Service and Outreach – Page 3 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

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…

November 8-9: Hand Carved Olive Wood Religious Items from the Holy Land

Maysoon Khair will be present at our churches after Masses on the weekend of November 8-9 to share the work of over one hundred Christian families living in the Holy Land who make their living selling hand carved olive wood religious goods.

Please take a moment to visit the display of beautiful pieces, including nativity sets, crucifixes, rosaries, and other sacred statues, and consider helping to support these families living in the Holy Land.

Christmas in October???

Yes, that’s a scary thought!

But when it comes to fulfilling Christmas Wishes for 400 children we need to start thinking about Christmas in October!

We only have a few weeks to recruit volunteers to sign up to sponsor a child this Christmas – will you be one of them?

Help make a child’s Christmas Wish come true this year by joining this collaborative-wide effort to grant the special wishes of children from Brockton, Lowell, Roxbury and Wellesley.

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…

October 25-26: St. Francis House Toiletries Collection

Please consider donating small/personal-sized shampoo, soap, hand lotion, shaving cream, deodorant for the guests of St. Francis House.

Complimentary hotel items are totally acceptable!

Boxes will be clearly marked and left in the rear of both churches for donations.

St. Francis House is deeply grateful for your continued generosity in providing dignity for their guests.

Scenes from Last Sunday’s Collaborative Outdoor Mass

We had a record-setting crowd and summer-like weather last Sunday for a beautiful celebration of the Mass and time of fellowship afterwards! Many thanks to everyone who helped make the day possible – parishioners, staff, and clergy.

Deep gratitude to our St. Vincent de Paul Conference who sponsored and served the cookout – we continue prayers that their fundraising efforts are successful this year so they can continue to provide much-needed support to our neighbors. (Donations to the SJSP St. Vincent de Paul Conference may be made online at sjspwellesley.org/svdp)

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Your Charity at Work
Special Second Collection September 27-28

As we approach the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul on September 27, we reflect on the significant impact that our Collaborative has for our friends in need through our SVdP Conference.

Our SVdP Conference provides support to families and individuals in our community who have hit “bumps in the road” and need help to overcome these challenges. Your generosity allows us to provide support in many ways: rental assistance, automotive repair and gas assistance, utilities assistance, food assistance, and more (including furniture, appliances, diapers, etc.)

the need in 2025 has been much higher than past years, and with the current funding status of government programs we anticipate that it will continue to grow. Your generous support is the key to our successful charitable works…