Saint Bartholomew's December 2019 Newsletter
Saint Bartholomew Parish is a welcoming and inclusive Catholic Community of Faith. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves to sharing our Christian Faith as well as our time, talents, and resources for the welfare of all God’s people. Keep up with what is going on in our Parish by subscribing to our Monthly Newsletters, where we provide upcoming events to look forward to and highlight ministries within our parish! For more information, visit our website using the link below!
Recap and What's Coming
This past month we have been eagerly preparing for our advent season, and hosted many events, especially with our Youth Group. The Youth Group had their first Game Night, which had a huge turn out. Our Youth Minister is working towards building a stronger community for our Youth. We also had our monthly Youth Mass, along with the Archdiocesan Youth Mass, which brought together all Youth Groups in the Bay Area.
This past month, we also said farewell to some of our greatest Parishioners, Jeff and Anna. Jeff and Anna have served our Saint Bart's community for years. They help set up and clean up before and after mass at 5:30 pm. Jeff also helped with updating our weekly bulletin, and Anna alter served and helped train our youth alter servers as well. They will be missed, but are definitely bringing Christ to others in their new home in upstate New York. Thank you Jeff and Anna for all you have done for our parish.
Mark Your Calendars for our Upcoming Events!
Christmas Luncheon, Friday, December 6th 11:30 am - 3:00 pm

Join us for the Women's Guild Christmas Luncheon! The Parish Center will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland surrounded by the Follow the Star Creches. All are welcome!
Youth Game Night, Friday, December 6th at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Join our Youth Group members in our first ever game night! We will have board games, video games, and party games (like Billiards, Ping Pong, etc). For questions, contact our Youth Minister, Jacob Tolentino at jacob@barts.org.

Youth Mass, Sunday, December 8th, 5:30 pm

Saint Bart's celebrates a Youth Mass every second Sunday of the month at the 5:30 pm Mass. All are welcome! We are looking for youth participants to lead the mass including, singers, instrumentalists, lectors, collectors, altar servers and trained Eucharistic Ministers. If you are interested, please contact the Youth Minister Jacob Tolentino at jacob@barts.org.
Annual Christmas Concert, December 8th, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The choir has been practicing for our Annual Christmas Concert "Day of Peace." Join us for a wonderful time with music! Donations are welcome. Fellowship will be followed after the concert.
 
Follow the Star, December 8th - 15th, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Celebrate the meaning of Christmas by visiting our annual crèche display in the Saint Bartholomew Auditorium. Enjoy the sounds of Christmas as you take in the beauty of nativity scenes collected from around the world by our parishioners and friends. Share this memorable event with your whole family and remember to invite your friends and neighbors too! Admission is free.
Taize Prayer Around the Cross, December 11th, 7:30 pm

Enhance your prayer during this Advent Season!
Join us for an evening of song, silence and contemplation with  Taizé. The Taizé community is an ecumenical monastic order with a strong devotion to peace and justice through prayer and meditation. The 100-strong community of Roman Catholic and Protestant monks is drawn from 30 countries across the world.

Simbang Gabi, December 20th, 7:00 pm

Traditionally, Christmas Day in the Philippines is ushered in by nine-days of Masses, with those being held in the evening called Simbang Gabi (Night Mass.) All are invited to the Archdiocesan celebration of this Novena, with Masses sponsored by a variety of parishes .
 
Volunteers Needed!
We are looking for families to light the Advent candles each week during this advent season.
 
If your family is interested in lighting the candle, please complete this quick form here. You will receive a confirmation once we have received your request. When all the slots are filled, the link to sign up will be disable.

For further questions, please contact Rachael Smit.
Reminders
Parish Office Closed on Christmas
We will be closed on Christmas dates, please contact the office or visit our website for more details. For anything urgent, please visit www.barts.org for contact information.

Online Donations
Saint Bart's uses We Share for Online Donations. We Share is simple, easy, and paperless! Sign up by visiting www.barts.org and click on the "We Share" logo to set up your weekly Sunday Collection Donations. Let's continue to support Saint Bat's and its ongoing mission.


Eucharistic Adoration
All are invited to contemplate, to adore, and to pray to Jesus Christ before the Blessed Sacrament every first Friday of the month. Hours of exposition are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Please sign-up on-line here.

“So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? (Matthew 26:40)”
How can we pray for you?
As a community, we need to keep each other's deepest needs and yearnings of our hearts in prayer. With this in mind, we'd like to invite our Parish members to make known those friends and loved ones for whom we should pray. You can submit your prayer request using the Google Form here.
" You must have boundless faith in the divine goodness, for the victory is absolutely certain."
-Saint Padre Pio
A Christmas Prayer

Glory to God in the highest!
My precious Lord, Jesus,
I adore You with profound love and rejoice in the celebration of Your birth.Your love for us is unfathomable, it is glorious transforming, awe-inspiring,and deeply personal.
You chose to come and dwell among us,
being born into poverty, rejection and humility.
Yet Your mother knew whom she bore,
Her heart was filled with the tenderest love
as she adored her Child and her God.
Help me, dear Lord to come to love You with the heart of Your mother. Invite me to adore You with St. Joseph and the poor shepherds. Reveal to me the glorious power of Your birth
and change my life on account of this perfect gift of Yourself.
I love You, dear Lord Jesus.
Help me to love You with all my heart.
Newborn Savior of the World,
I trust in You.
Mother Mary and St. Joseph,
Pray for me and for all.

AMEN
Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church | 650-347-0701 | 600 Columbia Drive
 San Mateo, CA 94402 |  https://newsite.barts.org  ‌