Category Archives: SJSP Collaborative Programs and Events

A Lenten Message from Fr. Jim

At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. (Mark 1:12)

Which voices do we listen to?  The world is a noisy place and we are bombarded by voices telling us what to wear, what to buy, what to believe, what is beautiful.  During this holy season of Lent, we are invited to enter the desert with Jesus.  Here we will learn, like Jesus, to discern the voice of our loving God against the din of competing voices.  As we allow God’s voice to speak deep in our hearts, we discover ourselves as loved unconditionally, as beloved.  As we come to know ourselves as God’s beloved, we are more able to see the face of God in the needy around us and to become instruments of God’s love and mercy to those we encounter.

Pope Francis encourages us “to lose ourselves decisively on the path of Jesus, the path which leads to life…Let us enter into the desert without fear, because we are not alone; we are with Jesus, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.  In fact, as it was for Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit who guides us on the Lenten journey; that same Spirit descended upon Jesus and has been given to us in Baptism.  As we cross the Lenten ‘desert’, we fix our gaze toward Easter, which is Jesus’ definitive victory against evil, against sin and against death.”

We invite you to enter fully into this Lenten journey into the desert.  Take  advantage of the offerings of our collaborative for prayer and reflection, for service and for reconciliation.  Let’s listen together to the voice of God.

Fr. Jim

 

Father-Daughter Valentine’s Dance at St. Paul’s – Saturday, February 10 from 6:30-9:00pm

Father-Daughter-DanceFathers, Father-figures and special friends are invited to bring their daughters (of any age) to spend quality time with each other and experience an evening of dance and fun!  Tickets are $25 for two, max $30 per family.  This includes a DJ, dancing (with a dance contest), snacks, drinks & free raffle.  Tickets will be sold after the 9:00am Masses on January 28th and February 4th as well as at the door the night of the dance. We are hoping that our friends from St John’s will come and join us for this year’s dance!

For more information or to help with the event contact:  Eric Laplaca at 617-365-5063 or laplacaericw@gmail.com

Please note that the dance is on Saturday this year not Friday as in previous years.

 

Evening for Women: Tuesday, February 6 at 6:30pm at St. John

cross_impressionist“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” ~ Psalms 73:26

All women of the collaborative are invited to Evening for Women on Tuesday, February 6 at 6:30pm in Powers Hall at St. John the Evangelist.  Please join us for chapel reflection and a discussion of Palliative Care. Palliative Care is often misunderstood, and sometime thought to be exclusively for people receiving Hospice Care at the end of their lives. Rather, it is a comprehensive approach to care for those with serious illness from the moment of diagnosis, with a goal of improving the quality of life for both patient and family.  It is consistent with Catholic teaching, continuing the holistic healing ministry of Jesus Christ. The presenter will be Diane McCarthy, Parish Education Coordinator for the Archdiocese’s Initiative for Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning.

Kindly bring a favorite Winter dish to share.  After Linda Colozzi leads us in prayer and reflection in the chapel, the program will take place during dinner. Hope to see you then!  Bring a friend!

St. Paul Youth Group “Blades and Burritos” Outing

Calling all High School students! Join us for Blades and Burritos – Friday, January 19

Skating on the Frog Pond and Dinner at Anna’s Taqueria. Wear warm clothes and bring $35 if you need to rent skates, $23 if you have your own skates.  This amount should cover the T, skating and dinner. Permission forms are required for Under 18s. Please contact anne.mears@sjspwellesley.org for permission form or pick one up at the back of either church.

Men’s Fellowship Group at St. Paul – Wednesday, January 10

The St. Paul Catholic Men’s Fellowship Group meets next on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 7:30 PM in the St. Paul Parish Hall (behind St. Paul Church). We will cover Chapter 3 “Why It Can’t Be Like it Was” of Archbishop Chaput’s book, Strangers in a Strange Land, Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World.  All men of the Collaborative are invited to come and participate in a lively discussion about our faith in the 21st century.

“At a time when many American Christians feel like ‘strangers in a strange land,’ one of the country’s most courageous and respected prelates has given us much needed words of wisdom for the challenges ahead. This forward-looking guidebook should be on every Catholic’s bookshelf.” (Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University)

Evening for Women RSVPs are Now Closed

We’re sorry – the attendee list is now closed.  We cannot accept any additional RSVPs for this event because we have reached capacity in Powers Hall.

December 5: Evening for Women with Special Guest Sr. Evelyn Ronan

All women of the collaborative are invited to a special evening of prayer and friendship on Tuesday, December 5 in Powers Hall.  It is with great anticipation that we welcome back Sr. Evelyn Ronan, SND, whose vision created the Evening for Women program many years ago.  I know we will be inspired by Sister Evelyn’s reflection, “The Heart of Advent… Reflections On Becoming the Yes of Love.” In celebration of Advent, you are invited to be our guest at dinner, sponsored by the collaborative.  In lieu of bringing a dish to share, please bring a non-perishable food item that we will donate to those in need.

So that we can plan for dinner, kindly click this link to let us know that you will be joining us:  RSVP

(If you are unable to respond electronically please call either parish office to add your name to the attendee list.)

An Invitation for an Evening of Fellowship and Collaboration to Share, Discuss and Plan Opportunities for Christian Service

Tuesday, November 7
7:00 – 9:30pm
St. Paul Parish Hall

Similar to the successful forum held on Adult Faith Enrichment last June, the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative has the opportunity to come together again as a community to discuss and envision programs to inspire and engage those among us who seek ways in which to serve others. Drawing on the ideas, talents and experiences of members of both parishes, we desire to identify, and explore service opportunities in a variety of ways:

  • How is service connected to our faith and spiritual lives?
  • Areas of Christian Service: various communities and stages of life (e.g. singles, pregnancy, raising kids, empty nesters, aging with grace.)
  • Leveraging resources to expand service opportunities.

At both parishes, we are blessed with many meaningful service initiatives. As we learn more about these wonderful programs that already exist, we hope to come up with ways to increase participation across both parishes and attract more members of our collaborative to these important efforts. Additionally, we will strive to answer important questions as a Collaborative such as:

What can we do better? * How else can we help? * Who else needs our help?

 The evening will again be guided by Carol Yamartino, a professional executive meeting facilitator, who will help us move through general and small group discussions. Whether you have ideas or suggestions to share, are just interested in listening and learning, or meeting other members of our vibrant Collaborative. Please come and join in our discussion!

In order to plan for the evening, please let us know that you will be joining us by clicking the link below:

 RSVP

St. Paul Parish Hall is located behind St. Paul Church, at 502 Washington St. Parking is available on Washington St. and in the parking lot behind the church (entrance at 10 Atwood St.)

Save the Date! A Collaborative Forum on Christian Service

Back in June, we had a wonderful Collaborative-wide forum on the topic of Adult Faith Enrichment. Over 70 people attended on a hot summer night for a lively and interactive evening in St. John’s Powers Hall. With nearly equal representation from St. Paul’s and St. John’s, it was a great evening of community building as we shared ideas about an important topic. On Tuesday, November 7 from 7:00-9:30pm at St. Paul’s Parish Center, we will hold another forum, this time focused on the topic of Christian Service. Please save the date. More details to follow in the coming weeks!

Thank You from NPH!

Thank you to the whole St. John-St. Paul Collaborative Community for your amazing support of NPH and the pequeños during their recent visit! We are excited to announce that our Collaborative sponsored 105 children and donated over $14,000 to NPH. A special thank you to the families of our collaborative who opened their homes to host the students and their chaperones: the Fantozzi, Gutierrez, Jones, Kehoe, Ronco/Rhind and Sullivan families. Thank you to all volunteers who helped at the sponsorship tables. Thank you to the DelVecchio family for opening their home to the whole group for a celebration at the end of the visit and to Annas Taqueria for generously donating the food. Thank you to Mimi Eldridge for volunteering to help facilitate the visit and for her tireless work to make it such a great success.