A Community of Ministries, December 16, 2018 · 2019-09-18 · CONGRATULATIONS to Sagar Gundiga (our seminarian from the summer of 2017) who was ordained to the Diaconate at St. Paul’s

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

A Community of Ministries, December 16, 2018

40 Brattle Street Worcester, MA 01606 Parish Office: 508-853-0183 www.saintgeorgesparish.org Office Hours: Monday till Thursday 9:00AM to 3:000PM Closed on Fridays Parish Staff: It is our privilege to serve you. Rev. Edward D. Niccolls Pastor Ext. 12 Rev. Charles P.O. Omolo, Associate Pastor Ext.24 Deacon Paul T. Audette Ext.13 Annie Doyle, Pastoral Outreach [email protected] Ext. 11

Parish Secretary [email protected] Ext.10 Fax 508-854-0864

For information regarding Pastoral Care of the Sick, Marriage Preparation, Confirmation, and Ministry Involvement, we invite you to call the Parish Office. Baptism Information: Please contact Susan Pacek at 508-856-9960 or email: [email protected] Eucharist Celebrated: First Saturday Mass: 8:00 AM - Chapel Saturday Vigil: 4:00 PM Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, 11:00 AM Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,Friday:8:00 AM Wednesday: 6:30 PM Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday 3:00 to 3:30 PM and by appointment

St. George Catholic Church

Parish Mission Statement

We, the parish community of St George, celebrate the welcoming presence of Christ

in our lives. Together with the universal Church, we are nourished and sustained

through the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist, and we are inspired by the proclamation of

the Word, guided by the Holy Spirit. We continually seek to grow in a deeper understanding of our faith, to respect the

sanctity of human life, and respond to what Jesus asks of us in our time by sharing our

gifts and participating in parish activities and outreach to others.

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

Altar Ministries We are thankful to the Altar Servers and Ministers of Holy Communion from TEAM A who will serve at our Masses next weekend.

Bulletin Deadlines

Weekend of Due to parish January 6, 2019 Wednesday, December 19 January 13, 2019 Wednesday, December 26 January 20, 2019 Wednesday, January 9 January 27, 2019 Wednesday, January 16

Items must be submitted by 3:00 PM on the due date. Email items to [email protected], or fax to the rectory.

Everyone is Invited!

Join us downstairs in the Church Hall after Sunday Mass for coffee, a donut, or for just a quick visit to enjoy a bit of our community life.

Mass Intentions Saturday, December 15: Vigil 4:00 PM Memorial for Bertha LeFrancois by family

Sunday, December 16: Third Sunday of Advent 7:30 AM Memorial for Larry Milugo by family 9:00 AM Memorial for Silvester Marion Dsa by family 11:00 AM Mass of Thanksgiving: Deacon Sagar Gundiga

Fifth anniversary for Neil Olen by family Monday, December 17: 8:00 AM For the Community of St. George Tuesday, December 18: 8:00 AM In memory of Helen McCaron Wednesday, December 19: 6:30 PM Memorial for Joseph Saldanha by family Thursday, December 20: 8:00 AM Birthday remembrance for Mary Lahey, Margaret Horan & Maria Biscardi by family Friday, December 21: St. Peter Canisius 8:00 AM In memory of John Balcom Saturday, December 22: Vigil 4:00 PM Memorial for Robert J. Reidy Sr. by family Sunday, December 23: Fourth Sunday of Advent

7:30 AM Special Intention 9:00 AM Memorial for Brone Pridotkas by family 11:00 AM Memorial for Marcel & Rosemary Mathias by family

If you have been abused or victimized by someone representing the Catholic Church, please believe in the possibility for hope and help and healing. We encourage you to come forward and speak out. The victim service coordinator for the Diocese of Worces-ter is Judith Audette. A report can be made by phone to (508) 929-4363.

Scripture for the week of December 16, 2018

16 SUN Zep 3:14-18a/Phil 4:4-7/Lk 3:10-18 17 Mon Gn 49:2, 8-10/Mt 1:1-17 18 Tue Jer 23:5-8/Mt 1:18-25 19 Wed Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a/Lk 1:5-25 20 Thu Is 7:10-14/Lk 1:26-38 21 Fri Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a/Lk 1:39-45 22 Sat 1 Sm 1:24-28/Lk 1:46-56 23 SUN Mi 5:1-4a/Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45

Parish Calendar

Saturday, December 15 8:00 PM AA Hall Sunday, December 16: 8:00 AM Coffee Shop Hall 9:00 AM Children’s Liturgy St. George Rm 9:00 AM Toddler Liturgy Confr Rm 9:00 AM Confirmation Mass/Mtg (if needed) Church/ Ctr

9:00 AM RCIA Hall 4:00 PM Rel Ed Gr 6-9 makeup Hall / Ctr Monday, December 17: 4:15 PM Rel Ed Gr.1-5 & Carols Center/Church 5:45 PM Yoga Hall 7:00 PM Book Discussion Conf Rm Tuesday, December 18: 4:15 PM Rel Ed Gr. 1-5 & Carols Center/Church 6:30 PM Advent Evening of Reflection Church and Reconciliation Wednesday, December 19: 7:00 PM Faith Sharing Group Conf Rm 7:15 PM Faith Sharing Group 2nd Fl Ctr Thursday, December 20: 6:30 PM Family Prayer Church Friday, December 21: 10:00 AM Faith Sharing Group 2nd Fl. Ctr 11:00 AM Grandparent Group Conf Rm Saturday, December 22: 8:00 PM AA Hall Sunday, December 23: 8:00 AM Coffee Shop Hall 9:00 AM Children’s Liturgy St. George Rm 9:00 AM Toddler Liturgy Conf Rm

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

Weekend of December 2, 2018

Total Weekly Ordinary: $9764.94

Monthly Totals for November

Fuel: $11541.60 Repairs: $1025.00

Air Conditioning Fund: $165.00

Thank you for your support! Your generosity helps us to continue to be a caring and vibrant community !

From Your Pastor

Fr. Niccolls

Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for December

In the Service of the Transmission of Faith, that peo-ple who are involved in the service and transmission of faith, may find, in their dialogue with culture, a lan-

Join St. George’s “Food Donation Team” For information on bargains and/or to join the team, just email Dave at [email protected]

Special needs for December are:

Cans of Tuna Fish (flip top if possible) 100% Juice Boxes and Granola Bars

This Weekend’s Stewardship Thought

Today’s Gospel provides a blueprint for good stewardship: “Let the man who has two coats give to him who has none. The man who has food should do the same.” Luke 3:11

CONGRATULATIONS to Sagar Gundiga (our seminarian from the summer of 2017) who was ordained to the Diaconate at St. Paul’s Ca-thedral on Saturday. He will be assisting and preaching at his First Mass of Thanksgiving as a Deacon here at St. George's this Sunday, De-cember 16th,at the 11:00 A.M. Mass. A reception will follow in the church hall.

This year, like in the past few years, in order to avoid excessive overcrowding in the church building as well as to avoid a serious parking problem in the church parking lot and the sur-rounding streets (especially Rochelle Street) on December 24th in the afternoon, we are offering a second Mass that afternoon at 4:30 P.M. at St. Peter-Marian High School. We are very grateful to the staff of St. Peter-Marian for letting us use this facility and its parking area which accom-modates approximately 250 vehicles. Therefore, in anticipation of Christmas, I want to mention that the Mass schedule for this holyday is as follows: Monday, December 24th: 4:00 P.M. - Church 4:30 P.M. - St. Peter-Marian High School Tuesday, December 25th: 8:00 A.M. Church 10:00 A.M. - Church

Calendars for the year 2019 are available here in church. On Saturday, December 29th, at the 4:00 P.M. Mass we will observe the 50th anniversary of a tragedy that had badly shaken the St. George Parish community in the winter of 1968. Five young men, Warren Briggs, Timothy Donahue, Michael Foley, John Quinlivan, and Ronald Vysniauskas lost their lives in a fire in a club-house in the woods on Indian Hill. Deacon Roy Briggs, Warren's brother, will assist as deacon of the Mass and be the homilist. All are wel-come to attend this Mass in remembrance of these young men and to support their families and friends. A reception will follow in the church hall.

Rectory Open House – December 30, 2018

Please join us as we celebrate the Christmas Season with our annual rectory open house.

Everyone is invited to stop by the Rectory on

Sunday, December 30 after all Masses.

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

Religious Education

“Growing Together in Faith”

Sarah Kelly, Administrator - 508-852-1784 Email : [email protected]

[email protected]

Eucharistic Adoration Chapel Hours

Open 4:30 AM to 8:00 PM Daily

Please consider visiting the Chapel, especially during this Season of Advent. All are welcome!

(Note: The chapel is closed during the hours when stu-

dents are in the building as of September 16th and con-tinuing until the end of April. Times are posted on the door.)

Join Us! Pick up a Ministry Booklet on the Resource Table at the back of the Church Hall to-day. Choose a ministry that you might be interested in and call the Ministry Leader to find out more.

Religious Education Giving Tree We once again have a Giving Tree outside of the

Religious Education Office this year. We are asking the students of our parish to bring in new pairs of

socks and or mittens to "decorate our tree".

Christmas Carols The students of our religious education program will be learning some Christmas Carols during class time in Advent. On the last day of classes before Christ-mas Break, we will be gathering together in the church to sing these Christmas Carols.

All are invited to the church on Monday, December 17th and Tuesday, December 18th

at 4:45pm to sing with us.

Christmas Break The last day of classes for grades 1-5 before Christ-mas break will be on Monday, December 17th and Tuesday, December 18th. Classes will resume on Monday, January 7th and Tuesday, January, 8th.

Thank You for Reindeer Bags! The Mustard Seed guests are grateful to

the students in Grades 6 –9 and their families for the wonderful Reindeer Snack

Bags! More than 200 bags of healthy snacks will add extra special Christmas

treats to help celebrate the season!

Thank You to Donna Alaire for the great idea and for your example of years of faithful service!

Year-End Donation Information

Many thanks for your wonderful and continuing gen-erosity to our parish. Please be advised that all con-tributions, made via Weekly Offering Envelopes, received by December 31, 2018, will be sent to the parish envelope company to be credited to calendar year 2018. End of year statements will be mailed from the envelope company by January 31, 2018. All gifts received the weekend of Jan. 1 forward will be credited to calendar year 2019.

If you contribute to the parish via “On line Giving” a statement of your contributions may be printed off on line.

If you have any questions, please contact the parish office at 508-853-0183 or [email protected]. and we will be happy to assist you.

Catholic Athletic High School Boys Basketball League 2018-2019

A team of players from St George's and St. Mary's of Jefferson is being formed for the upcoming season - Tryout/Workouts remaining are scheduled for Wednesday 12/19 at Mayo Elementary School in Holden from 5pm - 6pm - if you interested in playing competitive basketball during January and February 2019 (weekends only and one practice per week), please contact Sean Flynn - [email protected] for more information"

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

Coffee Shop Captain

December 16, 2018 Jim Moughan 508-856-7443

All men and women are invited to join the St. George Coffee Shop Teams to serve once every 9 weeks. Please contact Jim Sanford at 508-852-0293 for more information.

Note: Team Listings and Schedule of Teams can be found on our parish website.

Eucharist and Prayers for the Sick

Please: Call to let us know if a family member or neighbor is hospitalized, homebound or ill. We can arrange to visit and bring Eucharist. Remember that due to HIPAA regulations, unless you allow the hospi-tal or health care institution to release information and list St. George’s as your religious affiliation, we are not told that you are a patient. We call the area hos-pitals each week to see if any of our parishioners are hospitalized. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Diocesan Daily Mass on TV

Daily Mass is LIVE each weekday morning on Charter TV3 (Ch193), delay Broadcast on Shrewsbury TV28 at 4:30 pm and Clinton Cable TV8 at 4:30 pm.

Room for Christ

“It is no use saying that we are born 2000 years too late to give room to Christ...Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts. But now it is with the .. heart of anyone in need that He longs for shelter. And giving shelter or food to any-one who asks for it, or needs it, is giving it to Christ.”

Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Marriage Enrichment Weekends

Consider attending a Worldwide Marriage Encoun-ter Weekend to enrich your Sacrament of Marriage.

The next Weekend is Jan 18-20, 2019 in South Kingstown, RI. For more information,

call Stephen & Michelle O'Leary at 800-710-9963 or visit them at https://wwmema.org/.

What Do We Do?

Third Sunday of Advent (Cycle C)

Zephaniah 3:14-18 Isaiah 12:2-6 Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18

The people in today's Gospel are "filled with expec-tation." They believe John the Baptist might be the Messiah they've been waiting for. Three times we hear their question: "What then should we do?" The Messiah's coming requires every man and woman to choose - to "repent" or not. That's John's message and it will be Jesus' too (see Luke 3:3; 5:32; 24:47).

"Repentance" translates a Greek word, metanoia (literally, "change of mind"). In the Scriptures, re-pentance is presented as a two-fold "turning" - away from sin (see Ezekiel 3:19; 18:30) and toward God (see Sirach 17:20-21; Hosea 6:1).

This "turning" is more than attitude adjustment. It means a radical life-change. It requires "good fruits as evidence of your repentance" (see Luke 3:8). That's why John tells the crowds, soldiers and tax collectors they must prove their faith through works of charity, honesty and social justice.

In today's Liturgy, each of us is being called to stand in that crowd and hear the "good news" of John's call to repentance. We should examine our lives, ask from our hearts as they did: "What should we do?" Our repentance should spring, not from our fear of coming wrath (see Luke 3:7-9), but from a joyful sense of the nearness of our saving God.

This theme resounds through today's readings: "Rejoice!...The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all," we hear in today's Epistle. In today's Responsorial, we hear again the call to be joyful, unafraid at the Lord's coming among us.

In today's First Reading, we hear echoes of the an-gel's Annunciation to Mary. The prophet's words are very close to the angel's greeting (compare Luke 1:28-31). Mary is the Daughter Zion - the favored one of God, told not to fear but to rejoice that the Lord is with her, "a mighty Savior."

She is the cause of our joy. For in her draws near the Messiah, as John had promised: "One mightier than I is coming." By Dr. Scott Hahn A service of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

A Community of Ministries

PARISH OUTREACH

Annie Doyle - 508-853-0183 Ext.11

Office hours Mon-Tue-Wed 9-5 [email protected]

THE FAMILY CONNECTION

This Week… This Third week of Advent we light the pink candle on our Advent Wreaths. We are joyfully reminded that, “The Lord is near.” Let us pray in a special way for those who are sad or grieving, that they

may be surrounded by loved ones who will share the peace of Christ with them.

Holiday Donations Refill Local Food Pantries

Non-perishable food items, donated here at St. George parish

reach those in need throughout the city.

Throughout the year and especially recently during the holiday season, the community of St. George donates bags, boxes and carloads of food for folks in need. We are sometimes asked, “where does all this food go.” Here are some of the places that re-ceive and help distribute the food to those in need:

St. Joan of Arc and Our Lady of Providence are Catholic Parishes on Lincoln Street in Worcester. Their food pantries help to provide weekly supple-mental groceries to elderly residents living on fixed incomes who live in near-by high rise buildings. They also serve working families who need assistance to help make ends meet especially during times of sick-ness or family crisis.

The “Loaves and Fishes” food pantry serves neighbors in our local zip codes. The food is distrib-uted from the UUC on Shore Drive. This pantry is an interfaith effort supported by several churches on Brattle Street. It began decades ago at St. John’s Episcopal Church which shared a “covenant relation-ship” with St. George Parish. More than 70 families are served once a month.

The Mustard Seed food pantry serves 30 + families and 20+ individuals once a week. A small bag or box with about 15 staple items are given to each person from the Piedmont St. neighborhood. This area in-cludes housing for those with a variety of life chal-lenges and several homeless folks and those living in shelters.

Help prevent family homelessness !

Use “Hope for Housing Cards” to buy your weekly groceries.

$10 dollar cards to Dunkin Donuts, CVS, and Panera make great Stocking Stuffers!

See Sue & Dave Genereux who are selling these cards in the Church Hall after every Mass. Contact

them at 508-829-5776 or email [email protected] for more information.

‘Tis the season to be generous. Advertisements tell us what to give and where to buy it. Mailings tell us what to send and where to send it. During the holidays, generosity doesn’t need a lot of definition. But how about a little reflection? December is a busy month, but remem-ber generosity isn’t seasonal. Throughout the year there are many opportunities to be generous. Plan to look for them.

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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden

December 16, 2018: Third Sunday of Advent

Our Parish Vision: To welcome all, build connections to Christ

and one another, and live our faith as true disciples of Jesus.

Spiritual Growth Ministry

Why a “Community of Ministries”?

Here at St. George Parish we strive to work togeth-er as a “Community of Ministries” who collaborate and cooperate with one another. It is in this spirit of humility and unity, that we hope to continue to grow “as one” in Christ.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

New members are invited to join this important ministry of outreach to the sick and suffering. You might want to knit or crochet – here at our semi- monthly meetings or at home. Please call Annie Doyle at the Rectory for more information 508-853-0183.

Gatherings are in the church hall at 10:30 AM on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.

Advent Evening of Prayer and Reflection This Tuesday, December 18th, 6:30 - 8:00 PM

There will be an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation -

three priests will be available

This evening is to give each of us some time to “come away to a quiet place and rest awhile”…

away from the hectic pace of this busy time of year.

3rd Annual:

Young Women’s Evening of Faith and Fellowship

Thursday, January 31, 2019 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Contact Sarah Kelly 508-852-1784 or Kate Connor 508-829-4250 for details

Please Note Toddler & Children’s Liturgy of the Word will not take place during Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Giving Tree Ministry

We are grateful to all of our parishioners who so generously gave gifts to make Christmas a reality for over 600 of our neighbors in need. More information to follow next week.

Daily Advent Prayers

Please Pray with us. Each day during Advent parishioners will offer a short

prayer on our web site. Please visit the site and pray along with us!

Parish e-news

Want to hear about updates and notifications from St. George Parish? Simply visit

www.saintgeorgesparish.org and click on the link on the homepage to easily

add your email address.