JANUARY 10 & 11, 2015 BAPTISM OF THE LORD A MESSAGE FROM OUR PASTOR MASS INTENTIONS Dear Friends in Christ, On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we conclude the Christmas season. This day we remember the promises and privileges of our own baptisms into the Lord. May we always stay faithful to those promises. Christmas was a very special time here at St. Christopher’s. The bad weather on Christmas Eve weakened attendance at the last two Masses. The 4 pm time slot proved popular despite the weather. We filled both the Church and Holy Family Hall for those two Masses. With the weather being better on Christmas Day, the last two Masses that day had a better than attendance than usual. Our altar was exquisitely decorated – so much that people were coming up and taking “selfies” in front of it after the Masses. Also our music was so very nice. I want to thank once again all those who made the season so festive and so devotional. I would like to acknowledge the kindnesses of all of you who baked cookies, sent cakes, and did other nice things for the priests this Christmas season. With this being Father Sean’s first Christmas as a priest, he was kind of overwhelmed by the kindness of you all. I want you to know that those of us who are used to those kindnesses never take them for granted. You are a remarkably good group of people, and all of your priests appreciate you very much. Looking forward to next Sunday, Father Michael Shea of the Central Association of the Miraculous Medal in Germantown will speak at all of the Masses. Father Shea is an ardent spokesman for the Blessed Mother, and he will try to assist us in our personal devotion to Our Lady. Father hails from New York. His devotion to Our Lady helps us forgive him as an avid fan of the New York teams! I am sure you will find his talk helpful in your own devotion to the Mother of God. Father’s purpose is not to take up any collection – his presence is simply to help us understand how devotion to Mary will help us as we live our lives. As we announced last week, there is a special second collection today for the work Catholic Relief Services is doing to combat the Ebola virus. You can be proud that you support his world wide effort that helps with so many tragedies and illnesses throughout the world. Finally, I would like to thank you for your response and support of our various collections – both Sunday and Christmas. As you can see by the results in the collections, we have higher numbers than the past year. Also, our Annual Appeal or “Block Collection” is close to our goal. Results are still coming in; so we have hope of reaching our much needed goal. While I don’t like to talk about finances, they are necessary to keep a large parish like ours going strongly. With your help, we have been able to do that. I am very grateful to you all. With sincere hope for God’s special blessings on your and your family in this New Year, I leave you SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015 5:00 pm Vigil — Bridget McNamee SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2015 7:30 am — William McCardle 9:00 am — Charles Kimbrell 10:30 am — Sean Ludascher 12:00 pm — Jack Wiedmayer (10th Anniversary) MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015 6:30 am — Andrew Jardine 8:30 am — Derek DelQuadro (Birthday Memorial) TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2015 6:30 am — Frank O’Keefe 8:30 am — Christopher & Mary Rausch WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 6:30 am — Joseph Nocitra 8:30 am — Farhid, Memar & Shafieyan Families (Living) THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015 6:30 am — Eugene Piorkowski 8:30 am — Jack Franks (Birthday Memorial) FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015 6:30 am — Joseph Mathews 8:30 am — George Haag SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015 8:00 am —Rev. Gabe Rosetti (10th Anniversary) 5:00 pm Vigil — Vito Guarrera SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015 7:30 am — Bob Dobek 9:00 am — Peter Shelinsky, Sr. 10:30 am — Jean Ludascher 12:00 pm — Arturo R. Pabalan (1st Anniversary) PRIEST CELEBRANT SCHEDULE SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015 5:00 PM – Fr. Shea SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015 7:30 AM –Msgr. Boland 9:00 AM – Fr. Sean 10:30 AM – Fr. Shea 12:00 PM – Fr. Michel In the peace of Christ, NOTICE: BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 12, 2015 HAS BEEN CANCELLED - PAGE 2 - JANUARY 10 & 11, 2015 BAPTISM OF THE LORD WEEKLY COLLECTION Collection for December 27 & 28, 2014 $18,705 (includes $1,754 from E-Giving) SECOND COLLECTION THIS WEEKEND JANUARY 10 & 11, 2015 IS FOR THE CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES TO HELP COMBAT THE EBOLA VIRUS Collection for December 28 & 29, 2013 $16,814 Collection for January 3 & 4, 2015 $20,182 (includes $1,754 from E-Giving) Collection for January 4 & 5, 2014 $11,462 (This collection was low due to inclement weather) Christmas Collection December 24 & 25, 2014 December 24 & 25, 2013 $86,075 $81,925 Solemnity of Mary, January 1, 2015 $7,349 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR PARISH BLOCK COLLECTION Thanks to everyone who has already responded to this year’s Block Collection. As in previous years, our parish goal is $130,000.00. Please place your Block Collection offering in the regular Sunday collection basket. You may also mail your offering to the Parish Office or drop it off there as soon as your means allow. God bless you and your families for contributing to this very important appeal. PARISH GOAL: RECEIVED TO DATE: NEEDED TO REACH OUR GOAL: $130,000 $115,572 (88%) $ 14,428 E-GIVING TO ST. CHRISTOPHER PARISH Are you a person who pays bills online or has them withdrawn automatically from your account? Now you can have that same convenience for your Church contributions. You can authorize your contributions to be safely transferred to a Church account. Forms are available in the back of the Church or in the Parish Office. For more information contact: WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES 2015 LITERATURE The 2015 World Meeting of Families will be coming to Philadelphia September 22-27 immediately followed by a visit from Pope Francis. The World Meeting is an event sponsored by the Catholic Church every three years to celebrate the life of the family as the Domestic Church. The organizers of this event have sent us two hand-outs. One is a brochure regarding schedule, ticket, volunteer and hosting information. The other is a short invitation to host a family during the event. Both hand-outs are at the entrances of the Church today and for as long as they last. This promises to be a great experience for the Church of Philadelphia and a wonderful opportunity for all of us to participate in whatever way we feel called. If you have any questions about this event or hosting you can look at the web site:www.WorldMeeting2015.org or, if you are not an “Internet person” you can leave your contact information at the parish office and someone from the parish will contact you. Holy Redeemer Health System is a non-profit organization that has an emphasis on providing a continuum of care services guided by our mission to care, comfort and heal. Holy Redeemer Health System offers different levels of care including Independent Living, Personal Care, Nursing, Dementia Care, and Rehabilitation Services at three locations: Holy Redeemer St. Joseph Manor (Montgomery County); Holy Redeemer Lafayette (Philadelphia County): and Holy Redeemer D’Youville Manor (Bucks County). For more information, please contact: Lucia Maglio, Outreach Coordinator for Residential Sales at 267-626-0676. Congratulations Newly Baptized Ronan William Weathers Mary Wilkinson at 215-673-5177, ext. 22 Children’s Church Envelopes are available at the doors of the Church and in the Parish Office. These envelopes are a great way for families to teach students the importance of giving. Any student in grade school or high school is asked to take a box. If you are a parishioner and you need a TEMPORARY envelope, please take one of the white temporary envelopes by the doors. Thank You. PRE-JORDAN BAPTISM CLASS First-time parents, as well as parents who have not already done so, must attend a Pre-Jordan class before scheduling the Baptism. We suggest that you attend before the birth of your baby. The next class will be on: Wednesday, January 28th, at 7:00 pm in the Parish Meeting Room. - PAGE 3 - JANUARY 10 & 11, 2015 BAPTISM OF THE LORD St. Christopher School Early Childhood Education Program Open House and Registration Parishioners who are parents or guardians of age 3,4,5 or 6 year olds who wish to register a child in the PreK-3, PreK-4, Kindergarten or First Grade programs at St. Christopher School are invited to an Early Childhood Information Night on Tuesday, January 20th. In addition, you are also invited to our Catholic School Week Open House on Sunday, January 25th. On this day you’ll have the opportunity to show your child the school, view student work displayed in the hallways, meet faculty, and ask us questions. We look forward to meeting you and your family and sharing the accessibility, advantages, and affordability of a St. Christopher School education. TUITION COLLECTION DATE: Thursday, January 15, 2015 TIME: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM PLACE: Parish Office Families on the semi-annual payment plan, your second half of tuition is due by January 15th. Payments can be mailed or dropped off at the Parish Office on or before January 15th. Don't forget to redeem your gift card/scrip prior to making payment. In order to continue enrollment in St. Christopher School, those on the monthly payment plan must be current through the month of January and tuition must be paid in full for those families on other payment plans. PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK Dolores Anderson Mary Kay Banks Robert Banks Mary Ann Daily Louis Desiato Marie Dolhancryk Taylor Dworznicki Bill Ferro Nancy Finn Nora Forgione Ted Franks Rosemary Gabriel June Glenn David Griffin Ronald Gutschall Joanne Henes Baby Abby Henderson Patrick Keenan Patrick Kilcoyne Robert Kurtz Leonard Laurito Rina Laurito Lisa MacWilliams MARK YOUR CALENDARS PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT Tuesday, January 20th 7 — 8 PM Holy Family Hall OPEN HOUSE Sunday, January 25th 1 — 2 PM School Main Lobby NEW STUDENT REGISTRATION (ALL GRADES) Thursday, January 29th 5—7 PM Friday, January 30th 8:30 — 10:00AM School Main Lobby Children’s Scholarship Information New Children Scholarship Fund applications for the 2015-2016 school year are now available to be completed on the website, www.csfphiladelphia.org. Scholarship requirements are simple. To be eligible, families must meet income requirements, be residents of Philadelphia, have a child entering grades K-8th and complete the required essay. The submission deadline is March 1, 2015. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Lisa Keane in the Parish Office. Jennifer Mariano Heather McCaffery Mary McKeever Kevin McKeever Joan Martin Paul Martin George Matwiejczyk Ellizabeth Morris Lee Murphy Mary Lew Nederoski Barbara O’Connor Anna Ryan Georgine Schuster Robert Schuster Benny Shirk Arden Sukeena Larry Sutliff,Jr. Rosalie Unger Shannon Valotta Baby Aliana Walker Baby London Walker Walter Zubak NOTICE ABOUT OUR SICK LIST: If you wish to place or remove a name from the prayer list, please call the Parish Office (215-673-5177) during regular hours. H.O.P.E. HELPING OTHER PEOPLE IN AN EMERGENCY When family, friends or neighbors are unavailable and you have need for local transportation to get to doctor appointments, shopping, hospital visits or church, call our H.O.P.E. coordinator. Please leave your name and phone number and the coordinator will call you back. - PAGE 4- TO SCHEDULE A RIDE CALL: 215-677-7629 JANUARY 10 & 11, 2015 BAPTISM OF THE LORD ADORATION CHAPEL HELP NEEDED We are still in NEED of volunteers to give time with the Lord in our Adoration Chapel. Call Joan Felice at 215-605-8378 if you can volunteer some time to cover these hours: St. Christopher Home & School Association Is sponsoring a Pancake Breakfast Sunday, January 25th following the 7:30 mass and concluding after the 10:30 mass Adults $5.00 — Children $3.00 Pay at the door Saint Hubert High School Annual Fashion Show “Bambies on the Runway” Monday: 10:00—11:00 am 12:00— 1:00 pm Tuesday: 10:00—11:00 am Wednesday: 4:00— 5:00 pm Thursday: 10:00—11:00 am 5:00— 6:00 pm Friday: 10:00—11:00 am Saturday: 8:30— 9:30 am Sunday, January 25, 2015 2 pm—5 pm School Cafeteria—Lunch Included Tickets available at School Adults $15.00 Children/Students — $7.00 For information call 215-624-6840 ext. 200 The Adoration Chapel will continue to be open until 7pm Monday thru Friday and 5pm on Saturday. Five Good Reasons Why You Should Include Saint Christopher Parish in your estate plans with a Charitable Bequest: St. Katherine of Siena School invites all alumni to attend a special Alumni Mass celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Catholic Schools Week Sunday, January 25th at 12 pm Reception immediately following the mass Please RSVP by January 19, 2015 to Erin McShea at [email protected] For more information, please call the school office at 215-637-2181 A bequest is the easiest way to make sure that the things you care about will be provided for in the future. Saint Basil Academy “Night at the Races” Saturday, January 24,2015 (Snow Date February 7th) 7PM to 11PM You can make a significant gift without affecting your current income or cash flow. $20 includes dinner and beverages Must be 21 to attend You can direct your bequest to a specific program in the parish. You can receive a charitable estate tax deduction. Future generations will benefit from your generosity. Additional info: www.stbasilacademy.org/pdf/NightRaces2015.pdf. Bereavement Support Group Monday, February 9, 2015 6:00-7:15 p.m.—Parish Meeting Room MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO ST. CHRISTOPHER MEMORIAL FUND IN MEMORY OF CATHERINE GIBBONS From: Mary Smith IN MEMORY OF IRENE M. MONTONI Please call Sister Maureen Erdlen, the moderator of the group, at 215-248-7203 for more information regarding this support group meeting. If you are dealing with the death of a loved one, this might be for you. The Parish Meeting Room is located in the school building right off the Lindsay Street parking lot. Please Pray for our Deceased W ILLIAM COCHRANE FREDERICK FOLEY From: Emil & Grace Nahm - PAGE 5 -
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