Annunciation Parish

Annunciation Parish ONE PARISH PRAISING GOD IN TWO LOCATIONS December 23rd, 2018 ‘…ƒ–‹‘• Holy Rosary 135 Nichols Street Gardner, MA 01440   Holy Spirit 50 Lovewell Street  Gardner, MA 01440

Contact Us Phone: (978) 632ǦͲʹͷ͵ ‡„•‹–‡ǣ ™™™Ǥ—…‹ƒ–‹‘ ƒ”†‡”Ǥ‘”‰ Email:  [email protected] Ofice Hours:  ‘†ƒ›ǦFriday 8:30amǦͷǣͲͲ’ You can scan this QR Code to quickly access our website.

Masses at Holy Rosary  Masses at Holy Spirit  Saturday  ͶǣͶͷ’ǤǤ

Saturday ͶǣͲͲ’ǤǤ

Sunday 

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Sunday 



ͳͲǣ͵ͲƒǤǤ

(Spanish)  ͳʹǣͲͲ’ǤǤ

Mon, Wed, Fri  ͻǣͲͲƒǤǤ

Tues, Thurs  ͹ǣ͵ͲƒǤǤ

ͺǣ͵ͲƒǤǤ

Sacrament of Reconciliation Holy Rosary: Saturday 3:15ǦͶǣͲͲ’ǤǤ Holy Spirit: Saturday 3:15Ǧ͵ǣͶͷ’ǤǤ You may also call one of the priests at the Rectory Ofice to schedule a private appointment for Confession ͻ͹ͺǤ͸͵ʹǤͲʹͷ͵ Rev. Stephen Lundrigan ext. 116 Rev. Wilmar Ramos ext. 130

Welcome to Annunciation Parish For those who are new to the parish or returning after some time away, we would like to welcome you to our Catholic community. In this bulletin you will find many opportunities to be enriched and involved. If you would like to register as a member or have any questions, you can call us at 978-632-0253, email us at [email protected], complete the form on the back page of this bulletin, or you can stop by the Parish Office during the week.

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Annunciation Parish Mission Statement:

Strengthened by the Eucharist, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and sent by Christ we seek by worship and service to compassionately meet the corporal and spiritual needs of our parish family and beyond. We desire to warmly welcome the stranger and one another, and together reach a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. In doing this, we are committed to the caring and ongoing Christian formation of others by providing opportunities for spiritual, intellectual, and social growth within our faith and local community.

Clergy

Parish Staff

Pastor Rev. Stephen Lundrigan Parochial Vicar Rev. Wilmar Ramos Deacon Rev. Mr. Stanley Baczewski Retired Deacon Rev. Mr. Arthur Giard

Parish Office

Business Manager William Lawton Parish Secretary Joanne Kay Administrative Assistant Grace Hartin Director of Religious Education Mrs. Maura Sweeney Director of Buildings & Grounds Mr. Don Robinson Building Maintenance Mr. Donald Cosentino

Music Ministry

Mr. Paul Cormier Mrs. Paulette Fowler Ms. Sharon Sawtell

(978) 632-0253 Ext. 116 Ext. 130 (978) 855-9805

(978) 632-0253 Ext. 113 Ext. 110 Ext.111 Ext. 117 Ext. 109

(978) 602-6166 (978) 660-0215 (978) 632-7216

Youth Ministry

Mr. Paul Hartin Email: [email protected]

Holy Family Academy

Principal Mrs. Andrea Tavaska Administrative Assistant Mrs. Jennifer Lucas Director of Enrollment Mrs. Nancy Tyros

The Caring Place

(978) 632-8656 Ext. 219 Ext. 213 Ext. 250

(978) 632-5745

Director Mrs. Jane Pineo Email: [email protected] www.tcpgardner.com

From the Pastor’s Desk MERRY CHRISTMAS! For many of us, Christmas holds many memories. Many mornings of expectation, a change in the usual routine, many parties and different snacks and treats, and many of our loved ones who are no longer with us. Amid our festivities let us remember the reason for the parties, the reason for the changes, the reason for the celebration - Jesus is born! The great story of God coming to save us takes an important and amazing step as God comes down to live with us. This presence remains with us in his Body the Church, and also in the Eucharist which we gather to celebrate each Sunday. If you really think about it, that gift of himself is the ultimate Christmas present and a great reason for a celebration. We as a community have other reasons to celebrate. We have seen people come and rejoin us in our combined parish family, we have offered many new opportunities to learn and grow in faith, we have let the Spirit move more freely among us and there has been wonderful growth. On top of this we have paid off the parish debit, have developed procedures going forward to ensure good financial management, and we have begun to look ahead to how to strengthen us for the future. Our school, which had been shrinking, has stabilized. We are on track to end this year with more students than last year, have made some hires of wonderful new teachers, and have worked to strengthen and expand our curriculum and programs. Parishioners have begun to lead and participate in expanded ministries to those in our local community - we grow into what Jesus calls us to as a faith community when we become more faithful to the Gospel, open our arms to those in search of something to fill what is missing in our lives, and become more and more a living example of the presence of Jesus Christ. Our praise and worship of God and our service to our fellow persons allows us to be the presence of Jesus who gives continual praise to the Father and heals those in need. It is that presence of Jesus that comes to humanity at Christmas that gives us hope. It gives us hope that, amid any divisions that exist in our community born of four parishes, amid any losses we experience, amid any disappointments we have - Jesus can come to us individually as much as he came to people huddled in a stable in Bethlehem. The presence of Jesus is something wonderful to experience. This presence gives us hope. It is a presence we come to see more clearly as we study our faith and apply it to our lives. It is a presence in which we grow as we join together to worship in church. It is a presence we deepen when we work together in Christian Ministry for the good of others. I am happy to be able to speak to those whom I haven’t seen in a while or met personally; I do pray for all of you and invite everyone to join more deeply in the activity of the parish and ask you to extend this invitation to others as well. God Bless you and be with you this Christmas! Peace,

Fr. Steve

Mass Intentions at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church Mass Date

Mass Time Mass Intention

Saturday, December 22nd

4:45 p.m.

Leo Cormier by wife & family Mr. & Mrs. Albert Bouthot by Mr. & Mrs. Jim Covington Mr. & Mrs. August Richard by family

Sunday, December 23rd

7:30 a.m.

Joseph & Rolland Hamel by their family Lorraine Cormier by her husband

10:30 a.m.

Denny Ouellet from the family Anthony Baublis by his wife & family Zephirin & Delphine Henri by The Family

4:00 p.m.

Robert Perreault by family Gregoire Croteau by family

12:00 midnight

Emilien Richard by family Gordon Poirier by family All Deceased Members of the Poirier Family by the family

Tuesday, December 25th

10:30 a.m.

Adah & Kenneth Lovejoy by their family Dad, Mom, & Arthur by Tina Gauthier

Wednesday, December 26th

9:00 a.m.

Mr. & Mrs. Bertell Morin by family Vitaline & Albert Gallant by their daughter Gloria Cormier

Friday, December 28th

9:00 a.m.

Erin Barus, 1st Anniversary Ann & Sara Barus Gloria LeBlanc by “Inky” Fournier

Saturday, December 29th

4:45 p.m.

Charles McKean, 4th Anniversary by family Lola Beaudoin, 1st Anniversary by her family

Sunday, December 30th

7:30 a.m.

Victor & Helen Swartz by their family Lorraine Cormier by her husband

10:30 a.m.

Theresa Morrissey, 17th Anniversary by family Fred Morrissey, 72nd Anniversary by family

Monday, December 24th

Christmas Day

at Holy Spirit Church Mass Date

Mass Time

Mass Intention

Saturday, December 22nd

4:00 p.m.

Francis Murray by Bob Whipple Patrick Twohig by his wife Lauretta Kraskouskas by Frances McFaul

Sunday, December 23rd

8:30 a.m.

Carolyn Colletto by George & Judy Colletto Roland & Rita Jean by Kathy Arsenault & Family

12:00 p.m.

To be announced

Monday, December 24th

4:00 p.m.

Nicole Borey by her Mom, Claudette, and her brother, Nick

Tuesday, December 25th

8:30a.m.

Martin Foley from his family

10:00a.m.

Ernie Duteau by Kathy Duteau

Thursday, December 27th

7:30 a.m.

Marguerite Vautour, 1 Month Mind by Ginette Vautour

Saturday, December 29th

4:00 p.m.

Michael Nicholson by Mark & Maureen Nicholson Jane E. Flood by family Ruth A. Zdanowicz, 1st Anniversary by her daughters

Sunday, December 30th

8:30 a.m.

Francis Murray by his loving wife & family Diane Goodrich by Music Ministry

12:00 p.m.

To be announced

Christmas Day

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Upcoming Events Page 4

December 23rd—29th Sunday December 23rd

Note: There are no Religious Education classes this weekend so families may enjoy the long holiday weekend together. Classes will resume in the New Year.

Christmas Mass Times

Monday December 24th There is no Coffee Social after 9:00a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary this week, it will resume after the New Year on Monday January 7th

Christmas Eve—Monday December 24th Holy Spirit Holy Rosary

Tuesday December 25th—Christmas Day There is no Bible Study this week, it will resume after the New Year on Tuesday January 8th at 6:30p.m. in Holy Rosary hall Wednesday December 26th 6:00a.m.—8:00p.m. Eucharistic Adoration at Holy Rosary

4:00p.m. 4:00p.m. 12:00a.m. midnight

Christmas Day—Tuesday December 25th Holy Spirit

8:30a.m. 10:00a.m. in Spanish

Holy Rosary

Thursday December 27th 6:30p.m. Bingo in Holy Rosary hall Friday December 28th

Saturday December 29th 3:15—3:34p.m. Confessions at Holy Spirit 3:15—4:00p.m. Confessions at Holy Rosary Sunday December 30th Note: There are no Religious Education classes this weekend so families may enjoy the long holiday weekend together. Classes will resume next Sunday, January 6th

A Huge Thank You! We wish to thank all those who made our parish Christmas Celebration possible.

∗

All those who spent hours preparing the church by cleaning & decorating

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

All of our musicians and choir members All of our Altar servers, Lectors, and Eucharistic Ministers All those who served as greeters and ushers All those who made donations which funded the flowers, as well as those whose donations made our gift of the book “Beautiful Hope” possible.

Christmas Flowers List can be found posted at the back of the church and on the website. Printed copies are available at the back of church, or you can request one at the Parish Office.

10:30a.m.

Holiday Office Hours: The Parish Office will be closed on Monday December 24th and Tuesday December 25th in observance of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day holidays. It will reopen at 8:30a.m. Wednesday morning to resume its normal weekday business hours of 8:30a.m.—5:00p.m.

Join Flocknote and Stay Connected! Flocknote is a communication tool that allows us to keep parishioners up to date on events via email and text messaging. Once you sign up you may choose which groups you want to hear from. You may unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to 84576. There is no charge for this service though data rates can apply for text messages depending on your carrier. There are 3 easy ways to join our parish’s Flocknote group. 1. You may go to our parish’s website AnnunciationGardner.org and click on the little lamb in the blue box in the upper righthand corner of our home page 2. OR visit our parish’s page at flocknote.com/ AnnunciationGardner. 3. OR text “GoodNews4U” to 84576 from your phone.

Parish Goings-On: News You Can Use! Did you know that our Parish website is full of all kinds of information? We have everything from our parish calendar of events and bulletin, to information about all of our parish ministries, and inspirational videos and articles. Please check us our at www.AnnunciationGardner.org

Did you see our children’s bulletin?

Children’s Liturgy Leaders Needed

St. Vincent de Paul

Open House at the Parish Office!

We now offer a Children’s bulletin for elementary students! It is available for our young parishioners who are developing an understanding of Jesus. Children (and their parents or grandparents) are welcome to pick up their very own bulletin from the back of church as they leave each week. These bulletins feature a coloring page, word game, and a summary of the week’s Gospel with ideas on how to live what you have learned.

As you may know, our St. Vincent de Paul Society works to provide assistance to those in our community who are in need. With the help of your generosity, throughout the year of 2018 we were able to provide: ∗ Food & equipment to 410 households ∗ Financial assistance for heat, rent, & utilities to 29 families ∗ Thanksgiving Baskets of food to 64 families ∗ Christmas Baskets of food to 64 families ∗ Gift cards for Christmas presents to 107 children

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Every week during the 10:30a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary Church, we offer Children’s Liturgy of the Word to help our little ones understand Jesus’ teachings and His Love for them. It is only with the help of volunteer group leaders that we are able to offer this learning opportunity to our little Catholics. We are currently short-staffed and are looking for more volunteers to be group leaders. This does not need to be a weekly commitment, we will be happy to work with your schedule. Please contact Morgan Brinker at [email protected] if you are able to help.

This March, our Parish Office is hosting an Open House for parishioners and members of the community to come together for some snacks, chit-chat, and to meet some new people. If this sounds like something you would be interested in helping coordinate, give Joanne or Grace a ring at 978-632-0253, email us at [email protected], or pop by our Parish Office in the rectory at 135 Nichols Street during office hours (8:30am—5:00pm). Please bring all your fresh, festive ideas!

Help us celebrate the Parish Feast Day!

Mark your calendars and plan to join us for a celebration of the feast of the Annunciation, on March 25th. We are planning Mass, dinner, and a special performance by Speed Painter, Rob Surrette. If you would like to help with planning the details of this event please contact the Office at 978-632-0253.

Theology on Tap

We plan to hold our first local Theology on Tap for young adults (college age thru their 30s) on Wednesday, January 23rd. Our Topic will be Faith and Science: Can They Coexist? Join us for a lively conversation lead by Fr. Steve. You can get updates on this event by subscribing to Flocknote (instructions for subscribing on page 4).

Thank You to the Students at Holy Family Academy who gave a up a recess period to help St. Vincent de Paul members fill the Christmas baskets this year. You are awesome and reflect so well the Christian call to service! 

Beautiful Hope

Just a Little Note of Gratitude

This Christmas, families will receive a copy of the book Beautiful Hope, a collection of short essays by Catholic authors which explores the source of our Hope in the face of a broken world. All are invited to join one of our discussion groups on this book. They will meet for 4 weeks beginning the week of January 6th on:

Thank You to everyone for supporting Holy Family Academy this year. Whether it was a donation towards tuition scholarships, building a scarecrow for our contest, attending our plays, or participating in our Fun Run, your support has meant the world to us. We are blessed to have such a fun and loving community in which our school can proper. Have a very Merry Christmas, and may God continue to bless you in the New Year.

• • •

Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Spirit in the rectory Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. in the rectory at Holy Rosary Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. at Holy Spirit in the rectory

With Love, The Faculty, Staff, Parents, & Students of Holy Family Academy

Spiritual Guidance Page 6

Information on the Sacraments Baptism: is celebrated on the Third Sunday of the month at 2:00p.m. or any other Sunday outside the Lenten Season. If you would like to have your child Baptized call the Parish Office at (978) 632-0253 First Communion: for adults and children over the age of 7. Call Maura Sweeney at the Parish Office (978) 632-0253 Ext.117

Confirmation: call Maura Sweeney at the Parish Office (978) 632-0253 Ext117 Holy Orders: If you are feeling called to explore a vocation to the priesthood please contact our diocesan vocations director Fr. Jim Mazzone at [email protected] or by phone at 508-340-5788

Holy Matrimony: notify the Church approximately one year in advance. For Marriage Preparation, call the Parish Office at (978) 632-0253

Sheepish Cartoon provided by Flocknote

Anointing of the Sick: call Fr. Lundrigan at Ext.116 or Fr. Ramos at Ext.130

Come Pray in the Presence of the Lord All are welcome to stop by Holy Rosary Church on Wednesdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. For your convenience the ramp door is left open all day. You may sign up at the back of church for a specific time every week or drop in as your schedule allows.

These Events Will Resume in the New Year: Bible Study

Lead by Fr. Steve and meets every Tuesday (except on holidays) at 6:30p.m. downstairs in the hall at Holy Rosary. Through an open conversation, participants will explore the coming Sunday’s readings by learning about their contexts and discussing their meaning for us today. These sessions do not build on each other so you may feel free to drop in as you’re able. 

Curso Biblico

Fr. Ramos leads a Bible Study in Spanish on Thursday evenings at 5:30p.m. in the upstairs conference room in the rectory on Nichols Street. 

Faith Sharing Group

Meets at 9:00a.m. on Thursdays in the rectory at Holy Spirit to talk about faith in our lives in an informal, comfortable setting.

The Intercessory Prayer Group

Gathers every other Monday at 1:30p.m. in the rectory on Nichols Street to pray for the needs of our parish and community through various prayers of the Church, song, Sacred Scripture, silent reflection, and sharing. The next meeting will be Jan. 7th.

Grit & Grace Women’s Book Club

Is an opportunity for women of all ages to gather and discuss books that help them explore their faith. They meet biweekly on Monday evenings at 7:00p.m. in the rectory on Nichols Street. Their next meeting will be on Monday, January 14th. They will be discussing the book Beautiful Hope at that time. You can pick up a copy of this book at the back of church after Mass.

These Faith Formation Activities Are Being Offered this Winter: ∗ ∗ ∗

Prayer for Adult Sons & Daughters: Placing them in the Heart of God A Catholic Approach to End of Life Forms Everything You Every Wanted to Ask About the Mass But Haven’t Had a Chance to Ask Full details on these events will be posted on our website and updated in this bulletin.

Please Pray For:

Philip Mara, Addison Auza, Henry Cichonski, Richard & Jeanne Bubnel, Geraldine Dorval, Tricia McKinley, Brian Como, Kathleen Bliss, Leonne Tagen, Larry Butler, Joan Besch, Mary Beth Brow and Patty LeBlanc. If you would like to add a person’s name to the prayer list, please contact Annunciation Parish at (978) 632-0253, ext. 110. Names will be kept on the prayer list for 4 consecutive weeks. Please call the Parish Office if you would like to put a name back on the list at the end of these 4 weeks. For other prayers and special intentions, call our Prayer Line at (978) 632-2618

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Please contact me with information about: Becoming a parishioner Becoming Catholic Celebrating a sacrament Scheduling a visit from a priest Holy Family Academy (PreK—Grade 8) The Caring Place (Preschool & Child Care) Religious Education for my children Children’s Liturgy of the Word Youth Ministry Respect Life Committee Ministry to the Sick & Homebound Adult faith formation opportunities Online Giving or donation envelopes

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Annunciation Parish, Gardner, MA

03-1038