“God’s House, Our Home, Our Little Church” Program

Over the next few weeks, you will be hearing about our upcoming renewal program “God’s House, Our Home, Our Little Church”. This effort continues to be very important as we move forward with the mission and vision of Our Lady of Grace Church. We, as a parish family, have changed so many lives in our community! In order to continue our mission and ministries, we encourage all parishioners to spend time in prayer and discussion with your family reflecting on the work we do. Our special Commitment Weekend will be celebrated on September 21 & 22. If you have any questions regarding the “God’s House, Our Home, Our Little Church” Program, please feel free to contact the parish office.

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All parish volunteers must complete Virtus training, in order to be in compliance with the Diocesan Safe Environments policy. We especially encourage parents of our Religious Education Students to attend. We are offering an in-person Virtus Training here at Our Lady of Grace on Wednesday, August 28th, and September 25th from 6 PM to 9 PM in Madonna Hall. To register  for one of these classes please visit: https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus, and click on the “First Time Registrant” link. If you do not have computer access or have questions about the Safe Environment policy or attending the class, please contact Jennifer Volturno at 203-377-0928 x117 or by email:jvolturno@olgstratford.com.

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Grandparents’ Day Bring your Grandparent to Mass for “Grandparents Day”. On the weekend of September 7/8, we will celebrate a special blessing for our “grandparents” and present them with a prayer card for the Day.

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BACK to SCHOOL PRAYER – Lord Jesus, I ask for Your help as I begin this new school year. Allow me to experience Your presence in the many blessings You put before me. Open my eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings. Open my heart and mind to new friends and new teachers.

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The Knights of Columbus will be hosting their monthly food drive on Saturday, September 7th, from 10am till Noon in the parking lot behind the Parish Center. Select items needed include: canned tuna, chicken & salmon; cereal, mac & cheese and peanut butter.

Catholic Community of Stratford Women’s Communion Breakfast Save the Date – We will be hosting a Catholic Community of Stratford Women’s Communion Breakfast on Sunday, September 28th beginning with the 9 AM Mass and with a full catered breakfast and guest speaker following Mass. The cost will be $25.00 per person. Please mark your calendars! More to come.

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Vision Task Force

In recent weeks we have seen the faces in our Parish grow. In order to better serve the spiritual, social and family needs of the Parish, Monsignor Ryan would like to invite a number of parishioners to come and join in a discussion as a task force to look at ways we can better serve the Parish. This is a short term commitment of three or four meetings. Individuals or couples who would like to participate in the process, please contact the parish office at 203-377-0928 x113 or email Cathy.Nucera@olgstratford.com and provide your contact information.

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Call for Ministers to Sick and Shut-in

We are seeing an increasing number of calls from our parishioners who are homebound. They would like to receive “Friendly Visits” and “Visits with Holy Communion.” Prior to the pandemic Our Lady of Grace parish had a large number of ministers visiting the homebound. If you would be interested in more information, please contact Msgr. Ryan (msgrryan@olgstratford.com) or Cathy Nucera at 203- 377-0928 x113.

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Questions of the Week – September 1st– 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Doers of the Word

Welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. (James 1:21–22)

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 • Advantages of Fidelity
James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 • Response to God’s Gift
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 • Jesus and the Pharisees

Adults: Which words of Jesus provide the most inspiration for the Christian work that you do?

Kids: How do you welcome the words of Jesus into your heart?

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We would like to thank our on–line donors for their support of our parish. We would like to ask our donors to check their accounts. We have noticed that your credit card may have expired or you have changed account numbers. Your financial support to our parish are important! Please call (203) 377–0928 x113.

Click on “On-Line Giving Button” on our website or by clicking this link, https://www.osvhub.com/olgstratford/funds. For customer assistance please call 1-800-348-2886 choose option 1 or the Parish Office at (203) 377-0928 x113.  To insure the proper date for your donation, we will be announcing each month the second collections and their dates: August 31/September 1 – Capital Improvement; September 7/8 – Catholic University.

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We have added a new tab on our website. This tab, Religious Resources, will include the Diocese of Bridgeport, the Fairfield County Catholic (latest edition), the Leadership Institute, seasonal resources (Lent Easter, Advent, Christmas) and other resources, This will allow us space on the opening website page for parish news, information and activities!

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CallingPost – Please watch for our calls each Friday night at 7pm. If you wish to receive our parish CallingPost call 203–377–0928 X113.

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