Thanksgiving is This Thursday!

There’s still time to donate a cooked turkey or side dish to the Thanksgiving feast at Bristol Lodge!  In order to serve over 100 guests we will need the following COOKED items: ten 18-20 lb. unstuffed turkeys; mashed potatoes, gravy, butternut squash, corn, green beans, stuffing, rolls; cranberry sauce; cider and cranberry juice. Turkeys, as well as the other side dishes, can be cooked as early as the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving.  In addition to having a drop off time at St. John’s on Wednesday, individual food pickups can be arranged.  Please contact Deirdre Heilbron at dgheilbron@yahoo.com or 617-894-4416 if you are interested in helping.

Trees & Trimmings Bakeshop – Bakers Needed!

Please help us stock Santa’s Bakeshop at Trees & Trimmings on Saturday, December 8th!  It is so easy and we truly appreciate your donations! Just make a batch of your family’s favorite Christmas treats – cookies, bars, brownies, cupcakes, fudge, decorated Christmas cut-out cookies, breads, pies – and drop them off in Philbin Hall on Friday, December 7th between 7:30am and 3pm.  The Bakeshop Elves will do the rest!  Click the flyer for details –

November 15, 2012: Cardinal Announces Acceptance of Pastoral Plan for Archdiocese

Disciples in MissionFollowing an extensive consultation process, Cardinal Seán O’Malley announced his formal acceptance of Disciples in Mission – A Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston on November 15, 2012.  Please see the Press Release for more information. 

November 18, 2012: This Week in Religious Education

This Week: Sunday, November 18
Grade 4 Mass 9:00 AM
Grades 1 – 6 Class 10:00 – 10:45 AM
Grade 4 Parent Visit
Grade 7 & 8 Class 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Grade 10 Friends for Good* 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Grade 9 & 10 Class 7:00 – 8:00
Next Week: Sunday, November 25
No Classes – Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Classes resume the week of December 2nd.

* Every student attending the full Friends for Good session will be credited with one-half hour of community service which may be applied to the twenty-five hours required for Confirmation. Students will sign-in upon arrival.

Our Advent Gift: Vitamin Collection for Haiti Marycare THIS WEEKEND December 15-16

Hope is not about moving mountains.
It’s about moving one single stone, and then another.

Since 1994, Haiti Marycare has been working with local partners to improve lives through child and family health programs, education, and community development.  This Advent season we are so pleased to assist them in their critical work through our Advent gift – a parish-wide vitamin collection after all Masses on the weekends of December 8-9 and 15-16.  We are specifically in need of pre-natal vitamins, multi-vitamins for adults, and children’s chewable vitamins. (Please no gummy vitamins – they melt).  Pre-natal vitamins, while expensive, are available without a prescription and can mean the difference between having a healthy newborn or one who suffers from birth defects.

Haiti is a country of 8 million people, 98 percent of whom live in rural areas and 2 percent of whom live in the capitol, Port au Prince.  Life expectancy is 52 years, and of 1,000 children born, 123 die before the age of five. Everyone suffers from a lack of nutritious food and vitamins, and for pregnant and nursing mothers the situation is far worse. Many mothers eat less so they can give more to their children.  Despite these unimaginable statistics, Haiti remains a country defined by people of great hope and spirit.  A common proverb in Haiti is “Lespwa fe viv”, which  means “Hope makes us live.”  Let us bring hope to this impoverished nation and to their people.

If you have any questions, please contact Beth Dugan (bethdugan@comcast.net) or Marybeth Schulte (mbschulte@comcast.net).  We thank you in advance for your generosity.

The Parish Service Commission

News from the AFFC: Lonergan Lecture and an Invitation to Join!

AFFC LogoThe Adult Faith Formation Commission would like to expand its membership and we invite you to consider becoming part of this very important parish activity. The commission is responsible for planning and coordinating all efforts relating to religious education for adults. Our goal is to help members of the parish to expand and enhance their understanding and appreciation of the message of the gospels, to see faith formation as part of being a responsible Catholic. The commission has been meeting monthly, except for the summer months, since its creation. Much of the work, however, can be done by individuals and sub-committees and coordinated informally by email and telephone. We would be more than happy to talk to potential commission members – in person, by phone or by email. Please drop us a note at affc@stjohnswellesley.org).

November 28, 7:30pm – “The Genius of Bernard Lonergan”, Social Hall.  A talk by Fred Lawrence, Boston College Theology Department and Director of the Lonergan Workshop.  Bernard Lonergan, born in 1904 in Canada, was a twenty-four year old student of philosophy in England when he discovered John Henry Newman’s Grammar of Assent. He reportedly read it six times, thus setting out on a lifetime journey to show how we justify judgments of truth in areas that are not just empirical, such as faith. Father Lonergan, often referred to as one of the most significant philosophical thinkers of the twentieth century, finished his intellectual apostolate as Distinguished Professor of Theology at Boston College, after holding posts at Jesuit seminaries in Canada, Harvard, the Gregorian University in Rome, and Regis College in Toronto. (Note: There is a wonderful chapter on Bernard Lonergan in Faith Maps, by Michael Paul Gallagher.)

December 4, 6:30pm – Evening for Women, Social Hall/Chapel 
Sr. Evelyn Moderator

Parish Choir Preparing Holiday Music

Some of the most cherished melodies in our memories reappear at this time of year.  You are cordially invited to sing with the Parish Choir to prepare music for the holidays.  Rehearsals are held Sunday evenings from 6:15 – 8:30pm in the Music Office (lower level of church).  This season much of our focus is on the beautifully crafted music of John Rutter.  His widely acclaimed music is loved by both choirs and audiences alike.  Won’t you join with us?  For more information contact any choir member or stop by after Mass and speak with Larry Carson or email Laurence.Carson@stjohnwellesley.org

The “Coats for Kids” Drive Continues This Weekend, November 17-18

If you forgot to bring coat donations last weekend, don’t despair! We have extended the winter coats collection through this weekend, November 17-18. Please check your closets and bring gently used winter coats, including ski jackets, in all sizes.  (Click on the poster to see more details.) Donations should be brought to the Rectory garage (behind the Church) after any Mass.

 

Second Collection for Retired Sisters – November 17 and 18

This weekend the Archdioceses will take up the Collection for Retired Sisters.  Now in its 23rd year, the Collection provides needed financial support for the retirement and health care needs of Sisters who have served the Archdiocese of Boston as educators and health care and social service providers. Please give generously in recognition of the Sisters’ years of dedicated service. Your contribution does make a difference. For more information, please contact Sister Marian Batho, CSJ, Delegate for Religious at 617-746-5637 or Sr_Marian_Batho@rcab.org or please visit www.retiredreligious.org.

Trees & Trimmings Saturday, December 8th – One Day Only!

Our annual holiday market Trees and Trimmings is on December 8th – SATURDAY ONLY!  Please plan your weekend so  we will see you on Saturday, then you will have Sunday to deck your hall with your fabulous tree, wreaths, roping and greens.

Our fresh and beautiful Advent Wreaths will be available for purchase on the first Sunday of Advent, December 2nd after the 7:30am, 9am, 11am and 5pm Masses, as well as after the 5pm Mass on Saturday, December 1st.  No pre-order necessary!

Trees & Trimmings loves and needs donations of homemade baked goods for Santa’s Bakeshop. Bake your favorite goodie or classic family recipe — we can use cookies, brownies, bars, decorated Christmas cut-out cookies, breads, cakes, and pies! Please drop off all baked goods at Philbin Hall on Friday, December 7th, or contact Amy Kane at amykane@hotmail.com or Mariela Baker at mbaker@bdg-inc.com if you wish to make a contribution of your favorite holiday goodie.  Thank you!

Red and White Poinsettias will be available at Trees & Trimmings this year. They are as lovely as ever, and no pre-orders needed.

“Rose Mallows”   a signed, framed print by former Saint John parishioner E. Joseph Fontaine, will be our showcase raffle item this year. Tickets will be available after select masses later this month and at Trees & Trimmings until 4pm.  Please contact Christina McCormick at chmcc94@gmail.com with any questions.

Questions about Trees & Trimmings or for volunteer opportunities, please contact Marie Carroll at carroll.marie@yahoo.com or Kati Bannish at katib.mac@me.com