Dear Friends,

I hope everyone survived Thanksgiving and pray that all the leftovers are gone by now (?). I enjoyed a quiet, peaceful Thanksgiving with friends. It was nice to pray on Thanksgiving Eve with our neighbors at the Stone Church: Reverend Tilbe and his wife Nancy were gracious hosts. We also had a combined Choir consisting of our Saint Ann Choir along with the Choir of the Stone Church. Thanks to Paul Bowen and clan we heard some beautiful seasonal pieces. Thank you, Paul & Choir for showing the colors!

Also, a sincere thanks to the members of our Saint Vincent de Paul Society & friends for looking out for the less fortunate of the area by providing Thanksgiving dinner for about thirty families with turkeys and gift cards. In the true spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul, all these works of charity are done behind the scenes. A sincere thank you, too, goes to the supermarkets who so kindly assist us during the holidays in aiding our families. Now… ready or not…. here comes Christmas. I mentioned last weekend don’t forget to “gift” yourselves this season: make a little quiet time for yourself. The Christmas lights are beautiful, but sometimes “blinding” so much that it’s hard to see Jesus in the midst of this time of year. And the Christmas Carols are so sweet to hear… but sometimes so “loud” that we cannot even hear the voice of Jesus beckoning us to “Come, let us adore Him.” In spite of it all, it still is the most wonderful time of the year!

Make it a great week!
Fr. Jim

Fr. Jim is the celebrant for the Diocesan Television Mass on Channel 6 today. Click the link to view on the Diocesan web site:
https://www.fallriverdiocese.org/tv-mass/

Giving Tree
The Giving Tree will start up the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 28, 2021, and run until Saturday, December 18, 2021. Please join us in helping our community this Christmas Season!

Monthly Council Meeting
The next regular business meeting will be held in person at St. Ann Parish Center on Wednesday, December 8th at 7:00pm in the Parish Center.

All Altar Servers are invited to attend a “refresher” training session at St. Ann’s Church. You may attend either the session offered on Saturday, December 4, or Saturday, December 18. (You are NOT required to attend both) The sessions will run from 10:00am to 11:00am and you must wear a mask. Hope to see you there!!

We will be studying God’s word for Advent through Lectio Divina. We will be reading the Sunday Mass Readings and spending time reflecting on those readings and how they relate to our lives.  Nothing needed, just some time to spend with God.  We have 2 groups of women who meet weekly.

Our meeting days for Advent Lectio Divina are:

WEDNESDAYS: December 1,8, and 15
10:00am to 11:30am at the Parish Center
OR
THURSDAYS: November 18, December 2, 9, and 16
7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Parish Center Hall

We look forward to meeting you and spending time in God’s Word with you.

Please contact Karen Toste at ktoste@comcast.net if you have any questions.

SVDP will be purchasing all the food necessary to fill their holiday baskets this year. If anyone would like to help, please consider giving a monetary donation or a gift card to a local grocery store to purchase food. Please make checks payable to St. Vincent de Paul.

The Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) – Is the process by which a non-Catholic becomes a Catholic. The candidate who seeks to become a Catholic joins other candidates from now until Easter to learn about the Catholic faith by being instructed by parish members (called Catechists).

The parts of our faith including the Bible… the Creed… Sacraments… Catholic Doctrine… parts of the Mass… Moral teachings… Catholic Customs… etc. are all laid out week after week until the candidate feels ready to receive the Sacraments of Initiation including Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. Interested? Or do you know someone who is interested in becoming Catholic? Be in touch with Father Jim, and the group of candidates will begin soon.

The Diocese continues to offer online support groups and hopes to begin offering live sessions in the Fall. These online virtual programs are being offered through Catholic Social Services on Tuesdays at 4:30pm and at 7:00pm.

To register online for either of these one-hour sessions, go to: https://www.cssdioc.org/bereavement-support/. In addition to the online sessions, one-on-one sessions are also offered via phone. For more information, contact Rose Mary Saraiva at (508)674-4681 ext. 1111 or (774)253-4097, or email rsaraiva@cssdioc.org

Wedding Anniversary Celebration: will be celebrated with a special Mass of Thanksgiving for couples observing significant wedding anniversaries (including first year) during 2022. This celebration will take place on Sunday, February 13, 2022, at 3:00pm at St. Mary Cathedral in Fall River. If you would like an invitation, please see Fr. Jim after Mass, or call the Parish office at (508)823-9833, as soon as possible.

Are you looking for ways to give back to the community? Catholic Social Services may be the answer. We need volunteers to help serve guests at our Soup Kitchen in New Bedford, as well as cooks and food preparers. We also need volunteers who can help clients with translation and document preparation at our food pantry.

If you or someone you know is looking for a way to give back and serve the community, call Rose Mary Saraiva at 508-674-4681 ext. 1111 for more information.

Has been working with Catholic churches, convents, schools, homes, and other organizations in helping to recycle any Religious items that are no longer needed. We all have those old prayer books (not missalettes), rosaries, crosses, medals, framed pictures, small statues. objects that were blessed have no use for anymore we don’t know what to do with. Saint Mary Recycle Mission group will take these old Religious items and either repair or refurbish them and then offer them to places that so desperately need them. (I.E.) In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many people who lost so many of their beloved crosses, rosaries, etc. were the beneficiaries of the religious objects donated to Saint Mary’s Recycle Mission Group.

***If you find you have religious objects that you need to dispose of, don’t throw them in the dumpster….bring them to church and leave them in the containers located at the doors of the church. Thanks!

New Lectors
Many hands make for light work.  We can always use more lectors/readers at weekend masses, as well as during the week.  If you would like to be involved as a reader, please speak with Fr. Jim.  An instructional session would certainly be held to train you.

New Eucharistic Ministers
Again, having more Ministers of Holy Communion means that the same people do not have to serve so often.  Think about it and speak to Fr. Jim.  Instructions and training will be offered!

Bishop da Cunha will celebrate adult Confirmation on Thursday, December 9, 2021, at 7:00pm at St. Mary’s Cathedral for any adult who is at least 18 years of age and has been instructed for Confirmation.  Online sessions (via Zoom) will begin on Thursday, October 7th at 6:30pm.

In-person sessions will begin on Saturday, October 16th at 10:00am at St. Julie Billiart Church Hall in North Dartmouth.  The registration fee of $45 is payable, in advance, to the Diocese of Fall River.  Registration forms are available after Mass on the weekend.

A reminder, the church is open daily from 8:00am to 5:00pm for you to stop by and pray. Please exercise social distancing while in the church. Daily Mass is live-streamed on our website & Facebook at 8:00am each day.

The Daily and Sunday Mass is recorded for your viewing!

On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/StAnnsParishRaynham

To view on Facebook, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/stannsraynham
and the live-stream appears under the Video section.

The Parish Facebook page is also embedded on this site at
https://stannsraynham.org/facebook-page/

The live stream video is compatible with all desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

No Facebook account? No problem. View the Parish Facebook page on this site by clicking here. No Facebook account required to view.