We are regretfully cancelling our Collaborative “Evening for Women” program scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday, November 8) due to the low numbers of RSVPs for the event.
We are looking forward to rescheduling our speakers, the Reverends Kate Layzer and Alex Steinert-Evoy, who will share with us about Friday Café (a ministry to those experiencing homelessness in Cambridge, MA) at a later date.
We will once again be collecting gently-used and new winter coat donations for children and adults at the St. John’s Rectory Garage on the weekend of November 12 -13.
What to Donate:
All winter coats – kids, adults and babies – that are warm winter coats in good, wearable condition. Please donate coats you would give a friend to wear. Do not donate coats that have rips/tears, broken zippers and/or permanent stains and please be sure to empty out all pockets.
In the Catholic liturgical calendar, November is entirely devoted to the deceased. The Church prays for those who have joined the Communion of Saints and for the Souls in Purgatory. All are invited to enter the names of deceased loved
All women of the Collaborative are invited to gather to learn about the “Angels Among Us” who oversee The Friday Café at First Church Cambridge. Rev. Kate Layzer, Minister of Street Outreach, and Alex Steinert-Evoy, Community Minister, will share the work they do at this weekly, daytime drop-in program. The Friday Café offers a welcoming space where homeless and housed adults can gather and get to know each other. Serving an average of 150 guests a week (or as many as 300 on winter Fridays), it offers food, coffee, rest and resources to people living on the margins.
Reflection and presentation will be followed by a pot-luck dinner. RSVP to Carolyn Anderson at andersoncarolyn@verizon.net or 617-705-0456
All Saints Day
Tuesday, November 1
A Holy Day of Obligation
7:00am Mass at St. John Church
9:00am Mass at St. John Church
7:00pm Mass at St. Paul Church (Confessions will be heard after Mass)
All Souls Day
Wednesday, November 2
9:00am Mass at St. Paul Church
7:00pm Mass at St. John Church
We are happy to extend an invitation to participate in this year’s St. John Christmas Wish Program. The Christmas Wish Program has been one of the highlights of St. John’s holiday outreach since 1993. This Christmas, we hope to grant the special wishes for more than 400 children based upon the caring generosity of our parish community. Each child is provided with a new outfit of clothing and a special Christmas Wish gift they have requested. These gifts will go to the youngsters in our own parishes, as well as in our sister parishes of St. Katherine Drexel in Roxbury, St. Patrick in Lowell, St. Patrick in Brockton and the Julie Family Learning Program in Boston.
If you are able to help make Christmas Wishes come true this year, please visit our Christmas Wish SignUp page to sign-up to sponsor a child/family…
On October 27, 2022, the Working Document for the Continental Stage – the fruit of the Syntheses resulting from the consultation of the People of God in the first phase of the synodal process – was released… The document, titled “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent” was produced by a team of 30 advisors who gathered in Frascati, Italy for two weeks in late-September and early October, the majority of whom were lay Catholics…
Please take some time to read the Working Document for the Continental Stage – you will find many of the major themes that were central in our own SJSP Collaborative Synod Synthesis Report are reflected in the document…
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in our World Youth Day Raffle! We so appreciate your support, and look forward to sharing more about this exciting and life-changing event with you this spring!
Congratulations to our World Youth Day Raffle Winners!
1st Prize: $5,000 – Hugh Kelly
2nd Prize: $2,000 – Joanmarie Lee
3rd Prize: $1,000 – Tamatha Bibbo
The refurbishment of our Bell Tower is on track to be finished by the end of November! Once that is complete, the work to restore the bell’s ringing mechanism can begin. As of October 24, we have received $131,394 in cash gifts toward our total budget of $487,200 for the renovation. Many thanks to all who have donated or made a pledge to the Bell Tower Fund. If you have not yet had a chance to contribute, envelopes are available at the entrance to the church, and gifts may also be made online by scanning the QR code or by visiting our website at sjspwellesley.org
REMINDER! All donors giving $5,000 or more will have their names listed on a commemorative plaque to be installed in the church’s gathering area.
October marks the launch of the Parish Annual Appeals for both parishes. (As you know, the financial assets and obligations of each parish remain separate.) In the coming days, all registered parishioners will receive a mailing with their parish’s Annual Financial Report and Annual Appeal. The Annual Financial Report provides a detailed picture of the financial health of your parish, and the Annual Appeal asks for your continued support in the days ahead.
Please take some time to prayerfully reflect on your contribution to your Parish Annual Appeal, and give as generously as you can. You make the mission of your parish possible, and your support of both the Offertory and the Annual Appeal is critical to ensuring that your parish continues to thrive in the years ahead.
Ways to Give…