St. Anthony Church Newsletter

February 17, 2023

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Upcoming Events and Announcements 

Tootsie Roll Drive - This Weekend!


The Father O'Dea Chapter of the Knights of Columbus will hold a tootsie roll drive after all masses this weekend. This is their annual campaign to raise funds for people with intellectual disabilities. All donations are greatly appreciated!


Ladies Guild Meeting - Next Week!


The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on Tuesday, February 21st at 6:30 pm in the Parish Center Hope Room. Our guest speaker will be

Deacon Domenic Stolfi who will speak on the topic of

"The mystery surrounding Mary Magdalene".


Lenten Season 2023


The season of Lent begins on Wednesday!

View the letter from Father Gregory and the flyers below for more details about the Lenten happenings at St. Anthony Church!

Sign up for Lenten Adoration!


Adoration is a silent time for you to have some time alone with Jesus.  You can do whatever type of prayerful devotion that suits you before our Lord, or you can sit quietly and say nothing, just keeping Him company like you would a dear friend. 


The Blessed Sacrament can never be left alone.  At least one person needs to be always present. Please sign up to spend an hour with Jesus each week during Lent!


For more information or to sign up for your special hour of praise, please call Michele Mikelskas at 203-755-0189 or Charlotte Scaviola at 203-758-5711. 




Lenten Parish Prayers for Vocations


During Lent the parish of St. Anthony will be participating in the Family Chalice Prayers for Vocations program. This is a meaningful Lenten devotion that you can pray to increase vocations for our Church. Beginning February 23/24, 2023 at Mass, an assigned family is invited to take the gifts up at the Offertory Procession. At the end of Mass, the family is called by our Celebrant to come forward to receive the chalice box and a blessing. The box contains a consecrated chalice and a booklet describing the prayers. The family takes the chalice home and puts it in a place of honor.


Each day for a week, during prayer time (morning, bedtime or at meals), the family prays for an increase and perseverance of vocations. At the end of the week, they return the chalice to the church. We will continue the Lenten devotion until April 8.



If you would like to volunteer to take a chalice home for a week, please contact the volunteer coordinator at the parish center by calling 203-758-4056 or by email at volunteercoordinator@stanthonyprospect.org.




Thank You, Volunteers!


Thank you to Dave B. for donating a new light and installing it in the church restroom.


Thank you to John R. for cutting up some old wood behind the barn and helping to load it onto the truck.


Thank you to Marc for hanging pictures and a lock box in the new chapel.

 

There are always little and big jobs to do on the property, if you have spare time, please let David Byrne know. Without each of you, named and unnamed, we wouldn’t be able to do so many great things! Thank you to all of our volunteers!



A big shoutout to our Bingo volunteers

who help run Bingo so smoothly each week!


Baptismal Garments

 

We have had interest in people making baptismal garments and here are a couple that have been made by Linda. Thank you to Linda and to our other sewers!




Connecticut March For Life


Please join us for the second annual March For Life on Wednesday, March 22nd at the State Capitol in Hartford!


Once again, St. Anthony Church and St. Bridget’s Church in Cheshire are sponsoring a 55 passenger coach bus to bring our parishioners to this very special event. We are so very grateful to our Knights of Columbus who are paying for half the cost of this transportation. The Knights are very supportive of our Pro-Life Ministry!


There is no cost to our parishioners for transportation to this event. We will be departing from St. Anthony’s parking lot at 10:15 AM and returning by approximately 3:30PM. The Rally at the Capitol with speakers will begin at noon and the March around Bushnell Park is scheduled for 1PM. You may register for this event on the Connecticut March For Life website.


If you plan to attend, please e-mail Trudy Higgins to reserve your seat on the bus. Her e-mail address is: trudybh1950@gmail.com If you prefer to call her, her phone number is 203 305-4972. We have seating for 27 parishioners since we are sharing the bus with St. Bridget’s, so please contact Trudy as soon as possible. Reservations will be first come, first served.


We hope that you will join us as we stand up for the protection of all human life!



New Day Bereavement Group


Are you grieving the loss of a loved one?

St. Anthony Church is offering a 9-week program where individuals can share their grief stories and learn about the grieving process and its tasks for healing. The sessions are conducted by trained facilitators, who have experienced grief in their own lives, and are able to help you move through the tasks of grief. It is not a therapy session, but an opportunity to share with others who have experienced losses themselves.  All denominations are welcome. The sessions begin Wednesday, March 29 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.  There is no cost for this program. Books used in the group are generously donated by Prospect Memorial/The Palmerie Family Funeral Home.  

Registration is needed, as space is limited. For information, call

Charlotte Scaviola 203-758-5711, Claudette Decilla 203-758-6283, or

Jill Blewitt 203 758-5599.  



Prepare yourself for this weekend's Mass:

The SeventhSunday in Ordinary Time

This Weekend's Readings

Gospel Reflection


“The weather outside was ferocious. Many prisoners froze to death and many new prisoners arrived to work in their stead. It was a difficult time for everybody, but the “political” prisoners had it worst of all. For two days in a row their rations were stolen by the prisoners who were criminals. That night, after roll call and the locking of the barracks, a large fight erupted between the two factions over these rations. Avsenkov took the leadership of the “politicals.” The criminals were headed by “Ivan the Brown.” He was a hardened criminal, a good-for-nothing, and a murderer many times over. In camp he had also killed more than once; he liked card games in which the one who lost paid with his life. The battle that evening was over the rations that the criminals had taken laughingly — they said that they were used to taking what did not belong to them. The camp administrators, for reasons of personal safety, were always on the side of the criminals...click here to continue reading!


Catholic Question Corner 


Since Ash Wednesday is next week:

Why do we receive ashes on Ash Wednesday?”


Receiving ashes on your forehead is a tradition that is rooted in the Old Testament of the Bible: “I turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). When the ashes are placed on our foreheads in the sign of the Cross, it is a reminder of several things:


  1. It is a call to repentance: a physical sign that we are sinners in need of forgiveness, which is how the prophets used it in the Old Testament.
  2. It reminds us that God created us from the earth and when we die, we will return to it.
  3. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “Man is dust and to dust we shall return, but dust is precious in God’s eyes because God created man, destining him to immorality.” God so loves us that, even when our bodies return to the dust, our souls are meant to live forever with him. The ashes symboloze all of this!



Faith Formation

Faith Formation classes for the 2022-2023 school year are now in full swing!


Special thanks to Dominic, Mia, James, Luca, Ava, Nicholas, Jenna, Tim, Maggie, Lucy, Mackenzie, Kaitlyin, Jacob, Collyns, Stanley, Luke, Abigail, Ava, Sadie, Quinn, Landon, Lia and Mikey who made so many people smile, when they handed out Valentines at all our Masses this past weekend!






Mrs. Lamb's class made Lenten prayer chains as they prepare for the start of Lent!


Visit our website to view photos of our Faith Formation classes in action!


Youth Formation Wish List


The Youth Formation program is seeking donations of some items that you may have laying around at home for some upcoming activities and projects:


  • We will happily take your scraps! Our younger grades will be making their own “ prayer rocks” and are in need of any cloth material to cover the rock (Any print would be most welcome)!


  • A welcome mat – for our sensory prayer walk (can be used😊)


  • Legos – for our sensory prayer walk (any and all loose pieces found in the couch)


  • A world map – also for our sensory prayer walk (can be used 😊)


Thank you so much!



Please note that when Region 16 dismisses school early due to bad weather or cancels school for the day, we will not have any Faith Formation classes that day. We will also alert on Channel 3, and update our social media pages

if we choose to cancel.


Volunteer Opportunities

Are you looking for opportunities to volunteer? 


Volunteering is a great way to become involved in our Parish, meet Parishioners, and complete community service hours!

Please visit our website for a full description of the outstanding opportunities.



  • Bingo: As BINGO at St. Anthony's continues to grow, we are in need of more volunteers for various jobs including calling the game, working on the floor, sealed ticket sales, working in the kitchen, and more.

Please consider volunteering once a month!



If you would like to volunteer for any of these community service opportunities, please contact David Byrne, Volunteer Coordinator,

at 203-758-4056 ext. 17 or by email volunteercoordinator@stanthonyprospect.org


Ongoing News

Bingo!


Our Next Bingo: 

Monday, February 20, 2023



Jackpot #1: $500

Jackpot #2: $900

And more!


Click here for details!



LaBonne’s Cash for Charities - Thank You!

 

We just received a check in the amount of $234.25 from LaBonne’s. That represents over $45,000 worth of receipts that we received from our parishioners. Thank you!



Help Us Earn Grant Money!


The Ion Bank Foundation Community Awards Program gives away $100,000 to local non-profit organizations with each Ion Bank customer eligible to vote for their favorite non-profit organization.

Voting has begun for the 13th Annual Community Awards Program so please help us earn grant money! We will receive a $25 donation from the Ion Bank Foundation for every vote1 we receive! Every vote counts! If you are an Ion Bank customer, please visit this website to vote until March 15, 2023.


2023 Archbishop's Annual Appeal


The 2023 Archbishop's Annual Appeal is now open!

Click here to learn more, and click here to make an online donation or pledge!


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St. Anthony Church is a parish where

God’s love nourishes the soul to actively minister to people

and share the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


St. Anthony Church

4 Union City Road – Prospect, CT 06712

203-758-4056  www.stanthonyprospect.org