Holy Year of Mercy: December 8, 2015–November 20, 2016:
“A time to heal, to help, to forgive.”
Catholics Invite Catholics:
“Come to Mass in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day.” A way to remind people of a way to be faithful to the third commandment: Keep holy the Lord’s Day.
Upcoming Events:
• Scripture study classes: Tuesdays after the 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. James the Apostle Church
• Vacation Bible School: Jacksonville Community United Methodist Church, August 2-4, from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
• Music Ministry meeting: Thursday, August 4 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Francis Solanus, Interlaken
• Summer Retreat: “Mother of Mercy, Son of God,” by Fr. Brendan P. Buckley, OFM Cap. Friday, August 5, from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at Branches Christian Rest and Renewal Center
• Capuchin Franciscan Candidate Discernment Weekend: August 12–14, 2016, at the San Alfonso Retreat House, Long Branch, NJ.
• Summer Retreat: “Finding God in Difficult Times,” by Ann Kern, Saturday, August 20, from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at Branches Christian Rest and Renewal Center
• Diocese of Rochester Catholic Men’s Conference: Saturday, October 1, at St. Jude the Apostle Parish 4100 Lyell Road Rochester
• Pilgrimage to Fatima: November 14-20, 2016.
Music Ministry:
The Worship Committee of the Parish Council is requesting the presence of Mary, Mother of Mercy, parishioners currently in the music ministry (that is, musicians and cantors) and those who are interested in the music ministry, to attend a gathering on Thursday, August 4 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Francis Solanus Church. The goal it to look at music possibilities now that we are one parish.
Annual Missionary Cooperation Plan Appeal:
A representative of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary will be with us on the weekend of August 6 and 7, 2016. The community was founded in Ireland in 1924 to work with women of Nigeria, West Africa. The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary are now an international community working in nine countries of Africa, and in Brazil and Mexico. They are a strictly missionary group with no institutions in the United Sates or Canada, so therefore, rely almost exclusively on funds provided through the Society of the Propagation of the Faith and the generosity of the people back home to support their sisters on mission. They are deeply grateful for your contribution. If you would like to see more about them, their website is www.mshr.org.
Parish Council’s Word Committee:
Andrew Morpurgo, Pam Jasikoff, and Jeanie Wiggins met with invited guests on Wednesday, July 20. The religious education program is in need of volunteer coordinators for the following:
- First Eucharist/Reconciliation
- Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
- Parish Mission: planned for the first week in October, the speaker will be Rev. William Winters
- RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, faith inquiry program
Parishioners interested in coordinating one of these programs for the coming year, a one year commitment, are asked to please contact Fr. Bernard. Regarding the Religious Education program, letters will be sent out to families with registration forms to be completed and returned as soon as possible.
Finance Councils Meetings:
The finance councils for St. James the Apostle and Holy Cross met separately during the week of July 17. With the formation of one parish office and the need for one bookkeeper and one receptionist (with computer skills) people may apply for the positions by August 15, 2016. If interested, contact Fr. Bernard.
Attention Business Owners, Professionals, and Generous Parishioners:
We are happy to announce that Liturgical Publications, Inc. (LPI) will begin publishing our church bulletin. LPI will have David Savich at our parish during the week of August 8 to service and sell ads for our new bulletin. We would like to encourage our parishioners who own businesses or those who would like to place a sponsorship ad, to please contact David Savich at 607-624-9580. For those interested in placing an ad, this is your opportunity! Please keep in mind that our advertising sponsors make your bulletin possible.
Planning Team Update:
The planning team concluded its work with a shared dinner followed by a meeting on June 22. Most of the meeting was devoted to determining the location of a new parish office. Fr. Bernard has already shared the reasoning behind the choice of St. Francis Solanus. The full discussion and supporting documents are available on the website: http://marymotherofmercy.com/parish-merge/.
• The new pastoral council will now work with Fr. Bernard to set pastoral priorities and ensure good communication with parishioners. There will need to be attention given to creating events to bring people of the new parish together, to ensuring that people are warmly welcomed at Masses, and to continuing traditions of the three churches.
• Once the civil merger of the three parishes is complete, a shared finance council will be formed.
• Now it’s up to all of us to do our part to make Mary, Mother of Mercy a life-giving parish that attracts others to Jesus Christ by the way we treat one another and how we serve the needs of our larger community. With God’s help, we are up to the task!
Vacation Bible School:
Jacksonville Community United Methodist Church, August 2–4, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. with supper included. For registration: www.jcumc.com.
Summer Retreats 2016 – Located On Seneca Lake:
Branches Christian Rest and Renewal Center (www.branchescenter.org) will offer the following summer retreats:
- “Mother of Mercy, Son of God,” Brendan P. Buckley, OFM Cap. Friday, August 5
- “Finding God in Difficult Times,” Ann Kern, Saturday, August 20
The retreats run from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and a donation of $30 includes a light breakfast and lunch. Registration: contact Donna Wieand, 716-901-4313, email: [email protected].
Fill the Bus School Supplies:
In conjunction with the United Way, we will be collecting school supplies from now until August 14 at Holy Cross and St. Francis Solanus Churches for the elementary students in Seneca County. The school supplies include crayons, pencils, and color pencils, erasers, glue sticks, loose leaf paper, spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, blunted scissors, markers/highlighters, and pocket folders. Supplies can be brought to either church for collection until August 14.
Don’t Let Your Veggies Grow Up to Be Compost:
Approximately 20% of children growing up in our area experience food insecurity. In other words, due to poverty, about 1 in 5 kids in our community might not eat a decent meal today. Elderly people and others are affected as well. Altogether, about 14% of our neighbors experience food insecurity. If you have extra produce (fruit, vegs and eggs) from your garden or CSA share, please drop it off in the cooler at 94 W. Main Street, Trumansburg on Mondays until October. All food will be donated to local families. Your donation counts! Thank you, Maria Connell.
Capuchin Franciscan Candidate Discernment Weekend:
The discernment weekend will be held August 12–14, 2016, at the San Alfonso Retreat House, Long Branch, NJ. For more information please contact: Bro. Tim at 845 642 1025/ [email protected]
Our Lady of Fátima with Blessed Jacinta and Blessed Francisco Marto
Hundredth Anniversary of the Apparitions at Fatima:
Catholic Tour is sponsoring a seven day pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal, from 3 Airline Gateways of Newark, NJ; New York JFK; and Boston, MA. The price is $1,599 and they can assist in securing air from your home city to one of the 3 gateways. The pilgrimage will also be leaving from Miami. The travel will be November 14-20, 2016. Brochures and reservation forms are available. Phone 1 877 627 4268 or email [email protected].
Helpers Needed at St. James:
St. James church is in need of help in two areas that do not take a lot of time and have flexible schedules:
• Offertory Collection Counters – We currently have three counting teams that perform their counting activity either on Sunday (after the 10:30 a.m. Mass) or on Monday. The counting activity takes about one and a half hours depending on the size of the collection(s). We would like to increase the number of teams so that each team counts only once a month. Each team would consist of a minimum of two non-related individuals and would attend a training class to review the Diocesan/St. James counting procedures which takes about one hour.
• Parish Soft Data Base Entry – This activity consists of the computer data entry of all parish donations into a Diocesan mandated data base tool. This activity takes less than an hour and can be performed any time Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning. The diocese provides a user id and password along with a training class that takes about 45 minutes.
If you have any question or are interested in signing up for either of these activities please do not hesitate to phone the parish office at 607-387-6781 or email us at [email protected] .
Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy:
The origin of the Christian Jubilee goes back to Old Testament times. The Law of Moses prescribed a special year for the Jewish people to make restitution for wrongs committed, to forgive debts owed, and set slaves free. In the Roman Catholic tradition, a Holy Year or Jubilee is a great religious event, for the forgiveness of sins and the punishment due to sin. A Jubilee is a year of reconciliation between adversaries. It is a time of solidarity, hope, justice and commitment to serve God with joy and in peace with our brothers and sisters. The guiding principle of the year: “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester Prayers:
Sister Susan Schantz, SSJ, continues to pray for St. James the Apostle church in Trumansburg. Let us keep Sr. Susan and the Sisters of St. Joseph in our prayers.
Toiletries and Hygiene Products:
There is a basket in the vestibule of the church for donations of toiletries. The request comes from Catholic Charities which is in need of items like shampoo, toothpaste, diapers etc. The items will be transferred to the Catholic Charities Office in Ithaca.
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 this weekend, August 6 and 7 (first Sunday):
5:00 p.m. Mass
Lectors: Carol Kuklo (for Scott Hamula) and Amy Panek
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: Barbara Willers, Robin Hamula, Kathleen Rourke
11:00 a.m. Mass
Lectors: Lynne Stager and Maria Connell
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: Mark Scibilia-Carver, Glenn Stamps, Mary Szymanski
Schedule for next weekend, August 13 and 14 (second Sunday):
5:00 p.m. Mass
Lectors: Kathleen Rourke and Scott Hamula
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: Barbara Willers, Carol Kuklo, Robin Hamula
11:00 a.m. Mass
Lectors: Nancy Olszewski and Lynne Stager (for Rich and Hilary Wong)
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: Lynne Stager, Glenn Stamps, Susan Stafford