November 2017 Newsletter – Eternal Joy

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

The Church dedicates the month of November to the memory of the faithful departed. This is a wonderful tradition through which the prayers of the faithful living help to guide those that have died to eternal life into heaven. The words above, from Revelation 21:4, give us a glimpse of what is in store for those already journeying to heaven after death, and for us – the faithful living. Frankly, it will be beyond wonderful, exhilarating, and amazing. Pure, eternal, constant joy and glory for the faithful. Reflecting on all these things should cause us to consider our faithfulness more fully. The rewards for faithfulness are great, yet sometimes it can seem so hard to remain so, especially in the face of significant challenges. These challenges are like small ‘deaths’ in our lives. It can range from sickness to breakups, economic challenges to interpersonal conflicts. Sometimes, these small ‘deaths’ make us feel alone – and that is the enemy’s work. The enemy wishes to separate us, to accuse us (I’m not good enough; No one will understand; No one will like me now; I am unworthy of God; I can’t possibly go to church; It’s better if I stay away). A funny thing happens when we let faithfulness – born out of prayer and perseverance – overcome our fears, overcome the enemy, the accuser. When faithfulness prevails, when we step back into church, we find the start of healing and the comfort of fellowship. The sacraments bring us the special graces we need for strength and renewal. The key to faithfulness is to not allow small ‘deaths’ to separate us from God’s house and family. This month, as we commemorate and look to the example of the faithful departed, let us redouble our faithfulness so that we too will be prepared to enter that place where all ‘deaths’ end and where there is no more mourning, crying, or pain.

Join us in November as we celebrate our thanksgiving to God and continue our Fall activities. We so look forward to seeing you.

You may view and download a copy of our November 2017 Newsletter right here.

October 2017 Newsletter – Everlasting and Permanent

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Walking through my backyard I listened to the leaves from our Ash tree crunch under my feet. This season of marvelous color, scents, great foods, and treats like apple pie and cider always brings to mind transition. It is a time of obvious change. Fall occurs every year and, because of our experiences, perhaps we are programmed to see everything as changeable. Maybe we were brought up to even think that God’s love could be turned on and off depending on how we acted. Everything is temporary or provisional. Nothing is solid. As we reflect on the change around us, we should also pause to consider that this sense of change is not a universal constant. There is at least One who is immutable, unchangeable, and permanent. Yes, God is universal and permanent, He is immutable – which means unchangeable. But it is more than that. God’s nature in and of itself extends beyond Himself – because of Jesus it includes us who have confessed our sins and have placed our faith in Him. In that act, we are pulled into God’s permanence. Because He is unchangeable we enter into permanence. As St. Paul told the Romans, we are transformed. In Him we have a solid rock to cling to no matter the challenge. By connecting to God, by accepting His Son’s revelation, we enter an eternity of permanence.

Join us in October as we celebrate the Christian Family and get busy with our Fall activities including our Craft Fair (October 7th) and our Spaghetti Dinner (October 21st). Check out all we have invested in including our new kids corner.

You may view and download a copy of our October 2017 Newsletter right here.

Sing it out! (on your way to church)

We are that place where you can belong. Come join us. Invite someone. Sing it out on your way here. You are invited.

Join in on Back To Church Sunday, September 17th. Services at 9:30am and 11:30am with a community breakfast at 10:30am. We look forward to seeing you!

September 2017 Newsletter – A Place to Belong

Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Did you ever wonder why we do what we do at church? Not the Holy Mass as an act of God directed worship or educating our youth as God has commanded so that they may have knowledge of the fullness of God’s love – those things are pretty straightforward. No, I mean the investments we make in church infrastructure for the future. Since the beginning of 2012, we have taken on twenty-two major infrastructure projects. This month we are replacing the entire sidewalk along the side of the church and have made major repairs to the church hall floor with the entire floor soon to be updated. Do you wonder why? If it were about dedication to just a building, or to memories, it would not be a wise investment. After all, what is a church without people, or memories without people to share them with. Grabbing onto Paul’s Letter to Timothy, we find the real reason for investing. It is about you! Paul exhorts us to guard the good treasure entrusted to us. We have Jesus in our midst and we have you in our family. The Holy Spirit guides us in what we do so that you may have a place, a home, and a family. A place to belong. We invest – we invest so the church is there for you – we invest so you may belong to and rejoice in being God’s precious treasure.

Join us this September as we celebrate brotherly love, take up a collection for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, and welcome you to a ‘Place to Belong’ on Back-to-Church Sunday, September 17th. There are lots of activities, a new kids corner, and best of all, a true sense of belonging.

You may view and download a copy of our September 2017 Newsletter right here.

Schenectady Out of the Darkness Community Walk

The 4th Schenectady Out of the Darkness Community Walk is a walk to fight suicide. The walk will take place on Saturday, September 30th starting at the Pavilion in Central Park, Schenectady, New York. Check-in starts at 12pm and the opening program at walk starts at 1pm. You can register at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

July/August 2017 Newsletter – Let’s Visit

She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

We begin our summer with the celebration of Holy Mass on Sunday, July 2nd followed quickly by the celebrations of the Visitation and Independence Day. The Visitation holds special significance for us. What would summer be without visits with family and friends, getting together for picnics, or the traditional family road trip to go visiting? The scene of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth is part of the larger story of salvation. The story line in Luke’s gospel is the story of God’s powerful desire to visit with us, to be present in our lives. Mary’s visit with Elizabeth would not have been possible without the angel Gabriel’s visit with Zachariah (Elizabeth’s husband) telling him that they would have a son. It would not have been possible without that same angel’s visit to Mary, telling her that God desired to place His Son in the world, to visit with us. All of salvation history is a telling of God’s visitation with us. He wants to be with us, even when we do not want to be with Him. He remains with us and calls us back even when we wander off. He continually calls us into deeper and deeper relationship with Him. He is the visitor that never leaves! As we contemplate our best visitor, let us also take up Mary’s example As we get out there to visit this summer, let’s talk about the One best visitor ever. Help others invite Him into their lives.

Join us this summer as we continue to visit with Jesus, as we are assured of His abiding presence with us. There are tons of summer activities – Kurs Youth Camp, Independence Day, the National United Choirs Convention and Music Workshop, the YMSofR Golf Tournament, our neighborhood and community picnic, and so much more. We will continue gathering bras – that’s right, bras!

You may view and download a copy of our July/August 2017 Newsletter right here.

May 2017 Newsletter – Being Genuine

we commend ourselves in every way: by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God

This month our Holy Church holds its Seventeenth Annual Mission and Evangelism conference. This coincides with the words above from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Church at Corinth. How do we commend ourselves to others? How do we show forth what a genuine life in Jesus means? Being truly genuine in our walk with Jesus is at once a difficult task and a great reward. In May we look to Mary as a perfect example of someone who genuinely walked with her Son. Let us focus on what it means to be genuine, authentic – or as some would say – being real. Let us commend ourselves to others as Jesus’ authentic followers with confession, repentance, fellowship, obedience, genuineness, and truthful speech. By doing so, the power of God will show through us. We, like Mary, will glow with His real and genuine love. We will be real!

Join us continuing our celebration of Easter joy and in celebrating mom and our heavenly mother this May. There is so much going on in May and we are actively getting ready for our many summer activities. Check out all this and more, plus read up on how we are called to baptize our culture in this month’s newsletter.

You may view and download a copy of our May 2017 Newsletter right here.