To view Sunday 9 AM Mass Online

"Celebrating Mass at Home" is a one page guide to help you attend Mass virtually during these days of social distancing.  Click Here

Sunday Readings 

On Wednesday evenings starting April 8th Deacon Michael will be leading a live online read-through and discussion of the following Sunday's readings.  All are welcome. For further details Click Here

Click here for the Mass on Facebook...

You do not have to have a Facebook account to watch. You can click 'not now' if invited to login to Facebook. Click on "Videos" on the left hand side of the Facebook page. On the "Videos" Page, click on the red "live" button to watch the livestream starting at 9:00 AM Sunday. If you visit the "Videos" Page after the mass is over, you can click on the image of the mass to watch the recording. 

Holy Week - Easter Season 

To assist you during this time of distancing and suspensions especially during Holy Week and the Easter Season, here are four documents for your use during this Holy Season and beyond. (be aware the Missalette is 100 pages if you are printing)

Holy Week at Home  - Holy Week Missalette - Way of the Cross

 Palm Sunday Music

IMPORTANT MESSAGES

4/2/20 The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is suspended until further notice.

There will be no distribution of Palms due to the potential of too many people gathering and the potential of cross contamination by the virus as people go through palm branches. If possible, at a later date, distribution will take place. Stay safe and self-isolate at your homes.

The church will be locked at all times beginning Monday.

The Church office will be closed starting Monday 4/6/2020 for the foreseeable future. Staff will call in to obtain calls. We will try to publish the Easter bulletin...but not certain after then.

3/24/20  The Archdiocese has extended the suspension of all public Masses, including Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter.  The suspension is in place until April 30th. Churches will be open for personal quiet prayer for only brief hours during the day from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm

3/24/20    Sadly, we have heard that our beloved parishioner and Eucharistic Minister, Carol deBear, passed away after a very valiant battle against COVID-19. Our hearts are broken and we reach out in prayer and support to Carol’s husband Larrye, her family and many friends.

Be assured that our previous message and report about this case is still relevant. None of our staff, nor other Eucharistic Ministers nor any other parishioner has reported any symptoms related to this situation. Let us continue to be bound in prayer, and yet, be safe, be wise and be hopeful!

Be sure to join us on Facebook this Sunday at 9:00 am for Mass live streamed from our own parish at: https://www.facebook.com/saintjosephinebakhita/

Last week we had 365 people join us and had 3500+ views.

Together at this weekend’s Mass we will lift Carol deBear in prayer.

Blessings, Fr. George Couturier

3/20/20 From Father George..The annual Easter Basket collection is cancelled. All can mail in a food/gift card to the Human Services Dept/ Rocky Hill 699 Old Main St. Rocky Hill CT 06067.Peace to all.

3/15/2020 From Father George

Dear parishioners of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish,

As you are aware, we continue to face the challenges of dealing with COVID-19  (coronavirus) across the world, including in our community. We have just learned that one of our parishioners was diagnosed this week with COVID-19. Importantly, I ask that you keep our parishioner and the parishioner’s family in our prayers.

This parishioner is also a Eucharistic Minister at the St. James Church campus. Based on the information we have, we believe this parishioner most recently served as a Eucharistic Minister at the 4 p.m. Mass at St. James on Saturday, February 29. The parishioner is always assigned to distribute from the cup rather than providing hosts and we believe that was the case at the February 29th Mass. At this point, we are not sure whether the parishioner had COVID-19 as of that point, but believe they did not have any symptoms. We do not believe the parishioner attended Mass at either St. James or St. Elizabeth Seton after February 29, but we know definitively that the parishioner was not at Mass this weekend, March 14-15. Therefore, health officials have informed us that they believe the risk of transmission from this parishioner to others was low.

We are in communication with the Town of Rocky Hill, the Central Connecticut Health District, the State of Connecticut, and the Archdiocese of Hartford about this situation, so we have the benefit of expertise and input from these various organizations. As we learn more information, we will certainly share with you as soon as possible.

Given that more than two weeks have passed since this parishioner last served as a Eucharistic Minister, if the Minister did have COVID-19 at that point, it is our current understanding that if anyone who had contact with the Minister at that Mass had contracted COVID-19 from that interaction, they would likely have already experienced some of the symptoms of the virus as they usually appear within 2-14 days after exposure. The symptoms include a fever, cough and shortness of breath, as detailed in this resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.

In the meantime, if you believe you are experiencing symptoms or have any other medical questions, we encourage you to contact your physician or other healthcare provider for more information. For more information generally on COVID-19, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Based on our discussions with health officials, we do not believe this information is cause for alarm. We will continue to take extra precautions around cleaning our Church properties and encourage you to also read the most recent messages from Archbishop Blair found here:

 https://archdioceseofhartford.org/ coronavirus/.

Yours in Christ,

Father George Couturier

From THE ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD And SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA PARISH

Effective immediately and through Sunday, April 30th, the Archbishop has (under strong advice from the State of CT) dispensed from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass, the elderly and those of any age who fear for their health or the health of their families. Anyone who is ill or showing symptoms is already obliged not to attend. Parishioners who are absent from Mass are urged to make alternative provision for their weekly contributions since parishes depend (very much) on this for their operation and survival. Please remember TV Mass is available each and every day.

The St. Patrick Dinner is cancelled (possible reimbursement will be announced in the future). Religious Education (CCD) is cancelled, until further notice. Other events and activities in the parish will probably be cancelled or postponed. Please check our parish website, our Facebook page, our bulletin (posted on our website) and our office phone messages for possible updates.

Be “strong, loving and wise” and know of our prayers and blessings in these coming days.

As you know St. Josephine Bakhita Parish is working hard to update our contact information for all our households (to be used at times like now during this emergency). Please complete this quick, simple online form to assist our effort. Please go to Bit.ly/sjbrh2020     to complete the form to update your contact information.