Second Sunday of Advent – Week of December 10, 2017

December 10 – December 17, 2017

Weekly Activities

Sunday, December 10 following 10:00 a.m. Mass ~ Gifts for homebound seniors available for delivery

Sunday, December 10 following 10:00 a.m. Mass ~ Coffee Hour in St. Charles Hall

Tuesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. ~ Choir Rehearsal in St. Charles Hall

Wednesday, December 13 at 7:00 p.m. ~ Parish Council Meeting in St. Charles Hall

Thursday, December 14 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall*

Saturday, December 16 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. ~ NEW HOURS – SAT. ONLY – Helping Hands Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall

Saturday, December 16 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall*

Sunday, December 17 at 3:00 p.m. ~ Advent Service of Lessons and Carols in Church

*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, December 10 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. ~ Bridget Blesnuk (Requested by Donald Blesnuk) and Fred Godert, Jr. (Requested by Family)

Monday, December 11 ~ St. Damasus I ~ No Service

Tuesday, December 12 ~ Our Lady of Guadalupe ~ Communion Service at 11:00 a.m.

Wednesday, December 13 ~ St. Lucy ~ Communion Service at 11:00 a.m.

Thursday, December 14 ~ St. John of the Cross ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Fred Godert, Jr. (Family)

Friday, December 15 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – All Souls (Blessed Trinity Parish)

Saturday, December 16 ~ Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. – Deceased Members of the Ryan, Reilly, Reynolds, and Pfeiffer Families (Estate of Mary Reilly)

Sunday, December 17 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. ~ Vincent, Frances and Agnes Manion (Estate)

Ministry Schedule for Saturday and Sunday, December 16 and 17:

Saturday, 4:30 p.m.  Reader: Gary Kelley; Eucharistic Minister: Jack Curtin

Sunday, 10:00 a.m.  Readers: Mary Kresse, Avery White, Chris Porter;  Eucharistic Ministers: Fran Cahill,  Maggie Gatson, Pat Hartinger, Sharon Dunnigan; Kathleen Marien (Choir)

    

 

News from our Parish Community

Stewardship … God can do it; we can help.

December Coffee Hour ~ Please join us after Mass this Sunday, December 10, for Coffee Hour in St. Charles Hall.

Gift Delivery ~ The Ladies Sodality would like to thank everyone who has so generously supported our collection of gifts for homebound parishioners. If you have agreed to deliver one of these gift bags and/or a poinsettia plant, please take them with you when you leave Mass this weekend, December 9 & 10. (Remember that poinsettias are susceptible to the cold and should not be left in you car or garage).

Parish Council meets this Wednesday, December 13, at 7pm in St. Charles Hall. Preliminary planning for Lent will be on the agenda. Please remember to call Mickey Dick (716-832-2540) if you are unable to attend.

Maranatha ~ There are many hymn settings appropriate for Advent using the word “Maranatha.” The word comes from an Aramaic expression occurring in St. Paul (I Cornithians 16:22) in the verse “If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse on him. Maran atha.” These two words translate into “Come, Lord Jesus.” Maranatha! became the common greeting of oppressed believers, soon after Christ’s death and resurrection, replacing the Jewish greeting shalom, which means “peace be with you.”  The words “Maran atha” appear only once in our Bible – and yet have come to mean so much to us during this Advent season.

Maranatha, Lord Messiah,
long awaited from afar.
Come and make your home among us.
Let us see your birthing star!

Praise in song continues on Tuesday evenings in St. Charles Hall at 7:00 p.m. – please join us!

An Invitation of Christmas Sharing ~ Throughout Advent, we are inviting all parishioners to help two local service agencies by means of a Giving Tree—with a little difference. The two agencies are St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy and Gerard Place. These two groups usually receive many gifts at Christmas time for the needy children they assist. However, the groups themselves can use a hand to help them help others.  Many of their expenses are behind the scenes and don’t have personal appeal.  BUT, things like heat, water, repairs carry big bills and are essential for enabling the agencies to help the people they serve. Sooo, the Parish Council has created a Giving Tree that’s a little different. There are envelopes on the tree—located in the front left side of the church.  Each envelope has a request for a specific gift. Please do not buy the gift! Instead, we ask that you put the value of the gift in the envelope. If you wish to give via check, make it payable to Blessed Trinity Church. Put your donation (cash or check) in the same envelope from the tree and put that envelope in the collection basket by Sunday, December 24. All donations will be sent to the service organizations.

Second Collection ~ The second collection on the weekend of December 9-10 is for the Retirement fund for Religious. Please give to those who have given a lifetime.

Lessons and Carols at Blessed Trinity ~ Sunday, December 17, at 3 PM, the Saint John Paul II Schola Cantorum, under the direction of Steve Quebral, will present an Advent Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at our church. This traditional English service, which dates back almost 100 years, celebrates the birth of Jesus by telling the story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus in a series of short Bible readings interspersed with a cappella choral music and congregational singing. Members of our own congregation will assist as greeters and readers. We are privileged to have been chosen by the Schola for their choral debut. Please help us show our appreciation by attending.

Greetings from Tanzania ~ Our CCCB parishes have received an email greeting from Sister Maureen Harris, who is almost at the mid point of her six-month mission trip to Tanzania, Africa. She attached this photo from her trip to the city of Butimba, where she introduced the novices from her religious order to pizza — with mixed results.

Christmas Flower Donations ~ The envelopes containing your donations will be placed on the altar during the Christmas season. The persons named on the envelopes will be remembered at all of our masses. Thank you for your generous donations.

Prison Project Update: Congratulations and “Thank You” to all who assisted in with Peaceprint’s Christmas Prison Package Project 2017.  Two thousand gift bags have been packed and boxed for Tuesday’s delivery to inmates at the Albion and Wende Correctional Facilities. We are grateful to the residents of Bissonette House for handling this final step in the process.

New parking spaces have been added to the wheelchair ramp side of the church to compensate for losing ten spaces behind the old school building (FLARE) with the sale of the building. The new owner plans to rehab the structure into twenty apartments, a project that will certainly benefit the neighborhood.

MLK Day of Organizing is January 15, 2018 at Ss. Columba-Brigid Church (75 Hickory Street in Buffalo). It will be a day of learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and learning ways to organize a community action. Churches in the northern vicariate are welcomed to help in this planning. For more information ask Fr. Jud Weiksnar at 716-852-3331.

Welcome to Barbara Strusienski, who has joined our part-time administrative team as a bookkeeper, while continuing to provide the same services for the CCCB parishes of St. Martin de Porres and St. Lawrence. We are grateful for her expertise and hope that this will be long and successful relationship for both Barb and our parish.

While Father Victor is away (through December 17), Rev. Peter Drilling, former rector of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and Rev. Martin Eneh will celebrate Masses and Sacraments each Thursday through Sunday at the times indicated below. Please remember that there is a temporary change in daily services during this time. There will be no service on Mondays. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Jack Curtin will offer a Communion Service at 11:00 am. There will be Mass at 11:00 a.m. each Thursday and Friday. There is NO CHANGE in the weekend Mass times.

Openings for Mass Intentions ~ Thank you to all who have recently placed Mass intentions. Please contact the church office (716-833-0301) with your requests. Office hours are: 10:30am-2:30pm, Tuesday through Thursday. The Mass Stipend is $15.

Important Deadlines to Remember ~ As the year ends and we think ahead to 2018, please remember to contact our secretary, Pat Pendleton, with dates (even tentative ones) that should appear on the parish calendar. Our bulletin is printed on Thursdays, so please remember to submit your announcements to no later than Noon on the Wednesday prior to the weekend you wish it to appear. Announcements to be read at weekend Masses are due on Thursday. You may contact Pat at blessedtrinitychurch@gmail or 716-833-0301 any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 10:30am and 2:30pm.

Parish Record Keeping ~ Several parishioners have inquired about the possibility of group email notification of time-sensitive information; e.g., a mid-week funeral service. If you would be interested in receiving such messages, please make sure that the church office has your email address. If you need to update your contact information or would like to register as a parishioner, please call the church office (716-833-0301) on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday during office hours: 10:30am-2:30pm, email your contact information to blessedtrinitychurch [at] gmail [dot] com, or use the CONTACT feature of this web site.

News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community

“Building a Basilica,” the National Award winning hour documentary about how Fr. Nelson Baker envisioned and Architect Emile Ulrich designed Our Lady of Victory Basilica and National Shrine, will air on Sunday, December 10 at 1pm on WKBW-TV Ch. 7.

Villa Maria Chorale Christmas Concert is Sunday December 10 at 3pm at Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel (600 Doat Street in Buffalo). Free will offering.

Old World Christmas Cookie Shoppe is Sunday December 10, 11:30am – 2pm at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish (57 Center Avenue in North Tonawanda). Have a photo taken with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Browse Santa’s workshop for small gifts.

Canisus High School Advent Music Program, Wednesday December 13 at 7:30pm at St. Louis Church (780 Main Street in Buffalo).

Grief and the Holidays program is scheduled for Thursday, December 14 (2-3pm) at the Hospice Buffalo Education Center (225 Como Park Boulevard in Cheektowaga). Email mgiesler [at] palliativecare [dot] org or call 716-836-6460 for required registration .

Christmas Nativity Sets on display at Ss. Columba-Brigid Church (75 Hickory & Eagle Streets – one block south of Clinton Street). Father Roy Herberger invites you to experience a display of 580 nativity sets from 58 countries (1-4pm every Saturday and Sunday from the weekend of November 25-26 until the weekend of January 6 & 7 (except December 23-24). There is no charge and there is a special section for children. Please call Father Roy at 716-852-2076 for additional information.

Christmas by Candlelight ~ Harmonia Chamber Singers, Artistic Director-Robert Pacillo, continues its tradition of a cappella Advent and Christmas music, performed in the beauty of candlelight, featuring music from the Renaissance through the present (Bach, Poulenc, Rutter, Lauridsen, Mealor, Stopford, Gibbs, Rockapella). Saturday, December 16, at 7pm at St. Peter Church (620 Center Street in Lewiston). Nominal donation.

“Stories for Christmas” will air on Sunday, December 17 at 1pm and Monday, December 25 at 11pm on WKBW-TV Channel 7…featuring uplifting local stories.

Breakfast with Santa is set for Sunday, December 17 (9am-1pm) at St. Andrew Parish Hall (111 Crocker Street in Sloan). A buffet-style pancake breakfast will be served while pictures with Santa are offered along with activities for children and crafts for sale. Call 892-0425 for more information.

Cleaning out your closets? Catholic Charities is accepting donations of new or gently used clothing, footwear, purses, bags, and household items like small kitchen appliance, curtains, drapes, and dishes, and bed linens. Drop off weekdays 10am-2:30pm at 1122 Broadway in Buffalo or 10am-1:30pm on the first Saturday of the month (except holiday weekends). Visit ccwny.org for more information.

Struggling to make ends meet and still put food on the table? We can help. Catholic Charities is the provider of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) federal nutrition program provides nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding support, prenatal and postpartum support, referrals and supplemental food vouchers for all kinds of families with children under 5 years old. Services are free of charge. Call 716-218-1484 or visit ccwny.org/wic.