25th Annual NEW YORK CARES COAT DRIVE! On behalf of the needy within our local community, members of the Social Action and Young Adults Committees will be accepting used-coat donations at the entrance to the church before each of the masses on the weekend of December 12 and 13th. Coats for adults and children should be “gently used”, just cleaned and in fair condition or better.
FIRST FRIDAY This coming Friday, December 4th, is the first Friday. We have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after the 12:10pm mass and Benediction at 5:15p.m. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed during the afternoon for your adoration. Please come and spend some time in prayer.
THE JOYJ INITIATIVE – JESSE TREE JoyJ is once again sponsoring a Jesse Tree to gather NEW items for their Homeless Outreach . Please visit the tree in the Church, take an ornament or two and bring your item (unwrapped) to either the 5:30 Saturday Mass on December 19th or to any of the Sunday Masses on December 20th, where it will be collected in the vestibule by the JoyJ Volunteers for distribution. Gifts may also be dropped off at the Rectory anytime
BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT On the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month we have Bereavement Support Groups - General Bereavement at 5:30 p.m. and Perinatal Loss (for individuals and couples who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death) at 6:30 p.m. Both groups will meet in the Rectory on December 5th. For more information, please call the Rectory at 212-877-3111. No registration is required. There is no fee.
COFFEE HOUR Next weekend after the 8:30am, 10:00am, 11:15am, 12:30 and 4:00pm Masses we will have a Coffee Hour in the Rectory. Look forward to seeing you there!
Advent & St. Nicholas Celebration for Children Please join our NYC Catholic Families Group in the under-croft of the church on Saturday, December 5th, 3:30-5:00pm. The message of waiting that Advent teaches us as Catholics is an especially important one to pass on to our sometimes impatient children. We will gather to do some Advent-related crafts and songs and to mark the Feast Day of St. Nicholas (12/6), on whom Santa Claus is based Please join our Meetup group and RSVP at:
http://meetup.com/NYC-Catholic-Families/.
PAX CHRISTI METRO NEW YORK—FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT As Advent begins anew we hear Jesus tell us to ―:be vigilant.‖ Yes, Advent is a season of watchfulness and preparation. But for what? Certainly Sunday’s readings are not about Jesus’ birth. Rather they suggest his second coming. And the signs of that coming sound pretty ominous. But wait! Jesus also tells us to ―stand tall and raise our heads because our redemption is at hand.‖ So how do we get ready? St. Paul tells us to ―increase and abound in love for one another and for all.‖ Let that be our challenge this Advent. Let that be our preparation. Let us be vigilant to expose and reject anything that is not love, be it fear, suspicion, discrimination, exclusion, injustice, or violence. Let’s make this Advent a season of love.
INVITATION Pax Christi Metro New York invites you to a special Human Rights Day event, Walking in the Footsteps of Palestine’s Living Stones: Remembering God’s Holy Innocents, based on the Pax Christi Pathways to Peace Pilgrimage to the Holy Land last May. Join us for prayer, presentation, duiscussion, and light refreshments on Thursday, December 10th, 2015 from 7:00 to 9:00pm in Casserly Hall, St. Joseph’s Church Greenwich Village Church, corner of Washington Place and Sixth Avenue (one block north of 4th Street). Contact info: 212-420-0250;
nypaxchristi.org;
www.nypaxchristi.org. Free will offering encouraged.
COLLECTION Thank you so very much for your generous response to the needs of the parish. Our collection last Sunday was $13,403. $3,353 was received through ParishPay for a total of $16,756. $2,889 was received for CCHD Campaign.
THINKING AND PRAYING WITH POPE FRANCIS Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis (Ch 3 Laudato Si
Tuesday Dec. 1st, 7-9pm—doors will open at 6:30pm offering some networking time.
Church of the Holy Name, Lower Church (96th St. bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)
Recommended reading: Chapter 3 Laudato Si.
Participation in previous workshops not necessary!
ADVENT SIMPLE SUPPERS Please join us during the 4 Wednesdays during Advent: December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 23 for Prayer and Meditation followed by a light dinner of soup, salad, and bread. Prayers begin promptly at 7PM in the 2nd floor meeting room of the Rectory. It’s a wonderful and contemplative way to prepare for Christmas. We hope to see you there. For more information please call/email
JOYJ INITIATIVE HOMELESS OUTREACH On Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 10:00am from the Hall of the Lower Church of Blessed Sacrament. Members of the JoyJ Initiative have spoke at all of your Masses giving detailed information concerning this Outreach and how it impacts our less fortunate Brothers and Sisters who live on the streets of our City, as well as how this Outreach will fill your souls with the joy o Jesus. The comfort bags will already be prepared for you and experienced leaders will be assigned to groups going out to the various locations. We look forward to seeing you on December 12th at 10:00am for coffee and doughnuts before we head out. For more information please go to
joyj.org and God Bless you.
ABC’s of Catholic Relief Services… This week—CRS/Zimbabwe. Strong working relationships with seven development arms of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe and collaboration with the local government aid in American Catholics helping over 300,000 people in poverty stricken Zimbabwe. Orphans and vulnerable children are a focus of health and education programs. Next week: CRS/Angola. For more info visit:
www.crs.org.
SAVE THE DATE—14TH Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Interfaith Peace Walk
When: Monday, January 18, 2016
Theme: Here the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor!
Time: Walk begins at 2:00pm.
Where: Gather at Holy Name of Jesus Church (West 96th Street/Amsterdam Avenue) for an introduction and short prayer; proceed to several Upper West Side faith communities for prayer and song and an invitation to a simple positive action step; end at the Church of Blessed Sacrament (West 71st St./Broadway) for prayer, refreshments and fellowship. A West Side Clergy event. More details to follow. Please spread the word to your congregations, colleagues and friends.
YOUTH CHOIR Children (from grade 3 up) and Teenagers are invited to take part in the CHRISTMAS EVE YOUTH CHOIR which sings at the 5:30pm Christmas Eve Family Mass. Rehearsals are on Wednesdays from 4-5 pm beginning Dec. 2 and on Monday, Dec. 21. Please call Tina Silvestro at 212-877-3111 for a Parent Permission Form to sign up. Forms can also be found on the Sunday School website under the YOUTH CHOIR tab.
www.blessedsacramentsundayschool.org
SPECIAL NEEDS MASS AT BLESSED SACRAMENT You’re invited! Please join us for monthly Special Needs Mass , welcoming families with loved ones on the autism spectrum and other challenging behaviors. Our next Mass will take place on Sunday, December 6th at 4:00pm. All families members are invited!.
Please send inquiries to:
[email protected]