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|  St. Paul Church 485 Alling Street Kensington CT 06037 The Epistle Online: May 4, 2016 |
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The Epistle Online
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We hope this newsletter will be a helpful resource for you, providing information about what's
going on in our parish and sharing content on both spiritual and practical matters related to our Catholic faith.
The Epistle
is so named as a tribute to our patron, Saint Paul, whose letters to the earliest Christians still guide and inform us today.
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Happy Mother's Day
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~ A Blessing for Mothers ~
For all of our mothers,
may we show them love and reverence,
For mothers who have lost a child,
may their faith give them hope,
and may their
family and friends
support and console them,
For mothers who have passed away,
may God bring them into the joy of his kingdom.
God bless all the women in our lives who model for us the love of a mother. Protect them and encourage them to love as you have loved us.
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Feast of the Ascension of the Lord
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Thursday, May 5th is a holy day of obligation.
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Wednesday, May 4th
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Thursday, May 5th |
| * Vigil Mass at 5pm |
* Morning Mass at 7am |
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* School Mass at 9am
(May Crowning) |
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* Evening Mass at 5pm |
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Our Faith
May is dedicated to Our Lady
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Throughout the month of May, Christians offer special prayers and devotions to the Blessed Mother, and
"the benefits of God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance." Paul VI: Encyc. on the
Month of May
, no. 1.
What can you do to honor Our Lady during this special month?
We have a few suggestions... click on any of the images and videos below to learn more.
[Note that most of the videos are only 2 or 3 minutes long, and if you don't want to see the ads, install an ad blocker.]
+ Pray the Rosary
 The Rosary is a beautiful and powerful prayer to Our Lady. If you're not familiar with it, click on this link to learn
How to Pray the Rosary. If you are familiar with it, why not say a Rosary today or on Mother's Day in honor of a special mom in your life and in honor of Our Blessed Mother.
+ We
ar a sign of your devotion to the Blessed Mother
The Brown Scapular - click on the video or the link to learn more about this special devotion.
"Whosoever dies wearing this scapular shall not
suffer eternal fire." -Promise of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock
The first Medals were made in 1832... Almost immediately the blessings that Mary had promised began to shower down on those who wore her Medal. Before long people were calling it the "Miraculous" Medal...
+ See a movie!
Here are a few films about Marian apparitions..
click to watch the trailers!
Over the course of four days i
n December 1531,
the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, appeared to an indigenous convert named Juan Diego...
The true story of three shepherd children who experienced apparitions of Our Lady in 1917. The children remained true to their story about the crucial messages from Mary of prayer and conversion for the world.
In order to escape her isolation, wheelchair-bound Christine makes a life changing journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees Mountains famed for its apparent miraculous cures.
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From Pope Francis
Love Letter to Families
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Amoris Laetitia -
On April 8th, Pope Francis released a document called Amoris Laetitia,
The Joy of Love, that revealed the Pope's vision for marriage and the mission of the family.
We assume most of our readers will not be sitting down to read the 255-page document, so we've searched to find the best (and brief-est!) summary and interpretation. Check out this link if you'd like to know what the Pope had to say on marriage and the family:
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For Men and Fathers
Join the Movement
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Catholic men are starting to stand together and are increasingly
stepping forward to support one another in their faith and in their lives.
Men's Groups are forming in growing numbers across the country, and these groups, informal fraternities of sorts, are helping men improve their lives and the lives of their families and communities.
Several men from St. Paul Church have formed a
Men's Group
as well. The men meet regularly
in order to learn from each other, to pray together,
to build friendships and to
support one another.
And check out this video on the 'Call to Battle':
"The average boy will spend more time watching television by the time he turns six years old than he will spend talking to his father over the course of his entire earthly life..."
"We've got this crisis and we need men, strong Catholic men, to fill the breach."
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Ministry of the Month
Rosary Makers
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This special ministry meets once a month in the Church Hall where members work together to make
rosary beads that are distributed all over the world.
The beads are given to members of the military, delivered to hospitals and nursing homes, to children in religious education classes, and more.
Thank you to all of the Rosary Makers for the important work you do to spread devotion to Our Lady and to promote the Holy Rosary.
New members always welcome! Contact Phyllis Fecteau at 860-828-4934 for info.
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Our Church Community
Get to Know the Staff
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This section of the newsletter aims to help you put names with faces and allow everyone in our parish family get to know each other better.
Diane Funk, our Business Manager, started working at Saint Paul School
26 years ago. She started out working just one day a week while also working part-time at St. John the Evangelist Church in New Britain. About 10 years ago, she joined us full-time, and today she is the Business Manager for both the church and our parish school.
Diane has been a parishioner at St. Paul Church for the past 33 years, and both of her children attended Saint Paul School. She and her husband Bill have been married for 42 years, and they have two beautiful granddaughters.
Diane and Bill enjoy traveling with their friends (especially if it involves a cruise ship!) and spending
as much time as they can with their grandchildren.
Thank you Diane for your many years of dedicated service to our St. Paul family!
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A "Few" Words from Fr. Robert
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KGS
As work continues across the street, there will be limited or no parking on the KGS property. This means cars will need to be parked in the street again. We know this will be inconvenient, but it is temporary and will lead to a much better situation in the near future. In the meantime, please be respectful to our neighbors and do not block their driveways and check our
Facebook page for pictures and updates as the work continues.
Youth Minister
Two of our candidates let us know that they are no longer able to be part of our Youth Minister search process.. That leaves us with two fine candidates both with lots of great qualities and both from Connecticut. We will be continuing our interviews on the week of the May 15th. I ask for and count on your continued prayers for this most important initiative.
Summer Camp: Registration is now open!
Our Parish Summer Camp for children is one of the best things we do. It helps parents who need a place they trust to care for their kids during the summer. It helps our young adults who make up most of the staff make some money over the summer. It helps our school enrollment. Finally it keeps our campus alive with the sound of happy children throughout the summer. If you would like to take your grandkids for a week or so during the summer but don't know what to do with them, why not enroll them in our Summer Camp and let them have fun and get tired out during the day and then enjoy them in the evening. To register simply go to the church or school web, or
click here.
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May 2016 Calendar
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| May 4th |
Ladies' Guild Meeting, 6:30 pm in the church hall
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5:00 pm, Vigil Mass for Ascension Thursday
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| May 5th |
9:00 am School Mass, Ascension Thursday
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May Crowning at the 9:00 am Mass |
| May 7th |
HomeFront Day |
| May 9th |
Eucharistic Adoration and Confession, 7 - 8 pm Mercy Monday
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Registration Evening for New Parishioners, 7:00 pm church hall |
| May 10th |
Prayer Shawl Ministry, 1:00 pm church hall |
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Bereavement Support Group, 6:30 pm
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Book Discussion, 7:00 pm |
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Knights of Columbus, 7;00 pm in the parish center |
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Baptism Instruction, 7:00 pm |
| May 11th |
Quilters and Sewers, 10:00 am |
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Social Action Meeting, 7:00 pm |
| May 13th |
13th of the Month Rosary Group, noon |
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ABC's of Annulments, 7:00 pm |
| May 14th |
Confession, 3:00 pm |
| May 16th |
Eucharistic Adoration and Confession, 7 - 8 pm Mercy Monday
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| May 17th |
Bereavement Support Group, 6:30 pm |
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Pastoral Council Meeting, 7:00 pm |
May 18th
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LPI Rep. Mark Gresens available (Bulletin Ads for your Company) |
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Quilters and Sewers, 10:00 am |
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Book Discussion, 7:00 pm |
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NJHS Induction |
| May 21st |
Confession, 3:00 pm
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| May 23rd |
Eucharistic Adoration and Confession, 7 - 8 pm Mercy Monday
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| May 24th |
Bereavement Support Group, 6:30 pm
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| May 25th |
Quilters and Sewers, 10:00 am
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| May 28th |
Confession, 3:00 pm |
| May 30th |
Memorial Day, 7:00 am Mass, No 5:00 pm Mass, Parish Office Closed |
| May 30th |
Eucharistic Adoration and Confession, 7 - 8 pm Mercy Monday |
| May31st |
Bereavement Support Group, 6:30 pm
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Check our web calendar for details on all our events! |
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PASS IT ON
Please forward this Newsletter to a family member or friend so they too will have an opportunity to learn something new and to see all the great things that are happening at
Saint Paul Church.
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"For it is in giving that we receive."
-Saint Francis of Assisi
A Ministry of the Conventual Franciscan Friars,
Our Lady of the Angels Province
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