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THE WEEKLY MISSIVE
MAY 3, 2024
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Severin Roesen (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) | |
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Let Us Love One Another, Alleluia!
Dear Friends,
We don't celebrate a lot of funerals at the Paulist Center, but we will have one tomorrow and another next Saturday. Through our tears, we continue to sing our Easter praises: Alleluia! Christ is risen, indeed!
Just as we heard Jesus instruct the disciples in chapter 15 last weekend to "remain in me" as branches on the vine, we hear Jesus tell the disciples to "remain in my love" as he reiterates the new commandment he first voiced immediately after washing their feet.
The Sunday gospel readings of Easter are chosen as instructions to the newly baptized. We may interpret Jesus' "remain in me" last week as an instruction regarding ongoing belief, but "remain in my love" this week is Jesus' invitation to nurturing an ongoing relationship.
Most of our experiences of Jesus are mediated through the people around us. As we grieve two members of our community who have died, let us heed our second reading — a very familiar passage from weddings — exhorting, "Let us love one another, for love is of God."
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Rest In Peace, Fr. Chuck Cunniff, C. S. P. Logistical Concerns For This Weekend
Support the Walk for Hunger!
Celebrate the Ascension!
Community Meeting Postponed
Looking Back on the 41st Annual Auction
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Sharing Your February Responses
Seeking Lots of Volunteers!
A Note from the Editor (Fr. Rich)
- Overcome with Paschal Joy
- Upcoming Events
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Rest In Peace, Fr. Charles "Chuck" E. Cunniff III, C. S. P. | | |
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It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Paulist Fr. Chuck Cunniff at 12:07 pm yesterday, Thurs, May 2. He died after 10 days in hospice care here in the residence, while holding the hands of two of his sisters.
Chuck grew up in Connecticut, but his family's roots were in Boston. He served as the Catholic chaplain at Boston University 1994-99. He returned here again as the Associate Director of the Paulist Center in 2018, but his time was cut short by a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer in the summer of 2022.
Chuck's obituary is available on the Paulist website.
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Both Fr. Rick and Fr. Rich had very long relationships with Chuck. Rich wrote this pastoral reflection on the day before Chuck's death. He reflects on knowing Chuck for 20 years, and the number of connections they had through their ministries to those who were sick or dying.
Chuck's funeral (which will be live streamed) will be held at the Paulist Center at 11 am on Sat, May 11, with PCC members, friends, and family welcome to start gathering at 9 am for socializing and sharing about Chuck's life.
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Chuck poses before the 2023 Auction with his "Frito Bandito" poster designed by PCC member Vicky Lee. | |
Lots of Logistical Concerns This Weekend | |
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Please be aware of the following:
- The MBTA Red Line will be closed between the Park Street & the JFK/UMass stations through Fri, May 10. Get more information here.
- The funeral of Jerry Young will be here at the Paulist Center at 11 am on Sat, May 4.
- We will live stream the Mass at 5 pm on Sat, May 4 rather than at 10 am on Sun, May 5.
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Not Too Late! Join Us For (or Pledge To) the Walk for Hunger | |
The 56th Annual Walk for Hunger is this Sun, May 5, at 9 am! Join our walking team or make a financial pledge to support us here. We'll meet outside the Paulist Center at 8:30 am for a blessing, and then go to the 10 am Mass afterwards, and gather for a Community Coffee in the auditorium after Mass. | | |
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Please be as generous as you can. Our team's goal is $50,000 (3.8% of the entire Commonwealth's total), but as of Friday morning, we were more than $19,000 short.
Since the Walk for Hunger is one of our 52 Community Gift recipients, the team will also receive ~$500 from our annual offertory.
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Celebrate the Ascension of the Lord with Us! | |
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Next Thursday is a holy day! It's the day when Christ established the evangelizing mission of Christianity.
We'll celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on Thurs, May 9 with 3 Masses:
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Community Meeting POSTPONED | | |
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Even though the bulletin has a big announcement on page 1 inviting everyone to the Annual Paulist Center Community Meeting on Sat, May 11, we need to postpone this event due to Fr. Chuck's funeral.
We hope to announce a new date soon. Stay tuned!
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Wow! What a Night! Thank You for Your Generosity! | |
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The 41st Annual Auction was a gold-medal event, featuring a crowd wild with enthusiasm! Thank you to all our volunteers, donors, and attendees! Special thanks to our auctioneer Ben Markham, our head chef Dave Whalen, and our co-chairs Mairead Nolan & Maggie Keefe!
Last year's Auction set a record by netting ~$50,000 for the Paulist Center. The judges are still tallying the scores for this year, but we estimate that we netted ~30% more than last year. Wow! Thank you again!
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Sharing Our Responses to the Paulist General Council | |
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In late February, many community members, especially the Pastoral Staff and Pastoral Council, contributed to a comprehensive report we submitted to the Paulist General Council. That report was used in early March to discern which ministries the Paulists could continue to support. Thank you for doing such great work on a compressed schedule!
We finally have a chance to share all this input back with you, both a summary of your responses and portions of the report we submitted. Everyone in our community who has read these documents has come away with a greater understanding of the Paulist Center!
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Three Opportunities to Serve Our Community | |
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As we continue transitioning to having only one priest on staff, we are in need of volunteer help in a variety of ways that are essential to the function of the Paulist Center Community. In this week's bulletin, we detail three important opportunities. Is the Holy Spirit calling you to serve at this time?
First, we are looking for help with Communications. We are flexible to how this can be done, but ideally, we are looking for someone who has familiarity with Constant Contact, the liturgical calendar, and the activities of the Paulist Center, with time to help on Wednesdays and Thursdays. More details are on p. 2 of the bulletin. Contact Patty if you have questions or suggestions.
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Second, we are looking to appoint new members to serve 3-year terms on the Worship Committee. Please read p. 3 of the bulletin for more details. Self-nominations are due to Claire by Weds, May 15.
Last, but definitely not least, we are seeking nominations for people to run in the elections for Pastoral Council. More information is available on p. 4 of the bulletin. Those who are interested in running need to turn in candidate statements, along with the signatures of 25 Paulist Center Community members, to Deb by Fri, May 24. Elections of three people to serve 2-year terms will be held June 8-16.
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A Final Note from the Editor of the Missive, Fr. Rich Andre | |
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As I continue wrapping up my time in Boston, this is the 99th and last electronic Missive that I am writing/editing.
In some ways, I have felt most effective in serving as the Director of the Paulist Center through the Missive. (In an average week, nearly 3 times as many Paulist Center Community members open the Missive than attend weekend Mass.) Therefore, it has been an honor and a privilege to be welcomed into your electronic inboxes each week! I will miss the opportunity to connect with you this way!
Over the next month, you will be hearing less from me, but it is not time for farewells quite yet. I hope to see as many of you as possible at Mass on my last weekend with you on June 1 & 2!
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Overcome with Paschal Joy | |
The Easter season continues on! We hope to see you at Mass in person, but if you can't make it through the big red doors, we welcome you to join us online: | |
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Please note: Instead of live streaming the 10 am Mass on Sun, May 5, we will live stream the 5 pm Mass on Sat, May 4.
Remember: all of our live streams are available in real time on our YouTube channel & available there afterwards as recordings.
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The most comprehensive listing of what's going on at the Paulist Center is in the bulletin. Check it out! Here's some of what's in it:
- There is no Family Religious Education Program this weekend, due to the Walk for Hunger.
- Our Creation Care ministry has their next meeting online at 5 pm on Mon, May 6. Email them for the Zoom link.
- Dates for our next two Baptism Preparation classes.
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Encouragement to sustain our vibrant liturgies and our mission of healing, reconciliation, & justice through your financial investment in the Paulist Center. We prefer that you donate electronically through our website, but you can also use Apple Pay or Google Pay to donate via DonorBox. Before using DonorBox, be sure to read the info in the bulletin.
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Info on this weekend's Community Gift recipient, Project Bread's Walk for Hunger.
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Also:
- Six members of the Paulist Center Community were among the ~100 participants in the inaugural Paulist Summit on Polarization last month. Read about the conference here.
- We honored PCC member Mary Skinner at both the Auction and on the Paulist national broadcast with a "Spirit of Hecker" Award. Please note the following about 53-minute broadcast:
- Mary's tribute is at 29:06 - 30:40.
- The show starts at 14:00.
- The prelude includes a video at 1:58 - 6:52 featuring people sharing about what it means to be connected to the Paulists.
- Remember to dress in layers over the next few weeks, as we have switched our HVAC system over to air conditioning.
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Young adults (ages 18-39), whether or not they are Catholic, are welcome to schedule a one-on-one conversation with our Young Adult Minister, Gus Kellerman. How can the Paulist Center Community accompany you on your faith journey?
- Everyone is invited to attend the presbyteral ordination of Paulist deacons Chris Lawton and Dan Macalinao at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York at 10 am on Sat, May 18. You can listen to an interview with Chris & Dan here. Information on live streams for the ordination and Chris' & Dan's Pentecost Masses of Thanksgiving on Sun, May 19 will soon be available on that same webpage.
- Please refer to p. 2 of a previous bulletin for directions on making a donation to our Easter season flowers in the chapel in honor of a loved one. We plan to keep decorating through Pentecost on Sun, May 19.
- We really need your help with our Marriage Preparation program! It is a great spiritual gift to 400-600 couples throughout the Archdiocese of Boston each year. Paulist Center couples who volunteer for this ministry find it very rewarding. It's also a major source of new members and outside income for our community. We can only sustain this important ministry if 10-15 couples can each help for 3 hours on 3 weekends per year. Are you and your partner interested in learning more about what would be involved? If so, contact Fr. Rick. Thanks!
- Fr. Rich Andre's last weekend with us will be June 1 & 2. (Please don't ask where he is going next, because it will not be determined until May 14 at the earliest!) We'll have a farewell celebration for Rich after the 10 am Mass on Sun, June 2.
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Around the community:
- The Archdiocese's Project Rachel Ministry will offer post-abortion healing retreats 9 am - 5 pm on Sat, May 11 and Sat, June 8. Call 508-651-3100 or email them.
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"Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God
and knows God."
— 1 John 4:7
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Alvaro, Barbara, Dorothy, Gus, Norm, Patty, Rich, Rick, Rob, Sal, Susan, & Timmy | |
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