November 7, 2023

Fall News From Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish

November 7, 2023

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,

Greetings!

In this weekend’s Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13) Jesus says, keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour,” he is not talking mainly about death. He is talking about God, the groom in the parable, who keeps showing up when you least expect him. God is always with us, but God is revealed more clearly at certain unforeseen times and God speaks important words to us at odd moments. There is no telling when that will happen, so Jesus says we just have to be watchful.

Sometimes God speaks to us through nature, its immensity and grandeur, its delicate and subtle beauties, the softness of an invisible breeze, the aroma of leaves in autumn. God is there, reminding us of who God is and what a blessing life is.

Sometimes God shows God’s face reflected in the faces of good people. Some of those faces are very tiny, some are old and wrinkled, some have big smiles and others big tears. But shining through all those different good faces is God’s face, showing us goodness and reminding us we are not alone.

Sometimes God cries out to us through human voices racked by pain or despair, voices weeping and voices laughing. God speaks to us through their voices and tells us where we are needed, where our light needs to shine.

Whether in light or darkness God is revealed and speaks to us continually every day, comforting, blessing, encouraging, challenging, and always wrapping us round by Grace. So, keep your eyes open. This is something you really do not want to miss! Be quiet, listen and watch. You will be amazed!

Peace and blessings!

Fr. George Couturier

The 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 12, 2023

4:00 PM at Saint James

9:00 AM at Saint Elizabeth Seton

11:00 AM at Saint James

HELP WANTED! We Have a Job for Everyone! Click Here to Volunteer to Help at our Holiday Fair

HELP! WE NEED BAKERS TO SIGN UP ASAP!

CALLING ALL PARISH BAKERS!

Annual Holiday Fair

Bake Sale & Cookie Walk

Donations of baked goods and cookies are needed for our annual Holiday Fair. We have many talented bakers in our parish and each year they donate delicious homemade baked goods for our very popular Holiday Fair Bake Sale & Cookie Walk. We can never have too much! Every last crumb sells! Please sign up to donate one or more items.

Click Here to Volunteer to Bake For Our Holiday Fair

Annual Holiday Fair

Ornament Collection

We are seeking new or gently used holiday ornaments for the Holiday Fair. Collection Bins will be placed at the entrances of both Churches. Any questions, feel free to call Kathy Alexander at 860-563-5859.

Hang a Flyer About the Holiday Fair Where You Live, Work or Gather! Download & Print Flyer By Clicking Here.

Early access to Holiday Fair items starts NOW! Irish knit sweaters (children's starting at $23 and adults starting at $40), quilts, table runners, baby sleep sacks & more. For info and to pre-order, contact Vivian Orsini at vorsini24@aol.com or text her at 860-906-7433. For a full list of items for sale, Click Here.

Thanksgiving Food Baskets &

Grocery Store Gift Certificates

Create a Thanksgiving Food Basket for a household of 4-6 people to donate to Rocky Hill Human Services and deliver to either church the weekend of November 18-19.

Donate gift certificates to local grocery stores to compliment the Food Baskets and enable families to buy turkeys and perishable foods.

Please indicate your intention to donate a basket by signing up in either Church Foyer. Learn all about where to donate and how to build your basket, Click Here.

ABC Women’s Center

Annual “Baby Bottle Drive

From November 4-19, our parish community will be supporting the annual “Baby Bottle Drive” to benefit the clients of the ABC Women’s Center. This Center is a faith based pregnancy resource center located in both Middletown and New Britain. Clients are provided with a wide variety of services that are free of charge; this fund–raiser is vital to the accomplishment of that mission.

Baby bottles will be available in the entrances of both churches. Please take one home and fill it with your generous donation of change, currency or a check made payable to: ABC Women’s Center (not the Parish). (Credit card payments accepted by using the QR code on the bottle or by calling Idalis Moreno, the Development Manager, at 860-894-7402.)

Please return the baby bottle containing your donation to Church no later than the weekend of November 18-19!! For any questions or more information, call Lorraine Levesque at 860-534-0937. Thank you in advance for your generosity and support!!

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. Additionally, we need volunteers to deliver the food to Amazing Grace.

Learn more, Click Here.

Catholic Campaign for Human Development Special Collection: November 18 – 19

Did you know that nearly 34 million Americans live below the poverty line? You can help by supporting the collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development through our special collection the weekend of November 18-19, 2023.

Saint Josephine Bakhita Bible Study

Advent 2023

Saint Josephine Bakhita Bible Study will be meeting during Advent to prepare for the great feast of The Nativity of the Lord at Christmas.

We will meet on four Wednesdays on November 29, December 6, 13 and 20, to read through, contemplate and discuss together the readings for the following Sunday. This will help us to focus on the Sunday liturgies during Advent by hearing the Word of God a more deeply.

No prior experience with bible study is required. All are welcome.

There will be a morning session at Saint James Parish Center at 10 AM and an “online” session at 7:00 PM. Each session will last about 75 minutes.

There will not be a separate text that needs to be purchased. The materials for preparation for our sessions together starting on November 29 will be emailed to registered participants each week prior to our meetings in sufficient time to prepare.

Email Deacon Michael at saintjmdeacon@gmail.com to register and receive these emails with the links each week for the materials and the online meeting.

Contemplative Dialogue Advent Series

All are invited to join our 5-week series that will be held on Tuesday evenings in person at the St. Elizabeth Seton campus in Room D from 6:00 – 7:15 beginning on November 28 and ending on December 26.

We will be reading ‘Bridges to Contemplative living with Thomas Merton.' Each week, participants will read a chapter and reflect on it in silence. There is then a sharing period when members may choose to share how certain parts of the readings were meaningful and relevant in their lives. Everyone is asked to listen to each other’s sharing without comment - to listen deeply is to cultivate inner silence.

If you would like to participate, please register (by email to mca0711@sbcglobal.net or call 860-604-2807) by November 12^th to allow sufficient time to order and receive books before our initial session.

Please contact Fran Mastro (at 860-810-2403 or Fmed6@icloud.com) with any questions or for more information.

Embracing Hope: Navigating Grief During the Holidays

Are you grieving the loss of someone close to you? Are you wondering how you’ll navigate the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s without that special someone?

SS. Isidore and Maria Parish invites you to a FREE workshop entitled “Embracing Hope: Navigating Grief During the Holidays,” presented by Saint Josephine Bakhita parishioners Karen Carney, LCSW, and Bill Pilkington, MA, MS, Ed.D.

Whether your loss is recent or long ago, you are welcome to join this special evening of support for individuals facing the complexities of grief during a celebration. Join us on Monday, November 13, at St. Paul Church, 2577 Main Street, Glastonbury, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Registration is required. Click Here

Annual Retreat Weekend

Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center

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.

When Jesus encounters the centurion in the Gospel of Matthew (8:5-13), he meets a person of deep faith and humility who knows that healing comes from God alone. The centurion proclaims: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.” We will reflect together on those powerful words of Jesus in response to the centurion: “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith” (Matthew 8:13). We will ask: where is healing needed, in us and in our world? And how can we, the very Body of Christ, help to bring about that healing with our unique gifts and talents?

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.

Women's Retreat Weekend: January 5-7, 2024

Couple's Retreat Weekend: February 9-11, 2024

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

Learn more and sign up online: Click Here.