News and Updates – Page 12 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

St. Francis House Clothing Drive: Thank You!

Year after year, the Collaborative has been able to support the clothing needs of St. Francis House through the abundant generosity and good will of our parishioners. This year’s clothing drive, held on the weekend of June 1- 2, was no different!

Thank you to all who helped to make this drive a success by sharing in St. Francis House’s mission to support people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Your donations truly make a difference! Special thanks also to Shilan Yeung for coordinating our Collaborative’s effort and for maintaining this important partnership with St. Francis House. See the note of gratitude from the staff and guests of St. Francis House…

June 29-30: Special Second Collection for Brazil

As you may know, the people of Brazil are experiencing the impacts of unprecedented floods which are causing enormous suffering, loss of life and the displacement of more than 600,000 people from their homes. Our Brazilian brothers and sisters here in Boston are deeply concerned about their relatives, friends, and other citizens in Brazil.

In response to the floods in Brazil, Cardinal Seán is asking the parishes of the the Archdiocese to once again step forward with a special collection in May or June to help our brothers and sisters in need in Brazil. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) works with Caritas Brazil, an agency of the Church in Brazil, and is assisting with the needs in Brazil today and will receive funds collected during this time…

Adoration Will Pause for the Summer Months

Our current schedule for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (Wednesday mornings at St. Paul Church) will continue through Wednesday, June 26.

Adoration will pause for the rest of the summer, returning after Labor Day – stay tuned for information in the late summer.

Collaborative Summer Office Hours Begin Friday June 14

Beginning Friday, June 14, our parish offices will be closed on Fridays through Labor Day.

As always when the office is closed, in an emergency please call either office to leave a message in the Emergency voicemail box – your call will be returned as soon as possible.

As a reminder, our complete Collaborative Office Hours are…

Religious Ed Registration Extended through June 10!

As we let you know earlier this year, the Archdiocese has lowered the age for the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation to 8th grade. In response, we have several exciting updates to our program this year which impact Grades 6-10 and our sacrament preparation program, so please pay careful attention to the information below.

With these changes, it is more important than ever that families register their children for Religious Education as soon as possible. Registration extends through June 10. All registrations received after June 10 will incur a $25 late fee per child…

Thank You from NPH!

It is with sincerest gratitude that I thank you on behalf of the 8,000 children that Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) supports both living in our home full time and in the community.

Your generous donations to the Second Collection on April 27-28 raised almost $6,500 to help ensure the most vulnerable and orphaned children don’t have to worry about food, shelter, and medical care, and are provided with resources to exit the cycle of poverty and enter a better life for generations to come. NPH could not operate without thoughtful individuals like yourselves. Thank you!

Front Step Replacement at St. Paul Church

We are pleased to let you know that the work to replace the current brick steps with new granite steps has begun.

The work is expected to take 2-3 weeks and the front entrance will not be available during that time. You will continue to be able to enter the church by any of the four side doors.

Thank you for your patience during the construction process!

Celebrating Mary Lee Cirella!

Last Sunday we celebrated Mary Lee Cirella, our St. Paul Music Director and Organist for over 30 years!

After the 9:00am Mass a large crowd of friends, family, and parishioners old and new joined Fr. Jim and the St. Paul Choir in the Parish Hall to congratulate Mary Lee on her considerable legacy of Music Ministry to St. Paul Parish and to wish her well!

Please visit the Collaborative Photo Albums page for more photos from this wonderful event!

A Wonderful Update from the Rwamuhinda Family!

Many of you will remember the Rwamuhinda family, the first family our POWIR Ministry team supported from their initial arrival in this country to their new, independent lives… In March of 2020, Emile and Rosine and five of their six children landed at Logan Airport… Sadly, their eldest daughter, Peace, who was 21 at the time, had to remain at the refugee camp for several more months before finally arriving in Boston in August of 2020.

We wanted to share the wonderful news that Peace has just completed her degree in psychology at Middlesex Community College! She plans to continue with more studies in the hope of becoming a therapist for people with disabilities…

Introducing Our New Collaborative Director of Music Ministry!

It is with great joy we introduce our new Collaborative Director of Music Ministries, William Endicott. William has been serving as Music Director and Organist of Holy Name Parish in West Roxbury and the Director of Music and Conductor of the Harvard Catholic Center. He holds three music degrees including Bachelor of Voice Performance, Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Master of Sacred Music in Organ Performance…

William will begin his new role on the weekend of July 6-7. Please join us in warmly welcoming him…