Opportunities in Schenectady County:
Attention students home from college or on summer break from high school students – Jobs Available.
Park Attendants – There are eight (8) openings for seasonal Park Attendants in the City of Schenectady. The hourly salary is $10.70. Click here for an application and full details.
Applicants must become City of Schenectady residents and maintain residency throughout employment. All interested parties should submit completed City of Schenectady Applications or resumes to:
Tiffany White
Personnel & Benefits Administrator
City Hall, Room 105
Schenectady NY 12305
Resumes can also be E-mailed
Completed applications/resumes need to be received in the Personnel & Benefits Administrator’s Office (City Hall, Room 105) by 4 PM on July 5, 2018.
I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand.
Jesus spoke those words in His final instructions to His Apostles and disciples, the night of the Last supper. Jesus, in His infinite wisdom and love, knew they were not quite ready for everything He had to tell them. It remains that way today. Jesus has many things for us to understand and to accomplish. He does not just lay it all on us at once, but rather, as we are ready. In the verse after this one, Jesus goes on to say: The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. That is great consolation – that the Holy Spirit would come, has indeed come – to guide us and train us in all of God’s truth and in Jesus’ desire for our future. As parents, grandparents, and family members we hold great expectations for our children’s futures. Obviously, we don’t lay it all on them at the age of two – ‘this is everything I expect you to accomplish.’ It would be too much, and frankly too presumptuous. Rather, we instruct and guide, pave the way forward. We watch as our children evolve. As young people, we come to realize that the expectations of others, and those we place on ourselves, may not often turn out the way anyone expects – but yet in a way we have been prepared for all along. During the month of June we take pause to consider God’s desire for us. We hopefully stop, shut out the noise, and listen to the things He is revealing to us. His revelation is now. Stop, listen, and feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, His nudge in a certain direction and for a glorious purpose. Jesus puts His desires on our hearts and minds, He leads us by the sending forth of the Holy Spirit. We have to realize that when He says we are ready – we indeed are ready. Jesus and the Spirit are never before the right time, never before we can bear it, but when we are ready. Have we heard Him speak? Will we take up His charge? Having heard, it is time to say ‘Yes LORD.’
The June newsletter offers tons of information on vocations. Read our Bishop’s Pastoral Letter. Pray fervently and diligently for the gift of vocations. Read from the Fathers on humility and sacrifice. Join us on Father’s Day for Holy Mass and breakfast, and pray for the special men in our lives. Check out our list of summer events and happenings. Read up on ‘saints’ who hate us and false apparitions and visions. Jesus is indeed the final word and we should be following His teaching; all that and more in our June 2018 Newsletter.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
We can get caught up in the two ends of the spectrum that are part of every faithful Christian’s life. We either experience great joy, the uplifting graces of the Holy Spirit poured out on us, or we end up on the road to martyrdom. Is that all there is to the Christian life? Really, the struggle in a Christian’s life is that we live much of it in the middle. In considering our lives, lived in the middle, we may ask: How do I sacrifice what I want for what God wants? How do I proclaim God’s truth when the world, even my family, will hate me? How can I face day-to-day life with faithfulness? Those questions plague us – but thanks be to God, He offers us a way forward by example. Of course, Jesus stands first and foremost as one who came from the middle boldly. He proclaimed truth, to those, like us, who were in the middle, who faced daily challenges of faithfulness. He offered real truth that took them from the middle to the heights of heaven. He gave them strength for their ordinary lives because the promise was oh so much more. Yes, the popular folks rejected Him, but the Father welcomed Him. This is our hope. This month we look to the example of Mary. Talk about lives in the middle. Plain, ordinary folks like us – struggling day to day with ridicule, mockery, and exile. Mary, referred to by her community as worse than a prostitute. Joseph, seen as not man enough. Jesus – an illegitimate child. They faced the worst kind of ridicule and rejection, yet lived lives in the middle, working day-to-day, faithful to God at the deepest of levels. Their struggles, much like ours. They answer the essential question: How do I get by faithfully? As we live in the middle, let us look to their example, courage, and to God’s unfailing help. Let us count our ordinary struggles and our lives in the middle as a joy in Jesus.
So much going on. The first ever Gospel Concert at HNJ on May 19th at 2pm. Come out and experience 18 performers – song, dance, poetry, stories, and more… A lunch will be served as well. Bring mom and pray for her. Honor all the special women in our lives – wives, daughters, moms, grandmothers, godmothers, aunts, partners… We will have a special breakfast in their honor. We celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension on the actual day – Thursday, May 10th – no switching things around here. Check out our Men’s Spiritual Retreat, sign up for summer youth events, we honor those served and gave their lives for our country on Memorial Day. Oh, and Why Not Communion in the Hand – check out our article and more…
You may view and download a copy of our May 2018 Newsletter right here.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us
April first and we are at Easter. The wonderful thing about this timing is how it all coincides and works together to represent a restart. A new month, a new day, a renewal of our Easter life – if we are willing to take Him up. The passage above from Titus 3:3-4 compares and contrasts what we once were, before Jesus, and what we can become – if we chose Him. St. Paul points out that people were foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hating one another. Paul in writing to Titus had recognized what the world was like. But rather than staying focused on what was wrong with the world, Paul is pointing out how much has changed because of Jesus. Jesus has restarted the world, He has renewed, regenerated, and re-energized the lives of those who choose to believe and are faithful to Him. The key to Paul’s writing is instruction on how life is to be lived. The life we can take up post-Easter is completely different than the life we had before. It is fresh, washed clean, and a call to continued faithfulness. The Easter life can be dangerous and demanding. Easter witness collides with the powers of “the age” that want us to stay stuck in old unredeemed ways. Worldly powers want us to chose a replay or repeat of yesterday – not an encounter with the new day of Jesus. Instead, if we chose Easter living we gain a new saved existence of joy and well-being. We join to build community in worship and work. We reach out to draw-in all who desire to set aside yesterday for today and tomorrow. Will we give up what we know, what we are comfortable with, for a new saved life? The crucified, buried, and resurrected Lord’s offer is so much better. His goodness and loving kindness is for us. Let us take Him up on Easter and leave yesterday behind.
Join us for the Easter Season. A wonderful time of joyful service in our Holy Church. Our Amazing Basket Social is Sunday, April 15th starting at noon at the Rotterdam Senior Citizens Center. Come out and bid on some really amazing (and valuable) baskets.
Our schedule is really filling up. Throughout Spring and into the summer months we are going to be so busy. Be part of it. Events include:
You may view and download a copy of our April 2018 Newsletter right here.
Please join us and walk with Jesus throughout Holy Week, particularly during the Sacred Triduum (the three days between the Last Supper and Jesus’ Resurrection). Then join us as we celebrate our Easter joy. Our schedule as follows:
Please remember the Church’s requirements for Lent Holy week requires fasting and abstaining from meats from Wednesday, March 28th through Saturday, March 31st.
Our annual Basket Social & Polish Kitchen will be held on Sunday, April 15th from 12 until 4 PM at the Rotterdam Senior Citizens Center, 2639 Hamburg St, Schenectady, New York 12303
Polish food will be served as well as homemade desserts. Tickets are $2 for admission, and $12 for a sheet of 24 tickets plus a door prize chance. There will also be special raffles for more expensive items such as jewelry and electronics.
We look forward to seeing you!
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Escape is really popular. Whether we think of our everyday trials and challenges (I wish i could leave this all behind), or amazing escapes after a tragedy has struck (I can’t believe they found them under all that rubble), or the things we do just to get away (TV, music, gaming, virtual reality) we connect with the idea of escape. You might expect a church newsletter to go on about staying connected to reality – a lecture about being responsible and staying connected and involved. Even though it is Lent, we won’t go there. Everyone needs a little escape time, some respite from the everyday. What faith and Church is more about is the fact that our “reality,†the struggles, pains, failings, sins, disappointments, weaknesses we all know too well will not win or overcome us. We have escaped. More than two thousand years ago, God’s plan of redemption altered our reality forever. The reality and power of sin and death was broken through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ that first Easter. Death was defeated. True life, spiritual life, God’s life triumphed. We have escaped sin and death in Him. Over the next weeks, we will complete our Lenten journey, enter into Passiontide, and journey together through the events of Holy Week. We will connect with the brutal reality that changed our reality and provided us escape. Escape from sin and death in Jesus is true life. We are alive to Jesus’s life, sacrifice, and power. The new escaped life Jesus provides us is reason to celebrate! It is reason to respond to God’s open arms and His invitation to draw near to Him. Join us in these weeks and days as we experience the life-giving truth of God’s power. Find freedom, real escape, and transformation. Become part of God’s new life and creation.
Join us for the final weeks of the Lenten season, our Lenten retreat, Passiontide, Holy Week, and Easter – April 1st. A huge thank you to all who supported Souper Bowl Sunday and our Valentine’s Raffle. Need ideas for celebrating lent as a family, check out our suggestions. We look forward to having you in our family!
You may view and download a copy of our March 2018 Newsletter right here.
Future Direction Subcommittee of the Supreme Council of the Polish National Catholic Church
Dear Bishops, Very Rev. and Rev. Fathers, Deacons and Faithful of our Holy Church,
We are excited to announce that the theme selected for 2018 across our Holy Polish National Catholic Church is: “The Year of the Family.” This was decided at the recent National Clergy Conference where after prayer, reflection and discussion the clergy selected this theme for 2018.
The hope and prayer of our clergy and the Future Direction committee is that this Year of the Family will help strengthen all our families in living out our Christian faith, virtues and values and will become an important and consistent part of their lives.
We will be sending various blessings and prayers to be done before or after Holy Mass as well as some materials for our families to take home. Below is the link to download a copy of the 2018 Action Plan – it is also included in this email as well.
Click here to download the 2018 Action Plan
An Advent Reflection
Advent is a blended season, a mixture of hope, repentance, anticipation and joy. We know that Christ has already come, establishing his Kingdom through his life, death and resurrection. But Christ will come again in glory to establish His Kingdom in its fullness. Meanwhile, Christ comes to all who are willing to make a place for Him in their hearts.
Our Advent models are Isaiah who yearned for the coming of the Lord, John the Baptist who announced the presence of Christ, and Mary who was transformed by grace. Like Isaiah, we look forward to Christ’s glorious return. Like John, we recognize Christ’s presence among us and our need for repentance. And like Mary, we seek to accept the will of God in order to make a place for Christ in our hearts. And allow His will to be done in us.
As we approach the coming Christmas Season – our Lord through His Holy Church reminds us that we need to be ready as we heard in the Gospel on the First Sunday of Advent. Ready to first, celebrate properly His birth and second, ready to meet our Lord at any moment by living as he taught following His saving Gospel. This is a time when we are reminded by John the Baptist to “prepare the way for the Lordâ€. It is important that we do this and prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming celebration of Christmas and for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
An Advent Prayer
Let us pray. Almighty and Eternal God, You became one of us that we might have the life of Christ forever. Through this season of Advent, rekindle in us a desire for the coming of Your Kingdom. Knowing how much our world needs Your grace and truth, we ask You to guide us in the way of compassion that we might help your suffering ones. Fill us with every grace and blessing as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior. Amen.
Join the Effort
If you know of parishioners or friends who are not a part of our monthly email updates – please have them email us at FutureDirection to become a part of this important effort for our Holy Church.
Please keep this church-wide undertaking in your daily prayers – asking God to bless this work and allow it to bear fruit for the building of His Kingdom through our Holy Church.
As we begin this Holy season of Advent may we use this time to spiritual prepare ourselves to again celebrate the Incarnation and be ready for His rerurn in glory. May we show our thankfulness to God not just in our words, but more importantly buy our actions. May God bless you and your family during this Advent season.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
PNCC Supreme Council Future Direction Committee
Most Rev. Anthony A. Mikovsky, Prime Bishop
Very Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich Jr., Chairman