| 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Youth Retreat
Day Our annual Youth Friendship Retreat is planned for Sat. March 8th. from 9:15 am - 3 pm in the Parish Center. We start with breakfast and enjoy a day filled with friends, activities and fun. What makes this day extra special is YOU!! Time is running out so reply quickly. Please call Donna McCabe at 233-3457 if you have any questions. |
| Prayers For Peace A "Peace Book" has been placed on the podium next to the Tabernacle in the Church. You are invited to place the names of loved ones, friends who are serving in our military, as well as others who may be assigned to service during these difficult times. They and their families will be remembered during the Masses each day. Also, petitions for peace may be included in this book. |
| Blue Horizons Blue Horizons, a social and informational group for widows and widowers, will meet Friday, March 7, at 12:30 in the Parish Center. Bring a bag lunch; beverages provided. |
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25th and 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations
The Archdiocese of Newark will honor those couples in our Archdiocese who will be celebrating twenty-five or fifty years of Christian marriage in the year 2003, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark: March 23, 2003 Silver Anniversary Mass - 3:00 pm March 30, 2003 Golden Anniversary Mass - 3:00 pm If you are a parishioner and wish to register, please call Sally at 908-232-1214, ext. 21. The deadline for reservations is Wednesday, March 12th. |
| Confirmation Prayer Partners
Needed Some parishioners are directly involved in preparing Candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation. But every parishioner is asked to share this responsibility for our candidates. As members of this spiritual family, we ask you to choose a name from the list of candidates and become a prayer partner. A packet of 5 prayer cards will be mailed to you with instructions on how to use them. Please sign up next to the name on the scroll in the Church vestibule. Please try to pick a candidate that you do not already know. Questions? Call Linda Attanasio at 233-8757, ext. 19. |
| Ash Wednesday Schedule 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM and 7:30 PM Masses Children's Liturgy of the Word with Distribution of Ashes at 3:30 PM in the Church Adult Liturgy of the Word with Distribution of Ashes at 3:30 PM in the Parish Center |
| Stations of the Cross Please join us for Stations of the Cross Through the Eyes of Mary from 7:30-8:15: P.M. on Friday, March 7th presented by the Spiritual Life Committee |
| Adult Faith Development Coming soon - regional gatherings for staffs/parishioners involved in adult faith development (faith-sharing groups, retreat groups, Scripture study, etc) sponsored by the Newark Archdiocese. Local gatherings will be at St. Helen's March 15 or March 19, 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM and include prayer, brief panel presentations, group discussions, networking. For more information, please contact Sister. Joanna (233-8757). |
| Caregivers Support Group A support group for those caring for the elderly or chronically ill meets on the first non-holiday Monday of each month at 8:00 PM in the Parish Center. The next meeting is Monday, March 3. For information, call Marilyn Ryan at 908-233-8757. |
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Small Faith-Sharing Groups
Our theme for this year's Renew program for Lent will be "Healing the Body of Christ", specially designed for the on-going sexual abuse crisis in our church. Our groups will begin March 3. If you haven't signed up and are still interested, call Fr. Don at the Parish Center, 908-232-1214. |
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Parish Youth Donations Distributed
It has become our custom here at Saint Helen's for the past five years to donate the monies collected from our children's and high school Sunday envelopes to charities that our kids recommend. This year our kids have donated an overwhelming amount of money and for that we extend sincere thanks to them and their parents. What a wonderful lesson to teach our young people about helping those in need. The charities that received this year's donations are Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, Camp Chatterbox, Raphael's Life House and Happiness Unlimited. All are outreach organizations that help people in need. |
| RCIA News At the Rite of Sending this Sunday at our 10:45 liturgy, we mark another transition in the journey of our candidates toward full union with us. Over the past months, they have been participating in our Tuesday evening and Sunday morning gatherings, reflecting on our faith and our tradition, finding their way into the community and the way of life that is ours. This Sunday they stand before us asking to participate in the Lenten retreat experience to prepare for the profession of faith and the reception of the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist which will open for them full membership in our faith-community. But before they can receive the approval of the Archbishop to continue, our parish community needs to recommend them by providing witness statements to their sincerity, their progress and their growth in faith. The RCIA team first assesses their experience; next their sponsors (who know them on a day-to-day basis) are required to consider carefully and then to speak publicly on their behalf. Then, on the following Saturday, they and a multitude of candidates from the other parishes will be officially admitted to the Easter sacraments by Archbishop Myers. |
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AARP Income Tax Assistance
St. Helen's is one of the sites offering help with income tax forms to those who qualify through AARP - Wednesdays from 9:00 to noon. Appointments are necessary. Please call Marilyn Ryan at (908) 232-1867 or (908) 233-8757 Ext. 20. |
| Lenten Day of Renewal for Senior
Citizens There will be a Lenten Day of Renewal for Senior Citizens on Tuesday, March 18th. Pre-registration is required. Bring your rosary. Call 231-1214 for information |
| God's blessings on the marriages
of: Debra Wathey and David White married November 9, 2002 Jennifer Suk and James Buchanan married December 6, 2002 Stefanie Novy and Jonathan Makowsky married December 21, 2002 Kathleen Callaghan and Scott Risko married December 28, 2002 |
| Men's Lenten Prayer Breakfast All men of the parish are invited to share in a Saint Helen's faith tradition - The Men's Lenten Prayer Breakfasts. We gather in the Parish Center each Wednesday of Lent from March 5th through April 16th at 6 AM. Come and start your day with 45 minutes of faith sharing and camaraderie (not to mention the free coffee and donuts!) as we focus on this holy season. A special invitation is extended to those who have never been and to those who haven't been in a while. It's an open experience - make one or make them all -whatever your schedule will allow! Any questions, please feel free to call Ed Frey at (908) 925-8771 or Brian Salisbury at (908) 789-3098. Look forward to seeing you there! |
| Women's Prayer Breakfast Every Wednesday, beginning March 5th and continuing through April 16th, the women of the Parish will gather together for a time of spiritual renewal through prayer and reflection. We will meet from 9:30 to 11:00 AM in the Parish Center Blue Room. Light refreshments will be served. Please consider taking this time for yourself...you deserve it! All women are welcome to join this group for the entire seven weeks or any part of it. Please feel free to bring a friend or friends who perhaps do not have this opportunity at their own parishes. |
| Attention All Cornerstone Women! Women's Cornerstone Day of Renewal "Called to be a Living Stone" will be held Saturday March 29th in the Parish Center from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm with lunch immediately following. The cost is $15.00 for the retreat and $10.00 for lunch. Registration forms are in the back of church or call Ellen Walsh-Sobel 518-1909 or Jane Fietkiewicz 233-7851. Come experience the peace and nurture your soul! |
| Special Liturgy on Alcoholism A special Mass and support group meeting for all affected by the disease of alcoholism will be held Saturday, March 8 at noon at St. Bartholomew's Church in Scotch Plains. Please call 322-5192 for information. |
| HIV/AIDS Compassion Prayer Service Holy Trinity Church invites you to gather as a community of faith to prayerfully and thoughtfully address the tragedy of HIV/AIDS. Speakers will be Ms. Anne Cerchio and Dr. Lorraine Tosiello. There will be time for socializing and sharing after the service. For information, please call Anita Dazzo at 908-233-8710. |
| 2003 Lenten Regulations 1. The days of both Fast and Abstinence
during Lent are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The other Fridays in
Lent are days of Abstinence. On a day of Fast, only one (1) full meal
is permitted. Those between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast.
On a day of Abstinence, no meat may be eaten. Those who have reached
the age of 14 are obliged by the law of abstinence.
2. The obligation to observe the laws of Fast and Abstinence "substantially", or as a whole, is a serious obligation. 3. The Fridays of the year, outside Lent, are designated as days of penance, but each individual may substitute for the traditional abstinence from meat some other practice of voluntary self-denial as penance. 4. The time for fulfilling the Paschal Precept (Easter Duty*) extends from the first Sunday of Lent (March 9) to the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (June 15). *Canon 920, §1. All the faithful, after they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once a year. |
| Lent – A Season to Change Our Hearts At times it seems as if everyone is trying to change us – to make us into something they want us to be. We are asked to change the way we look, the way we work, the way we think – to conform to someone else’s opinion or vision. In all of this turmoil, we sometimes forget that God has created us to be loving, faith-filled and joy-filled people. Ash Wednesday, March 5th, is the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent is not so much a season of punishment as one of healing. During this season, we are invited to a change of heart – to become more Christ-centered people and there is a special joy in that. There is joy in the fasting and abstinence of Christians who eat and drink less in order that their minds may be more clear and receptive to receive the sacred nourishment of God’s Word. There is joy in the opportunities for deeper prayer, reflection and participation in liturgy. There is joy in giving of our material wealth to those who are less fortunate, joy in reaching out to those who are homebound, elderly, ill or grieving the loss of a loved one. During the Lenten season, we join with the elect, those who are preparing to celebrate the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. We are called, with them, to conversion – to change whatever blocks our relationship with God and one another, so that as we move closer to the greatest feast of our faith, Easter, we recognize that we are being transformed into the persons that God created us to be – loving, faith-filled and joy-filled people. Are we willing to open ourselves to this unconditional transforming love? Are we willing to say “Yes” so that we may say each day, “Change our hearts this time, your Word says it can be; change our minds this time, your life has set us free. We are your people, a call set apart; Lord, this time – Change Our Hearts.” |
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If you have a submission for the bulletin, please
either fax it to the Parish Center, (908) 317-5459, care of Rick Schmidt,
or e-mail it to rschmidt@sainthelen.org
the Friday a week prior to when you would like it to be printed.
Please keep in mind that space is limited every week so notifications should
be limited to a short paragraph to allow more individuals, staff and parishioners
alike, to have their events viewed by the community in this publication.
Please include your name and phone number. Thank you.
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