Important Announcements – Page 7 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

Sunday, September 17 at 10:30am: Our Collaborative Outdoor Mass on the Lawn at St. Paul Church

Please join us on Sunday, September 17 for our first post-Covid Collaborative Outdoor Mass and fellowship event! Putting to use everything we learned (and all the equipment we aquired!) celebrating outdoor Masses during Covid, we will gather as a Collaborative community on the expansive lawn in front of St. Paul Church for Mass – recreating what Fr. Jim calls “our own Tanglewood East!” After Mass we’ll come together in the parking lot behind the church for fellowship, food, and fun!

Attention All Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers!

The online signup for Fall Masses (September 9/10 – November 25/26) is now open! Please visit the Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors page on our website (sjspwellesley.org/liturgy/eucharistic-ministers-and-lectors) to sign up!

Anyone interested in learning more about serving as a Lector or Eucharistic Minister is encouraged to contact Kelly Meraw…

Welcome Deacon Rick!

I am thrilled to let you know that we will be welcoming a new deacon to our St. John-St. Paul Collaborative community!

Rick Vatcher will be ordained a Permanent Deacon on September 9, and will be joining our Collaborative pastoral staff in a part-time capacity after that.

Below is a brief introduction – I know you will join me in welcoming him to the Collaborative!

More Exciting News – Welcome Fr. Lesley!

I am thrilled to let you know that we are welcoming another new priest to our St. John-St. Paul Collaborative community! Fr. Lesley Keman Fonye, a priest from the Archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, Africa, will arrive in the United States next week. Like Fr. Gabriel, he will be living at the St. Paul rectory and will be celebrating Masses, funerals, and sacraments with us for the next few years as he completes his studies at Boston College.

Below is a brief introduction – I know you will join me in welcoming him and making him feel at home here at the Collaborative and in Wellesley!

August 26-27: Special Collection for Maui Relief

The images and news reports coming out of the Island of Maui are heartbreaking. The wildfires have killed more than 100 people, left many injured and missing, and destroyed homes and businesses.

Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with the people of Maui including all suffering from this tragedy, while also invoking God’s blessing of “strength and peace.”

Recognizing the immediate and growing need for assistance, Cardinal Seán has asked that a special collection be taken in all parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston to support Church relief efforts in the Diocese of Honolulu…

A Recap of World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 – A Truly Life-Changing Journey

Hundreds of you supported our 11 Pilgrims and their chaperones by your prayers and donations as we journeyed these past few weeks to Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day 2023. We were joined by over 1.5 million other pilgrims from all across the globe. The physical embodiment of both the diversity and magnitude of our Church was a witness these teenagers will never forget…

The summit of the experience was a 6+ mile pilgrim walk (in almost 100 degree heat!) to the Vigil and overnight camp out culminating in Mass with the Holy Father. Pope Francis preached these words to the 1.5 million pilgrims: “As young people, you want to change the world and work for justice and peace. You devote all your energy and creativity to this, yet it still seems insufficient. Yet the Church and the world needs you, the young, as much as the earth needs rain.”

Important News! Our Regular Weekday Mass Schedule is Back!

With the arrival of Fr. Gabriel, we are overjoyed to be able to resume our Friday 9:00am Masses at St. Paul Church!

Effective Friday, July 28 the weekday Mass schedule at the Collaborative will be:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
9:00am St. Paul Church

Tuesday and Thursday:
7:00am St. John Church

WYD Lisbon 2023: The Journey Begins on Friday, July 28!

After more than a year of planning, preparation, and hard work, our pilgrims depart this Friday, July 28! We are so grateful for your generous financial and spiritual support!

Please continue to pray for us as we embark on this journey, and know that we will be praying for you!

Sponsors, check your mail in the coming weeks for a postcard from your pilgrim(s)!

We hope you will follow our journey online – we will be posting daily updates and photos on our WYD 2023 blog…

Exciting News – Welcome Fr. Gabriel!

I am thrilled to let you know that we will be welcoming a new priest to our St. John-St. Paul Collaborative community this week! Fr. Gabriel Afumbom Tokoh, a priest from the Archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, Africa, is currently in a Master’s Program in Leadership and Administration at Boston College. He has been living at a parish in Salem for the past year and commuting to B.C. for his studies, so his joining us in Wellesley will be a true blessing for our parishes and for Fr. Gabriel! He will be living at the St. Paul rectory and will be celebrating Masses, funerals, and sacraments with us for the next two years as he completes his studies.

Below is a brief introduction from Fr. Gabriel – I know you will join me in welcoming him and making him feel at home here at the Collaborative and in Wellesley!

Cardinal O’Malley’s Statement on Newton Tragedy

“As priests, we serve to minister to people in times of great loss and tragedy. Often words are not enough to help families and friends come to terms with the loss of a loved one. We look to God for answers. We seek to understand. Often, we simply cannot make sense of what has happened. But our faith sustains us, and in this moment of enormous pain, we know that God is with us always.

This week and for the weeks, months, and years ahead, the brutal and senseless murders of Gilda D’Amore, her husband, Bruno D’Amore, and Gilda’s mother, Lucia Arpino, will stay with us as we come to terms with this unimaginable loss. They loved Christ and the Church. On the day of their murders, Gilda and Bruno were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at Our Lady Help of Christians. They lived their Catholic faith proudly and in service to the Church…”