Dear Friends in Christ:
It is that time of year again, the children are going back to school, life is getting back to a somewhat routine schedule from the so-called ease of the summer months, but there is nothing ordinary about the activities going on in and around Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish!
There is SO much going on! And we love it!
In the Parish—we have so many exciting things happening right now. It is enough to make your head spin, or in my case to wake me up in the middle of the night to ask myself did I dot the “I’s” and cross the “T’s”. Some nights I wake up at 3AM and begin to jot down notes of things we need to remember to look into. To me this is a positive, it shows we are a growing parish which is vibrant!
We are ramping up with preparations for our Religious Education Program, as well as our Bible Studies, our RCIA Program, and other adult educational programs. We have other social events being planned such as our Parish Picnic (September 15), an Oktoberfest (in October—by the way last year’s chairs are willing to help but we need new chairs if anyone is interested PLEASE contact me), and our No-Turkey Thanksgiving Dinner (in November). We as a Pastoral Staff have been meeting and preparing for our upcoming Advent Season (Yes, I said Advent and it is only August but we want to be ready to celebrate Advent properly). We have a wide variety of other meetings, activities, and events being planned by the many ministries, organizations, and groups in our parish family!
So much of our life as a parish family is scheduled according to the School Year Calendar. Many programs and events start up at this time of year and that brings with it a level of excitement and enthusiasm as well. I hope you will consider joining us for the many educational, spiritual, and social activities we are planning. A full list will be provided in the near future. Stay up-to-date by downloading the parish App, or by visiting our parish website often www.stbridgetcheshire.org. It is our hope that this calendar will be a tool to assist you in finding ways to get more involved in the life of our parish as together we grow in our knowledge and love of God.
So you see there is not much routine going on these days in the life of our parish. It is a time of a lot of activity, lots of planning, and I believe a lot of excitement.
Speaking of our Religious Education Program—We are still in need of parishioners willing to serve the parish family as Catechists. If you are interested, please consider this my personal invitation to you. Come help us teach our young people. Come share your faith with a future generation of disciples of the Lord. If you are able and willing please contact Donna Yatcko in our religious education office at 203-272-6504. Resources, training, and support are offered. Thank you for your consideration of this opportunity to serve our parish family.
In the School—we have the school year beginning in our Parish School this week and we are busy getting ready to welcome our students back, as well as our new Principal and new teachers and staff. Following Mass last Sunday I asked many of our young people if they were ready to get back to school, and to my surprise and perhaps that of their parents around them, many of them said YES! A new school year is exciting! The new school year brings new experiences: Different teachers, new classmates, new textbooks, and all sorts of new experiences for our young people. The start of the new school year is a time of anticipation.
In a special way we are excited to welcome the students back to our school and our religious education program. Our staff has been working hard all summer and we have been planning for this moment to see our young people back in the classrooms, ready to begin this new school year learning about our faith and growing in their relationship with the Lord! It is a cause for joy indeed!
One of the many programs that begins in a new school year is the R.C.I.A. or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The R.C.I.A., or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, is the process by which adults, who are not Catholic or even not baptized, come to learn about the Catholic faith with a desire to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
It is more than simply a course of instruction. The R.C.I.A. is an immersion into a Christ-centered way of living. This is accomplished through a process concerned with the total formation of a person into a believing, praying, and serving Catholic Christian. We do this through Scripture study and group discussions forming the members of the R.C.I.A. to be active and faithful members of the Roman Catholic community of believers.
Who can join the R.C.I.A.? Any unbaptized adult who now wishes to learn more about the Catholic faith with the possibility of becoming Catholic; or those baptized Christians, from other denominations, who desire to learn more about the possibility of coming into full communion with the Catholic Church; and those Catholics who were baptized, but have never received their First Holy Communion and have not been confirmed. It should be noted that a person who enters the R.C.I.A. makes no obligation to formally join the Catholic Church at this time. Is Christ calling you to learn more about the Catholic faith, if so please call us!
A personal invitation…I am so thrilled that we currently have a few people interested in joining the Catholic Church here at Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish. I personally invite anyone who is not Catholic but is interested in learning more about the Catholic faith to contact Donna Yatcko in our Religious Education Office at 203-272-6504 or email at dyatcko@stbridgetschool.org.
If you know a family member or friend who might be interested reach out to them and personally invite them to consider joining the R.C.I.A.
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!...The Third Annual Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish Family Picnic will be held on September 15, 2019, beginning with an outdoor Mass at 11 a.m. on the field behind Saint Bridget School. Thank you to our co-chairs Tracy and Vito Catalanotto, Rebecca and Barry Berkowitz, and Patty and Larry Richard who are working non-stop in preparation for this event. I can’t wait to see what they have planned. I am so grateful to the many who have stepped up to chair one of the sub-committees and to the countless people who have offered to help on the day of the event. If you have not signed up to help but would like to do so please email the committee at sbosparishpicnic@gmail.com.
CALLING ALL GOLFERS! CALLING ALL SUPPORTERS OF ST. BRIDGET SCHOOL! WE NEED YOUR HELP! This is the 25th Anniversary of the reopening of St. Bridget School and we are gearing up for the 6th Annual St. Bridget School Golf Tournament…which will be held at the Country Club of Waterbury on Monday, September 23, 2019. This is one of the two major fundraisers for our parish school, please consider assisting us in any way you can.
Here are a number of ways you can assist us:
1. YOU can consider sponsoring our event. If you own a business or work for one who supports local charities consider asking them to be a sponsor or put an ad in our ad book for the tournament (we expect a pretty full field, and additional people to attend the dinner following the tournament which means these booklets will be dispersed to a good number of friends from the greater Cheshire area). We really could use as many sponsors as possible…sponsorships make the tournament a success.
2. YOU can join us! We have available spots for golfers ($175 per golfer), and if you don’t golf you can still get in on the fun by getting some friends together to come for a nice dinner that evening and support our parish school by your participation at this event and your opportunity to win a raffle prize. Cost for dinner only option it is only $50.
3. YOU can donate an item for our raffle. We are in need of a variety of items for the raffle which is held during the dinner at the tournament. Items such as: a grill, a big screen television, foursomes to local golf courses, any electronic equipment from entertainment to home improvement, gift cards to local restaurants, bottles of wine or spirits, or anything your creative minds can come up with. Items can be dropped off to the school office or rectory office any day during the week, or in the sacristy at Mass on the weekend. Please be sure your name is on it so we may properly thank you!
ANY AND ALL information including registration forms and sponsorship forms can be found online at https://stbridgetschool.ejoinme.org/golf2019. Thank you for whatever you can do to assist our parish school in this important fundraising effort.
WE ALSO HAVE JOB OPENINGS!!! All of these can be found on our parish website at www.stbridgetcheshire.org under the tab EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
New Youth Minister—as announced last weekend we have created a position for a new Youth Minister to work with our high school age youth to ensure they grow in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We are looking for someone who is joyful, enthusiastic, proud of his or her Catholic faith and eager to help young people fall in love with the Lord.
Part-time Coordinator to assist with our Religious Education Program—we are seeking someone interested in assisting in our religious education program. Assistance is needed at various times of the week. The main job is to help Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, to collaborate with catechists and the Director of Religious Education to ensure a smooth execution of the program. Main tasks include supporting, assisting, and communicating with those involved in the religious education program.
Part-time Administrative Assistant for Communications—this job is opening in early-October due to Teallia’s decision to move to Ireland and return to work in the missionary activity there. Teallia and her husband will be moving in October. We wish them well with this bittersweet news. Ideally a new employee would be hired by the end of September to have time to shadow with Teallia and learn the ins and outs of the many tasks associated with this position. Knowledge and ease with technology and the various realms of social media are a MUST.
As always, remember to pray for vocations, pray for our young people, pray for our parish families and ask God’s blessings as we strive to build His kingdom here. Please know that I am praying for you, and I ask for your prayers for me, that together through the intercession of Saint Bridget of Sweden, our Patroness, and united in the Eucharist, we will reflect the presence of Jesus to the world.
