January 25, 2022

Urgent Winter Glove Collection, Candlemas Prayer Service, Save the Date for Bakhita Bible Camp and more...

January 25, 2022

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,

This past Monday January 24^th was the Feast Day of Saint Francis de Sales: Bishop and Doctor of the Church. I would like to share a reflection from an awesome source I often refer to for weekday morning Masses: “Take Five for Faith.”

We live in tumultuous times for sure. But the world has been topsy-turvy before. Saint Francis de Sales lived during the religious, political, and social upheaval of the Protestant Reformation. And he became known for his gentleness and patience in the face of it. Leave it to him, the patron saint of writers, to pen a prayer that is timeless balm for troubled souls:

Do not look forward

to what may happen tomorrow;

the same everlasting Father

who cares for you today

will take care of you tomorrow

and every day.

Either he will shield you from suffering,

or he will give you unfailing strength

to bear it.

Be at peace, then,

put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.

A balm for troubled times indeed. You may recall that my 40^th anniversary Prayer Card quotes this prayer. Between this prayer of St. Francis de Sales and the famous Serenity Prayer, they both become my daily dose of God’s perspective which then becomes my focus and sustainer each day. I offer the same for you.

Peace and blessings,

Fr. George Couturier

Introducing Our New Parish Logo

As we transition to Ordinary Time we introduce our new parish logo. The view behind the altars in both our churches inspired the logo. Take some time to contemplate and note how features from both of our beautiful churches blend to create our new image. The logo creator is Eric Melanson of Melanson Media.

Fourth Sunday

in Ordinary Time

January 30, 2022

4 PM Vigil - St. James

9 AM - St. Elizabeth Seton & livestreamed

11 AM - St. James & livestreamed

*Masks are required in our worship spaces!*

All members of the Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish community are invited to join in the faith activity for the month of January. Engage in a service project to help people in our local community. By engaging in service, children and adults alike live out the teachings of Jesus to love and serve one another, especially those most in need of our help. To learn more, Click Here. Please share a description and/or pictures of your service activity to the Faith Formation Office at reo@sjbrh.org.

“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love, be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.”

-Pope Francis

Candlemas

Evening Prayer for Candlemas

Wednesday, February 2

7 PM - St. James & livestreamed

Join us in person or online for Evening Prayer on the Feast of Candlemas. Through music, prayer, candlelight and ritual we will gather and mark this special day also known as the Presentation of the Lord. We celebrate that Jesus Christ is the light to all the nations. Bring candles from home to be blessed as part of our service.

Giving Opportunities

🧤Urgent Winter Glove Collection 🧤

Our Friends at ImmaCare, Inc. are in great need of extra warm winter gloves to share with the homeless community they serve in Hartford. Together we can help! Donations of warm winter gloves can be dropped off at either church location between now and February 14. Label donations - "For Carl Bach." Questions? Contact Carl Bach abcb1922@yahoo.com.

Food & Cereal

For Our Local Pantries

We continue to seek food and cereal donations for our monthly delivery to the Rocky Hill and Amazing Grace food pantries. Non-perishable food items and cereal boxes can be dropped off at either church location:

St. James Church: Father Shea Hall, Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the masses at 4:00 or 11:00.

St. Elizabeth Seton Church: Bins located near the kitchen, Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the Sunday mass at 9:00.

Questions? Contact Sandy Ambrose amb321@cox.net or Carl Bach abcb1922@yahoo.com

Winter Clothing

Collection

The Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish Winter Clothing Collection continues through the coming weeks. We accept Winter 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.

St. James Church: Father Shea Hall, Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the masses at 4:00 or 11:00.

Questions? Contact Sandy Rokosz at sandyrokosz7@hotmail.com

Shelter Dinner Ministry Steps Up to Help Immacare Shelter

When our parish Shelter Dinner Ministry heard of the closing of the ImmaCare Shelter due to a COVID issue and the men being moved to an area hotel for quarantining, they looked for a way continue to serve them. As Meals on Wheels was taking care of providing the men with lunches and dinners during their stay, St. Josephine Bakhita parishioners along with friends of our parish, stepped up to provide a number of healthy and hearty breakfasts. Through food and cash donations we have been able to pull together and deliver 10 breakfasts (and a nice supply of daily snack foods) over the course of the last month. Items provided have included bananas, muffins, yogurt, juice, milk, homemade egg sandwiches as well as McDonalds’ and Panera’s breakfast sandwiches. Our parish is truly blessed to be in a position to help those in need during these most difficult times!