Lector and Eucharistic Minister Training
Thursday, March 31, 6:30PM- 8PM - In the Church

We are in need of more lectors to minister the Word and Eucharistic ministers, especially for the 5:30pm Saturday & 12:30pm Sunday masses. If you have a love for Scripture and would like to serve as a lector or would like to administer Communion to your fellow parishioners as a Eucharistic minister, please come to the training session. All training will be held in the Church.
No need to RSVP.

Email Kimberley LaMarque Orman ( [email protected])
or Brian Fallon ( [email protected]) with any questions.

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Easter Flowers Offering
Should you wish to make an offering for the Easter flowers in memory of a loved one, please place your offering in an envelope and on paper within, print clearly the name or names of those in whose memory the offering is made. The names will be listed in all the Easter Mass Programs as well as the Church bulletin. Prayers will be prayed for them throughout the Easter Season.

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34^th Annual Pax Christi NY Way of the Cross
Join several hundred people in one of the largest public Christian peace witnesses in New York City. For over thirty years Pax Christi Metro New York has walked The Good Friday Way of the Cross as a modern-day enactment of the Stations of the Cross, praying for peace and justice on the streets of our city. Pope Francis has declared 2016 as the year of Mercy, join with us as we reflect on Living Lives of Mercy with Care and Compassion.

The Walk will take place from 8:30am to 12:00 noon on Good Friday, March 25th.
We begin at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th and First Avenue) and proceed along 42nd street between Eight and Ninth Avenues.


PLEASE WEAR OR CARRY A CROSS.

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Be the Change: Climate Commitments for Lent
Lent is an opportune time to evaluate our lifestyles and make conscious decisions that contribute to a happy, healthy planet. Together, we can follow Pope Francis’ lead to choose what is good by adapting our behavior and being better stewards of the earth and her resources. Each week through Easter, we will be providing advice and tips on how to decrease your carbon footprint this Lent. You can begin to incorporate these actions and changes in your daily life, creating a sustainable and more earth-friendly lifestyle.

Seventh Week: March 20
As the weather’s getting nicer (spring should be here soon, right?), take public transportation, walk or bike instead of driving or hopping in a cab. As you plan your spring or summer get-away vacation, be mindful that flying leaves a large carbon footprint and consider purchasing offsets. Offsetting with COTAP creates incomes for the world’s poorest people while also counteracting your footprint. See more at cotap.org

To be involved in the parish’s Care for Creation efforts, contact Luke Mayville at 208-610-1783.

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Committee for Pastoral Planning Parish Update
On Saturday, March 5th, between 9:30 and 2:00, the Committee for Pastoral Planning held our first meeting. This newly formed group seeks to clarify our mission as a parish and then find ways to implement and fulfill it. The Pastoral Plan is a commitment made by the Pastor and parishioners to further the mission of the parish, the reason the parish exists. Father Duffell and members of the Parish Council participated in this first meeting.

So far, we have formed a core team and subcommittees organized around reaching out to parishioners, parish staff and gathering information to determine our priorities and mission. We will conduct a parish survey and hold Parish Meetings to hear from as many parishioners as possible. These dates will be announced in the coming weeks. 26 of your fellow parishioners have volunteered their time and talent to Pastoral Planning. Committee members are: Chris Philippou, Caitlin Marcoux, Mark Kalus, Julie Theriault, Patricia

Caffrey, Abraham Ouano, Mary Ellen Sweeney, Mark Murphy, Joan Boyle, Elizabeth Kubinski, Luke Mayville, Christina Papi, Ryan Chamberlain, Ruth Valenzuela, Ricardo Hijar, Brendan Contant. Rob McClimans. Core Team: Rob Porell, Angele Gallers, Eddie Litton, Thomas Davis, Kimberley LaMarque Orman, Ellen Koneck, Gabe Keane, Jose Gonzales, Pia Ferrario.

As the project progresses, the committee will provide parish updates. Please keep the committee and this important work in your prayers.

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Our Lenten journey with CRS Rice Bowl comes to an end this weekend. At all Palm Sunday Masses, members and friends of the Social Action Committee will collect your Rice Bowls at the church entrance. 75% of your donation will go to Catholic Relief Services’ programs serving the poorest of the poor overseas, 25% will go toward NY archdiocesan projects that minister to the poor and vulnerable in our own community.

If you made an on-line donation, please let us know so we can include it in our parish totals. Also, let us know how Rice Bowl enhanced your Lenten journey. Write down your thoughts and include it in your Rice Bowl.

What you give up for Lent changes lives: “Lent is a time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty.” —Pope Francis

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School of the Blessed Sacrament is accepting applications for grades
1 - 8, with financial aide opportunities for qualified families! School of the Blessed Sacrament is a pre-k through eighth grade Catholic elementary school in the heart of the upper west side. Our well-rounded curriculum incorporates love of God, self, and others. We integrate technology, the arts, music, and physical education to provide a liberal arts education for the whole child. We seek to develop saints and scholars through innovative, personal learning experiences. Contact us today at 212-724-7561 or www.sblsnyc.org.

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NYC Catholic Families Meetup Group
Parents are invited to join our NYC Catholic Families Meetup Group. We are +130 families striving to raise our children in the love and knowledge of Christ. In addition to seasonal events, we host "night out" events for mothers and fathers here at the rectory.
For more info: www.meetup.com/NYC-Catholic-Families/

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ABC’s of Catholic Relief Services
CRS/Nepal: Nearly one year ago Nepal was struck by a strong earthquake that killed 8,000 people. CRS responded with building materials, sanitation materials and cash for transitional support. Today the agency is working with 15,000 households, the vast majority located in the most remote areas of the country, to help people recover their livelihoods. Last week - CRS/Mali. Next week – CRS & Orphans. For more info visit: www.crs.org.

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Margaret F. Grace Lecture
“Where Do I Find Hope?”
Dorothy Day and the Solution of Love:
A Conversation with Robert Ellsberg, John L. Allen Jr., and Sr. Simone Campbell

April 12, 2016
7pm – Smith Hall
College of Mount Saint Vincent
6301 Riverdale Avenue, Riverdale, New York 10471

For more information and to register, visit: www.mounsaintvincent.edu/grace

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Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard
Who: National Religious Campaign Against Torture and panelists - Scott Paltrowitz, Associate Director, Prison Visiting Project at Correctional Association of NY; Mary Buser, Author of “Lockdown on Rikers”; Terrence Slater, CEO, Incarcerated Nation; Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture; Ede Fox as Master of Ceremonies, Social Justice Committee Member, Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph

What: Panel Discussion, followed by a public Q & A session

Where: Holy Family St. Thomas Aquinas Church Hall, 249 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 When: Friday, March 18, 2016 from 7 - 9 pm

When: Friday, March 18, 2016 from 7 - 9 pm

For more info, contact Luke Mayville ( [email protected]).

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