Children in grades 3-7 are invited to join the Collaborative Children’s Choir to sing at the 4:00pm Mass at St. Paul Church on Christmas Eve. We will be holding a special rehearsal on Saturday, December 21 at 9:30am at St. Paul Church.
But why wait – start singing at the Family Mass now!
The Collaborative Children’s Choir sings the 9:00am Family Mass weekly…
Our Pastor, Fr. Jim, and Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, have both spoken at recent School Committee meetings to explain the centrality of Good Friday in Christian belief and worship. We are grateful to all who have taken the time to share their thoughts with the School Committee, both during public comment and via email…
Thank you for recognizing that while we are speaking on behalf of our own Catholic Christian community, we are also in solidarity with the other faith/cultural communities involved in this discussion. In particular, we want to thank our high school students and the students from other faith/cultural traditions who spoke so eloquently about their own personal faith journeys and practices…
As we explained in last week’s bulletin, the WPS Academic Calendar Task Force has presented a recommended option to the School Committee that retains Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Lunar New Year as holidays. It also adds either Eid Al-Fitr or Eid Al-Adha (depending on the year) and removes Good Friday and Diwali as holidays.
Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, spoke at the School Committee meeting on October 29.
Fr. Jim Laughlin, our pastor, hopes to speak at the meeting on November 12.
All are encouraged to share comments with the School Committee via email at: School_Committee@wellesleyps.org or during the public comment…
Since the 1990s, Wellesley Public Schools have been closed on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Good Friday, in addition to the mandated statewide legal holidays. In recent years, requests have been made to add additional religious/cultural holidays to the calendar, and in December 2023 the School Committee voted to add three holidays to the 2024-2025 calendar: Lunar New Year, Eid al-Fitr, and Diwali. This past spring, a task force was appointed to study the recognition of religious/cultural holidays and make recommendations. The Task Force considered several options, ranging from a statewide-holidays-only option to this year’s 6-holiday option.
Last week, the Task Force presented their recommended option to the School Committee. This option retains Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Lunar New Year as holidays. It also adds either Eid Al-Fitr or Eid Al-Adha (depending on the year) and removes Good Friday and Diwali…
All Saints Day – Friday, November 1
A Holy Day of Obligation
9:00am Mass at St. Paul Church
9:00am Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church
(with Saint John School – all are welcome!)
12:30pm Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church
7:00pm Mass at St. Paul Church
All Souls Day – Saturday, November 2
9:00am Mass for All Souls at St. Paul Church
Archbishop-designate Richard G. Henning will be installed as the tenth bishop and seventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Due to limited space, the Installation will be by invitation only, yet participation in the event is possible via livestream. All are invited to watch the Installation Mass live on CatholicTV, beginning with the procession at 1:30 p.m.
The installation will begin with Archbishop-designate Henning entering the cathedral. It is traditional for him to knock on the cathedral’s doors, and be welcomed by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, who will present the new archbishop to the assembly…
I write to express my deep gratitude for the incredible hospitality and generosity you have shown me during my time here at St. Paul’s Parish.
From the moment I arrived in July, through the months of August and September, you welcomed me with open hearts and made me feel part of your parish family. Your kindness, warm conversations, and spiritual support have made my stay not only comfortable but deeply enriching. I found another home away from home.
The memories of our shared moments at Mass, parish gatherings, and the many expressions of friendship and care will remain with me as I continue my journey of faith and study in Rome…
As we begin the month of October, a month the Church sets aside in intentional prayer for the dignity of life and the flawless witness of our Blessed Mother, it seems only fitting that we remind one another of the abundance of life in our own Collaborative.
Our Sunday 9AM Family Mass is not the only place where you will find the faithful witness of young families gathered to participate in the celebration of the Mass. Voices and hearts of all ages make up the fabric of each of our Masses. We are so grateful that at the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative it is rare to experience a Mass without the simultaneous presence of those with a lifetime of devotion and wisdom under their spiritual belts as well as little hearts learning to know and love Jesus…
Please join us on Sunday, September 22 at 10:30am on the St. Paul Lawn for our annual Collaborative Outdoor Mass and fellowship event!
NEW THIS YEAR! Our SJSP Society of St. Vincent de Paul chapter is sponsoring a cookout after Mass, providing hotdogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers for all! Please plan to bring a side dish/salad to share if you are able!
So that as many members of our community as possible can join together for this special liturgy and fellowship event, there will be a reduced Mass schedule at the parishes on the weekend of September 21-22…
In late April, Temple Beth Elohim hosted a beautiful night of Shabbat services and interfaith sharing. Members of faith communities throughout the Wellesley community were invited to worship together and hear reflections from representative clergy. From that beautiful event the idea for an interfaith lay ministry arose. Members of various congregations met together and formed the Wellesley Interfaith Lay Dialogue – WILD – whose aim is to explore opportunities for lay conversation and collaboration.
Our first event, facilitated by Kelly Meraw, will be held on Thursday, September 12 at 7:00pm at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley. The topic of the evening’s dialogue will be “Synodality: A Language of Listening”…