St. Martin of Tours (315-397), whose feast is celebrated on November 11, is the first standing figure from the left depicted in this painting of Confessors, Bishops, and Missionaries by Joseph Mazur in the dome of our church.
November 9 – November 16, 2014
Weekly Activities
Tuesday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. ~ Choir Rehearsal in St. Charles Hall.
Thursday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall.
Saturday, November 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 Noon ~ Helping Hands Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall.
Saturday, November15 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall.
Sunday, November 16 following 10:00 a.m. Mass ~ Coffee Hour in St. Charles Hall, hosted by The Choir.
We now have a Bingo camera with TV monitors and electronic verification! To check the Red, White & Blue and progressive Share-the-Wealth carry over amounts and progressive numbers for this week, click HERE and visit our Facebook page.
Mass Intentions
Sunday, November 9 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – Bridget Dick Blesnuk (Requested by Pauline Rollek) and Blessings for 20th Anniversary of William and Sharon Dunnigan (Requested by Family)
Monday, November 10 ~ St. Leo the Great ~ Communion Service at 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, November 11 ~ St. Martin of Tours; Veterans Day ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Deceased Members of Blessed Trinity Parish (Parishioners)
Wednesday, November 12 ~ St. Josaphat ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Anthony and Teresa Hafner (Estate)
Thursday, November 13 ~ St. Frances Xavier Cabrini ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Catherine M. Maher (Estate)
Friday, November 14 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Anna Snyder (Estate)
Saturday, November 15 ~ St. Albert the Great ~ Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel – Julia Roberts (Jim and Gayle Eagan)
Sunday, November 16 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – Norine Hackney (Ed Marien) and Margaret Schimpf – Birthday Remembrance (Family)
News from our Parish Community
Bridget Dick Blesnuk
July 11, 1970 – June 20, 2014
Former Music Director
1991 – 2010
Pausing to Remember ~ On Sunday, November 16, we pause to honor our late music director, Bridget Dick Blesnuk, and recognize her place in the musical heritage of our parish. A photo of Bridget will be dedicated and subsequently displayed with those of her predecessors and mentors, Msgr. Henry S. Kawalec and Ethel M. Grabenstatter, on the west (rectory) side staircase to the choir loft. The dedication of these three musicians created and sustained a remarkable music program, long recognized beyond our parish. Msgr. Kawalec, our choir director from 1943-1968, was also one of a small group of liturgical visionaries in the 1950s who published Cantate Omnes, the first vernacular hymnal for Catholics in the U.S., reissued after Vatican II as The Community Mass Book. Ethel Grabenstatter, parish organist for almost fifty years, succeeded him as choir director, continuing in that position until her death in 1991. In 1945, both were founding members of the Catholic Choirmasters’ Guild, known today as the Church Musicians Guild (CMG). Bridget assumed Ethel’s position as organist in 1991 and added the responsibilities of choir director and cantor shortly thereafter. She also continued Blessed Trinity’s diocesan-wide influence, serving as an officer and director of the CMG, a presenter at their musical workshops, and a cantor at diocesan liturgies. Our musical legacy lives on in Nick DelBello, who succeeded Bridget in 2010, and the choir. Following the Mass, you are invited to join them as they host November’s coffee hour.
Save the Date ~Women of the parish are invited to join members of our Ladies Sodality on Wednesday, December 10, at their annual Christmas Dinner. This year’s dinner will be held at the Family Tree Restaurant on Bailey Avenue in Amherst from 6:30-9:30 p.m.
The Cocoa Challenge ~ Each year, Peaceprints™ sponsors a Christmas Prison Package Project – the brainchild of Sister Karen Klimczak who believed that prisoners are people too, and that everyone deserves something to lift their spirits during this time of year. Over 2000 individuals from the Wende and Albion correctional facilities will receive a Christmas package consisting of a hand-decorated bag filled with comfort items and a note of encouragement. These small packages are a token reminder to help keep hope alive in their hearts. And here is where the Cocoa Challenge comes in. Parishioners of Blessed Trinity are asked to contribute Hot Cocoa Packets. There are a number of cocoa brands available in all local grocery stores. They are reasonably priced, often on sale, and come in different size boxes containing anywhere from 6 to 60 individual packets of cocoa mix. Our goal is to collect 4000+ packets so that each gift bag contains at least 2 servings. Monetary donations are also welcome and will allow Peaceprints™ to purchase additional bags or items that are not donated. Checks payable to Prison Ministries may be given to Amy Johnson or mailed directly to Peaceprints Prison Ministries, 660 Smith Street, Buffalo, NY 14210. We also invite you to decorate a gift bag. (In the past, recipients have commented on how the message on their gift bag was more important to them than the contents). The requisite size bags will be available at coffee hour on November 16th, and we hope you will take some home and get creative. All cocoa donations and decorated bags must be returned to church by Sunday, December 7th. Watch for future posts with details about the actual packaging, which will take place at our church on Friday, December 12th.
Gifts for our Shut-ins ~ Please remember that Sunday, November 30, is the Sodality’s target date for collecting all donated items and cash contributions for Christmas gift bags for home bound parishioners (9 women) and those in senior care facilities (3 women and 2 men). Members need time to shop and prepare gift bags before turning their attention to the Christmas Prison Project, so please help by shopping early and placing your new, unwrapped items in the designated basket near the statue of St. Joseph. Some suggestions: fleece throws, sweatpants, shawls or shrugs, socks, eye glass wipes, clips or combs to hold long hair, large print puzzle books, or cash for a hair cut or shampoo & set. Ready-to-eat food items such as jam, jelly, toaster pastries; gelatin, fruit or pudding cups; or “add water” mixes; e.g., soup cups, single-serving oatmeal packets, tea, cocoa or coffee are also acceptable for the home bound. If you are willing to deliver a gift bag and visit with its recipient, please Click HERE and leave a message for Mickey Dick.
National Donor Sabbath Celebration will be held on Tuesday, November 11, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at UNYTS, 110 Broadway, Buffalo. All major religions in the United States support organ, eye, tissue, and blood donation, viewing it as “a final act of love and goodwill.” November is National Donor Sabbath month, a nationwide observance that shines a spotlight on the life-giving power of organ, eye, tissue and blood donation. Join us this month as we learn, reach out within our community, and change lives together. This event is open to the public at no charge. Light refreshments included. For further information call Kania Ponto at 716-512-7954. It Does Matter.
Important Scholarship Information ~ The Albert Lenhard Family Scholarship Fund was established in 1985 through a bequest of the estate of Albert M. Lenhard to assist applicants who want to continue their formal education beyond high school at the undergraduate and graduate levels.The Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship was established in 1987 to help an eighth grade student in attaining a Catholic High School Education. Information including criteria and eligibility requirements has been posted at the two side church entrances. If you are interested, we have available copies of the application forms. Please contact/see Sister Barbara. Thank you.
Attention Medicare Advantage Participants ~ BlueCross BlueShield of WNY has recently introduced a new Medicare Advantage product, Senior Blue HMO Select, that replaces its existing Senior Blue HMO-POS 650 plan. This product specifically excludes all Catholic Health facilities including all hospitals, labs, diagnostic imaging, rehabilitation centers, home care, and all other sites/services. BlueCross BlueShield may not have adequately communicated this exclusion to its members. Please note that several other Medicare Advantage plans are available that include access to Catholic Health. For more information, visit CHSMedicareOptions.org or call 716-923-9790.
Statue of St. Joseph and hand carved cabinetry in Daily Mass Chapel.
Saturday Mass Change – As of October 4 and continuing through the winter heating season, we are celebrating Mass at 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays in the Daily Mass Chapel (priest’s sacristy). We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with this change. The two side entrances of the church will be unlocked for easy access through the church to the Chapel.
Catholics Come Home ~ This Christmas, the Diocese of Buffalo will be airing a media campaign called “Catholics Come Home.” This represents a great opportunity for each of us. We all know Loved Ones who no longer practice their faith. And we pray constantly for their return. What if a Loved One saw a “Catholics Come Home” message and returned this Christmas? Well this Christmas, many of our Loved Ones will return here, inspired in part by the Catholics Come Home campaign which has already helped nearly half a million people to return to Jesus and His Church, elsewhere in the United States. Starting this Christmas, we will send the message, loud and clear, that we want Catholics back home with us. And you can help! Support our campaign. Visit CatholicsComeHome.org and share this invitation with those you know. Discuss these messages when they air on TV or through social media. How appropriate that at Christmas we have a chance to share the greatest gift of all, our faith.
March for Life Pilgrimage ~ The Diocesan Department of Pro-Life Activities is encouraging anyone interested in attending the January 21-22, 2015 March for Life Pilgrimage to Washington, DC to make their hotel and bus reservations by December 10, 2014. Join the Buffalo Diocese and hundreds of thousands of Catholics and people of good will who will gather to pray and publicly intercede on behalf of the unborn, in the hope that this prayerful presence may open hearts, minds and souls to the fullness of the Gospel of Life in our lives and laws. For more details and information, visit www.buffalodiocese.org/prolife or call 716-847-2205.
News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community
Remembering Our Veterans ~ On Tuesday, November 11, the Frontline Faith Project is sponsoring the third annual “An American Moment” to honor the men and women of our Armed Forces, past and present. An American Moment will include one moment of silent prayer — to thank our military for their service, to pray for the peaceful repose of those who have died, and to pray for the intentions of those still living. This event will take place at noon in each respective time zone, all across the world, on Veteran’s Day, November 11. Father Jim Evans, a chaplain serving with the Texas Army National Guard, has recorded a presentation that can be viewed on the Frontline Faith website beginning mid-October at http://www.frontlinefaith.org.
Ask Us Anything About Your Health: A Health Expo Event ~ Free Community Seminars. Thursday November 20, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. @ Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga. You deserve the best, especially when it comes to understanding your health. Join our board-certified, nationally recognized physicians for a FREE evening expo all about you and your well being. Meet with expert specialists for presentations on your most pressing health issues, and have your questions answered in an easily digestible, down-to-earth manner. Plus, get free health screenings and learn about wellness services available to you right here in WNY. Hear about these topics, and more: New Ways to Treat Knee and Hip Pain; Obstretrics; Weight Loss Surgery; Fixes for Chronic Back Pain; Women’s Heart Health; Pelvic Health & Incontinence; Stroke; Surviving an Unhealthy Heart; Gynecology; Blood Vessel Health. Please register by calling (716) 447-6205 or online at www. chsbuffalo.org/events.
Children Are Our Most Valuable Resource ~ For new mothers and moms-to-be in Erie and Niagara Counties, Catholic Charities Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program provides food, participant-centered nutrition education and referrals for eligible pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants and children under the age of 5. Visit http://www.ccwny.org for more information or call 716-218-1400.