Prayers for our Bishop

When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. — Luke 9:11

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Eternal Father, in Whose hands are hidden the ultimate mysteries of life, we call upon Thee in this hour of Thy servant and bishop’s affliction. Thou art concerned for the physical welfare of Thy children, for Thy Son did not hesitate to show compassion to those who were weighed down with physical ills and suffering. Our minds do not understand why some must endure such hardships while others escape them, but we pray that a lack of understanding will not cause faith to grow less. Instead, may this illness cause us to realize more surely our frailty and need for utter dependence upon Thee.

It is Thou who has made us and not we ourselves, and therefore we place all trust and confidence in Thy loving care and mercy. We ask that if it be thy will, this servant of Thine, +Bernard, may be healed of this present affliction and that he may continue to be a blessing to Your Holy Church and his fellow men. We beg these bequests in the name of Him, Who was Himself the great Physician. Amen.

Åš+P Edward Panfil

EdwardPanfilLifelong parishioner and member of our Holy Polish National Catholic Church, śp. Edward Panfil, 95, passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side on Friday, November 14th, 2014.

238Born and raised in Schenectady, NY, he was the son of the late śp. Lawrence and śp. Catherine (Mortka) Panfil. In addition to his parents, Edward was predeceased by his wife, śp. Josephine (Kopec) Panfil; and his sisters, śp. Florence Panfil, śp. Gladys Ordyk, śp. Emily Kopec, and śp. Nellie Kosiba.

Ed was a gentle, caring man who loved his family. He enjoyed working in his woodworking shop, designing and building many wonderful things out of wood. He also enjoyed playing pool, bocci ball, and darts, and he looked forward to his daily bourbon manhattan and watching his NY Giants and Mets.

Edward is survived by his sons, Lawrence E. Panfil (Donna) of Saratoga Springs, NY, Allen C. Panfil (Anne) of Chalfont, PA; his grandchildren, Laurie Woodworth and Lawrence A. Panfil (Beth); his great-grandchildren, Jessica, Jack, Shawn and Tyler; and several nieces and nephews who all loved him dearly. He will also be missed by his longtime friend, Edith Derico.

Ed grew up in Schenectady, graduated from Nott Terrace High School, and then entered the Apprentice Training Program at the Watervliet Arsenal. In 1943 he joined the army and served as a technician fourth grade with the Fifth Army, 350th Infantry, in Italy during WWII. Post war he was employed as a toolmaker first class at ALCO Products in Schenectady. Two years later he became a planner with General Electric’s Guided Missile Dept., working on the development of rocket engines. GE then moved Ed and his family to San Jose, CA, in their Atomic Power Equipment Department which was at the forefront in the manufacturing of nuclear fuel. After moving back East, he served as a manufacturing engineer with GE’s ordinance dept. in Pittsfield, MA, with responsibility for numerically controlled machine tools used in the manufacture of Polaris Guided Missile Systems. Ed was a founding member of the National Numerical Control Society and cofounder and twice chairman of the GE Numerical Control Group which was dedicated to the sharing of information among various company departments. He then left GE to be the Eastern Regional Sales Representative for numerical controlled machines with the Burgmaster Corporation. Four years later he returned to General Electric in Schenectady where he retired as a senior manufacturing engineer in 1979 with 27 years of service. After retirement he worked briefly for Gordon Light at Light’s Funeral Home. Ed was part of The Goose Hill Gang, a group of men who grew up together in that section of Schenectady and gathered weekly in their later years to have lunch together at various restaurants. His friend, former Mayor Frank Ducci, is now the last survivor of the group.

Å›p. Edward was a lifelong communicant of The Holy Name of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church where he was a member of the HarmoniacChoir (an occasional soloist), and a past member of the Parish Committee. He was also a member of the GE Quarter Century Club, the Colonie Elks, and the Son’s of Italy where he had many friends. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday, Nov. 19th at the Holy Name of Jesus Church. Interment followed in Holy Name of Jesus Cemetery, Donald Ave., Schenectady.

Contributions may be made in his memory to the Holy Name of Jesus Church, 1040 Pearl St., Schenectady, NY 12303 or to a charity of one’s choice.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and may the perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

A Prayer for Veteran’s Day

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We thank Thee, Lord, for America, our home. We bless Thee for the liberty, the opportunity, and the abundance we share. But above all we praise Thee for the traditions which have made our country great, and for the patriots who have laid the foundations through faith, courage, and self-sacrifice. Teach us in our own day the meaning of citizenship, and help us to be faithful stewards of the responsibility which Thou entrusted to us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — A Prayer for our Country from A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church

Prayers in Preparation for Holy Synod – the Next 8 Days

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  1. Sunday, 9/21 – Holy Spirit, keep before our Holy Synod the wisdom and love 
that has been revealed in Jesus Christ. Help our Holy Church to become more and more like Him in word and deed.
  2. Monday, 9/22 – Holy Spirit, give Your gift of wisdom 
to those You have called to lead Your Holy Church. Guide them in leading our Holy Synod.
  3. Tuesday, 9/23 – Holy Spirit, Guide our Holy Synod so that its work may result in the growth of Your Holy Church. May many be brought to holiness, truth, and joy by its work.
  4. Wednesday, 9/24 – Holy Spirit, guide our Holy Synod and fill its delegates minds and hearts with your wisdom.
  5. Thursday, 9/25 – Holy Spirit, guide our Holy Synod in the way of Christ. Keep us ever faithful to Scripture and Holy Tradition and assist us in rejecting all that is contrary.
  6. Friday, 9/26 – Holy Spirit, may everything done at Holy Synod begin with Your inspiration, and continue with Your help. Grant that its work always finds its origin in You, and through Your help reach completion.
  7. Saturday, 9/27 – Holy Spirit, I know You hear my words and will show understanding to my hopes and needs. Guide our Holy Synod in doing Your work and help it to reach all of Your goals for us.
  8. Sunday, 9/28 – Father, without You we can do nothing. 
Send forth Your Holy Spirit and help our Holy Synod to know what is right 
and to eagerly do Your will.

Oh God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructed the hearts of the faithful, Grant, that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer Service on the 13th Anniversary of 9/11/2001

This Thursday, September 11th is the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. We will recall the tragic events of 9-11-01 with a prayer service that evening at 7pm. These terrorist acts, and events more recently experienced, were and are inspired by a warped sense of religion. Because faith can be manipulated in evil and destructive ways, it is so important that we pray to God for the virtue of Brotherly Love. All are welcome.

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Happy Labor Day

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Almighty and everlasting God, by Whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified, receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before Thee for all estates of men and women who labor and seek justice for workers, that each in their vocation, ministry, and labor may truly and godly serve our society to Thy greater glory and his own sanctification and salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pray for Christians in Iraq

They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. — Luke 21:11-19

Let us pray for the Christians of and in Iraq. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ, members of the body of Christ, our family.

Lord God, Father Almighty, grant by Your strong arm that Your Church in Iraq may be saved and preserved from every evil. Grant also that it may remain steadfast and persevere in faith before the evils of the enemy. If called to martyrdom, may Your Church show forth strong witness; for You preserve our lives even if we lose them in the eyes of the world. May we too be strengthened to serve you in imitation of the courage of the Holy Martyrs of Iraq. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

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O God, Who rules the world from everlasting to everlasting; speak to our hearts when courage fails, and we faint for fear. Keep us resolute and steadfast in the things that cannot be shaken, abounding in hope and knowing that our labor is not in vain in Thee. Restore our faith in Thine eternal purpose: renew in us that love which never fails; and make us lift up our eyes to behold, beyond the things which are seen and temporal, the things which are unseen and eternal. We ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invocation at Schenectady County Human Rights Commission Breakfast

Our friends at the Schenectady County Human Rights Commission invited Deacon Jim to deliver the invocation at its 31st Annual Awards breakfast on Friday, May 23rd. Deacon Jim offered the following prayer:

Lord, You have called all of us to a path of freedom and justice; a restoration of relationships and the recognition of each person’s human dignity.

Enter into our hearts and minds and enflame our souls to see in each person another self. Grant that we may look past outward appearance to the essential relationships that prevail in Your kingdom. Help us to be more human. Restore and reconcile all relationships and enable us to take up our calling to restore a global human community, a single family fashioned in Your image.

Help us today to recognize and bless all those who have labored so diligently to establish a new equality of participation in our community and across the globe. Bless the work of all who labor to end the sources of human conflict — race, class, wealth, gender, servitude, forced labor, wage theft, military opposition, indebtedness, imprisonment, coercion, despair, anxiety, self-centeredness, alienation, anxiety, greed, separation, prejudice, and injustice— so that we may rise above our baser selves. Fashion us into images of Your Divinity and justice.

Finally grant us a freedom that surpasses personal autonomy and help us to recognize our continuing dependence on You as our Creator and Your call to see each other as another self through lives committed to knowing, loving and serving You and each other. Amen

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Åš+P Helen Koza Zebrowski

śp. Helen Koza Zebrowski, 89, of Glenville, passed away suddenly at Albany Medical Center, on Friday, May 16, 2014. Born in Schenectady, she was the daughter of the late śp. John and śp. Bernice Koza. She was a graduate of Draper High School, and a member of the Holy Name of Jesus Parish. In her younger years, Helen volunteered at Ellis Hospital and local Senior Centers. She enjoyed dancing and listening to Polish music, and loved to read. Helen is survived by her beloved husband, Theodore Zebrowski; loving children, Judith DiSorbo of Rotterdam, and James (Janice) Zebrowski of Guilderland; sister, Genevieve Binkowski; brother, Richard (Sandy) Koza; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by several brothers and sisters. A calling hour will be held on Wednesday, May 21, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the DeLegge Funeral Home, with a funeral service to begin at 11:30. Interment will follow in Holy Name of Jesus Cemetery.

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Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and may the perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Wieczne odpoczynek racz jej dać Panie, a światłość wiekuista niechaj jej świeci.
Niech odpoczywajÄ… w pokoju, Amen.

Åš+P Jane Kopec

Our sister in Christ, śp. Jane Rivers Swinson Kopec, 93, passed away on Bright Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at the Ellis Residential Center after a brief illness.

238Å›p. Jane was born in Warsaw, NC on April 7, 1921 to Erasmus and Bessie Swinson. She attended Campbell College in Buies Creek, NC and went on to study and graduate from Highsmith’s Hospital in Fayetteville, NC as a registered nurse. She met her husband, Dennis, when he returned from Pearl Harbor and was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Field in Goldsboro, NC. They moved to Dennis’ hometown of Schenectady where they raised their three children. Jane and Dennis were married for 61 years until Dennis’ death in 2005. While raising three children, Jane worked as a nurse for 38 years at Ellis Hospital. In retirement, Jane enjoyed taking trips with her husband to Wildwood, Branson and revisited Pearl Harbor as an anniversary gift from their children. She enjoyed shopping trips to Reading, gardening and attending the summertime music events in Central Park. She most enjoyed going to the Racino with her son, Dennis. She was a member of the Colonie Elks Club, Niskayuna Senior Citizens and a longtime member of the Holy Name of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church in Schenectady. She loved her weekly worship and coffee hours with her dear family and friends.

śp. Jane was preceded in death by her beloved husband, śp. Dennis and her beloved son, śp. Garry. She leaves her loving son, Dennis, Jr. (Donna) of Yanceyville, NC; her devoted daughter, Linda (Darryl, Sr.) DePaula of Niskayuna; her daughter-in-law, Deborah Kopec of Niskayuna; her cherished grandchildren, Rebecca and Rachael Kopec, Alyssa and Darryl DePaula, Jr.; and her sister, Martha Fields of Greenville, NC. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. May she rest in peace with her precious husband and son.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral which will begin Friday morning at 10:15 at the Gleason Funeral Home, 730 Union Street and at 11 a.m. at the Holy Name of Jesus Polish National Church where the Holy Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. The funeral home will be open Friday morning from 9:15 until 10:15 for those who wish to call. Burial will be in Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, Niskayuna. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the Holy Name of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church, 1040 Pearl St., Schenectady, NY 12303.

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord.
And may the perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.