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WELCOME TO THE
STRATFORD CATHOLIC PARISH COMMUNITY
OF ST. JOSEPH’S & IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH
Pastor: Fr. Dick Bester
Parochial Vicar:
Fr. David Butler
Parochial Vicar:
Fr. Chris Pietraszko
Pastoral Minister:
Ron MacDonald
Sunday Masses:
Immaculate Conception
Church
5:00 p.m. Sat. evening
10:00 a.m. Sun. Morning
Confessions:
Saturdays from 4-4:30 pm. or
by appointment
St. Joseph’s Church –
Sunday Mornings
8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Confessions:
Saturdays from 11 am—noon
or by appointment.
Children’s Liturgy
of the Word for children
JK – Grade 3
October - May
Offered at all
Sunday Masses.
Sunday, December 29th , 2019
From the Pastor’s Pen - Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.
Our God was born into a human family in the person of Jesus. This prompts
us to recognize the gi s of God in our families, and to
give thanks for them.
This past week, we celebrated Christmas. The Christ-
mas season lasts un$l January 12, The Bap$sm of The
Lord. I want to thank many people in our three
churches for all the work that they did to make our
faith filled celebra$ons so beau$ful: the altar servers,
the liturgical ministries, the decora$ng commi,ees,
the music ministry, the pastoral team and support
staff. Thank you for a job well done.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your kindnesses
throughout this year. I thank you on behalf of the pastoral team and support
staff for the cards and goodies and gi s that you have presented to us. As
we are in the octave of Christmas, thank you and may you have a blessed
Christmas season and new year.
This Wednesday, January 1, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother
of God. This is a holy day of obliga$on in our Church. The Mass $mes will
be 5:00 pm. on December 31 at Immaculate Concep$on,
January 1 at 10:00 am. at Holy Name of Mary Church in St. Mary’s, and Janu-
ary 1 at 11:30 am. at St. Joseph’s in Stra9ord. On behalf of our pastoral
team and support staff, we wish all of our families a very happy and healthy
New Year.
The offices will be closed on Tuesday December 31 at noon and will reopen
on January 2 at the usual $me.
Please pick up your envelopes for the year 2020.
Staff Directory:
Fr. Dick Bester, Pastor: ext. 23 ([email protected])
Fr. David Butler: ext. 24 ([email protected]) and Fr. Chris Pietraszko: ext. 27 ([email protected])
Dr. Ron MacDonald, Pastoral Minister, Director of Liturgical Music: ext. 25 ([email protected])
Main Recep$onist: ext. 0 (Mary Chisholm and Elizabeth Manto on Mondays) ([email protected])
Brenda Heisz, Bookkeeper and Hall Bookings: ext. 22 ([email protected])
Mary Chisholm, Office Administra$ve Assistant: ext. 26 ([email protected])
Brian Bambrough, custodian @ St. Joseph’s Church: ext. 28 ([email protected])
Linda Ingoldsby, custodian @ Immaculate Concep$on Church: ext. 31
Anna Checinska, organist: 519-703-0851 [email protected]
Contact Informa&on for our Parish:
Office Hours: Monday—Friday 8:30 am.—noon and 1- 4 pm.
Office Address: 96 Huron St., Stra9ord, ON N5A 5S6 Office email: [email protected]
Phone: 519-271-6722 or 519-880-3685 Fax: 519-271-6722
Website: www.stra9ordcatholic.com Contact Kel Pero at 226-921-4818 or [email protected]
Facebook address: St. Joseph’s and Immaculate Concep$on Parish Community
December is the Month of The Divine Infancy and January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus - here are
the readings for the week:
Monday: 1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96:1-2, 11-13; Jn 1:1-18
Tuesday: 1 Jn 2.18-21, Ps 96, Jn 1.1-18
Wednesday: Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.
Thursday: 1 Jn 2.22-28; Ps 98; Jn 1.19-28
St. Basil the Great (Patron Saint of Hospital Administrators) and
St. Gregory Nazianzen (Patron Saint of teachers).
Friday: 1 Jn 2:29 — 3:6; Ps 98:1, 3cd-6; Jn 1:29-34
Saturday: 1 Jn 3:7-10; Ps 98:1, 7-9; Jn 1:35-42
Sunday: Is. 60.1-6; Ps. 72; Eph. 3.2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2.1-12
Voca&ons Prayer Calendar— This week please
pray for:
Ministers to the deaf and hard of hearing,
Fr. James Roche, Deacon Rudolph Pflanzner,
Fr. Mitchel Kaminski, Fr. Frank Leslie,
religious communi$es, Bishop Fabbro and
Auxiliary Bishop Dabrowski, and for Pope
Francis.
Please pray for those who are sick—
especially Frances Kraemer, Nora Ryan, Cor-
rie Segeren, Josephine Wijesinghe, Frank
Nyenhuis, Barb Leyser, Joan Mezenberg,
Calvin Shantz, Steve Parr.
Mass Schedule for the week of December 30 - January 4
Tuesday, December 31 - New Year’s Eve
5:00 pm. at Immaculate Concep&on Church
Wednesday, January 1 - New Year’s Day
11:30 am. at St. Joseph’s Church
Thursday - 11:00 am. at Greenwood Residence
Jane Smith Laurie & Crystal Ash
Intns of Bob Hughes K of C Council 1431 3rd Degree
Larry Kelly Madelynne Ellah & Michael Beale
Friday - 8:00 am. at St. Joseph’s Church
Bill Merkel His family
Jim Morris His family
Gimmi Pallone Antonie,a Rizzo
Adora&on beginning aAer this Mass
un&l 8:00 am. Saturday morning.
A Prayer for the New Year
Blessed are you, Lord God, maker and ruler of the universe.
You have brought us to the beginning of another new year in your service.
Remember your love for us in Jesus Christ,
and help us to live for your honour and glory and for the salva$on of all.
Blessed are you, Lord God, now and forever. Amen.
A few reminders…
• Don’t spend New Year’s Eve alone. Come and join us for food and fun at the Knights of Co-
lumbus hall! Bring along your favourite potluck dish. Doors open at 5:00 pm. and potluck
dinner begins at 6:30 pm. Cards to follow. For informa$on call Joe Lorentz 519-273-7957.
• The installa$on of the new execu$ve team of St. Joseph's CWL will take place on Sunday,
January 5th during the 11:30 am. Mass. We invite all CWL members to join us for this cere-
mony.
• The Thursday lec$onary group will resume their gathering Thursday, January 9th at 10 am.
in the Cenacle. All are welcomed.
• The Children's Choir will resume rehearsals again Monday, January 6th at 5 p.m. in the mu-
sic room at St. Joseph's Church. New children are welcomed to join this inspira$onal choir.
Sacraments
Bap&sms are offered on the 3rd Sunday of each month. Next celebra$on will be at Immaculate
Concep$on Church on Sunday, January 19th with class held on Tuesday, January 14th at 7:40 pm. in
the church hall. Please call the office to register your child.
First Reconcilia&on Completed for this year. Prepara$on begins again in the fall, 2020.
First Holy Communions Please see above for more informa$on.
Confirma&on All small groups are now in progress. Groups will take a break over the Christmas
season and resume small group gatherings in the new year.
Weddings—should be booked six months to a year in advance. Please call the church office to
speak with one of the priests.
Reflec&on for New Year’s Day
Mary, Holy Mother of God, we ask you to be
our mother as well. We honour you, hostess to
angels, guide to pilgrims, inspira$on to poets,
light to those who wander in the darkness in
response to the voice of God—we honour you
and ask to be united with you.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. Amen
Please pray for those who have died—
especially Adela Fuentes and Shirley Reeve.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful depart-
ed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
