Pastor's Message
Dear Friends,
After the weather mess last weekend, I need to bring to your attention that our collection was down $3500.00. I need to take this opportunity in this letter to inform our parishioners on some issues of our parish finances and ask for your help! A parishioner recently told me that the problem with the church is that it is always asking for money, it is true! I am asking for money because, unfortunately, we have been falling short of our goal. HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN: We have more than 1200 families registered, 330 families give 50 weeks of giving a year, an average weekly gift of $19. The next 218 parishioners give an average of $5.00-7.00 when they attend! The next 239 parishioners give less than $150.00 a year or less than $3.00 a week. The remaining parishioners have not made a recognized donation. The parish budget is based on 450 households giving $18.00 A WEEK. The good news is that our attendance numbers are higher. We are averaging 575 people on a weekend for mass. But many of the people attending have yet to join us! Invite the person next to you to use the welcome form in the bulletin. I was told that a parishioner is mad that the Diocese has not sent a second priest to OLG! With the figures I have just given you, the parish cannot afford a second assigned priest! I am thankful for the help of a retired Priest and a retired Deacon. I cannot afford to let the parish continue in a deficit! We are behind in our weekly offertory. We missed our Annual Collection goal by $1500.00. I have had to have two trees removed because of ice damage and disease. ($2000.00 bill).
What can you do?
1. You can be a recognized donor by using an envelope or using our on-line giving!
2. The goal is $18.00 a week per household, can you get us closer?
3. Invite the family sitting next to you to register in the parish?
4. Ask questions of the Finance Council and stayed informed?Msgr. Ryan
Mass Times & Reconciliation
SABBATH MASSES
Saturday – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday – 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m.
DAILY MASS
Monday – Friday at 9:00 a.m.
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Friday mornings at the 9:00 a.m. mass
CONFESSION
Friday 8:30 a.m.–8:50 a.m. Saturday 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m.
The church is open from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for those who wish to stop in to pray in front of the Tabernacle or the Marion icon.
St. Blaise Blessing of Throats
The Feast of St. Blaise is February 3rd. We will bless throats after all Masses on the weekend of Feb. 1 & 2.
Feast of the Presentation – Feb. 2
We will bless candles on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on February 1 & 2. Blessed candles will be available after Mass on the Feast Day. A $3.00 donation is requested.
HOLY DAY MASS SCHEDULE
Vigil Mass – 7:00 p.m.
Holy Day Masses – 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon
We have developed a policy that safe-guards our parishioners and will allow time for our parish contractors to clear the property during storms.
Weekdays: When the schools are closed or delayed or the Town or State has advised against travel, Daily Mass will be cancelled for that day. The parish will notify channel 8, channel 3 and the radio stations of the cancellation.
Weekends: When severe weather occurs during weekend Mass times, please check the local TV and Radio stations and our parish website for cancellations. It becomes very difficult to keep the sidewalks, driveways, and parking area clear if it snows during Mass time.
Your safety is important to us!
Any Mass intention affected by the cancellation will be said during the next week.
Handicapped Parking
The four spaces directly in front of the Church on Second Hill Lane are handicapped parking spaces. These spaces are for our parishioners who have a handicap parking sticker.
Wheelchair Seating
We invite you to be seated in the front area of the church. You and your family can be seated. Communion will be brought to you at the beginning of Communion time!
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
Are you or do you know someone who is looking for personal growth in their Catholic Faith?
If you are an adult who has never been baptized
If you are an adult who has been baptized in a non-Catholic community
If you are an adult who has been baptized in the Catholic Church but never received Eucharist or Confirmation
If you are an adult interested in finding out more about the Catholic Faith, RCIA may be for you. For further information or questions you may call Linda Skowronski at 203-375-8992 or email Denise at denisebartelson@olgstratford.com
Bishop Caggiano's Corner
Welcome!
Join us to pray, smile, listen, encourage, and invite others to come home.
Be Still and Know that I am God – Psalm 46:10
Thank you to the 55 individuals and Families who have signed up for our new On-Line Giving program. We hope more families will join us! For more information, please click on “On-Line Giving Button” on our website or by clicking this link, https://www.osvhub.com/olgstratford/funds. Click on Give Now and you will be prompted through signing up and creating an account. For questions or customer support please call OSV Online Giving 1-800-348-2886 – option 1 or the Parish Office 203-377-0928 and speak to Msgr. Ryan, Stacey or Denise We invite all our previous donors to sign-up. Your account with our previous vendor is not transferable!!
PARISH REGISTRATION
Why register? Through your participation as a “Parish Steward”, you continue to help a community of faith grow. You gain services when you need them, such as Baptism, Visitation of the Sick, Sponsorship Certificates and a place for a Funeral. You will also receive updated information regarding the parish by email or by our auto-call system.
To register, stop by the Parish Office or fill out the Become A Parishioner form and drop it in the offertory basket during mass
Office hours: M–F, 9:00am – 3:00pm
Parish Leaders – Please Save the Date – Monday, January 27, 2020 – 7:00 p.m. – Parish Leaders join us for a very important meeting in Madonna Hall. We need to discuss timely topics, please bring your co-leaders to the meeting.
- Office Procedures (Bulletin, Website, Calendar,Finances)
- Catholic Mutual Insurance Procedure and Training
- Safe Environment Training and the Re-certification process
Virtus Training Class – Saturday, February 1 from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
February 9, 2020 – Sunday – Parents of young children, the next “On the Road from Bethlehem” Gathering. More information to follow!
February 15 -Saturday – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m – Valentine’s Day Knight Pasta Dinner! Click here for more information.
Parish News
During the Family Mass on January 25th, Msgr. Ryan invited all the young children to join him in the front for the homily. Also during the mass all of the children preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and their parents were asked to come to join Msgr. Ryan for a special blessing. They were presented with a candle as a reminder of their baptism. The candles which were returned after the blessing will be given back to the children on the day of their First Reconciliation. Click here to see more pictures.
THANK YOU! The Knights of Columbus Thanks all who donated items to the CT State Council Pro-Life Mass and Baby Shower for Unwed Mothers which was held Sunday, January 19 beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford. Items will be distributed throughout the Diocese. Click here for more pictures.
First Reconciliation and First Communion classes – Classes begin on January 26th for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There will also be a special family Mass at 10:00 acknowledging these children. Please keep them and their families in your prayers as they prepare for this special Sacrament. If you have a child attending 2nd grade in Catholic school and you belong to Our Lady of Grace please contact our Faith Formation office so we can speak to you about signing your child up for these classes.
Calling Post
For the past 7 years we have used a robo-call service called “Calling Post”. The service has helped the parish to keep you informed. In a recent Calling Post to parishioners, we had 200 calls “intercepted”, which means you have blocked us from reaching you! When this occurs, it also creates “pastoral questions” for the parish. Are you still residing in the parish? Has your status changed (illness, etc.)? We ask you to contact the Parish Office if you have blocked our robo-calls so that we can remove your name from our calling-post list!
Faith Formation invites everyone to join them on their Prayer Walk!
THE FRIEND OF JESUS PRAYER
Don’t walk behind me because I may not want to lead. Don’t walk ahead of me I may not want to follow. Walk aside me and be my friend!
Prayer is a powerful tool and I am sure many of you can witness to that, but if you have not been one to turn to prayer this will be a good place to start. A few months ago at a Family Mass we talked about the importance of prayer. We talked about starting a Prayer Walk and asked families to sign up to be part of our Prayer Walk. With the Prayer Walk we send you an email when we receive special prayer intentions. We have about 35 parishioners at this time signed up. If you would like to participate in this Prayer Walk you can sign up by sending us your name and email to denisebartelson@olgstratford.com. We send out an email about once a month to everyone who signs up and we ask you to pray when we receive special prayer intentions.
Hope you will join us on our Prayer Walk!
New Parish Altar Servers
We would like to thank the four families who have supported their child’s choice to be an altar server. Training begins Saturday, January 25th at 11:30am in Church.
Be sure to check out the Our Spiritual Life tab on this website for resources to help deepen our faith.
Virtus Training and Background Checks – We are currently notifying parishioners for Recertification in our Diocesan Safe Environment Program. There are 24 parishioners who volunteer in our parish who will need to recertify. Please respond to the email we are sending. If we do not have your email address you will be receiving a phone message. Please follow the directions! Thanks
If you are a new volunteer or are considering becoming a volunteer we are offering a Virtus Training on Saturday February 1, 2020. You can contact George Zamary at 203-377-0928 X9 for further information.
Parish Finances
Parish Finances
We would like to thank those who have raised their weekly donation to the parish. Your donations are helpful to us to meet our budgeted goals
Christmas Collection
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AT CHRISTMAS!
Christmas 2019 2018
First Collection $9,710.00 $10,543.00
Second Collection $5,504.00 $5,135.58
Total $15,214.00 $15,678.58
Because the Parish Offertory is falling behind and the winter weather and the holidays are upon us, may I ask you to make up your envelopes when you are not able to be with us.
2020 Mass Book
The 2020 Mass Book is now available for your Mass intentions. Masses can be said for either “living” or “deceased”. Mass stipends are $10.00 for Masses said during the week and $20.00 for weekend Masses. If a specific day is unavailable, please consider having a Sanctuary Lamp lit for your intentions. The stipend is $10.00 per Lamp.
Event Calendar
Click an upcoming event below for more details or visit our full Event Calendar.