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Dear Parishioners:
As we gather this second week of Advent, we prepare our minds and hearts for the coming feast of Christmas. I am grateful to Fr. Hubert, Fr. Alex, and Fr. Mike who assisted us with Advent confessions last Tuesday. For those of you who were not able to make Tuesday, remember I will be available Saturday, December 10th, and the 17th from 4 – 5 pm for confession.
This weekend, we begin our CCD White Gift tradition; this weekend for Cycle A and next weekend for Cycle B. We invite our young people to choose a gift for their contemporary and brighten their Christmas. As you will have noticed, our Giving Tree is up in the narthex for those of you who would still like to give gifts for the season of Advent. Do remember all gifts need to be in no later than December 18th so that they can be transported to Paterson.
On Tuesday, November 22nd, our little ones celebrated a delicious Thanksgiving lunch where they gave God thanks for our wonderful nation and enjoyed a delicious meal together. On this coming Sunday, our PreK children will again come to the 9:30 am Mass. I am grateful to Jeannie and her staff who come to Mass and help our parents guide the children in and out of church and prompt them when to come in front of the altar. During the last PreK Mass, November 20th, our little ones shared how Jesus our King and theirs cared for all people. This week, our little ones will share Mary and Joseph’s excitement at the coming birth of Jesus. Also, I look forward to our Preschool Christmas show on Wednesday, December 14th at 11 am. All parishioners are welcome to attend.
Our Antioch graduates and candidates attended a fun Friendsgiving dinner on Sunday, November 20th. It was great to see our college kids return and spend time with their younger peers. On December 18th, we will celebrate our last St. Luke meeting with our Christmas party following the 6 pm Mass. It is wonderful to see how the young people from various parishes have bonded these past few months and how with kindness they have reached out to support each other in the joys and difficulties of their young lives.
On Monday night, we the priests and ministers had our first ever Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service together and were privileged to lead a beautiful service for the community of Long Valley, Washington Township and the Chester Episcopal church. After the service, we had a delightful light supper and so much fun getting to know the other people who comprise the other Christian parishes. A big thank you to Rev. Ingrid Wengert, who hosted the event. We, at St. Luke gave a donation to the Long Valley Community Food Pantry to help towards the needs of the Long Valley area.
The Knights of Columbus have worked very hard for their major fundraiser, the Auction dinner on Saturday. I will give an update on this next week. Thank you, Knights of Columbus.
A big thanks to everybody who gave so generously towards the pantry for Thanksgiving. Our combined ministries for the Knights of Columbus and the Hands of St. Luke Ministry truly made a difference on the week before Thanksgiving, and provided so much non-perishable foods for our local communities and those in Paterson. For those of you who still may have your free turkey in your freezer, we always accept turkeys because in honesty, roasted turkey is a nutritious meal any time of the year. God bless each one of us, that our caring hearts and hands, bring the love of Christ to those in need.
A gentle reminder that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is this Thursday, December 8th and is Holy Day of Obligation. Mass will be celebrated at 9 am and 7 pm.
Happy Second Week of Advent!
Fr. Owen