November 30 – December 7, 2014
Weekly Activities
Tuesday, December 2 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. ~ Choir Rehearsal in St. Charles Hall.
Thursday, November 4 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played.
Saturday, December 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 Noon ~ Helping Hands Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall.
Saturday, December 6 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall.
Sunday, December 7 at 3:00 p.m. in church ~ Freudig Singers in Concert – A Christmas Pie.
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 30 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – Edward J. Hodur (Requested by Family) and Living and Deceased Members of the Caputi, Gentile and Krustapentus Families (Requested by Charlotte Oczek)
Monday, December 1 ~ Communion Service at 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, December 2 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Catherine M. Maher (Estate)
Wednesday, December 3 ~ St. Francis Xavier ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Anthony and Teresa Hafner (Estate)
Thursday, December 4 ~ St. John Damascene ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Anna Snyder (Estate)
Friday, December 5 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Winifred Enright (Estate)
Saturday, December 6 ~ St. Nicholas ~ Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel – Philomena M. Vaillancourt (Jim and Gayle Eagan) and Bernadette Dorsheimer (Family)
Sunday, December 7 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – Norine Hackney (The Dunnigan Family) and Joan West (West Children)
Monday, December 8 ~ Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception ~ Mass at 6:00 p.m. – Members of Blessed Trinity Parish
News from our Parish Community
The Cocoa Challenge is Entering the Home Stretch ~ We want to cross the finish line next Sunday, December 7, with 4,200 packets of Instant Hot Cocoa. Keep in mind last Sunday’s Gospel, “I was … in prison and you visited me,” and support the Christmas Prison Package Project begun by Sr. Karen Klimczak as a message of forgiveness and non-violence. Package assembly will take place in church on Friday, December 12. Anyone interested in assisting can join one of two shifts: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. until completion (usually about 9 p.m.). To learn more about Sr. Karen’s vision and the history of this project, Click HERE.
The Ladies Sodality will hold its Christmas dinner Wednesday, December 10, at 6:00pm. at The Family Tree Restaurant, 4346 Bailey Ave, Amherst, NY. The menu includes Stuffed Pork Lion, Baked Fish or Pot Roast dinner, all served with a salad, baked potato and pita bread and rice pudding for dessert. The cost is 27.00 per person, and reservations are being accepted through Monday, December 1. Checks should be made payable to the Ladies Sodality of Blessed Trinity. Click HERE to make your reservation with Patty Gallisdorfer.
The Trinity Concert Series Continues on Sunday, December 7, at 3:00 p.m. when The Freudig Singers of Western New York will present “A Christmas Pie,” a delectable concert of traditional and contemporary seasonal favorites. Under the direction of award-winning organist/choral composer and arranger Roland E. Martin, the Freudig Singers are celebrating their 30th anniversary. The choral menu includes such standards as G.R. Woodward’s arrangement of “Ding-dong-ding,” Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and Jay Livingston/Ray Evans’ “Silver Bells.” Also included on the program are more recent works: Sidney King’s “Gabriel’s Message,” Martin Wimmer’s “All is Quiet, All are Sleeping,” and the stunning “Night of Dreams” by Valerie Showers Crescenz. The singers will also perform a piece composed especially for the occasion by King. The Louisville-based musician has dedicated his newest composition, “Gifts for a King,” to the Freudig Singers. Following tradition, the concert concludes with a fresh-baked-pie reception for audience members, as well as a pie auction featuring signature pies prepared by each of the singers. A delicious treat for the ears, the soul and the taste buds! Tickets are $10.00 each in advance and at the door. For individual tickets, group sales and further information, please call Elizabeth Bailey Sands at 716-551-6870.
Looking Ahead to Holy Day ~ Monday, December 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patronal Feastday of our nation. Please join us for our celebration of Mass at 6:00 p.m. This is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Gifts for our Shut-ins will be ready for pickup and delivery at weekend Masses on December 13 and 14. If you are willing to deliver a gift bag and visit with one of the fourteen recipients, please Click HERE and leave a message for Mickey Dick.
Attention Readers ~ Please stop in the Priests’ Sacristy after Mass and pick up your copies of the 2015 Workbook for Readers.
Musical Mentors ~ Thanks to Dan Korchowsky who donated his tools and talent and installed the recently dedicated photo of Bridget Blesnuk on our musical wall of fame. The photograph, along with those of her musical predecessors Msgr. Henry S. Kawalec and Ms. Ethel M. Grabenstatter, can be viewed on the west (rectory) side staircase to the choirloft.
Assistance Available ~ Catholic Charities stands ready to assist individuals and families in the aftermath of Snowvember 2014. If you or someone you know is in need of assistance with basic needs as a result of the storm, you can call any Catholic Charities community-based office for help. Call weekdays between 8:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. at 716-218-1650 for information or an appointment. Those seeking assistance should bring proof of identification for everyone in the household, along with applicant’s proof of address and proof of income. This follows Catholic Charities’ emergency assistance procedures and determines eligibility for the kinds of assistance they can provide.
Special Collection on November 22/23 ~ Thank you for your contributions to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Your generous gifts will help CCHD end the poverty in the United States through better education, improved housing, and economic development. Through CCHD and its beneficiaries, we help keep Catholic social teaching alive and carry out Jesus’ mission to “bring glad tidings to the poor … to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Lk 4:18).
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.
News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community
Blessed Sacrament Church Celebrates Advent with two special programs. “Do Your Hear What I Hear?” is a program of Christmas carols in song and story which explains the origins of the lyrics and the music. It will be presented on from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, December 7. A Taize Prayer Service, a devotion in song, scripture, and silence, will be offered on Sunday, December 14, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Come join us for this opportunity to nurture our faith as we prepare for the birth of Christ on December 25. Both programs will be held at Blessed Sacrament Church 1029 Delaware Avenue. Parking is available behind the Catholic Academy of West Buffalo.
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.