Question 14. It has been said that evangelization is a critical component of the Parish Collaborative process and the long term strength of the archdiocese. What does it mean to be an “evangelizing parish”?
Evangelization (reaching out to our brothers and sisters and drawing them more fully to Jesus Christ) is a component of the Parish Collaborative Process because evangelization and collaboration are two critical ways to enable the mission of Christ and the Catholic Church to grow stronger. To make our Catholic community stronger, we need to find ways to welcome our brothers and sisters back to active practice of the faith. Evangelizing parishes exercise what is called “radical hospitality.” They are always mindful of the lost. They pay careful attention to what they look like to people coming through the door for the first time. They make excellent and bold use of social media. They are committed to forming disciples, who in turn form other disciples. They have a strong focus on adult religious experiences, and adult faith formation, especially in small groups. We all know Catholics in Wellesley and elsewhere who have drifted away from the Catholic Church. To make our Catholic community stronger, we need to find ways to welcome our brothers and sisters back to active practice of the faith.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to: stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com
Dear St. John’s Parishioners:
A Marian apparition is a supernatural appearance of the Virgin Mary. One of the most famous examples from our history is Mary giving St. Bernard of Clairvaux the ‘Hail Mary’. The Church treats apparitions as private revelations that can never add anything new to the faith. An authentic apparition is believed not to be a subjective experience, but a real and objective intervention of divine power. The purpose of such apparitions is to recall and emphasize some aspect of the Christian message. The Church states that cures and other miraculous events are not the purpose of Marian apparitions, but exist primarily to validate and draw attention to the message. Marian apparitions are regarded as evidence of Mary’s continuing active presence in the life of the church, through which she ‘cares for the brethren of her Son who still journey on the earth’ (Lumen Gentium, 62).The Roman Catholic Church may pronounce an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief in an apparition is never required by divine faith. According to the Church, the era of public revelation ended with the death of the last living apostle. 
CONVERSATIONS IN PRAYER: Prayer is always God’s initiative. It is our response to God’s presence in our lives. Various forms of meditative and contemplative prayer can help us be more open and present to God. Missed the first few sessions of Meaningful Conversations about Prayer? Please join us this Monday, Oct 21st for Session 4 in the Parish Hall Chapel from 7:00 – 8:30 pm.
This Week: Sunday, October 27
Altar Server training will Father Tom Powers will take place in the upper church from 3:30 – 5:00pm on the following dates: Monday, October 28; Tuesday, October, 29; Monday, November 4; Tuesday, November 5. Any child who has made his or her First Communion is eligible to serve. Interested children should attend ALL sessions, and servers must be available to serve the following Saturday or Sunday (November 9/10) at Mass. Please contact Anne Connors, 781-237-0565 or 
The St. John Christmas Wish Committee invites new members to join us for this special work of filling Christmas wishes for many children in the surrounding communities of Roxbury, Lowell, Brockton, and Wellesley. We will gather over 400 children’s requests and fulfill them through the generosity of our St. John community families through sponsorship, shopping and donations. Help us as a parish coordinator assistant, data entry assistant, or phone helper making follow-up calls to St. John volunteers. To join our committee, please contact Liz Corcoran at 
As you know during the month of October, we invite the congregation to nominate individuals for our Parish Pastoral Council. Those nominated were contacted and from those who were willing to serve, we drew the names of two men and two women. We did this at the 5:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, October 12. We congratulate our new members: Tony DeProspo, Ronda Dew, Rose Mary Donahue and Paul Rolincik.
