| Turkey Trot - Grades 2
- 5 There will be a turkey trot with relay races and a chance to make your own sundae on Friday, November 21st from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Center. Cost is $3.00. This is a good service project for confirmation candidates. Reservations are appreciated. Call Debbie Abbattista at 654-9257 or Kathy Rivera at 789-3234. |
| Protecting God's
Children Video and Workshops Six workshops have been scheduled for all of the staff members and volunteers who have not yet participated in the "Protecting God's Children" video presentation and workshop. Every employee, including priests, and volunteer who work with children is required to attend one of these workshops. There will be registration at the workshops - no need to call in advance to register. The diocese will send a certificate of completion to each participant. Please make a copy of the certificate and send it to the Parish Center to be kept in your file. The workshops are as follow: Tuesday, Nov. 18 7:00 - 10:00 PM Holy Trinity Cafeteria Wednesday, Nov. 19 7:00 - 10:00 PM Parish Center |
| Congratulations to
Ashley and Jagdish As you have been reading in the bulletin for the past several weeks, we have three young people in our Children’s Catechumenate program who have been working very diligently for the past year to prepare for their First Eucharist. This weekend, at the 12:15 Mass, two of these children, Ashley and Jagdish Hall’s hard work and love of Jesus Christ will come to fulfillment as they come to the Lord’s table for the first time. Please keep them in your prayers as they receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Our third candidate, Ricky Lisojo, will be receiving in December. |
| Smart Discipline
Workshop For Parents Proven techniques will be offered to help stop fighting and bickering; disrespectful language, homework hassles,; instills positives beliefs; builds self confidence; self motivation and curbs negative attitudes. Sound wonderful? Well, it is! Please make time in your busy schedule to attend this workshop. It will be well worth your time! Saint Helen’s Church on November 17 at 7:30 PM !!! |
| TODAY - November 16 Saint Helen's Annual Book Fair 8:30 A.M - 2:00 P.M. 5:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. at the Parish Center Great Books for Adults and Children Special Gifts for Christmas, Confirmation and Holy Communion! |
| Thanksgiving Baskets Each year Saint Helen’s provides over 200 baskets for families living in Westfield, Elizabeth, Plainfield, Jersey City and Newark. Our CCD classes do a tremendous job providing baskets for more than 100 of these families. If your family is interested in this project and would like to put together food appropriate for a Thanksgiving meal for 6 to 8 people, please call Marilyn at 232-1867 or 233-8757, ext. 20. If you would prefer to donate money toward the food that we need to purchase, there will be boxes at the entrances of the Church on November 22/23. Thank you for all your support. Baskets may be delivered to the Parish Center on Sunday, November 23 before 1:30, or as early as possible on Monday, November 24. Deliveries begin this day. Please keep the turkeys separate. Extra turkeys are always appreciated. Please do not buy frozen pies or vegetables. They are too difficult to keep frozen during delivery. |
|
Christmas Gifts
Ornaments with suggested gifts will be available at the entrances of the Church starting November 22 for anyone who would like to participate in our “gift giving project”. Please return all gifts by December 15. If you are interested in “adopting” a family, please call Marilyn at 232-1867 or 233-8757. These family gifts must be in my office no later than December 10. I will provide you with the names and sizes of each family member and instructions. |
| Women’s
Advent Prayer Breakfast Beginning November 25, 9:30 to 11:00 AM, all women of the Parish are invited to take 90 minutes out of their busy holiday schedules to come together in prayer and reflection during the Advent season. We gather to reflect on the coming Sunday’s readings. The sharing is always rewarding and enjoyable. Light refreshments are served. Feel free to bring a friend who might not have this opportunity in her own house of worship. Additional gatherings will be Dec. 2, Dec. 9, and Dec. 16. Meetings are held in the Parish Center. Questions? Call Linda Attanasio at 233-8757, ext. 19. |
| Vestment Memorials There are a number of vestments available for memorials. If you are interested, please call Father Larry at the Parish Center. |
| "…BAPTIZED
IN WATER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT…" Welcome to our newly baptized and congratulations to the proud parents of: Olivia Marie Blessing Kayla Victoria Bowen Caroline Marie Bush Katherine Burke Hamilton Emily Therese Korth Christopher Hopkins LoGiudice Anthony William Marchitto Christian Phillip Marchitto Nicholas Anthony Mitchell Maximilian James Owens Jack Baker Percival Tyler James Schlauberg Chloe Francesca Trefz You will soon be receiving our Families Beyond Baptism mailings. |
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Adult Chaperones Needed
We are in need of chaperones for our Middle School Youth Night on Saturday, Dec 6th. If you can help please contact Kathy Rivera 908-789-3234 or Debbie Abbattista 908-654-9257. |
| Gratitude: An
Attitude of the Heart There are so many reasons to be grateful. And each time we say "thank you" or "I am grateful for . .", we are blessed with more abundance. Soon we will celebrate Thanksgiving, that day set aside to appreciate all that we have and are as Americans. Saint Helen's Thanksgiving Day liturgy will be celebrated on Thursday morning, November 27th at 9:00. We invite all families to join us and to bring with them a “Grateful List" to be placed in a basket and brought to the altar in the entrance procession. Your Grateful List might include -- I am grateful for the gift of my faith -- I am grateful for the gift of my children -- I am grateful for the gift of my good health -- and so on. Please join us as we sing our praise to God during the Eucharist (which means Thanksgiving) on November 27th. |
| Men's Advent Prayer
Breakfast The Men's Advent Prayer Breakfast will meet at 6 AM in the Parish Center on the following Wednesdays: November 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th. Come and start your day with 45 minutes of faith and camaraderie (not to mention free coffee and donuts) as we continue our shared faith journey. All men of the parish are more than welcome, especially those who have never been, or haven't been in a while. Volunteers for the reflections are welcomed. If you have any questions, please call Brian Salisbury at (908-789-3098) or Dan Flynn (908-317-9801). Look forward to seeing you there! |
| Suggestions Needed Every school year, the children’s Sunday donation envelopes are collected, counted, and a running tally is kept. Each year we ask the children of our parish to submit ideas of charitable organizations they would like to see their generosity benefit. If an individual child or class wishes to submit the name of an organization to receive this money, please do so by email to Mrs. Attanasio at lattanasio@sainthelen.org. You must state the nature of the work the organization performs and why you believe they would be worthy of this money. All suggestions must be made by December 12. |
| Advent Wreath Making The annual CFM Advent Wreath Making is planned for Saturday, Nov. 29th from 4:00-5:30 pm in the Parish Center. We'll make Advent wreaths with fresh greens and you'll receive a set of candles and daily Advent prayers. All parish families are invited to join us for refreshments and fun. To be sure we have all supplies needed, we ask you to respond by calling Jim & Donna McCabe at 233-2347 by Nov. 23rd. Hope you'll join us for this meaningful way to begin the Christmas Season. |
| BREAKFAST WITH SANTA Santa Claus will join the children (of all ages) of our parish on Sunday, December 14, 2003. The Parish Elves have devised a new plan to hopefully ease the severe overcrowding. We will have three (3) timed seatings and only sell 225 tickets for each. The times will be 8:00 to 9:15; 9:15 to 10:15 and 10:15 to 11:30. We hope the spirit of Christmas will prevail and everyone will move from the breakfast tables and onto Santa's line before the end of each seating so we can set up for the next group of children. Tickets will be on sale after all the Masses on the weekends of 11/29 & 11/30 and 12/6 & 12/7. For more information, please call Dennis Cogan at (732) 382-7515. |
| Attention Parish Seniors All Senior members of our community are invited to a morning of reflection on Monday, December 1, 2003. The day will begin with 9 AM Mass in the Church, continue in the Parish Center and end with lunch. Our guest speaker, Sr. Mary Simon Robb, will share her thought on the themes of Advent, and help us to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus on Christmas. Register by sending $10 along with your name and phone number to the Parish Center. |
| Sesquicentennial Church
History Did you know.......There are 742 Archdiocesan priests serving the four counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union? There are 227 Religious order priests that serve the Archdiocese. There are 248 Deacons that serve the Archdiocese, 1,276 Religious Sisters and 104 Religious Brothers. (Source: 2003 Archdiocese of Newark Directory and Almanac.) |
| 25th and 50th Wedding
Anniversary Celebration The Archdiocese of Newark will honor those couples who will be celebrating their twenty-five and fifty years of Christian marriage in the year 2004. These liturgies will be held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark as follow: Silver Wedding Anniversary Mass - Sunday, March 14 3:00 PM Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass - Sunday, March 28 3:00 PM If you are a parishioner and wish to register, please call Sally at 908-232-1214, Ext. 21. |
| The Rose for Life Saint Helen’s Respect Life Committee thanks the community for their positive support of Saint Helen’s Rose for Life. As you look toward the Tabernacle, observe the simplicity and beauty of a single red rose. The rose can remind us of the way God sees all life, as totally beautiful and wonderful in it's singularity. All life is sacred. We ask all to pray for God’s protection of all life, from conception to natural death. For more information regarding Saint Helen’s Respect Life committee, or to volunteer for a month of “Rose-duty”, please email respectlife@sthelens.org. |
| Holy Trinity
Interparochial School If you are in the process of choosing a preschool for your child please be sure to put our own parish school on your list of “must see”. HTIS welcomes the children who will be turning three, four or five by October 1 to our Mountainside Campus for our Pre-K and Kindergarten program. Open House will be Friday, January 23, or you may call to arrange for a tour. Please call Leslie Lewis at (908) 233-1899 for dates and times or to register for the Open House. |
| Exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 23rd 3:00-5:00 Take some time out of your busy lives to nourish your soul and bring to Jesus your worries, anxieties and fears. He will refresh you, console you and strengthen you. Everyone is welcome for an hour or two or just a few minutes. Give yourself some time for renewal and peace. |
| Parish Basketball
Coach’s Meeting Anyone interested in coaching or helping with the Parish Basketball League come to the Parish Center on Monday, November 24 at 9:00 PM. Any questions, contact Richie Hughes at 908-232-1886 or email hwestfd@aol.com. |
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