February 20, 2024

Welcome to Lent at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish

February 20, 2024

Join Us on the Second Sunday of Lent

February 25, 2024

4:00 PM at St. James

9:00 AM at St. Elizabeth Seton

and livestreamed

11:00 AM at St. James

Taizé Prayer Service

7:00 PM at St. James

& livestreamed

Learn More Here

Lent Prayer & Devotions

Pray the Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross invite us to use all our senses as we reflect prayerfully and walk intentionally with Jesus through his suffering, death on the cross and resurrection. Here are some of the ways available:

Attend the Stations of the Cross

Friday Evenings

5:30 PM at St. James

7:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton

Pray The Stations of the Cross

with Fr. George Virtually

Available anytime on YouTube

Make a Retreat this Lent

Members of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish and Friends are invited to join us on our annual weekend retreats in 2024. The retreat theme this year, Only Say the Word…, is based on the belief that God can – and will – heal us, and all of creation. Our faith prompts us to ask for and receive that healing in many ways.

The retreat center is located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The weekend begins with a buffet dinner from 6-7:30 PM on Friday evening and concludes Sunday with the celebration of Mass at 10:45 AM followed by a hot brunch at noon.

Offering: $350, more if you can, less if you can't. Please do no allow finances to prevent your decision to attend. Scholarships are available. See Fr. George to inquire.

Men's Retreat Weekend: February 23-25, 2024

Women's Retreat Weekend: March 1-3, 2024

rescheduled due to the January snowstorm

Learn More and Sign Up For Your Retreat Weekend Here

Lent Reflection Series

Wednesdays

February 21, 28

March 6, 13, 20

10:00AM at St. James

7:00 PM St. Elizabeth Seton

Led by Deacon Michael

Learn More About Deacon Michael's Lenten Program Here

Click Here To See All We Have Planned This Lent at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish!

Daily Mass

Mon-8:30AM @ Seton

Tues-8:00AM @ St. James

Thur-8:00AM @ St. James

Fri-8:30AM @ Seton

Evening Prayer

Fr. George leads evening prayer Monday - Friday at 5:00 PM on our parish Facebook Page. All are welcome!

Reconciliation

Fr. George welcomes all to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton.

Lent Almsgiving

Last year our Parish took up the challenge between the Parishioners and the Faith Formation students to see who could fill more rich bowls with change & bills. And fill they did to the tune of collecting enough money to feed 40,000 people.

This year the challenge is to collect enough to feed 50,000 people!

Please take home a CRS Rice Bowl located in the vestibules of both churches starting the first weekend in Lent February 17 & 18.

Please bring back your rice bowl when churches are open for weekend masses. Kindly return them no later than the weekend after Easter (April 6 & 7). There will be greeters to accept your rice bowl donations.

Thank you for changing lives this Lent!

Bakhita Bible Camp 2024

Online Registration is Open!

Monday, June 24 -

Friday, June 28, 2024

Children Entering Grades 1 - 6

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

St. James Campus

Kids dive into friendship with God. Scuba Vacation Bible Camp is filled with awesome Scripture-learning experiences kids see, hear, and touch! Hands on science experiments, team-building games, unforgettable Bible songs, and tasty treats are just a few of the standout activities that help faith flow into real life. Plus, we’ll help kids discover how to see evidence of God in everyday life— something we call God Sightings®. Get ready to hear that phrase a lot!

New friends ~ Amazing experiments ~ Creative games

Super-fun snacks ~ Surprising adventures ~ Incredible music

If you have any questions about any of the above information or you would like to volunteer to help, please contact us at biblecamp@sjbrh.org.

Peace,

Lisa Torneo, Camp Director

Monica Piombino, Faith Formation Director

Click Here to Register for Bakhita Bible Camp

The Souper Bowl of Caring was a Super Success!

The teams were ready, the bags were filled, and the students, teachers, & parents came to play. And play they did! While the students went head-to-head on a test of knowledge, Jenga for Jesus, and Soup Pot Toss game, the volunteers totaled the food items and soup pot donations.

The Super Bowl may have gone into overtime but so did our parents and volunteers who realized we were over $100 short of our $4,000 goal. So, they opened up their hearts and wallets to throw in the extra money to get us to a grand total of $4,012.

None of that would be possible without the generous parishioner donations who filled those soup pots the students held after Mass. In addition, the students and their families brought in 1,676 food items that will be distributed to local food pantries and organizations that feed the hungry.

The Year I Candidates squeaked out a victory to claim this year’s trophy, but everyone knew the real winners were everyone they will be helping with their donations. Thank you, Team Bakhita!

Special thanks to Tom Dzimian for capturing the entire day in pics. Click the button below to enjoy the memories!

Enjoy a Beautiful Gallery of Pics from the SouperBowl of Caring!

Other Fun Tidbits

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Join the Knights of Columbus for our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration featuring a traditional corned beef dinner with all the fixings and dessert.

Saturday, March 16

4:00 - 7:00 PM

Saint James Parish Center

Tickets on sale Feb 17-March 10.

Learn More Here

Palm Crosses for Sale

The Knights of Columbus will be taking orders for Palm Crosses after every Mass at the St. James & St. Elizabeth Seton campuses starting on Saturday, February 17 through Sunday, March 10. Palm crosses will be available for pick up after every mass on Palm Sunday. The cost of the palm crosses is $13. Please contact David Mikol at (860) 726-3585 with any questions.

This coming weekend marks the start of the 2024 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal in our parish. If you haven’t already, you will soon receive a letter from Archbishop Blair seeking your support. As Catholics in the Archdiocese of Hartford we can have a profound impact on our local communities not only spiritually, but intimately connected to it, the realm of social services and many charities and outreach services performed by, or with help from, our Church.

We hope you can help us meet our parish goal. If you would like to make a gift, please mail in your pledge card. You may also visit the Archdiocesan website at www.archdioceseofhartford.org or call the Appeal Office at (800) 781-2550. Keep in mind that an early pledge will allow you to best use the monthly payment plan.

All funds contributed to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal are used exclusively for the purposes outlined in the Appeal literature, which can be found here. No Appeal funds are ever used for legal fees or settlements.