Service and Outreach – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

24th Annual “Spirit of Sharing” Gift Collection for Saint Patrick Parish, Lawrence

Begun in our St. John – St. Paul Collaborative, Spirit of Sharing is a Christmas gift program that has brightened the Christmas season for thousands of young boys and girls living at risk for hunger in Lawrence, Massachusetts. When Rev. Paul O’Brien, uncle of three St. John’s School alumni, began serving as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Lawrence, he discovered that many parents worked three jobs yet could not afford to provide Christmas presents to their sons and daughters.

Spirit of Sharing was founded to share our community’s time and treasure with members of this faithful, family-oriented, and financially impoverished community just about thirty miles away. With the help of many teen and adult volunteers, we collect donations from our area and then, on the Saturday before Christmas, categorize and display them, greet the parents, and assist them in selecting gifts for their children. We invite you to donate gifts for children and/or volunteer (adults and teens 14+) at the event on Saturday, December 20…

Saturday, December 13: SVdP Advent Prayer Service – The Faces and Graces of the Poor

Saturday, December 13: SVdP Advent Prayer Service – <i>The Faces and Graces of the Poor</i>

9:00am in the St. John Chapel

Before members of SVdP embark on bringing our gifts to the homebound, we will reflect on the Gospel of Luke 6:20-26, the Beatitudes – Who are the poor in our community? Does suffering offer us an invitation? Led by Laurie Jacob and Julia Collins.

We welcome all members of SJSP Collaborative to join us.

Thank You From Our SJSP Conference of St. Vincent de Paul

As we enter the Christmas season, the SJSP St. Vincent DePaul Conference wishes to thank the parishioners of the St John- St. Paul Collaborative for their generous support of our efforts. We raised over $23,000 through the Special Second Collection in September at the Outdoor Mass, and our SVDP Fill-a-Truck drive filled the truck for the SVDP thrift stores.

Our fundraising is on-going throughout the year. Donations can be made online on our SVdP page through the parish online giving sites as well as in the SVDP donation boxes at the entrances of the churches. These funds allow us to continue to support those in need in our neighborhoods as well as the overall Boston Diocese.

Each year at Christmastime, we visit parishioners who are home bound, and this year the visits will take place on Saturday, December 13. If anyone desires a visit, please contact either parish office…

December 6-7: Special Second Collection for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) Guatemala

December 6-7: Special Second Collection for <i>Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos</i> (NPH) Guatemala

We are deeply grateful for the longstanding support this community has shown to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) and the thousands of vulnerable children we serve throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Your generosity has brought safety, stability, and hope to so many young lives.

This weekend, December 6-7, there will be a second collection at both St. John and St. Paul Churches to support the mission and programs of NPH Guatemala.

Saribel García, who grew up at NPH Guatemala, will be speaking at all Masses that weekend. Saribel will share her story of growing up at NPH and how it transformed the course of her life. Her testimony is a powerful reminder of the impact this community makes through its support.

TO SUPPORT THE COLLECTION FOR NPH GUATEMALA: CASH/CHECKS may be placed in the Second Collection at all Masses on the weekend of December 6-7…

Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Update

Since 2023, when we supported Holy Family Hospital through a special Advent Second Collection, new challenges in health care delivery have emerged. Pilgrimages and tourism, the backbone of Bethlehem’s economy, have vanished. Consequently, more than 90% of families have been left unsalaried… This escalation in hunger and poverty has brought new nutritional and health challenges for expectant mothers and children. Holy Family Hospital is committed to helping ensure their well-being. At great risk and sacrifice, medical staff continue to commute through checkpoints to and from the Hospital and venture out into the desert to care for these vulnerable families. As the Season of Advent approaches, Holy Family Hospital humbly requests your prayers and generosity. Through such support, you offer hope to this courageous and resilient community…

Thursday, November 27 at 9:00am: Our Collaborative Thanksgiving Day Mass at St. Paul Church

Each year on Thanksgiving Day, we celebrate one Mass in the Collaborative, inviting all to join together in thanksgiving for our many blessings. This year, our Collaborative Thanksgiving Day Mass will be at 9:00am at St. Paul Church. (The Mass will be livestreamed – please click the St. Paul Livestream link.)

Please Note: This is the only Mass on Thanksgiving Day – there will be no 7:00am Mass at St. John.

Bristol Lodge Food Pantry Collection

Please consider sharing your blessings by bringing non-perishable items for the Bristol Lodge Food Pantry in Waltham. Donations may be placed in the St. Paul main entryway as you come in to Mass – look for the Bristol Lodge Food Pantry signs.

Collaborative Staff Day of Service

On Thursday, November 6, our Collaborative Staff took time away from the office to participate in a day of service with Capuchin Mobile Ministries (CMM) in Jamaica Plain.

After learning more about CMM’s ministry of spiritual accompaniment with those living on the streets, our staff prepared over 125 sandwiches, stocked the outreach van for an afternoon of visits with our brothers and sisters who are unhoused.

Two SJSP staff members joined the friars and CMM chaplains to help distribute sandwiches, coffee, hats, gloves, rosaries, and other goods at stops in and around the city of Boston…

St. Paul Giving Tree: Take a Tag or Scan a Code!

St. Paul Giving Tree is an Advent tradition spreading Christmas cheer from our parish to hundreds of people through several local organizations.

We now have two boards set up in the St. Paul Sanctuary with gift tag requests. (Christmas trees will replace the boards after Thanksgiving!)

Several of the organizations we are supporting have also provided Amazon & Target Wish Lists to make giving easier – simply click the links below or scan the QR codes in the bulletin or on the posters in the church, select the items you would like to gift, and they will be shipped directly to the organization!

Thank You from St. Francis House!

St. Francis House is deeply grateful for the generosity of toiletries providing over 13,000 showers a year for their guests.

The dignity of a shower, shampoo and a shave is a luxury for many.

Thank you for your generosity!

Now that Halloween is Over… it’s “Officially” the Christmas Season!

And there are only 2 weeks left to sign up for Christmas Wish!

The deadline to sign up is November 12 and we still have many children in need of sponsors!
Please sign-up today!

SPONSOR A CHILD

When you sponsor a child (or multiple children) you will receive a wish list for clothing and a special gift that you will purchase and drop off at a local Wellesley home to be delivered to the families.

Your wish list instructions will be emailed to you the week before Thanksgiving and gifts will need to be dropped off the week after Thanksgiving…

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