November 1, 2022
Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,
Greetings and blessings!
This week on November 2nd we Commemorate All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) and remember, by name, the 80 people who had a Funeral Mass/Memorial Service/Graveside Service here at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish this past year. Others who have lost a loved one were invited to attend as well. We asked that all bring a picture of the loved one to place in our sanctuary during the 7:00 PM Mass at our Saint James Campus...always a moving experience.
It is a sobering time in prayer where we impart the blessings and hopes of our Catholic Tradition. We remember the faithful departed with prayer and recollection of fond memories; reflect on their lives and what they meant to us. It is a time to be thankful for the love they shared with us and for the lessons we learned from their relationship with us.
During this time of prayer maybe this can be the beginning of the rest our wonderful life. A time to reassess our priorities. What is important, and what is not? A time to maybe make some healthy changes to better equip us to enter wholeheartedly into our precious time in life. Maybe a time to change our fear of dying into love of living. May this ultimately be a time of peace and hope in the Resurrection!!
I would like to take this opportunity to express gratitude to staff and volunteers who assist with funerals, planning of Masses and special events, and support of grieving families: our music directors, our funeral planners, our office staff, our cantors and readers, our greeters, our sextons, etc. Without their help my role as pastor would be impossible.
I wish you and yours continued Blessings!!
Fr. George
|
|
All Saints Day Mass
*** Holy Day of Obligation ***
Tuesday, November 1
Noon - St. James
7 PM - St. Elizabeth Seton
|
|
All Souls Day Memorial Mass
We Remember
Our Deceased Loved Ones
at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish
Wednesday, November 2
We will be celebrating our annual Memorial Mass for those who have had funerals at Saint Josephine Bakhita since November 2021. All are welcome to pray and support those who are mourning, or be strengthened in the face of their own mourning by watching Mass online. During the candlelit service, we will be announcing the names of those who had funerals at Saint Josephine Bakhita in the past year. However, Facebook offers the ability to comment in real time and add your own loved one’s name and picture in the comment section during the Mass.
|
|
The 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
|
|
November 6, 2022
4 PM Vigil - St. James
*Stay for coffee and breakfast treats after the Sunday morning masses!*
*Masks are strongly encouraged in our worship spaces!*
|
|
Fall Faith Activity
The Thankful Pumpkin
Try a faith tradition that focuses on thankfulness. Every night leading up to Thanksgiving, gather as a household and add a message, passage, name, or prayer on your Thankful Pumpkin! It can be a real pumpkin, a personal hand-crafted pumpkin, or non-perishable store bought pumpkin.
You can do this as a household of one or with everyone (mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparents, cousins, god-parents and grown-ups)! Be creative and have fun!
You will have a beautiful, thoughtful Thanksgiving decoration!
Please send pictures of your Thankful Pumpkin to the Faith Formation Office so that we can share them. Our Office is located on the Saint James Campus, 767 Elm Street, Rocky Hill or email them directly to reo@sjbrh.org.
Enjoy pictures of parish pumpkins from prior years here.
|
|
Music Ministry Opportunities |
|
Youth Choir Opportunities
At the Saint Elizabeth Seton Campus, Director of Music Elizabeth Husmer is putting out a last call for singers in grades 2 through 5 to join the Youth Choir that will sing at the 4 PM Christmas Eve Mass on December 24th at Saint Elizabeth Seton.
Thursday, November 3 is the last day to signup. Email Elizabeth Husmer at Elizabeth@sjbrh.org ahead of time or simply show up for the next rehearsal on November 3 from 4:30 – 5:30 PM. Singers should be good readers. Weekly rehearsals run Thursday, October 27 thru December 22, except on Thanksgiving Day.
At the Saint James Campus,Director of Music Joy O'Sullivan has already begun choir rehearsals. The St. James Children’s Choir sings on the first Sunday of the month and on holidays. This is an ongoing choir where children continue to build singing skills and participate in the sacred rituals of the church as choir and cantor. Rehearsals are after the 11 AM Mass in the small chapel at St. James. See Joy O’Sullivan for more information or email: Joy@sjbrh.org
|
|
Adult Spirituality Opportunities |
|
Did You Miss Confirmation the First Time Around?
We Can Help With That
It’s never too late. Even if you are way “past the age” or even a little ;-) ...and not yet Confirmed...you can be. You certainly are not alone. It happens for a variety of reasons. We will help you get “caught up.”
If you have not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation and would like to, contact Deacon Michael at dcnmichael@sjbrh.org or by phone at 860-529-3222, x14. Leave a message and he will get back to you.
|
|
Centering Prayer Workshop
Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish welcomes all ages to join in an Introductory Centering Prayer Workshop on Zoom to be held on two consecutive Wednesdays: November 30 and December 7. The Workshops will run from 6:30-8:30 PM led by presenters Fran Mastro and Mike Smoolca (the Contemplative Outreach Coordinator at the Holy Family Retreat Center). Centering Prayer is a way of opening to the presence of God in prayer. We will practice this prayer of letting go and emptying to create a readiness for a new kind of fullness with God. Please sign up in either church by November 21. For more information, please contact Fran Masto at fmed6@icloud.com.
|
|
Sweet Treat Returns
Last year, thanks to our community's overwhelming generosity, we were able to provide a sweet treat as a small Christmas gift to numerous organizations. The Faith Formation Confirmation Program would like to continue this tradition and are asking for your help.
Do you have any leftover Halloween candy or is there a sale you see at the store? If so, we will be accepting donations of chocolate or hard candy for the next few weeks. Boxes labeled “Sweet Treat Candy Collection” will be in the foyers of both churches.
A small chocolate treat brings large smiles to so many. Thank you for supporting this annual project!
|
|
Food & Cereal
For Our Local Pantries
Households who struggle with hunger need our help even more in the summer time. 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. Learn more here.
|
|
Give Blood
The American Red Cross has launched a Severe Blood Shortage Appeal. All eligible donors are encouraged to schedule appointments now. The next drive hosted at our Parish Center at St. James Church is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, from 1PM-6PM. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS or go to www.redcrossblood.org to register to give.
|
|
Winter Clothing Collection
The Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish Winter Clothing Collection begins November 7th. 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.
|
|
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 19-20.
OR
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. |
|
Saint Josephine Bakhita
Holiday Fair
Saturday, November 19
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Saint James Parish Center
Silent Auction & Teacup Auction
Crafts & Homemade Ornaments
Cookie Walk & Bake Sale
Fun Foods to Buy & Enjoy
|
|
Volunteers Needed
We can't wait for our annual Holiday Fair and we need lots of help to make it happen. There is a job for everyone! Check out all the opportunities and volunteer to help make 2022 the best year ever! If you prefer to talk to someone about volunteering rather than using our e-form below, call Kathy Alexander at 860-563-5859.
|
|
We want this year’s Silent Auction to be the best ever. How can you help? Ask a business you frequent to donate something. Or donate something yourself. Here are some ideas:
-
New higher-end merchandise: Designer Pocketbooks, TV’s, Electronics
-
Services: landscaping, leaf raking, meal preparation, accounting, legal
-
Tradesman: carpentry, plumbing, electrical
-
Unused Gift Cards: Please specify the $ amount — place them in an envelope marked “Holiday Fair” and drop in our offertory boxes at either church
-
Travel packages: Donate time at a vacation home you own
- Signed sports memorabilia or tickets to a great sporting event
- Tickets to concerts, theater, Broadway shows
Your donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Your donation will not only help our community of St. Josephine Bakhita, it will help you!
|
|
Seeking Tea Cup Raffle
& Ornament Donations
We are seeking new or gently used items for our Teacup Raffle as well as Christmas Ornaments. Bins will be placed at the entrances of both Churches. Any questions, feel free to call Kathy Alexander at 860-563-5859.
|
|
Hospitality Sunday is Back!
First Sunday of the Month
November 6, 2022
Coffee, treats, visiting with friends - old and new - has returned to the first Sunday of the month. Parishioners who have volunteered to make this possible will serve treats after the 9:00 AM Mass at St. Elizabeth Seton and after the 11:00 AM Mass at St. James. Consider joining this ministry to keep this great social time going. A few teams of parishioners or families taking turns would keep this commitment feasible going forward. Contact Elizabeth@sjbrh.org or Joy@sjbrh.org to find out how you can help.
|
|
Ponder and Pray on These“Respect Life” Issues
Although the Church designates the month of October as “Respect Life” month, there are a variety of life issues we can ponder and pray about throughout the entire year. If we believe life is a precious gift from God then we are saying we also believe every human being is created in God’s image and likeness with an inherent dignity and is deserving of respect from the moment of conception until natural death.
Recently we have been focusing on being the voice for unborn children through the “40 Days for Life” Campaign and the “Baby Bottles” Drive to support the ABC Women’s Center. Yet they are not the only ones who are unable to speak up for themselves. Every day, throughout the world and, yes, even under our very noses, countless numbers of people ~ children, adolescents, young adults, women and men ~ are being caught up in the evil webs of human trafficking as well as a wide variety of horrendous oppression and slavery including being forced to engage in prostitution against their wills. (The motels on the Berlin Turnpike may look safe and serene from the outside but not all of them are!)
Saint Josephine Bakhita, the Patron Saint of our Parish as well as the Church’s Patron Saint of Human Trafficking, from the age of 7 or 8 until she was about 21, endured the cruel and painful daily beatings that came from a life of slavery while being sold from one master to another. Yet, through God’s grace, she came to know God through the Canossian Sisters in Italy, became Catholic and on December 8, 1896, professed her final vows as a Sister of their Religious Community. Let us pray to her to intercede on our behalf for an end to all human trafficking, oppression and slavery throughout the entire world!
“The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone;
we must be compassionate!”
-Saint Josephine Bakhita
|
|
Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish
Rectory Office
on the campus of St. James Church
767 Elm Street, Rocky Hill
860-529-8655
Monday - Friday: 9:00AM - 2:30PM
|
|
Daily Mass Schedule
Monday: 8:30am-St. Elizabeth Seton
Tuesday: 8:00am-St. James
Thursday: 8:00am-St. James
Friday: 8:30am-St. Elizabeth Seton
|
|
Reconciliation
Fr. George welcomes all to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton.
|
|
Great news, we can text now!
Help us to stay connected and keep you up to date with the information you need to know about Faith Formation and Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish.
|
|
Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish
767 Elm Street
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
