June 16, 2026

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Summer News from Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish

June 16, 2026

Daly Notes

Dear Friends,

The persecution of Christians is not something of the past. It is something that is real and ongoing in today’s world. According to Open Doors, a ministry that serves persecuted Christians, 388 million Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.

Of all the countries in the world where Christians suffer persecution, Nigeria is among the worst. In some parts of Nigeria, Christians live at risk from attack by Islamic militants. When a Nigerien converts from Islam to Christianity, they can face severe pressure from both family and community.

Given all the persecution that our Nigerian sisters and brothers live with, you might think that they are hiding in their homes cowering in fear. You might think that they are too afraid to publicly witness to their faith. Because of all the attacks on churches, you might think that Christians in Nigeria stay at home on Sunday rather than go to Mass.

However, the opposite is true. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, 94% of Nigerians go to Mass at least every Sunday. Compare that with 34% in Italy, 25% in the United Kingdom, and 17% in the United States.

We are blessed to live in a country where we do not suffer outright persecution for our faith. While it’s true that vandalism of Catholic Churches is on the rise and our faith is often mocked in the media, we still are able to practice our faith and worship freely. At the same time, we have to ask ourselves how we are using that freedom.

What keeps us from coming to Mass every Sunday? Is it because the Mass times are too inconvenient? Is it because we have better things to do? What do you think our Nigerian sisters and brothers would say about all our excuses?

Jesus is challenging us to trust enough in God’s love for us to go out and live our faith. We are loved unconditionally by our God. And we have been given this great gift of faith. Do you remember the bumper sticker from the ‘70s: Don’t just keep the faith, share it.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Shawn

Join Us For The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 21, 2026

4:00 PM Vigil at St. James

9:00 AM at St. Elizabeth Seton

and livestreamed

11:30 AM at St. James

Click Here To Register for Faith Formation

Click Here To Register for Bakhita Bible Camp

Click Here to Volunteer for Bakhita Bible Camp

Other Fun Tidbits

Music Notes

Ordinary Time & Your Favorite Songs

Two weeks ago we entered back into Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. When we have a change of seasons, we also change what we call the ‘mass parts’ (Gloria, Holy holy, Amen, etc). During the summer, we will recite the Gloria instead of sing it. Isn’t it funny when we’ve usually sung something that it’s difficult to remember the words without the tune? This is why we learned the alphabet in a song when we were younger. It may help to know that the text to the Gloria is printed on the inside cover of our hymnals. The ‘Holy Holy’ we are using can be found at #871 and the rest of the mass parts will be found at #898 if you’d like to follow along with the music.

For the past 20 years at previous assignments, I have been using the Gather hymnal. Here we have Breaking Bread, which has a great mixture of contemporary and traditional Catholic repertoire. It will take me some time to learn which songs you know and love, however, so I could use your help! On each piano, there will be a pad of stickies and a pen for the next month or so. When you think of a song that you love, will you come by and jot it down for me? Maybe it’s a song you just heard at mass, or maybe it’s one you think of at home and put a note in your phone so you can remember on the weekend. Just stick the note right on the piano, and I very much look forward to learning your favorite songs!

Rochelle Bard

Director of Music Ministry

Do You Have a Passion for Photography?

Behind every beautiful photo on our parish website and social media pages is a talented volunteer with a camera and a heart for community. Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish is blessed to have two gifted professional photographers — longtime parishioners — who generously volunteer their time and talent to capture the sacred and celebratory moments of our parish life: the Easter Vigil, First Holy Communion, the Parish Picnic, and so much more.

We are looking for one more photographer to join this small but mighty team and share in the rotation of parish events and liturgies. If you are a photographer who loves your faith community and would love to see your work displayed in our parish website galleries and across our social media platforms, we would love to hear from you.

This is a wonderful opportunity to share your gifts in a meaningful and lasting way — because the photos you take become part of the story of this community, preserving memories for families and parishioners for years to come.

Interested? Contact Communications Coordinator Lisa Orchen at communications@sjbrh.org.

Eighth Annual Knights of Columbus

Golf Outing

Friday, September 25, 2026

Timberlin Golf Club, Berlin CT

Lunch/Registration at 11:00AM

Scramble Format ~ Shotgun Start at 12:00 PM ~ Buffet Dinner to follow

$175 per golfer includes 18 holes of golf w/cart, lunch and buffet dinner, cash prizes, raffle prizes.

$35 dinner only

For more information, contact Mike DiBattisto (860-713-9070) or Mike Lombardo (860-869-2231).

Learn More Here

The Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish Picnic Committee Needs You!

We’re building our Parish Picnic Planning Committee and looking for a few good people to help make this beloved community tradition a success! We’re currently seeking volunteers for three key roles:

Set-Up Coordinator – Help develop the set-up plan and direct set up of tables and chairs on picnic day.
Children & Family Activities Team Lead – Plan the fun for our youngest parishioners and their families!

Committee members attend monthly meetings beginning in May and play a hands-on role directing volunteers on the day of the picnic — Sunday, September 13, 2026. Interested? Reach out to Danielle Hollister at danie7@cox.net or Jennifer Hussey at thehusseys95@att.net for more details. We’d love to have you on the team!

World Youth Day 2027

Seoul, Korea

Imagine joining young people from every corner of the globe — and Pope Leo himself — for one of the most extraordinary gatherings in the Catholic world.

World Youth Day 2027 takes place in Seoul, Korea, July 30 – August 11, 2027 — and we have a very special reason to go: one of the patron saints of WYD 2027 is none other than Saint Josephine Bakhita, our own parish patron!

If you are interested in learning more, please join us for an information meeting on Monday, June 23 at 6:00 PM in Fr. Shea Hall. For questions, contact Sharon Gagne at 860-712-5245.

Support Our Clothing Collection

Support the Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish Clothing Collection. We accept clothing in clean, good to excellent condition. Place donations in the collection bin in the front foyer of St. James Church (behind the divider). Unfortunately we are no longer able to accept household goods.