HOLY FAMILY PARISH WEEKLY BULLETIN

"Stewardship - A Way of Life"

December 25, 2011

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Administrator - Fr. Vernon F. Driscoll
Pastoral Associate - Deacon Howard Gotell
Religious Education Coordinator - Deacon Howard Gotell
Office Manager - Maria Kirkpatrick
K of C 3rd Degree Grand Knight - Jack Leger 545-2418
K of C Community Centre- 667-8252


Visit our Diocesan Website

~HOW HAVE WE PREPARED THE WAY OF THE LORD?~

Again, over these past few weeks, our Parish has “Prepared the Way of the Lord” by a great response to our different ways of preparing:
1st- The Christmas Cheer boxes have been delivered, over 80 in number, have been filled because of the generous response of our people.
2nd- We have worshipped and prayed faithfully, gradually making the changes in the words of our worship, over the past four weeks and have also celebrated a Penitential Service as well as enjoyed a wonderful Christmas concert.
3rd- Along with all this extra activity, we have attended faithfully to the everyday work of the Parish with a couple of funerals and receptions and continuing the faithful work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
And so we have “prepared” and we hope and pray that all of our people will have a “Happy and Blessed Christmas”.

~NEW YEAR’S SCHEDULE~

Please make note that the following celebrations are on Saturday and Sunday and will replace the regular schedule.
New Year’s Eve – Saturday, December 31st
4:30pm
New Year’s Day – Sunday, January 1st
10:00am
We anticipate that the first Mass Christmas Eve will be crowded and noisy so please judge yourselves accordingly and, perhaps, decide to attend one of the other masses.

~ Office Hours During Holiday Season~

The Parish Office will be closed from noon December 23rd  to December 29th. We will be open Friday, December 30th until noon.

~CWL BURSARIES PRESENTED ~

Last Sunday, our Catholic Women’s League presented at the 11:15 celebration of Eucharist bursaries to seven of our post-secondary education parishioners: Taylor Cormier, Rachel Gamblin, Justin Harrison, Coleen Keagan, Elizabeth Keagan, Jonathan MacDonald and Andrew (Willie) Moore We are always proud of the efforts of our young people, and want to support and encourage them to pursue higher education.

~RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS~

1st- All classes will resume Sunday, January 8th at their usual times and locations.
2nd- Please return your Advent boxes that support the Holy Childhood Association when you return to class on January 8th.
3rd- We announced the commencement of classes for Level 6 will re-convene on Sunday, January 8th beginning at 6:30pm at the church. Due to a change in the catechists work schedule, this class will resume on Sunday, January 15th. Parents have been advised of this change by phone. Please adjust your calendars accordingly.

~BAPTISM PREPARATION~

Parents wanting children baptized should call the Parish Office to schedule an appointment for Baptism preparation. Please call Maria or Deacon Howard at 667-2523.

~INTERCESSORY PRAYER GROUP~

This group will resume meeting on Monday, January 9th after the 9:30 morning mass in response to Archbishop Mancini’s call for a New Evangelization.

~CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP~

Please note that the Prayer meetings will resume Thursday, January 5th in the Landry Room at 6:30pm

~LITTLE ROCK SCRIPTURE SERIES~

The Little Rock Scripture series is returning to Holy Family Parish. This year, we will focus on a new offering from Little Rock known as the Spirituality of the Gospels. The series is explained as follows: “The four gospels of the New Testament provide a rich, multi-dimensional portrait of Jesus Christ. Each maps a unique spiritual path into life with him. In Spirituality of the Gospels, the modern quest for spiritual fulfilment is met with profound insights from the gospels and the enduring examples from the lives of the saint it has inspired, both ancient and contemporary.” We feel this offering will provide participants with important knowledge as to how to integrate the Gospels into everyday life. The seven sessions begin Tuesday evening, January 31st, beginning at 7:00. The session is repeated Thursday mornings beginning February 2nd at 10:30. Cost per participant will be $20.00 for materials. Contact Viola Corbett 667-3274 or Deacon Howard 667-2523 for more information.

~STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL MEETING~

The Stewardship Council and Living Your Strengths group will meet Thursday, January 5th beginning at 7:00pm in the church. We hope all members can attend.

~A REMINDER ABOUT 2011 INCOME TAX RECEIPTS~

Donations made on January 1, 2012 and thereafter cannot be included in the charitable tax receipts issued for 2011. This includes cheques dated in 2011, or cash in a church envelope dated 2011, but received on January 1, 2012 or later. The law requires these be treated as 2012 donations.

~STEWARDSHIP CORNER~

In today’s Christmas Mass at dawn we hear from the Gospel reading that God has entered quietly into the world. Not into the great city of Jerusalem, but into a small village about five miles south. Not into a noble family, but to an outcast couple keeping the newborn in a manger. Not announced by royal edicts, but to common shepherds, the first human heralds of Christ’s birth. As Christian stewards we simply allow Christ to live in us no matter what our circumstances happen to be. We allow Christ to share his love with us and reflect that love out to others. We now are the heralds of Christ’s Incarnation. What an unimaginable gift from a generous Lord. Good stewards rejoice in this gift and give glory to God.

~OLD CHRISTMAS CARDS~

I am looking for a supply of old used cards to be used for crafts. You can give them to me at any time. Thanks in advance, Pauline Pettigrew.

~2012 OFFERTORY ENVELOPES~

IFor those who did not receive their envelopes, please take a moment to pick up your box located in the church gathering area. If you have not used envelopes in the past, and would like to begin using them now, please contact Maria at the Parish Office and she will assign a box for you.

Meetings This Week

No Scheduled meetings


FINANCIAL CORNER

St. Vincent de Paul - $396.50
Children's Offering - $46.79

Sunday Offering

Envelopes (172) $3689.25
Loose $239.15
Pre-authorized ( 64 ) $1,529.99
Budget Amount  - $4,625.00  Overage - $833.39

Thank you for your generosity.

"A Blessed Christmas to Everyone"


Readings for for January 1, 2011

New Year's Day Readings

1st Reading – Numbers 6:22-27
2nd Reading –Galatians 4:4-7
Gospel –Luke 2:16-21

"PEACE STARTS WITH A SMILE"