Bulletin for April 30, 2017 ~ Third Sunday of Easter

First Reading:
“God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured him forth, as you see and hear.” (Acts 2:32-33)

Psalm:
Lord, you will show us the path of life. (Ps. 16)
OR
Alleluia.

Second Reading:
He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Pt. 1:20-21)

Gospel:
They set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread. (Lk. 24:33-35)

Live the Liturgy—Inspiration for the Week:
Does your celebration of the Eucharist ever transform you? Today we are presented with the story of what happened on the road to Emmaus. The disciples are simply journeying with Jesus, whom they do not recognize, talking about all that happened over the past days. They were quite bewildered as they did not know what to think about the empty tomb. Each year, we gather to celebrate the Resurrection and many of us wonder, what does it all mean? Jesus journeys with us every moment of our lives, yet we often do not recognize him. When we gather each week, the word of God, the homily that is preached, and the Eucharist that is received all help us lift the veil that often hides the wonder, power, and presence of God. Will you be open today to being taught, led, and transformed by Christ? He is walking with us, eager to open our eyes so that we can see.

Catholic Quotes—Words to Inspire the Faithful:
“To fast is to banquet with angels.” ~St. Athanasius

©Liturgical Publications Inc.

Upcoming Events:

• Scripture study classes of the Gospel: on Tuesdays after the 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. James the Apostle church.
• AA Meetings: St. Francis Church, on Tuesday, at 8:00 p.m.
• Food Pantries: Ovid Federated Church on Mondays, 10:00 a.m. The food truck is available to everyone every other Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. (May 2, 16, and May 30). The food pantry is at the Interlaken Reformed Church on Fridays, 3:00–6:00 p.m. The Trumansburg food pantry is at the Methodist Church every other Monday 1:00–2:00 p.m. and 5:30–6:00 p.m. (May 8 and May 22).
• Weekends in May: Parishioners are invited to bring flowers to Church, to be part of the processional at Mass, and place the flowers at the statue of Mary.
• Benefit for Catholic Charities: Friday May 5 at 7:00 p.m. with nationally-known author Amy Dickinson
• An Italian Night to Benefit Notre Dame High School and HS-Ithaca Bus: May 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, at St Catherine of Sienna Parish Hall, 309 Siena Drive, Ithaca.
• Holy Hour for Vocations: Wednesday, May 10, at the Parish Center in St. Francis Solanus Church from 7:00–8:00 p.m.
• Annual Notre Dame May FEST: Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m.at Notre Dame High School
• Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima, Portugal: The rosary will be prayed fifteen minutes before the Sunday Masses on May 13 and 14
• Birthright and Mothers’ Day: The annual Mothers’ Day Flower Sale will be May 13 and 14
• Day Retreat at Notre Dame Retreat House: presented by Fr. Dan Tormey, on Tuesday, May 16.
• Trumansburg Board of Education Vote: May 16, from noon to 9:00 p.m. at the Ulysses Historical Society.
• Annual Trumansburg Community Yard Sale: Saturday, May 20.
• Ovid Holy Cross Cemetery Clean-up: Saturday, May 20, at 10:00 a.m.
• Selection of Parish Council Members: Nominations need to be in by May 21 with voting the last weekend of May (May 27 and 28) at each of the churches.
• Personal Care Products Collection: This collection for clients of the Interlaken and Ovid Food Pantries ends the weekend of May 28.
• Pentecost Social Gathering: Parish House at Holy Cross Church, Ovid, on June 4, after the 9:30 a.m. Mass.

Catholic Home Missions Appeal:
Support the Catholic Home Missions Appeal today! Right now, over 40 percent of dioceses in the United States are considered home missions because they are unable to fund essential pastoral work needed in their communities. Your support funds programs such as religious education, seminary formation, and lay ministry training to build vibrant faith communities right here in the United States. Please be generous. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/home-missions.

Parish Council Nominations this Weekend:
The term of five Parish Council members ends this June. Parishioners interested in being on the Parish Council can now nominate themselves or be nominated by another parishioner. The selection of new parish council members for a three- year term will take place the weekend of May 28. Newly selected members will attend the June Parish Council Meeting. The term of membership begins July 1. The Parish Council is a council to the pastor. It is not a governing body. Through the Parish Council committees (Word, Worship, Witness, and Fellowship), the members become aware of what is happening in the parish. Parish Council members are assigned to one of the committees after they give their preferences. The Council can meet between 4–8 times a year and the meetings are held at the Parish Center, Interlaken. This weekend Parish Council nomination ballots will be available for the submission of nominees’ names. Parishioners please at this time consider being a Parish Council member or nominating a parishioner.

Madelyn Houck—Music Ministry Recognition Award:
High school music ministry recognition awards will be given to twenty-three teens from around the diocese, one of whom is our parishioner Madelyn Houck at the “Cathedral Hosts Easter Lessons & Carols” event this Sunday, April 30, at 2:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Rochester. All are welcome.

2017 World Day of Prayer for Vocations:
May 7 is Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a day, throughout the world, when the Church encourages Catholics to continually pray for vocations to the religious life and priesthood. The encouragement is to: pray for the priests who have ministered to you throughout your life, both living and dead; to keep parish priests in your prayers; to encourage your children, grandchildren, or other young people to consider a vocation as a priest or religious brother or sister. On May 10 our parish will hold a Holy Hour for vocations. It will be held at the Parish Center in St. Francis Solanus Church from 7:00–8:00 p.m. Please make every attempt to come and pray for the needed vocations to religious life and the priesthood and to pray especially for priesthood and religious life vocations from our Parish of Mary, Mother of Mercy.

Guidelines for the Reception of Holy Communion:
Please note that our Catholic Church has a discipline, namely, that Catholics cannot receive Communion in non-Catholic churches and non-Catholics cannot receive communion in Catholic churches. A summarized rationale is that there is no uniformity among the churches regarding the understanding of the Eucharist and that even though we may be one in our belief in Jesus, in reality we are divided as believers in Jesus. The Catholic Church’s discipline highlights the reminder and the need to continually work for oneness among Christians that is, that we all may be one in faith, life, and worship. Please communicate to Catholics and to non-Catholics requesting that they respect and follow the Catholic discipline. The guidelines can be found in the hymnal on page 231.

Trumansburg Community Yard Sale:
Have you started to clean out your closets, or maybe your basement or attic? The Women’s Guild will again participate, in the annual Trumansburg Community Yard Sale. You may donate all clean and workable items, except clothing, bedclothes or bath linens, books, VHS tapes, CDs and DVDs. Simply place your items in the St. James garage.

Trumansburg Food Pantry:
May and June are the months when St. James the Apostle church provide volunteers to the Trumansburg Food Pantry. A sign-up sheet has been provided in the St. James foyer. Please sign up if you are available to help out. The pantry also needs additional volunteers this year to help with heavy lifting at around 9:00 a.m. and again at 12:45 p.m. Thank you.

Personal Care Products Collection:
During the month of May we are asking all parishioners for donations of personal care items for clients of the Interlaken and Ovid Food Pantries. These needed items are seldom donated during the year according to the heads of our local food pantries and would be gratefully appreciated. We also thank parishioners who put personal care items in weekly food donation bags. Personal care products needed are soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, body soap or washes, shaving soap, razors, deodorants, etc. The collection will begin the weekend of April 30 and ends on the weekend of May 28.

2016-2017 Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA):
Thank you to everyone who has responded with a gift or pledge. We need all parishioners to help reach our parish given goal of $29,855. A report issued on April 18 stated that our parish has pledged $28,165. We are presently $1,690 shy of our given goal. If you have not made a pledge, please do so as soon as possible. If our parish does not reach our given goal, the difference will be billed to the parish. Pledge envelopes are located in the vestibules of the church. Please respond as soon as possible.

Notre Dame High School to Ithaca Bus:
An Italian Night to benefit Notre Dame High School and HS-Ithaca bus, will take place on Monday, May 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at St Catherine of Sienna Parish Hall, 309 Siena Drive, Ithaca. A goodwill offering at the door is suggested. A fundraiser raffle to benefit Notre Dame HS-Ithaca Bus will be offered. The drawing will be Saturday, May 13. This event is open to the public. Note: raffle tickets will be available at St James the Apostle Church this weekend after the 11:00 a.m. Mass.

MayFEST 2017 at Notre Dame:
The annual Notre Dame May FEST will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at Notre Dame High School and offers fun for the whole family!  While visiting MayFEST enjoy the wide variety of vendors at our craft fair, relish a tasty treat from the baked goods booth and purchase your Mother’s Day flowers. Browse the wonderful Jr. and Sr. High student displays of art work. Purchase a chicken BBQ meal to take home for dinner.  Notre Dame High School is located at 1400 Maple Avenue, Elmira, NY 14904.  All proceeds from MayFEST will benefit Notre Dame High School.

Clothing Closet Need:
Catholic Charities in Ithaca is recruiting volunteers for the busy Clothing Closet, which provides community members free clothing, shoes, blankets, sheets, and many more items.  The Clothing Closet gets close to 20–30 visits per day, and gives away around 2,000 free items per month!  This service keeps elders dressed warmly in winter, provides kids with school clothes, and enables adults to find appropriate attire for interviews and work.  Volunteers who can commit to three hours a week, enjoy helping others, and want to be a part of a strong community of kindness are asked to contact Michaela at 272-5062 ext. 10 or at [email protected]. Volunteers are especially needed on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings right now, but volunteers for other weekdays are also welcome.

National Day of Prayer:
The National Day of Prayer will be observed this Thursday, May 4. A local celebration will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Waterloo First Presbyterian Church on 42 East Main Street, Waterloo. All are welcome.

Benefit Celebrating Catholic Charities’ 20th Anniversary:
Join Catholic Charities on Friday May 5 at 7:00 p.m. for an evening with locally-grown, nationally-known author Amy Dickinson (“The Mighty Queens of Freeville”) speaking on the theme of second chances. Amy will share from her wide-ranging  experience as a writer of the “Ask Amy” advice columnist and a proud native of Freeville, and take questions from the audience. Dessert reception and book signing following the presentation.  Ticket are $40 and available at Catholic Charities, GreenStar Market, Buffalo Street Books in DeWitt Mall, online at cctt.brownpapertickets.com,  or by calling 607-272-5062 ext. 15.

Life after Easter:
A day retreat at Notre Dame Retreat House (5151 Foster Rd., Canandaigua, NY 14424), presented by Fr. Dan Tormey, is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16. The day schedule is: 9:00 a.m. registration along with coffee and pastries, 9:30 a.m. conference begins, lunch at noon, followed by reconciliation and Mass, and the day ends at 3:00 p.m. For more details on the presentation and what the day offers, please visit the website: notredameretreat.org. You may call 585-394-5700 to register. A fee of $25.00 is payable at registration.

Sisters of St. Joseph Prayer Ministry:
The sisters have alerted us that throughout this year, 2017, Sister Anne Marie Burns and Sister Dolores Bachman are praying for our parishioners and parish. In appreciation for their thoughtfulness, kindness, and prayers, please keep them in your prayers. Sisters of St. Joseph website: www.ssjrochester.org.

Pregnancy Care Center of the Finger Lakes:
Pregnancy Care Center of the Finger Lakes, located at 551 Exchange St. in Geneva, is offering a “Forgiven and Set Free” post abortive ten-week session beginning October 4 until December 13. There is no cost involved. “If you regret your abortion, you are not alone. Let us help you learn to forgive yourself. Pleased join us for this healing ministry program.” For more information phone 315 789 0708.

Cancer Services Program (Cortland and Tompkins Counties):
This a program that provides free cancer screenings (breast, cervical, and colorectal) to women from ages 40–64 and men ages 50–64, who are uninsured or have health insurance that does not cover these screenings and who meet income eligibility requirements. These services are provided in local health centers, doctor’s offices, and hospitals. For more information call 1-866 442 2262.

Ministry Schedules for St. James

Schedule for April 22 and 23, 2017 (Fourth Sunday):

5:00 p.m. Mass
Lectors: Paul Povinelli and Carol Kuklo
EM: Cathy DelSignore, Joan Hogan

11:00 a.m. Mass
Lectors: Glenn Stamps and Nancy Olszewski
EM: Mark Scibilia-Carver, Mary Szymanski, Glenn Stamps

Schedule for April 29 and 30, 2017 (Fifth Sunday):

5:00 p.m. Mass
Lectors: TBD
EM: Traci Bump, Carol Kuklo, Robin Hamula

11:00 a.m. Mass
Lectors: Tim Davis and Lynne Stager
EM: Mark Scibilia-Carver, Mary Szymanski

Ministry Schedules for St. Francis Solanus Church

Lector Schedule

April 2017 (forthcoming)

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

April 2017 (forthcoming)