News - January 2021 RSS Feed

The Father English Food Pantry of Catholic Charities, Catholic Family & Community Services, 435 Main Street, Paterson, NJ 07501 is in dire need of volunteers to sort food donations and pack bags of food to be handed out to clients at the door. We have gone from providing food to 5,000+ in February to 21,000 in December. We are blessed with donations of food, but we don’t have enough workers to get the food organized and packaged to be distributed to clients and also to low income senior projects in Paterson. Volunteers are needed Monday – Friday between 8 am and 4 pm and Saturdays between 8 am and noon. You can come for an hour or more on any day. We practice Covid protocols. Each volunteer has a temp taken and completes a questionnaire. We all wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and practice social distancing. The building is sanitized on a regular basis. Volunteers unpack donations, sort them and then package bags of food to hand out at the door. Volunteers do not come in direct contact with clients. For further information, please contact Sister Maureen Sullivan, SC, Director of Volunteers for CFCS, msullivan@catholicharities.org 973-572-5283

Join us on Saturday, February 6, from 10am - 12pm, for a virtual event, Foundations of Catholic Thought: Hermenuetics (The Art of Biblical Interpretation). All are welcome to attend this event hosted by Fr. Paul Manning and Brian Honsberger. Cost is $10 per person. Register at: insidethewalls.org/cat

330 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pequannock Where faith and academics meet Celebrate Catholics School’s Week - January 31st February 6th. PreK 3 & 4, K-8; AdvancED accredited; Technology equipped facility; Well-equipped science lab/ STEM Activities; Extra-curricular activities, including CYO basketball, cheerleading, instrumental music, and performing arts, multimedia, and chess clubs; Comprehensive full-day kindergarten; Before and after care 7:00-8:00 am and 3:00-6:00 pm. More info contact Sister Marie Antonelli, M.P.F – Principal srmarie@hsspeq.org or visit www.HolySpiritSchoolPequannock.org

Could you spare one hour a week to pray to protect babies in the womb who are in peril? Please contact Frances Spilman of Morris County Right to Life to volunteer one or two hours a week to pray during 40 Days for Life campaign held at the Planned Parenthood Morristown from 7am to 7pm daily. Her email is: 44lifeus@gmail.com, phone: 973.627.1654. You can make a huge difference for babies and their families.

2nd Grade Sacramental Prep – Feb. 6 – 10 AM. Children will receive the Sacrament of 1st Reconciliation. Parishioners, please pray for our 2nd graders as they move closer to receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Thank you to all for your donations of food and cash to the Fr. English Food Pantry during the holidays. Carlos Roldan said he could never have helped the number of families in need this year without the help of the OLM parishioners.

The need continues, especially for dried beans, lentils. Items like pasta and rice are in pretty good supply, but there is a need for breakfast items like cereal, pancake mix and syrup. Any donation of non perishable food is welcome and can be left in the vestibule of the Church or at the parish house.

JANUARY 22ND – 7PM CHURCH - January 22ND is the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion in our nation. We are called to observe that as a day of prayer for the Legal Protection of unborn children. All are welcome to join this special Mass in the OLM Church as we pray for the unborn and an end of abortion.

This is being proposed in our State's legislature. The Bill is titled s-3030/a-4848 here are some bullet points of the proposed Bill: 1. Allows late term abortions up to birth of the child,. 2. The bill includes language that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus shall not have independent rights under the laws of the state of New Jersey. 3. This is supported by Gov. Murphy! (Who claims to have Catholic roots.) 4. The bill permits non-physicians to perform abortions. 5. It nullifies conscience clauses for medical personnel who are opposed to abortion. 6. It mandates an annual allocation of taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood under the Title X in the State budget. Exempts prosecution of individuals who terminate or attempt to terminate their pregnancy. Requires all insurance providers to cover abortions and contraceptives. 7. Young women who are minors can procure an abortion without their parents knowledge, or permission and forces us to pay for it. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD AGAINST THIS BILL! Contact your legislators for our district by e-mail addresses or call their office.

We are very grateful to all who contributed so generously to all of these OLM collections. Christmas 2020 $ 92,288 (to date) Christmas last year $104,070

We would also like to report on the Christmas Fund which was established to help some families. 21 parishioners donated over $10,000 which enabled us to help 14 families and organizations. God Bless and thank you to all who contributed.

Discover in Joseph - the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence - an intercessor, a supporter and a guide in times of trouble. Pope Francis, Patris Corde Pope Francis invites us to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pius IX's proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Catholic Church. Bishop Kevin announces this be A Year of St. Joseph in our parishes, and the entire Diocese of Paterson. It is a time to draw closer to the one who loved Jesus "with a father's heart."

Consider making your weekly contributions to OLM charitable donations through a QCD - Qualified Charitable Distribution. These contributions can be counted toward satisfying your required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the year. A QCD excludes the amount donated from taxable income, which is unlike regular withdrawals from an IRA. Call George in the Parish office for more information.