April 26 – May 3, 2020

Weekly Activities –

As of March 16, 2020, all services, meetings and activities are cancelled until further notice, with the exception of the Food Pantry.

 Wednesday, April 29, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. ~ EXTENDED HOURSCatholic Central Food Pantry in St. Charles Hall
Now operating every other Wednesday (April 29, May 13, May 27, etc.) but with extended hours. Volunteers will distribute pre-prepared bags of groceries.

Mass Intentions – As of March 16, 2020, all services are cancelled until further notice.

Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter celebrated at neighboring St. Joseph University Church is available on YouTube. You can watch it at any time by Clicking HERE.

We also invite you to follow the daily Mass readings for the week of April 26. They are available on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by Clicking HERE. Select the desired day on their Roman Liturgical Calendar, and the text of the readings for that day will appear

St. Mark, Evangelist
April 25
Painting of St. Mark by Joseph Mazur in large pendentive supporting great dome of the church.
Photo credit: Gary Kelley

Mark
by Malcolm Guite

A wingèd lion, swift, immediate
Mark is the gospel of the sudden shift
From first to last, from grand to intimate,
From strength to weakness, and from debt to gift,
From a wide desert’s haunted emptiness
To a close city’s fervid atmosphere,
From a voice crying in the wilderness
To angels in an empty sepulcher.
And Christ makes the most sudden shift of all;
From swift action as a strong Messiah
Casting the very demons back to hell
To slow pain, and death as a pariah.
We see our Saviour’s life and death unmade
And flee his tomb dumbfounded and afraid.

Saturday, April 25, was the feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist. The above sonnet on Mark’s Gospel was written by Malcolm Guite (pronounced “gait”). Father Guite is a 62-year-old English poet, singer-songwriter, Anglican priest, and academic. Born in Nigeria, he earned degrees from Cambridge and Durham universities. Guite is currently Bye-Fellow and chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge, and associate chaplain of St. Edward King and Martyr in Cambridge, England. You can find out more about him and follow his inspirational blog by clicking on his highlighted name above.

Photo credit: Bridget Blesnuk

News from our Parish Community

Cathy Gress

The Blessed Trinity Parish Community mourns the loss of Catherine “Cathy” Gress, who died unexpectedly on Thursday, April 16, 2020, after a brief illness. A resident of Getzville, Cathy was retired after a 35-year teaching career. She was  well-known in the Catholic community, including as a volunteer at Blessed Trinity, Ss. Columba-Brigid, and Peaceprints of Western New York. Cathy had many cherished friends who will remember her cheerful countenance, caring spirit and wise counsel. She was preceded in death by her husband of 21 years, Terrence (Terry) Gress. Due to COVID-19 protocols, a Mass and Celebration of Cathy’s Life will be offered at a later date. She will be honored by members of the Ladies Sodality of Blessed Trinity at their annual Service of Remembrance on November 1, 2020.

Stewardship ~ On behalf of the parish, Father Victor would like to express his gratitude to all who have have continued their weekly contributions. We realize that many of you may have experienced a loss of income during the economic shutdown. However, if you are in a position to continue supporting the parish financially, please consider your responsibilities as a “good steward” and help us to survive the difficult weeks ahead. Checks payable to “Blessed Trinity Church” should be sent to the church at 317 Leroy Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14214.

Do you miss being at church? Of course long-time parishioners can probably close their eyes and picture the view from a favorite pew. But here’s something even better. Buffalo Rising and Explore Buffalo teamed up to give their online followers a “tour” of Blessed Trinity. You can join them, by Clicking HERE. You will be treated to both exterior and interior photos and more than a little history. Take the “tour” and test your knowledge about your house of worship.

Our Faith Formation Program now has its own page on our web site. Click HERE to find an Easter Scavenger Hunt and — for the little ones — The Jelly Bean Prayer. This is also the place to look for complete information on the resumption of programs, classes and volunteer opportunities as they become available. 

Prayer for Times of Confusion

Lord Jesus Christ,
who feels the struggles of every heart,
sees the doubts of every mind,
we lay our confusions before you.

Already you know our thoughts.
You hold our bewilderment in your hand.
Whatever our falterings, you call us
to be your witness in the world.

Love us through this uncertainty.
Be present in this dim place.
Give us the light and hope of your presence
We pray in your name. Amen

New Office Hours ~ The parish has temporarily reduced office hours to one day each week. Our secretary, Pat Pendleton, will be in the office every Wednesday from 10:30am-2:30pm.

Until the current COVID-19 restrictions on services and activities are lifted, we will not be preparing a weekly bulletin. However, there may well be announcements that Father Victor would like to share with our parish family. The most efficient way to do this is to utilize email messaging, but our secretary has email addresses for only about 40 parishioners. Please share your current email address with Pat so that you will be able to receive such announcements in a timely fashion. You may submit this information using the contact feature at the bottom of this page or by calling Pat at 716-833-0301 on Wednesdays between 10:30am and 2:30pm.

Keep abreast of the latest Diocesan announcements by visiting their Facebook page.

A Message from Catholic Charities Appeal 2020:

Catholic Charities is doing everything possible to continue to serve our neighbors in need at this time. We are operating every service we safely can and especially those most vital at this time such as basic emergency assistance, including our food pantries (all nine are up and running, assisted by CC staff from other departments) and counseling and mental health services. We are here to help! Many of our staff are working remotely and returning office calls daily.

For the Appeal, our office at 741 Delaware Ave. is closed to visitors. Parishes (and even individual parishioners) are asked to mail donations to our office, 741 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY 14209, Attn: Appeal Department. We also encourage online donations:https://www.ccwny.org/donation when possible. Appeal staff are working remotely and returning office calls daily. Please call Clara Moran, 716-713-4410, with questions or concerns. We are grateful for the returns that are being mailed already!

For a daily update about Catholic Charities, go to our home page at ccwny.org. Thank you!

Faith Formation Program Provides On-line Opportunities ~ Buffalo’s Department of Lifelong Faith Formation’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry has officially partnered with “ProjectYM Live” a program designed especially for youth and young adults. In this time of “Social Distancing,” try Church in a way our parents could never have imagined. And, everyone in the parish is invited to join our Confirmation students as they prepare for receipt of the Sacrament. Here is a link to Lesson 2: Catholic Social Teaching: A Brief Overview.

Call to Stewardship ~ Our Parish Finance Council seeks a parishioner with accounting skills to join our committee. Please see Father Victor if you are able to serve in this capacity.

The Diocese of Buffalo has joined other faith communities and civic organizations in partnering with the Census Bureau to help encourage all people in our community to participate in the 2020 Census. The census is a once-in-a-decade chance to inform how billions of dollars in funding are allocated for critical public services. Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives, and will also have an impact on planning and funding for health clinics and highways, fire departments and disaster response, education programs such as Head Start and college tuition assistance, and so much more. You can inspire others. Tell everyone – your friends and family, your neighbors and co-workers – that you will complete the census, and tell them why it’s important that they respond too. For more information, contact 2020census.gov.

The Buffalo Diocese “has determined that it is in the best interests of victims of past clergy sexual abuse, as well as the ongoing and essential work of Faith in WNY to pursue reorganization through Chapter 11 [Bankruptcy].” Their Office of Communications has created a web page, “Reorganizing for the Future…together” to help explain this choice. Find it at buffalodiocese.org

Is it time to update your contact information? During this period when the COVID-19 Protocols prevent us from attending church services, there will surely be occasions when the parish has important information to convey to the faithful. Does the church office have your correct mailing address and phone number? Have you shared your email address? Make sure that we have been notified of any changes in your contact information by completing this form. This is also a chance to let us know if you: wish to be included in our online email list, register as a parishioner, or request envelopes. You can also submit the requested information by phoning our secretary at 716-833-0301 any Wednesday between 10:30am and 2:30pm; sending an email to blessedtrinitychurch [at] gmail [dot] com; or using the contact feature below to submit the information. If you choose either of the last two, please use “Contact Update” as the subject of the email or message.

Home Visits ~ Because of the COVID-19 protocols, Father Victor has had to discontinue his “last Friday” visits to homebound parishioners. However, if someone is ill and in need of Last Rites, please call him at the rectory.

News from our Vicariate Cluster and the Wider Community

Food Assistance for Seniors ~ The County of Erie advises anyone over the age of 60 who is in need of food assistance to call 716-858-8526.