Have you been worshiping with us, but never officially taken the step to become Catholic?
Have you been away from the Church, and have now returned, but want to know more?
Have you been a Catholic all your life, but haven’t celebrated all the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist)?
Have you joined us from a different faith background and would like to find out more about the Catholic Church?
We’d love to hear from you!
We are happy to let you know that after 7 long weeks, Fr. Jim has been cleared to continue his recovery and rehabilitation on an outpatient basis at the rectory.
As you can imagine, it is a great relief for Fr. Jim to finally be back home. It will still be quite some time before he will be able to resume his ministry, but this is a big step forward in his recovery.
Fr. Jim wanted us to share, again, how grateful he is for your prayers and support, and how much he appreciates the time and space you have given him to focus on his recovery.
We are sure that many of you will want to know how you can help Fr. Jim now. He asks only for your continued prayers, which have sustained him through this incredibly difficult time, and your patience as he transitions to this new phase of his recovery.
Please be assured that when Fr. Jim has more to share, we will share it with you!
It is with great excitement and simultaneous sadness that we say goodbye this weekend to Chelsea Whitaker who has been with us as a collaborative musician for more than 5 years. Chelsea has been given a full-time coaching position with Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Chelsea was a Doctoral Student at New England Conservatory of Music and after her studies joined the faculty there. Eastman is very blessed to have her, and NEC will miss her.
Being the constant professional she has always been, Chelsea connected us with an incredible student of hers currently in the Masters of Collaborative Piano program at NEC. His name is Michael Banworth and he will be joining us in the fall…
Words cannot begin to express my profound gratitude to all of you. Your cards, letters, and expressions of support have sustained me through this most challenging period in my life! I am now deep in the work of the rehabilitation phase of my recovery. I suffered multiple fractures of my left leg and knee, requiring extensive surgery, and will not be cleared for weight bearing on that side for some time to come. Despite the frustration this brings and the patience it requires, I am encouraged by the progress I have made…
At the same time, I am acutely aware of the significant trauma caused by the accident – it has truly upended my life in every way possible. While I am very much looking forward to returning to the rectory once I am ready to continue my rehabilitation on an outpatient basis, I understand that it will still be quite some time before I will be able to resume my ministry…
The scaffolding is up and the work is about to begin! As you can see in the photo, the scaffolding is set up to allow access to the main doors of the church during construction.
This is a large undertaking, and represents a significant investment in St. Paul Parish. The total cost is budgeted to be $487,200, and the Parish has been approved for a short term loan from the Archdiocese to cover up to seventy-five percent of the budget. While we are fortunate to have additional income from the leasing of the school building, we still need the assistance of the St. Paul community to fund this project and to repay the loan…
We are happy to report that Fr. Jim’s recovery is continuing at a slow but steady pace. That means that there is no “new” news to report – but that truly is good news! When Fr. Jim has more to share, be assured we will share it with you!
Thank you for the warm welcome you have been giving our many guest celebrants – including Bishop Robert Reed, who celebrated the 9:00am Mass at St. Paul with us…
We’d love to provide a more detailed update, but there isn’t much to report – Fr. Jim’s recovery, as anticipated, is slow but steady. When Fr. Jim has more to share be assured we will share it with you!
He has, however, asked us to let you know how incredibly grateful he is for your prayers and support – and for all the cards and notes he has received! In fact, he noted after the last delivery that he has received so many lovely cards that he might actually run out of space to display them on the walls of his room!
He also wants everyone to know how much he appreciates the time and space he’s been afforded to focus on his recovery and rehabilitation.
Our current schedule for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (Mondays at 1:00pm at St. Paul Church and Fridays at 1:00pm at St. John Church) will continue through the month of June. Adoration at both churches will pause for the summer and resume in the fall.
There will be no Adoration at either church during the months of July and August.
Our final Adoration in June will take place Monday, June 27 at 1:00pm at St. Paul Church.
Fr. Jim has asked us to let you know, once again, how incredibly grateful he is for your prayers and support, and how much all your cards and notes mean to him.
While Fr. Jim is away from the Collaborative, the Archdiocese of Boston has given Fr. Bryan Hehir the authority to handle the administrative functions of the parishes, allowing Fr. Jim to focus on his recovery. Fr. Jim will, of course, continue to be in contact with Fr. Hehir and the Collaborative staff, providing input and guidance as we navigate through the days and weeks ahead.
Fr. Jim requests that folks continue to rely on the regular updates provided by the Collaborative, rather than texting or calling him directly, so he can focus all his energy on this important stage of his recovery.
Fr. Jim has asked us to let you know, once again, how incredibly grateful he is for your prayers and support, and how much your cards and notes mean to him.
He is pleased to report that he is progressing well and has now moved into the rehabilitation phase of his recovery. He knows it will be a long road and a lot of hard work, but he is taking it one day at a time and is encouraged by his progress.
Fr. Jim requests that folks continue to rely on the regular updates provided by the Collaborative, rather than texting or calling him directly, so he can focus all his energy on this important stage of his recovery.
As always, your prayers for his complete and speedy recovery and return to us are still the best way to support him at this time. He will continue to let us know how we can best support him through every stage of his recovery.