Here you will find the news and information about our church. Please take a moment to visit the online Calendar for upcoming events and our downloaded weekly bulletin for the most up to date information on the life of our parish. We hope you enjoy your visit and encourage you to check back often for updates!
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Articles Featured on our Home Page this week:
Join Us for Mass on Thanksgiving Day
Advert Giving Tree
DeWitt Community Christmas Collection
Planning Ahead
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Join Us for Mass on Thanksgiving Day
In 1623, Governor William Bradford called the Pilgrims together for a day of prayer and thanksgiving. Only three years earlier, they had left their jobs, their homes and their communities in order to escape religious persecution in England. These brave men and women had survived a treacherous ocean voyage, only to find themselves stranded in a strange new land, in a harsh climate, without adequate food or shelter. During the first winter, half of them died of sickness and starvation. Those who remained had persevered, and though they faced many challenges, they had reason to give thanks.
As Governor Bradford observed, the harvest was plentiful. In the previous winter, food had been rationed to five kernels of corn per person per day. No one would go hungry this year. Whereas the other colonies had been plagued by conflict, the Pilgrims lived at peace—with one another and the Indians. The sickness had subsided. Most importantly, the Pilgrims were experiencing the daily freedom they had longed for, the freedom to worship God without interference from the government. They had flourished and they were truly blessed.
We have much to be thankful for in our own time. We live in a fruitful land that has never experienced widespread famine or deprivation. We have food to eat and clothes to wear. Our lives are enriched by technology, information and education. And we can gather to worship God as we please—without the fear of losing our jobs, property or lives.
As a community, we will gather to give thanks to God for the bounty in our lives by celebrating together the ultimate act of thanks-giving: the Eucharist (Greek for “thanks.”) Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, November 27, at 9:00 AM in the church. What a great way to start Thanksgiving Day—get the turkey in the oven and then come to church as a family to give thanks to God!
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Advent Giving Tree
Please consider taking a ornament from the Advent Giving Tree, located in the gathering space, right outside the main doors leading into the body of the church. This is one more way that our generosity can help to ensure a merry Christmas for those in our community who are in need.
The process is very simple: purchase the gift listed on the tag and place the unwrapped gift with the tag attached beneath the Giving Tree no later than December 14. It is very important to return the gift with the tag attached to it because this year, the gifts have been identified for specific people who are assisted through the area social service agencies with which we are working for this project. Returning the gift with the tag attached to it will help us to ensure that the gift goes to the correct person.
If you’re aware of a parish or area family that needs some assistance for Christmas, please contact the parish offices with information about the family (especially names and ages of children). Confidentiality will be respected.
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DeWitt Community Christmas Collection
Again this year, our parish community will participate in the DeWitt Community Christmas Project. This has been a whole community effort for over thirty years. As a community, we help to make Christmas a little bit more joyous for many families in our area. Next weekend, we will collect both canned goods and money for the Community Christmas. Please be generous so that those who are less fortunate may experience the joy of theChristmas season. If you would like to support the monetary collection, please make use of the envelope included in your booklet. If you make use of our on-line giving system, you can make a one-time contribution to the DeWitt Community Christmas fund that is shown with the other funds available for this month. Gifts of canned goods can be placed in the baskets where our regular gifts of food for our parish food pantry are collected.
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Planning Ahead
The end of November through the end of December are weeks that have a variety of annual special collections. I hope all of us plan ahead a little bit so that we can support, to whatever extent possible, each of these collections. Don’t forget that the Advent Giving Tree and the annual Adopt-a-Child programs will also be available soon. As a reminder, the following special collections are scheduled:
November 23 Catholic Campaign for Human Development
November 30 DeWitt Community Christmas
December 7 Building Fund/Church Mortgage Reduction
December 14 Retired Religious Collection
Envelopes for these special collections are included in your annual envelope booklet. For on-line givers, these funds are also available at the on-line giving website. Everyone’s continued generosity is greatly appreciated.
A vision of Heaven
