intention of an end to the pandemic.
Blessings and prayers for one and all!
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
