March 5, 2024

Lent at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish

March 5, 2024

Join Us on the Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 10, 2024

4:00 PM at St. James

9:00 AM at St. Elizabeth Seton

and livestreamed

11:00 AM at St. James

Lent Prayer & Devotions

Pray the Stations of the Cross

Attend the Stations of the Cross

Friday Evenings

5:30 PM at St. James

7:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton

Click Here To See All We Have Planned This Lent at Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish!

Daily Mass

Mon-8:30AM @ Seton

Tues-8:00AM @ St. James

Thur-8:00AM @ St. James

Fri-8:30AM @ Seton

Evening Prayer

Fr. George leads evening prayer Monday - Friday at 5:00 PM on our parish Facebook Page. All are welcome!

Reconciliation

Fr. George welcomes all to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Seton.

Lent Almsgiving

Last year our Parish took up the challenge between the Parishioners and the Faith Formation students to see who could fill more rich bowls with change & bills. And fill they did to the tune of collecting enough money to feed 40,000 people. This year the challenge is to collect enough to feed 50,000 people! Please take home a CRS Rice Bowl located in the vestibules of both churches.

Please bring back your rice bowl when churches are open for weekend masses. Kindly return them no later than the weekend after Easter (April 6 & 7). There will be greeters to accept your rice bowl donations.

Thank you for changing lives this Lent!

Easter Food Baskets

Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish will be collecting Easter food “baskets” for families within our community on the weekend of March 23-24 so that they can be delivered before Easter. Rocky Hill Human Services is asking for "generic" baskets for families of four to six people. If your family or group would like to donate a basket, please sign up on the sheet located in the Foyer of either church so we know how many to plan for. If we get enough, some will also be donated to Catholic Worker in Hartford.

Please bring your basket (any container is acceptable as long as it looks nice) to the Rectory garage at Saint Elizabeth Seton or Father Shea Hall at Saint James on Saturday afternoon, March 23 or Sunday morning, March 24. A list of suggested items is available here. Please do not include perishable foods. People will be given gift certificates to use for their fresh foods.

During this weekend we will also be collecting grocery store gift certificates which Rocky Hill Human Services will add to the baskets when they are distributed. Please bring the gift certificates to Mass March 23-24 and give them directly to Fr. George.

Bakhita Bible Camp 2024

Online Registration is Open!

Monday, June 24 -

Friday, June 28, 2024

Children Entering Grades 1 - 6

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

St. James Campus

Kids dive into friendship with God. Scuba Vacation Bible Camp is filled with awesome Scripture-learning experiences kids see, hear, and touch! Hands on science experiments, team-building games, unforgettable Bible songs, and tasty treats are just a few of the standout activities that help faith flow into real life. Plus, we’ll help kids discover how to see evidence of God in everyday life— something we call God Sightings®. Get ready to hear that phrase a lot!

New friends ~ Amazing experiments ~ Creative games

Super-fun snacks ~ Surprising adventures ~ Incredible music

If you have any questions about any of the above information or you would like to volunteer to help, please contact us at biblecamp@sjbrh.org.

Peace,

Lisa Torneo, Camp Director

Monica Piombino, Faith Formation Director

Click Here to Register for Bakhita Bible Camp

Other Fun Tidbits

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Join the Knights of Columbus for our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration featuring a traditional corned beef dinner with all the fixings and dessert.

Saturday, March 16

4:00 - 7:00 PM

Saint James Parish Center

Tickets on sale through March 10.

Learn More Here

Palm Crosses for Sale

The Knights of Columbus will be taking orders for Palm Crosses after every Mass at the St. James & St. Elizabeth Seton campuses through Sunday, March 10. Palm crosses will be available for pick up after every mass on Palm Sunday. The cost of the palm crosses is $13. Please contact David Mikol at (860) 726-3585 with any questions.

Saint Joseph Medal Recipient

We are very happy to announce the recipient of this year’s Saint Joseph Archdiocesan Medal of Appreciation is Thomas Lastrina. Tom is a long-time member of the parish (along with his loving wife Arlene) serving the community in a myriad of generous ways. His dedication and commitment to the mission and ministry of the parish is extraordinary. The Medal of Appreciation ceremony will be at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph on Sunday March 10, 2024 at 3:00 PM. All are welcome to attend. Million thanks to Tom and may he and his family be blessed for years to come.

Inviting Altar Servers

Our parish is bringing back the ministry of the Altar Server which was halted during the pandemic. Girls and Boys who are in, or above, grade 4, and have received their first Eucharist are invited to become a part of this important ministry. 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. Most importantly, being an altar server teaches children from a young age to love, revere and praise God. Please contact 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.

The Archbishop’s Annual Appeal helps provide the critical funding needed to feed the hungry, shelter the unhoused, counsel those in despair, offer much-needed assistance to the unemployed, and make medical care available to those without health insurance. Your gift to the 2024 Appeal will help to continue these and other vital ministries, services, and programs that reach out to so many in need. 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.