Moses spoke to the people , saying: “Fear the Lord, your God, and keep…all his statutes and commandments….” Deut. 6:2
Ceramic relief in tympanum over door to the left of church’s main entrance.
Photo credit: Derek Gee, Buffalo News

October 28 – November 4, 2018

Weekly Activities

Sunday, November 4 following 10:00 a.m. Mass ~ Ladies Sodality Annual Service of Remembrance in St. Charles Hall

Tuesday, November 6 is Election Day ~ Please make time to vote

Tuesday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m. ~ Choir Rehearsal

Wednesday, November 7 from 12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m. ~ Catholic Central Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall – NEW HOURS

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

Saturday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m. ~ Bingo will be played in St. Charles Hall*

Sunday, November 11 following 10:00 a.m. Mass ~ Liturgical Committee Meeting

*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 4 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – For the Repose of Papa Ndombasi Edouard (Requested by Pedro and Family) and Grace Diamond (Requested by Ladies Sodality)

Monday, November 5 ~ No Service

Tuesday, November 6 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Deceased Members of the Ryan, Reilly, Reynolds and Pfeiffer Families (Estate of Mary Reilly)

Wednesday, November 7 ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – For the intentions of our parishioners, both living and deceased (Blessed Trinity Parish)

Thursday, November 8 ~ Mass at 11:00 a. m. – Allen M. Andrew (His Wife, Daughter and Grandchildren)

Friday, November 9 ~ Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome ~ Mass at 11:00 a.m. – Deceased Members of the Ryan, Reilly, Reynolds and Pfeiffer Families (Estate of Mary Reilly)

Saturday, November 10 ~ St. Leo the Great ~ Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. – For the intentions of our parishioners, both living and deceased (Blessed Trinity Parish)

Sunday, November 11 ~ Mass at 10:00 a.m. – Homer Dick, Sr. (Family) and Clayton Marcanto-Mortenson (Bob and Mary Kresse)

Ministry Schedule for Saturday and Sunday, November 10/11:

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

Sunday, 10:00 a.m.  Readers: Joe Nwogo, Maggie Gatson;  Eucharistic Ministers: Fran Cahill, Pat Hartinger, Mary Kresse;  CHOIR – Dan Korchowsky

Kathy Press has succeeded Fran Cahill as Chair of Blessed Trinity Bingo.

News from our Parish Community

The Ladies Sodality’s annual Service of Remembrance for deceased members will take place in St. Charles Hall on Sunday, November 4, immediately following Mass. All women of the parish are invited to join in sharing memories of Pauline Rollek and Grace Diamond and praying for these dynamic women and faithful Sodalists.

Important News from our Bingo Team ~ After almost ten years as our bingo chair, Francis (“Fran”) Cahill has resigned and is being succeeded by Kathy Press. We are very appreciative of Fran’s decade-long stewardship and of Kathy’s willingness to assume responsibility for the parish’s primary fundraiser.

This Tuesday, November 6, is Election Day. Please exercise your right to vote and encourage your neighbors to do the same. Polls are open from 6am-9pm.

The Liturgical Committee will meet after Mass on Sunday, November 11.

Special Thanks to David Folmer, Jessie Wells, Lucille Venezia and all who made Father Victor’s birthday coffee hour on October 28 so special.

We welcome your donation of cocoa for Sr. Karen Klimczak’s Christmas Prison Project.

Holiday Prison Package Project ~ Please consider joining Peaceprints of WNY in fulfilling our annual Holiday Prison Package Project campaign. For over a decade these packages have given hope to men and women incarcerated through the holiday season. For many, this will be the only gift received all year. Thanks to your support, over two thousand men and women from Wende and Albion correctional facilities will receive hope-filled holiday packages consisting of a hand-decorated bag full of comfort items and a note of encouragement. These packages serve as a small token of inspiration, encouraging individuals to keep hope alive in their hearts.

These are several ways that you can leave your peace prints within this project including:

  • Collecting specific items: Blessed Trinity’s assignment is Hot Chocolate packets, and our goal is 4,400 individual packets of Instant Hot Cocoa to fill gift bags for 2,200 inmates.
  • Gathering monetary donations to allow us purchase items still needed. Checks can be made payable to Peaceprints of WNY.
  • Through your service on December 14 at Blessed Trinity Church, 317 Leroy Ave in Buffalo. There will be two project packing shifts 10am-1pm and 6:00pm-completion.
  • Decorating a bag. Bags are available now for decoration by school children, religious education groups, families, etc.

For more information or to schedule a volunteer shift, please contact Prison Project Coordinator, Jan Burns at 716-491-4223 or Peaceprints of WNY Administration at 716-856-6131.  All donations are due by Friday, November 30. Please call ahead to arrange for pick up with PPWNY or have items delivered to 660 Smith St., Buffalo, NY 14210.

Turning to God ~So much change this past week – Hallowe’en, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day *and* we turned back the clocks as we turned over a new page in our calendars. Soon we will be thanking our veterans, thanking God for our blessings, and starting a new liturgical calendar as we begin the season of Advent. As our community prepares for Election Day on Tuesday, the lyrics of Sunday’s choir meditation ring in our hearts. The text of Canticle of the Turning was based on Luke 1:46-58, set by Rory Cooney to a traditional Irish melody, Star of the County Down.

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that You bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed Your sight on Your servant’s plight, and my weakness You did not spurn,
so from east to west shall my name be blessed. Could the world be about to turn?

 Though I am small, my God, my all, You work great things in me,
and Your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for You yearn,
You will show Your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.

 From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for Your justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne.
T
he hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;
There are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.

 Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,
til the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around.

 My heart shall sing of the day You bring. Let the fires of Your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!

Music Ministry continues on Tuesday, November 6 at 7pm. All are welcome…. Elizabeth

Gifts for Homebound Parishioners  – For the next 4 weeks, the Ladies Sodality will be collecting items for their annual Christmas gift bags to be delivered to our 14 homebound parishioners and those in senior care facilities. If you would like to contribute, please bring your new, unwrapped items to church and leave them in the designated basket at the far left end of the communion rail. You may also contribute cash instead of gifts, but please do so before Thanksgiving so that our volunteers have time to shop. Sunday, December 2, is our end date for collecting all donated items so that presents and plants will be ready for delivery on the weekend of Dec. 8/9. Need ideas? Take a slip with suggestions from the gift basket in the front of church.

The last Bible Discussion Meeting for the year will be Monday, November 19, at 7pm in St Charles Hall. The booklet for the bible discussion meeting is Genesis 12-23 – Abraham and Sarah’s Journey by Kevin and Louise Perrotta: Loyola Press, 2002. The assigned reading for November 19 is from the Week #5 section, pages 54-63. The bible discussion meeting for the new year will resume on Wednesday, January 9, at 7pm and continue to meet on the second Wednesday of each month. Those who want to obtain the booklet and participate in bible discussion meetings should contact Althea Porter at 716-316-8395.

Family Promise of WNY ~ Due to a change in scheduling by Family Promise, Blessed Trinity will not be providing dinner this month for the homeless families sheltered at SS. Columba-Brigid. However, parishioners who are interested or just curious about Family Promise of WNY can find volunteer opportunities, a wish list of needs, and their newsletter on the website at fpwny.org.

Do you know that Mass is the highest and greatest form of prayer? The Catechism of the Catholic Church reveals that “from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, [the Church] has honored with great respect the memory of the dead.” In its reference to the Second Vatican Council’s conclusion that “it is a wholly and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins,” the Catechism adds: “Our prayer for them is capable of not only helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.” Consider contacting the church office (716-833-0301) to request a Mass for yourself, your deceased loved ones, or  for any intention. The stipend is $15.

Has your contact information changed? Our parish secretary is finding that our parish records contain a growing number of not-in-service phone numbers, and the recent parish mailing resulted in several letters returned for “expired forwarding.” If your contact information has changed, you can notify the rectory office in one of several ways: use the form on the back of the bulletin; phone our secretary at 716-833-0301 any Tuesday-Thursday between 10:30am and 2:30pm; send an email to blessedtrinitychurch [at] gmail [dot] com; or Click HERE to use the contact feature of our web site to submit the information. If you choose either of the last two, please use “New Contact” as the subject of the email or message.

Home Visits ~ Please notify the church office if you know of aged, sick, or homebound parishioners who may wish to receive a visit and the Eucharist on the last Friday of each month.

The Ladies Sodality’s annual Christmas collection for parish homebound continues though December 2.

News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community

Two scholarships opportunities are available to interested students. The Albert Lenhard Family Scholarship is for those wishing to pursue education beyond high school. The Martin Luther King Scholarship is for African American eighth grade students wishing to attend a Catholic High School. Deadlines are approaching soon. You will find information for both on the tables inside our church entrances.

Fr. Roy Herberger’s collection of nearly 600 nativity sets (formerly displayed at Ss. Columba-Brigid) will be exhibited at a new location this year. He is in need of coat racks, “winter” mats for the doorways, glass display cases, and rectangular tables. If you have some to donate, please call him at 716-852-2076.

Free Community Events for Seniors at St. Francis Park ~ St. Francis Park, the Southtown’s most unique independent living option for seniors located at 5229 South Park Ave., Hamburg, is hosting the following community events in November: “Estate Planning” on Monday, November 5, 1-2:30 pm. “Tea in the Park” on Wednesday, November 14, 2-3:30 pm. “Living Life to the Fullest: Adaptive Equipment and Home Safety Tips” on Monday, November 26 from 1-2:30 pm. “Outsmart the Scammers” on Wednesday, November 28, 1-2:30 pm. Free and open to both residents of St. Francis Park and seniors in the community. Reservations required. Call 716-649-1205 or visit SaintFrancisPark.com/Events.

David Haas Concert, Wednesday, November 7 at 7 pm at St. John the Baptist Parish (1085 Englewood Avenue in Kenmore). Haas will take us on a musical journey of songs and reflections born from over 40 years of liturgical composition. For tickets, call 716-873-1122 or email cheryldhtickets [at] gmail [dot] com.

Annual Women’s Retreat, Saturday, November 10 from 8:30am to 1:30pm at St. John Paul II Parish (2052 Lakeview Road in Lake View). The theme is “Living Water…Come and Be Refreshed!” The retreat begins with Mass at 8:30 am, followed by a light breakfast, retreat program and lunch at 12:30 pm. Free of charge and open to all (free-will offering will be accepted), but seating is limited. Call 716-627-2910 or email parish [at] jp2parish [dot] org to reserve your seat. Women are invited to bring a new or gently used winter clothing item or blanket as a donation to the St. Vincent de Paul Society Winter Clothing Drive.

“Advent Anticipation” with Sister Lucette Kinecki, Monday November 26 at 7pm at Our Lady of Pompeii, (129 Laverack Avenue in Lancaster). Learn about this special time where “Emmanuel” God-with-us calls us to come and be refreshed in spirit with God’s warming grace and peace. During this sacred time, learn how to relax, reflect, and celebrate the season of Advent anticipation. For more information, call 716-683-6522.

Camp Turner’s WinterCamp ’18 is Friday December 28 at 10am through Sunday December 30 at 6pm for Boys and girls, ages 7-15.  An optional round trip bus is available from Williamsville and Hamburg. The cabins are toasty, the food is delicious, and our experienced staff is excited to make this a great experience for everyone. An RN is on-site at all times. Visit CampTurner.com for activity descriptions and online registration. If you have any questions, e-mail  CampTurner [at] gmail [dot] com  or call 716-354-4555.