Bulletin for November 16, 2008


Saturday, November 15

8:30 The Alphonso/Pereira Families By the Alphonso sisters
4:30 Alfred Iacobucci, MD By his wife and family

Sunday, November 16

7:30 Robert Piazza, Jr. 11th Anniversary by Paul and Elsie O’Dell
9:00 Harrison Coller Daley By Mom, Dad, Shaun, Declan & Finnegan
11:00 Anthony Corrente By the family
5:30 John Dolan and Rita Barry By the family

Monday, November 17

8:30 Theodore Lekas By Rita and John Mazeika

Tuesday, November 18

8;30 Dorothy McCaffrey By the family

Wednesday, November 19

8:30 Antonietta Frabotta By her daughter

Thursday, November 20

8:30 Mary Hahir By Frances Larson

Friday, November 21

8:30 Special Intention

Saturday, November 22

8:30 Mary Noone By the family
4:30 James Blair By his wife Linda

Sunday, November 23

7:30 John Sullivan By the Gutekanst family
9:00 Rodney LaRue By St. Mary’s Choir
11:00 Robert A. Cole 3rd Anniversary by the family
5:30 Robert Brazeau By the family


ANNUAL ST. MARY SCHOOL SENIOR LUNCHEON

St. Mary School would like to invite the seniors of the parish to the annual luncheon on Friday, November 21, 11:30am to 1:30pm. Please join us for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Space is limited so please reserve early! R.S.V.P. to Beth Farrell at 508.925.5440 by Monday, November 17.


Liturgical Roles

November 22-23

Mass

Servers:

4:30

E. Brenner, A. Canzano, K. Clougherty, M. Daly, D. Musgrove, T. Musgrove

7:30 A. Berard, D. Clemson, R. Kiely, C. McCabe, V. Pitney, P. Storer
9:00

D. Cabrera, M. Cabrera, D. Duquette, C. Kelly, M. Travers, S. Travers

11:00

J. Canfield. M. Curran, M.K. Paulina, M. Paulina, N. Sex, M. Terry

5:30

J. Armbruster, R. Hevey, S. Kuruvilla, P. Mangan, S. Nelson, L. Perreault


Mass

Lectors:

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

4:30 R. Lespasio

M/M Blanchard, M. Blute, R. Ferrante, S. Goodwin, M. Law, I. Lespasio, M. Lordan, H. Reynolds, M. Rogers, M. Serafin

7:30 F. Mannella

F. Collins, M. Gulino, M. Lemoine, A. Lo, F. Nugent

9:00 S. Zybert

P. Ahearn, M/M Berkowitz, M/M Coghlin, N. Duquette, T. Kelly, S. Landry, L. Shuba, S. Zybert

11:00 K. Paulina

J. Barry, K. Canfield, P. Caouette, J. Fouhy, M. Horner, S. Howard, E. Korpi, M. Minnucci, M/M Pratt, V. Sheehan

5:30

A. Figueiredo

M/M Casey, K. Contreras, C. Cruz, A. Figueriedo, L. McCallaster


James O’Hearn, Frances Labreche, James Pedone and Helen Elkind


Repose of the soul of Dr. Maurice Heffernan and Steve and peace for their families, courage and God’s peace for a woman facing a possible diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Louise for quick healing after a surgical procedure, for God to turn the heart around of a 17 yr old girl considering abortion, Hannah's safe pregnancy and full relief of migraine headaches, a successful outcome for Logan's educational meeting 11/19 and for his family, Marilyn's safety and good health following a loss, Claire to fully recover from upcoming cataract surgery, Darlene to return to the job she truly loves and for her to pursue a path to wellness, A. who recently lost her job to find what she is seeking, Ellen to gain wisdom, forgiveness and compassion, Claire's safe trip to Bolivia, successful medical test results for M. and a clear health plan, treatment for the root cause of insomnia for two, B. to take action to return to full health, protection for two youth, employment for B., usable medical information to chart a health plan for Chris, Frank's improved health, Jim C., and for our brothers and sisters in Haiti and our continued support for our twin parish, St. Michel. Continued prayers for: Eric, Barbara, Michael, Mike Jr., Christine, Lynn, David and Lynne, C., Joe, Tim and his family and those who are treating him, the sale of two properties, Susan's upcoming operation, Ben, Pam, Andy, Mary Jane, Dwight and Nancy, and for peace around our world. Thanksgiving for: Linda's good test results, Michael, Eddie and Julie's help, steady health for T., and prayers answered.

Prayer Line: Tracy at 508.842.2279 or Susan at 508.934.0133 or susanbk@townisp.com


THANK-YOU to all those parishioners who made their pledge to St. Mary’s Capital Campaign. We encourage parishioners who have not made a pledge to Our Enduring Covenant to please do so during the month of November.

To date Our Enduring Covenant has received:

Please make your pledge today. Every gift is important to the Campaign.

Our site plans and building project were presented at last week’s meeting of the Town Planning Board where they received final approval from the Town of Shrewsbury. This past week the Parish Building Committee met for the first time to begin their work of coordinating the efforts our architect (Jordan O’Connor), construction manager (Lauring Construction), the parish and school. We are grateful to those parishioners who will be serving on this committee: Joe Favulli, Chair; Mark Beaudry, David Colombo, Jim Hudson, Mike Lovelace, and Gerry Sullivan.


THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING SERVICE

Sunday, November 23 at 7:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury

You are invited to attend the annual Shrewsbury Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 23rd at 7:00 pm at the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury. Coming together as people of faith to celebrate our gratitude to God, we become all the more aware of he gifts and abundant blessings that surround us. Rev. Nicholas Apostola, pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, will deliver the Thanksgiving Sermon. Malcolm Halliday will direct a special Thanksgiving choir composed of choir members from all the churches of Shrewsbury. Please join us as we come together with the people of Shrewsbury and “give thanks”.

MASS on THANKSGIVING DAY

Thursday, November 27 at 8:30 am
St. Mary’s Church.

Begin your Thanksgiving Day by giving God thanks around the Table of the Eucharist and receive again the gift of God’s love and abundant blessings. Then your Thanksgiving dinner and the time you spend with family and friends will have even more meaning. Please bring a bag of non-perishable food with you to Mass on Thanksgiving and bring it forward to the altar during the offertory procession. These gifts of food will be given to St. Anne’s Food Pantry. St. Anne’s Human Services expects to prepare over 200 Thanksgiving baskets for families in need in our community. Our donations will help to restock the shelves after Thanksgiving Day so that the growing number of people who are turning to food pantries in their need can be served.


Sunday, November 16

9:00 Adult Choir – Grade 8 Classroom
9:30 Stewardship Parable of the Talents – Hall
12:30 Baptisms – Church
7:00 RCIA – Mary’s Room

Monday, November 17

9:15 Weight Training - Mary’s Room
9:30 Bible Study – St. Matthew
3:30 Daisy Troop - Hall
6:30 Cub Scouts – Hall
7:00 Building Committee – St. John
7:00 Steering Committee – Mary’s Room
7:30 St. Mary’s Rosary Group

Tuesday, November 18

9:30 Thomas Merton Group – Mary’s Room
7:00 Commission for Women – St. Matthew
7:15 Social Justice – Hall

Wednesday, November 19

2:30 School Choir – Church
4:00 Children’s Choir – Church
4:15 Grade 4 CCD – School/PC
7:00 Daughters of Isabella – Hall
7:00 Grade 5 Teacher Meeting – St. Luke

Thursday, November 20

9:15 Weight Training – Mary’s Room
7:00 Boy Scouts – Hall
7:00 Adult Confirmation Class – Mary’s Room
8:30 Senior Luncheon Set –Up – Hall

Friday, November 21

9:00 Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament – Chapel
11:30 Senior Luncheon – Hall
2:00 Mass at Shrewsbury Nursing Home

Saturday, November22

9:00 Grades 1 & 2 CCD – School/PC
11:00 Grades 1 & 2 CCD – School/PC
5:00 Bake Sale – Hall

Sunday, November 23

7:30 Bake Sale – Hall
9:00 Adult Choir – Grade 8 Classroom
10:15 Grade 3 CCD – School
6:45 High School Religious Education – School/PC
7:00 RCIA – Mary’s Room
7:00 Ecumenical Mass – First Congregational Church


THOMAS MERTON

The Merton Group will meet on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 in the
Pastoral Center. 9:30 AM -11:00 AM. There is no December meeting.


COFFEE AND... St. Mary Parents’ Association invites all parishioners to gather for coffee & pastry in the Parish Hall after Sunday Masses at 7:30 am and 9:00 am. Coffee, donuts, and bagels are available for a suggested donation of $1.00 per item on most Sundays. St. Mary School parent volunteers make Sunday coffee possible by purchasing and serving the coffee and pastry. We hope to see you in the Parish Hall!


Religious Education Week - November 16th – 22nd

A wonderful and well deserved custom was begun a few years ago in the Worcester Diocese and it has spread throughout the New England Dioceses. It happens yearly in November and is showcased in the Diocesan newspaper. The main purpose of this custom is to thank the many volunteers who give of their time, talent and service to educate the youth of our parishes on what builds a firm foundation for their faith. These men and women share their own faith journey as they prepare week after week to give the youth the best of who they are. In St. Mary’s parish we have more than 100 volunteers ministering to our 1,098 students as teachers, secretaries and helpers in the Religious Education program. We are blessed! A special thank you to those who make it all happen on our staff: Sue Landry, our Director; Laura Osborne, Coordinator of Grades 5 – 8 and Gina Kuruvilla, Coordinator of High School and Youth Ministry. We thank God for these people who minister in religious education and know God will bless them in ways they cannot even imagine. God bless you all…


STEWARDSHIP AT ST. MARY’S

God has left us in charge of His treasure; a wealth of spiritual and worldly gifts that include faith and prayer, family and neighbor, earth and sky, skills and talents. As we hear about the servants in today’s Gospel, the stewardship question is this: Will we nurture and cultivate our God-given gifts, making them active, productive and transforming? Or are these gifts to be wrapped up and safely tucked away; waiting to be handed back to the Lord without increase? Do we see our discipleship as preserving and hiding what we have been given? Or do we see our lives as stewards, actively and urgently involved in Christ’s redemptive transformation of the world?

STEWARDSHIP IN ACTION - ST. MARY’S SHINING STARS

Shining Stars is an opportunity for parishioners to recognize other parishioners for their stewardship actions and deeds. Do you want to say “thanks” or acknowledge a parish member for being a good steward by using their time, talent or treasure to serve others? You may recognize an individual, a family, a couple, a teenager or child. Pick up a recognition form today in the vestibule of the church with the bulletins, or click here to get the form online (then print it out and fill it in).

Today we announce November’s Shining Star:

Thea Brazeau

Almost six years ago when I first came to St. Mary’s Parish I advertised in the bulletin for a helper in my office. A few days later Thea Brazeau called and said she would like to help and the rest is history.

Thea has been helping all of us in the Religious Education department on a weekly basis ever since. She gives of herself so graciously and generously and makes such a big difference in the many things her secretarial gifts provide us. She is one of the wonderful unsung heroes we are so blessed to have. Thank you, Thea.


Jesse Tree Weekend - November 29th and 30th

The SMPA will be selling advent wreaths, candles and calendars to help the families of St. Mary’s celebrate this special time as we prepare for the birth of our Savior. Cemetery Boxes will also be available this weekend. Items can be purchased before and after Mass on Saturday, November 29th from 4 pm to 6:30 pm and Sunday, November 30th from 7 am to 12 pm


MARY’S FLOWERS

The flowers adorning the statue of our
Blessed Mother are in memory of

John and Rita Barry

Donated lovingly by the family


IN GRATITUDE

Last Saturday morning, the families of those parishioners who have died since last All Souls day gathered for a beautiful Mass of Remembrance. Following Mass everyone in attendance was invited to a breakfast buffet in the parish hall. Once again the expense of the breakfast was paid for by a very generous donations from Britton Funeral Homes. Each year, Shannon Henry and David Bellerose of Britton’s, come to the Mass and breakfast to offer their support. The parish extends its deepest gratitude to Shannon and David for their generosity and support in making this event possible.


4th Annual Bake Sale and Raffle to benefit the LITTLE BROWN HOUSE after all Masses Nov. 22 & 23. We are gratefully accepting donations of BAKED GOODS. Please bring goodies to the Pastoral Center on Friday from 9 – 2, Saturday from 9 – noon, or bring to the Bake Sale tables before any of the weekend Masses. Thank you for helping us keep the family (Dad, Mom, and 3 young children) in the Little Brown House warm and comfortable this coming winter. Call Sindhu 508.842.1009 or Cecile 508.829.5422 of the Social Justice Committee for more information.


SOCIAL JUSTICE MEETING - St. Mary's social justice ministry will meet on Tuesday, November 18, at 7:15 pm in the Church Hall (Light refreshments at 7:00). All are welcome


St. Mary Parish congratulates Ronald Thompson who is being invested as a Knight of Malta this weekend in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral by Cardinal Edward Egan. The Knights of Malta was founded in 1098 in Jerusalem to assist and protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. Today the order principal charitable activities include hospital work, maintaining clinics and sanitariums around the world, ministering to the homeless, those in prison, working for refugees and the needy.


CAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

There are nearly 37 million people in the United States struggling below the poverty line, and 13 million of these are children. Over a ten-year cycle, about 40% of the United States population experiences poverty at some time. Poverty is caused not simply by the lack of financial resources, but by the lack of quality education, affordable housing, health care, child care, fair wages, and vocational training.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development helps people rise above the poverty line by funding programs that focus on the root causes of poverty. It creates permanent, community-based solutions to the problem of poverty by funding programs that promote self-sufficiency. These successes are only possible through the solidarity of parishioners across the United States.

CCHD is committed to helping people change the conditions that keep them living in a state of poverty. These compassionate projects in our diocese and throughout the U.S. support low-income people as they work together to improve educational opportunities, create jobs, and improve access to services for the disabled.

I urge you to give generously to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development next weekend, November 22-23. We commit 75% of the donations to the national office to support their projects across the country. We keep 25% here in the diocese to fund local self-help initiatives to benefit communities in Central Massachusetts and awarded many grants just a few weeks ago.

By joining in solidarity with Catholics in parishes across our country, you lend strength to efforts already underway to end the vicious cycle of poverty. May God bless you for your generosity.

With every prayerful best wish, I am

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
Bishop of Worcester


A PARTNERSHIP

St. Mary Parish, Shrewsbury, MA
and
St. Michel Parish, Roche-a-Bateau, Haiti

We are most grateful to Sister Marie Judith Dupuy, S.S.A. for her visit to St. Mary’s last weekend and for speaking at all of the Masses about our sister parish in Haiti – St. Michel’s in Roche-a-Bateau. The devastating impact of the recent hurricanes that have hit the island coupled with the ongoing food crisis have made our monthly support of St. Michel’s all the more critical. Thank-you for your generous response to the collection taken up at the end of Mass last week – we collected $3,647 ! ! ! Thank-you to Joe Cantin and the members of the St. Mary’s Haiti Committee who have been coordinating our efforts here at St. Mary’s. Envelopes for donations to support our sister parish can be found in the vestibule of the church by the bulletins. Let us continue to pray for our brothers and sisters throughout Haiti and especially at St. Michel’s.


THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE is a powerful movie from Grassroots Films Production. Worcester Pre-Screenings:

Wednesday, November 19 4:30 and 8:30 pm
Assumption College - Hagan Campus Center Hall

Open to Assumption College Community and general Public at no charge.

THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE is the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of new York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.


HOME of HOPE

The Home of Hope in Cochin, India is an orphanage for girls in India which is run by the Salesian Sisters. In July of 2007 Paul Wilkes came to our parish to speak about Home of Hope and to seek our support through the annual Propagation of the Faith mission cooperative. Since that time a number of parishioners have continued their support of the Home of Hope. In fact, one St. Mary’s parishioner, Bob Davis, now serves on the Board of Directors and will be traveling to India this month. If there are any parishioners who have continued a connection with Home of Hope, Bob would welcome hearing from you before he travels to India. We also look forward to hearing from Bob about his trip after he returns. For more information about Home of Hope, go to www.homeofhopeindia.org or contact Bob at bdavis@process-info.com or 508.341.4363.


RESPECT LIFE NEWS

On Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 the March for Life takes place in Washington, D.C. St. Mary’s is hopeful to fill a bus (55 people) to travel to Washington on Wednesday evening, January 21st after the 7:30 pm Mass as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Chatham Street in Worcester. The buses will return about midnight Thursday evening. The cost is approximately $65 per person (financial assistance is available). Each year we have many students – this year we would like to have a family bus – teen and family adult members. For further information please contact: Dr. John Harding 508.845.9237 or Maureen Coghlin 508.842.8270.


Join the Jet Setters in kicking off the Christmas holiday season, on Thursday December 11, 2008, with a trip to the LaSalette Shrine to see the beautiful lights. This will hopefully include Mass and a concert by Fr. Pat. Also, included will be a stop at Wrights Chicken Farm for a late lunch/early dinner. The cost will be $52 per person and reservations must be made by November 11th by calling Fran at 508.842.8567 or Evelyn at 508.845.3511.


Copyright © 2008, St. Mary's Parish, Shrewsbury MA.
This page last updated on 8/29/2009