April 30, 2024

Easter Season Happenings at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish

April 30, 2024

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,

Happy Easter!! May the blessings of this Holy Season be with one and all!

This coming weekend is a very busy but delightful time for our vibrant parish. We are blessed to confer sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. May the lives of our very young ones and our teens be filled with the living presence of God that will sustain all their lives. What a precious gift we have in the living presence of God touching and embracing our beloved younger generations!!

In recent weeks, the Sunday gospels have focused intensely on love, and we have come to understand that to love someone is to help them thrive. And what do we call people like that? We call them friends (John 15: 9-17). So, the question is what does a true friend look like?

Here are just a few random thoughts to spark some reflection for you on the role of true friendship:

A true friend invests oneself in their friends. A true friend is a liberator. A true friend knows how to tell the truth, but always gives the truth as a gift, not as a punishment or in revenge. A true friend is smart…knowing what matters and what does not matter. A true friend remembers how much they really don’t know, and they regularly remind themselves. A true friend is faithful and knows how to forgive and forgive and forgive. What else??

Whether we are young, or old, a parent, a spouse, a priest, a single, or just a little kid, being a true friend is heavy lifting and takes lots of patient waiting. But unless we learn how to befriend one another, the big family we long for will never come to be; Jesus’ coming will have been a waste of time; and our lives will have been a tragic waste of time.

Let us not let this happen! Let us learn to be a true friend and a blessing for your own family, and for God’s BIG FAMILY!!

Peace,

Father George Couturier

Pastor

Join Us For The Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 5, 2024

4:00 PM Vigil at St. James

9:00 AM at St. Elizabeth Seton

and livestreamed

11:00 AM at St. James

***Stay for Coffee & Conversation after the Sunday Morning Masses!***

Bakhita Bible Camp Registration Closes May 1, 2024!

Please register ASAP!

Click Here to Register for Bakhita Bible Camp

Adult Faith Formation Opportunities

Introduction to Bible Study

Tuesday Evenings at 7:00 PM

Saint James Parish Center

May 14, 21, 28

June 4, 11, 18, 25

Deacon Michael will be offering an easy and fun 7-week series introducing the Bible. It will build your confidence and knowledge about the Bible…what it is, how to navigate it and how we read and use it as Christians.

No prior knowledge or experience…. no problem…that’s the point!!

The series will be offered starting on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM starting Tuesday May 14, 2024 at the Saint James Parish Center. Session should be about 75 minutes long. It will be possible to join these sessions online as well, via Google Meet. Please indicate interest at registration to help us plan.

Preregistration is required by May 5, 2024 to help with ordering materials. Friends and family are welcome. There is a $10 fee for the text. Low-cost bibles will be available for those who need or wish to purchase one (please indicate interest in purchase at the time of registration).

Learn More Here

Introduction to The Mass

Wednesdays

10:00 AM & 7:00 PM

May 15, 22, 29

June 5, 12, 19

We gather to pray together at Mass each week. Worship of God in the Mass is the most distinctive activity of the Church. It is a thing that we all do together.

Understanding the roots of the Mass in scripture can help us experience this prayer more deeply together.

Starting in May, Deacon Micheal Ward will be offering a 6-part series exploring the Scriptural foundations of the Mass. Exploring these foundations of each part of the Mass will help us to see just how the saving truths of Scripture are made present to us and for us in the liturgy that we share so often.

Please come along as we journey into this encounter with what is so familiar, which we hope to see in a new and deeper way.

The series begins on Wednesday May 15, 2024. Two identical sessions are offered each week at 10:00 AM at Saint James Parish Center and then again at 7:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton Church. It will be possible to join the 7:00 PM evening session online as well, via Google Meet (please indicate interest at registration to help us plan).

All are welcome. Familiarity with Scripture is helpful but not necessary. There is a $10 book fee. Registration required by May 5, 2024 to help us plan. Please register as soon as possible by email at saintjmdeacon@gmail.com or by phone leaving a message at 860-563-5151.

Learn More Here

Archbishop's Annual Appeal

The Archbishop’s Annual Appeal provides help to those in need! Together, we can and do make a profound difference in the lives of many individuals and families, in a way that exceeds anything we could hope to achieve on our own. Please consider supporting this important initiative. Every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference. All funds contributed to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal are used exclusively for the purposes outlined in the Appeal literature, which can be found here. No Appeal funds are ever used for legal fees or settlements.

Other Fun Tidbits

Inviting Altar Servers

Girls and Boys who are in, or above, grade 4, and have received their first Eucharist are invited to become an altar server. In addition to children, we invite teens and adults to join our ministry. Those who serve at Mass learn about the liturgy firsthand and assist in the action during the Mass. Being an altar server teaches children from a young age to love, revere and praise God. Please contact Joy at Joy@sjbrh.org for more information or to sign up at either or both campuses.

Bereavement Support Group

A new Bereavement Support Group will begin in April under the leadership of Bill Pilkington. Bill recently retired from Hartford Healthcare where he served in Spiritual and Bereavement Services for over 30 years. The group will meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at the St. James Rectory.

Contact Fr. George at frgeorge@sjbrh.org to learn more and to sign up to attend.

Support Walk MS

Knight of Columbus, Will Shivell, will be participating in the MS Walk on Saturday, May 18. Will and others will be walking to raise money to help people with Muscular Sclerosis and to fund research for a cure. Please consider supporting Will by donating to this very worthy cause. Thank you!

Click Here to Donate

Summer Clothing Collection

Our Parish Summer Clothing Collection continues through the coming weeks. We accept warm weather clothing in clean, good to excellent condition. Place donations in the collection bin in the front foyer of St. James Church (behind the divider). Unfortunately we are no longer able to accept household goods.

St. James Church is open Mon - Fri (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM) or before the masses at 4:00 or 11:00.

Bring Your Worries & Concerns Prayer Service

Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Saint Elizabeth Seton Church

Are you feeling overwhelmed with what’s going on in the world, with your health or that of loved ones? Are you struggling with anger, forgiving others or yourself? Do you feel burdened by concerns you hold deep in your heart? All are invited to bring their struggles, burdens and worries to a special prayer service planned for Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 7:00 PM. There are no solutions being offered in this prayer service but an opportunity to reflect, pray, accept, let go, and, hopefully, experience Christ’s peace and support within a community that has deep concerns as well.

If you have found prayers, reflections, poetry or writings that have helped you with your concerns, consider sharing them with us. Email or deliver copies of these by Pentecost (May 19, 2024) to Elizabeth Husmer, Joy O’Sullivan, Father George or Lisa Orchen and they will be compiled to share that evening.