CHRISTMAS PAGEANT NEWS

Christmas Pageant News

Our Annual Christmas Pageant will be celebrated at 3:30 PM--immediately before the 4 PM Christmas Eve Mass--on December 24^th .

·         FIRST AND SECOND GRADERS are our Pageant Kids. No sign up; just show up for rehearsal.

·         Boys are Shepherds; costume is an Arab-like headpiece (white cloth and dark headband), SUPPLIED BY PARENTS

·         Girls are Angels; costume is a garland halo, which the church will provide on Christmas Eve; each girl carries a battery operated candle, SUPPLIED BY PARENTS.  Nothing more, except that each girl will wear her special Christmas dress.

·         Mary and Joseph:  we will draw the names of two SECOND GRADERS. Calls will be made to see if the kids are willing and able (sometimes, they can’t or just don’t want to).   Will keep calling until we get Mary and Joseph.  Costumes:  the church has the costumes for Mary and Joseph.

·         Costumes do NOT come to rehearsals; come with your costume on CHRISTMAS EVE only.

Christmas Pageant Rehearsal

MONDAY, DECEMBER 23

10-11:30 AM

Christmas Children’s Choir

For the Christmas Pageant Mass, we form a children’s choir of kids in Grades 3 to 8.   No sign up; just show up for rehearsal.

Children’s Christmas Choir

Rehearsal Schedule

Tuesday, 12/17:          4-5 PM

Wednesday 12/18:     4-5 PM

Thursday, 12/19:       4-5 PM

Monday, 12/23:          10-11:30 AM

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

The gospel story is a very simple one. The thief asks, "Please, remember me."  And Jesus answers, "Sure."  What would make us memorable to Jesus?

Children & Youth Choir

Sign up by clicking on the link and completing the form.  Joe Nigro, our Music Director, will contact you with more information.

Link for Sign Up:  Choir

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Love,
Deacon Charlie

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

THIRD & FOURTH GRADE MASS

This Sunday, at the 10 AM Mass, our Third & Fourth Graders and their families will participate in a special way at our celebration of Mass. During the week, we encouraged everyone to come, and we practiced some hymn singing.  

After Mass, there is a reception where all of the Third & Fourth Grade families will contribute sweets for the Sharing Table.  We are never disappointed at St. John and St. Mary with the abundance of our Sharing Table.  And we are always grateful.  

And remember, there will be bracelet making with the Rainbow Looms.

Yes, Virginia, Christmas is coming and so is our Christmas Pageant and Christmas Eve Family Mass!!!  Watch for more details after Thanksgiving.

Children & Youth Choir.  Sign up by clicking on the link and completing the form.  Joe Nigro, our Music Director, will contact you with more information.

Link for Sign Up:  Choir

Love,
Deacon Charlie

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Sunday's Gospel

Last week's gospel about Zacchaeus was rich for storytelling. Not so this week. In fact, you have to dig pretty deep before you find its meaning.  I had to honestly admit to the kids that I had to keep digging and digging before I came up with any kind of find, and I am not too sure I was successful.  But here goes. 

Jesus gets stuck with a couple of wise guys, who try out a "gotcha" joke on him--1 wife among 7 brothers; so, who gets to call her the Mrs. when they all get to heaven?  (We tried a couple of our own "gotcha" jokes, like this one:  What did the dog and the tree say to each other?  Nothing; they just barked!)

The "gotcha" joke is not so much a funny story to make you smile, but a trick to puzzle you and make you look stupid.  And that's what the wise guys tried to do to Jesus--trick him into foretelling the heavenly future.  But Jesus would have nothing of it.  He was no heavenly fortune-teller. Heaven is not about the future of the dead; it is the now of the living. The measure of heaven is how much we allow God in our lives--NOW!

3rd & 4th Grade Mass

Sunday, November 17th

10 AM Mass

Next Sunday, at the 10 AM Mass, our 3rd & 4th Graders will participate in Sunday Mass in a special way.  We will be preparing next week with music and prayers to make Sunday's liturgy belong to the kids.  Please mark your calendars and make every effort to attend, even if you have to move some things around. Remember that measure of heaven--God in our lives NOW!

A reception will follow in Skelly Hall.  So, we will need sweets for the Sharing Table and extra hands for setting up, serving and cleaning up.  You will hear from me by email.

At the reception, the kids will have the opportunity to MAKE BRACELETS for the Christmas Fair.  Bring your Rainbow Looms.  Bands and beads will be provided.

Thanksgiving Outreach

Sunday, November 10th

Please bring to all the Masses this weekend:

Frozen Turkeys (no larger than 15 lbs.)

Cranberry sauce, stuffing, potatoes (sweet and white), canned vegetables, canned fruit, turkey gravy, soup and rolls cookies, pies, juice, cider, coffee and tea.

The need is great.  Please be as generous as always.  Thank you.

Love,

Deacon Charlie

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

THIS SUNDAY'S GOSPEL

I asked the kids if they played any video games.  You can guess the response.  "Yes; yes' yes' are you kidding, Deacon Charlie!"  Then, I told them I had a lot of free time on my hands, and I was thinking of starting myself.  I wondered if they might have any suggestions.  And the suggestions were unending.  All kinds of video games--so many, I can't remember all the names!  As the names came, so did the descriptions of the games--killing zombies, playing soccer and football, even dancing. As different as all these games are, I asked whether there was something that made them all the same.  Lots of good answers, but not what I was looking for.  

What makes every video game the same is that every one not only gives us a chance, but really wants us to try again.

ZACCHAEUS AND THE SYCAMORE TREE

This Sunday's gospel is my absolute favorite.  I showed the kids that Zacchaeus and his sycamore tree hang

on my office wall.

It's the story of the baddest guy in town, and everybody knows he's the baddest guy in town.  He's also the shortest.  So, when word comes that the Jesus parade is about to pass through, the baddest and shortest guy is muscled away from curbside by the rest of the crowd.  That's when he climbs the sycamore tree and perches himself for a bird's eye view of this Jesus.  

The parade stops at the sycamore tree; Jesus looks up; calls Zacchaeus by name (amazing, since they've never met!), and tells him to come down quickly, because tonight Jesus will eat dinner at Zacchaeus' house.  

And the crowd's reaction?  The kids all got it:  "Not fair!"

So, why did Jesus go home with the baddest guy in town?  Jack Reilly, a first-grader had the bestest answer:  "Maybe Jesus just wanted to talk to him about being bad."  Right on, Jack!

The Zacchaeus story is the story of our salvation.  Like the video games, we all not only get the chance, but Jesus really wants us to try again.

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

This Sunday's Gospel

Jesus tells a parable--a short story with a single lesson.

Two guys go up to pray--a big shot and a little shot.  
The big shot marches right up front and begins to pray to himself.  He thanks God that he is not like the rest of the riffraff in town, especially the guy in the back row.

Meantime, the little shot stays in the back with head down and admits to God that he hasn't always been the best.  
But he is grateful that God still loves him and forgives him his sins.




I asked the kids to read the gospel quietly (quiet was a new experience for us!).  Then, I asked them to tell me the one word in the gospel story that summed it all up.  Lots of guesses:  "God," "pray," "grateful," "loves," "forgives" and "sins."  All good, but not that one word.  The one word is "himself;" the big shot prays to himself. Self just can't get out of the way; so, there is no connection to God, and, therefore, no prayer.  

If we want to connect to God, we must connect to others and let self get out
of the way.  If that's how we live, that's how we will pray.

Thanks

It's that time of year when I look around and see teachers in classrooms, kids in their seats, registration done, buses arrived and a good beginning made.  Thank God and thank you.


I am especially grateful this year.  We are so blessed to have so many
veteran teachers return and give more of their time and talent.  The more
they give, the more they show how gifted they are.  And when the word went
out that we would need new teachers this year, the response was
overwhelming.  We quickly filled our classrooms with new faces and new
gifts. The generosity has been extraordinary and the parish is very
grateful.

A special note about our substitute teachers and Jen Waterhouse, who has
been coordinating this effort.  Over 30 people have volunteered as
substitutes. No one can imagine more than I how great this is. It not only
helps KidsRelig run more smoothly, but it spreads among more people the
happy task of spreading the Good News.  Thanks to all of you, and a special
thanks to Jen Waterhouse.

Last but not least, I thank Ellie DURR and Jen Narcissi for their help in
the office right before and during KidsRelig.  Just having them there adds
so much to what we do every week.

Love,
Deacon Charlie

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Sunday's Gospel

 

Divided the church into 2 cheering sections.  The first had one word to shout, "decide."  The second was to shout, "pest."  (You will never guess, but everyone was great at shouting!). Then, we started to tell the story of this week's gospel about the old lady who had tried her case to the court and wanted the judge to "decide."  But the judge didn't and thought the old lady was just a "pest."  The old lady kept calling the judge to "decide," and the judge kept complaining that the old lady was a "pest."  Finally, not

because he cared about the old lady or his decision, but only to shut up

this "pest," the judge decided to "decide."

And that's the gospel story. Pretty silly!  It ends without really ending,

because we don't even find out what the judge decided or whether the old

lady was satisfied.

What's even sillier is that Jesus says the story is all about prayer. Well,

we hate to disagree with Jesus.  But--NOT!

Is prayer being a pest to God?  NOT!  Is prayer trying to get God to decide

one way or another?  NOT!  Is prayer trying to convince God to make sure

we're satisfied.  NOT!

As we prayed for some of our teachers who are sick and one of our students

who just underwent heart surgery, we realized that prayer is nothing more

than all of us learning to become more like God.  Because when we pray, we

care.  We care about ourselves, but, more often, about others.  And when we

care, unlike the judge in the gospel story, we become like God .  And when

more and more of us become like God, we spread God's Kingdom. Now, there's a

pretty good result for our prayer!

 

CHILDREN & YOUTH CHOIR

 

Watch your inboxes this week for an email announcement of our new Children & Youth Choir.

 

 



 



Love,

Deacon Charlie

 

TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Sunday’s Gospel

For the Elementaries, we listened to the Good News as a story about gratitude.  Of the 10, who were healed by Jesus, only one returned to say “thanks.” Good for him, but not so good for the other 9.   So, we decided not to be like those other 9.  We made our own “Thank You” Card for God.

The First Graders gave us all the things we should be grateful for:  life, health, food, water, the earth, our families and more.  And the Second through Fourth Graders gave us how to sign the card: Us, CCD kids, the kids from St. John and St. Mary, Children of God and more.  

When we were all done, we decided that God would be real happy to get this card, because of what it said.  But even more, because we wrote it, and God loves to get cards from the kids he loves.

For the Middlers, we looked at the same gospel story, but with a different focus.  Jesus healed 10

and only 1 said “thanks,” and he was a Samaritan, the worst of the worst.  When Jesus chose to make better one who was the worst, the worst was empowered to choose the best within himself.

We not only have the power to find the best within ourselves, but the power to let others find their own best, even those whom we consider the worst.  Not easy, but who said following Jesus is easy!

Building Evacuation Drill

For all, except Westorchard (next week), we had instructions in building evacuation.  Everyone took it very seriously.  Thanks.

A good week at KidsRelig!

Love,

Deacon Charlie

27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

We’re back!!!

The first week of KidsRelig was super!  After reading the kids’ names for weeks and weeks of registration, it was so good to see their faces. 

The Gospel

Two stories are embedded in today’s gospel—the usual and the unusual, the expected and the unexpected.  The master’s servant does what he’s expected to do.  Really no big deal!  But when the table is turned and the Master becomes the servant.  Now there’s a big deal!  And pretty unusual and unexpected. 

The Middlers got it.  Do what you’re expected to do?  No big deal!  But do like the Master—the unusual and unexpected.  A big deal! 

Welcome First Graders

When the Elementaries arrived, 2^nd through 4^th went into church first.  Then, came the First Graders to a round of applause.

We told the First Graders that it’s very hard to remember new names.  But if you bother to find out something about somebody, it’s usually easier to remember their name.  So, we did.  Jack told us he liked dinosaurs, and I told Claire and Charlie it would be easy to remember their names, since in our house, it’s Clare and Charlie.

Then we told them how Christians had helped themselves remember Jesus’ name by remembering the Jesus story behind the name.   They used the Sign of the Fish (or ICHTHUS in Greek). 

 

The Greek letters are the first in each of these words:  Jesus, Christ, God, Son & Savior. 

We told the First Graders and all the Elementaries that our prayer for them this year was that they would come to remember the name Jesus as they came to learn more and more about him.

A Special Sunday Welcome

to the First Graders

At 10 o’clock Mass this Sunday, we welcome the First Graders and their families in a special way.  A reception will follow in Skelly Hall.

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

 

 Bus Info & Registration Form

 Annual KidsRelig Calendar

REGISTRATION FOR KIDSRELIG 2013-2014

KidsRelig Bus Info & Registration 2013-2014

Click here>>>Bus Info & Registration Form

KidsRelig Calendar 2013-2014

Click here>>>Calendar

KidsRelig Registration 2013-2014

Today, September 13, we are at 85%.  Please keep it coming.  Take 5 minutes today and register. Really need you to register by September 17th.  That's next Tuesday.

PLEASE REGISTER NOW!  Go to the Religious Education Page of the Parish Website (click here).  Read our welcoming letter and use the two important links at the top of the page:

• 2013-2014     Registration Form
• 2013-2014   Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program. 

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy.  For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.

(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

KidsRelig First-Timers

REGISTER & GET CONNECTED

Are you new to the parish or is your #1 going into First Grade?  It is so important that you register as soon as possible.  Registration gets you into our email address book, which is the lifeline of communication for KidsRelig.  You won’t know what’s happening unless you are connected online.



CONFIRMATION:  KidsRelig is for grades 1 through 8 and is separate from the Confirmation Program, which has its own registration process.  Confirmation Information and Registration is online at https://sjsmrcc.com/Confirmation.html .

Love,

Deacon Charlie

PALM SUNDAY

GODSPELL

We all had snacks together.  Then, as we walked to the “movie theater,” we passed the Stations of the Cross hanging on the classroom wall. In the theater before the movie began, we asked the kids to watch and listen for the Stations as they appeared in Godspell, whose dialogue is taken entirely from St. Matthew’s Gospel.  (We only watched the end of the movie, which depicts the Passion and Resurrection stories.)

 

Watch and listen for the monstrous powers of darkness lining up against Jesus!

Watch and listen to Jesus gathering his friends close to him in their confusion over his struggle with darkness!

Watch and listen to Jesus as he “triumphantly” marches through the city just before his suffering and death!

Watch and listen to Jesus as he sits down for Passover with his friends and washes them clean!

Watch and listen to Jesus as he breaks bread into his body and shares wine into his blood!

Watch and listen as Judas runs out on Jesus and betrays him!

Watch and listen to Jesus as he prays to his Father for strength and begs his friends to stay awake and remain loyal!

Watch and listen as the police are led to Jesus by his betrayer and arrest him at the sign of a kiss!

Watch and listen as Jesus is hanged, made to suffer and to die!

Watch and listen as the powers of darkness are fooled into thinking they had killed God!

And watch and listen as Jesus, the God who lives forever, rises in all who believe in Him--

DAY BY DAY!!!

 

Watch and listen as the story is retold by a Clown among clowns.  To remind us, in the words of St. Paul, that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”  (1Cor.1:25)

 

They keep trying to put a Clown on the cross, because “[t]he message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (St. Paul, 1Cor.1:18).

 

Love, Deacon Charlie

 

 

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Our Second Graders celebrated First Penance this week.

Before we did anything, we came into church, sat on the floor, looked up and saw the Act of Contrition displayed in big, bold letters on the front of the altar.  The kids were asked whether any of them had a friend, and, thankfully, they all did. 

“Ever do anything wrong to your friend?”

“Yep.”

“Did you have to say sorry?”

“Yep.”

“Tough?”

“Yep.”

“Tough as it was, did it fix things?”

“Yep.”

“Still friends and were you all happy about that?”

“Yep.”

Then, we looked back up to the altar and saw that in the very first words of our big, bold Act of Contrition was the word “sorry.”  And we discovered that confession (Penance) is nothing more than God giving us a chance to practice saying “sorry” while God listens in and says, “Perfect; now keep practicing.”

The woman caught in adultery, the scribes and Pharisees, and Jesus—the cast of today’s gospel.  And the scene?  Jesus doodles while he waits for somebody to say “sorry.”  But everybody seems to be out of practice. 

God knows our imperfections and doesn’t need us to tell any secrets, and surely doesn’t need us to repair any divine, hurt feelings.  “Sorry” is not about God; it’s about us.  It’s about us not faking it by playing the perfect to others’ imperfections and securing the secrecy of our own sinfulness. 

“Sorry”—we gotta practice!

 

First Communion News

Mass Assignments for our First Communion on May 11, 2013:

9:30 AM: Thursday (Roaring Brook) 2^nd Grades + Ms. Aurora/Ms. Metcalf’s Wednesday (Grafflin ) 2^nd Grade

11:30 AM:  Tuesday (Westorchard) 2^nd Grades + Ms. Galvin’s Wednesday (Grafflin) 2^nd Grade.

 

Love, Deacon Charlie

 

 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

The Prodigal Son

Two boys, two stories, the same page—New York Times, March 5, 2013.  Amar (6 years old) lay dead in the roadway at 117^th Street and 1^st Avenue in East Harlem.  On his way to school, the little boy had been struck by a tractor-trailer, whose driver sat so high up in the cab that he couldn’t even see the boy and didn’t know he had hit him.  Khalil (17 years old) was at the County Center last Sunday when “in one motion pushed up the desperation heave” that would beat the buzzer and secure the win for New Rochelle over its basketball rival Mt. Vernon in the Section 1 Class AA final.  A reserve player, and an injured one at that, Khalil nearly missed the playoff game with a bum ankle.

Two boys and the accidental happenings that led to a tragic loss and a moment’s victory.  Just not fair!

Today’s gospel story of the Prodigal Son—two boys, two stories, the same page—St. Luke’s Gospel.  And the accidental happenings of their lives led to a moment’s victory and a tragic loss.  Just not fair!

But the father’s love is not measured by its fairness; it’s measured by its generosity, which knows no measure. 

To demand fairness may make us fair, but to embrace generosity will make us generous.  And although love is never unfair, it is always generous.

 

First Penance—This Week!

First Penance for our 2^nd Graders will take place during their regular KidsRelig sessions on Tuesday (3/12), Wednesday (3/13) and Thursday (3/14). 

 

First Communion News

Mass Assignments for our First Communion on May 11, 2013:

 

9:30 AM: Thursday (Roaring Brook) 2^nd Grades + Ms. Aurora/Ms. Metcalf’s Wednesday (Grafflin ) 2^nd Grade

11:30 AM:  Tuesday (Westorchard) 2^nd Grades + Ms. Galvin’s Wednesday (Grafflin) 2^nd Grade.

Love, Deacon Charlie