wing: Light & Medium Duty

Smith Funeral

Home, Ltd.3126 Main Street

W. Middlesex, PA 16159724-528-3222

Craig Cunningham SmithSupervisor

August 2019For advertising information, contact Minuteman Press

Financial Planning

HARTLE ELDER LAW PRACTICE, LLC

CAROLYN E. HARTLE, ESQUIRE

The law firm where we treat you like part of the family

PA

3170 E. STATE ST TAGE, PA FAX: 724.346.1107

Email: customerservice1@minutemanpress.comwww.hermitage.minutemanpress.com

FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE

FULL COLOR DIGITAL IMAGINGBROCHURES POST CARDS FLYERS PROGRAMS

BUSINESS CARDS NEWSLETTERS FORMS MAILERS RACK CARDS INVITATIONS TICKETS POSTERS

724-347-7575

PARISHIONERS REGISTRATION FORMNAME _________________________________________________ PHONE ________________________

STREET_______________________________CITY_____________________________ZIP__________CHECK: New Registration Change of Address Moving out of Parish Want envelopes

Please drop this information into the Offertory basket or mail to the Rectory.

Secretary - Lisa SaltsgiverChurch of the Good Shepherd

Pastor- Fr. Glenn Whitman • Secretary - Lisa Saltsgiver Religious Education Director - Lauren DeFelice • Music Director - Greg Hansley

Email: prayerrequestsgswm@gmail.com • (724) 977-3369 Email: goodshepherd55@roadrunner.com • (724) 528-3539 • www.goodshepherdwm.org

3613 Sharon Road • PO Box 226 • West Middlesex, PA 16159

Church of the Good Shepherd

wing: Light & Medium Duty

Smith Funeral

Home, Ltd.3126 Main Street

W. Middlesex, PA 16159724-528-3222

Craig Cunningham SmithSupervisor

August 2019For advertising information, contact Minuteman Press

Financial Planning

HARTLE ELDER LAW PRACTICE, LLC

CAROLYN E. HARTLE, ESQUIRE

The law firm where we treat you like part of the family

PA

3170 E. STATE ST TAGE, PA FAX: 724.346.1107

Email: customerservice1@minutemanpress.comwww.hermitage.minutemanpress.com

FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE

FULL COLOR DIGITAL IMAGINGBROCHURES POST CARDS FLYERS PROGRAMS

BUSINESS CARDS NEWSLETTERS FORMS MAILERS RACK CARDS INVITATIONS TICKETS POSTERS

724-347-7575

PARISHIONERS REGISTRATION FORMNAME _________________________________________________ PHONE ________________________

STREET_______________________________CITY_____________________________ZIP__________CHECK: New Registration Change of Address Moving out of Parish Want envelopes

Please drop this information into the Offertory basket or mail to the Rectory.

Secretary - Lisa SaltsgiverChurch of the Good Shepherd

For advertising information, contact Minuteman Press • 724.346.1105

If he paints “slow” he MEANS slow! Please be cautious driving around the Social Hall.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

MASS INTENTIONS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th 6:00 PM – Nancy Hoban c/o Good Shepherd Friends SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th 9:00 AM – For Our Parishioners 11:30 AM – Gary Mooney c/o Wife, Joan

ALTAR SERVERS E. MINISTERS 9/19 6:00 pm Blaze Knight Michael Drda Gary Salatino 9/20 9:00 am Vincent Miller Audrey Bakuhn Mike Bartolo 11:30 am Delaney Donaldson Beth Garrett

LECTOR #1 9/19 6:00 pm Diane Salatino 9/20 9:00 am Mary Svirbly 11:30 am Judy Miller

HOSPITALITY MINISTERS 9/19 6:00 pm Mat Macchia/Jody Drda Mona Macchia/Volunteer 9/20 9:00 am Volunteer/Patrick Miller Megan Durda/Paula Miller 11:30 am Volunteer/Patrick Chovan Volunteer/Volunteer Thank you to those who have made donations to our Good Shepherd Religious Education Program in Memory of Eleanor (Lee) Nigro. They are as follows: Thomas and Patricia Demas. Thank you for your generosity. TODAY IS THE 2020 Catholic Education Collection!

Please support this important program that funds faith formation opportunities. Half of what you give will remain at Good Shepherd Parish to support our own religious education and faith formation programs. You can make a gift by using the envelope provided in your offertory packet. Thank you!

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Week/September 13, 2020 Monday through Friday, September 14 thru 18, 2020 Priest Retreat Sunday, September 20, 2020 10:00 am – Religious Ed Classes – all grades COLLECTION – 9/6/20 Number of Adult envelopes issued…………………….525 Adult Offertory Collection……………………..$ 6,553.50 Children’s Offertory………………………………$ 1.00 Loose Offertory……………………………….....$ 185.00 # of envelopes used……………………………………140 Attendance at Mass……………………………………215

REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR OUR HOMEBOUND, THOSE ON OUR PRAYER CHAIN & HOSPITALIZED

BANNS OF MARRIAGE III

Jeffrey Van Buren & Courtney Votino

BAPTISM This weekend we welcome into our faith community through the blessed waters of Baptism, Samson Slobodnyak, son of Todd and Janelle (Grasso) Slobodnyak. Congratulations to the family!

FORMED Our parish has a subscription to FORMED.

What is FORMED? Best place online for Catholic content.

With FORMED, you can: � Prepare for Sunday Mass by watching an

insightful five-minute video by renowned Catholic teachers.

� Enjoy a movie with your family that is both nourishing and entertaining.

� Enrich your marriage with the award-winning video series Beloved: Finding Happiness in Marriage.

� Help your children grow in character and embrace the beauty and wonder of the Faith.

FORMED provides amazing content 24/7 for you to grow in your faith. Go to www.formed.org to sign up. Simple steps – all you need is an email address.

A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE Unable to forgive another means we are holding on to a past wrong and hoping for a better past. That is not going to happen. We must move on with our life by accepting we were unjustly treated and it will not be corrected. We aren’t condoning the injustice. We just don’t let it control our lives any longer. Forgiveness is critical to living a healthy life in the present. RENTAL: The Caretaker’s House at St. Rose Cemetery is available for rent. If you are interested, please call 724-346-3711. Monthly rent is $850. The two story house has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, kitchen, living room and dining room. Taxes, sewer, grass cutting and snow plowing taken care of. All other utilities paid by Tenant. Sorry, no pets permitted. FOR BULLETIN ADVERTISING call 724-346-1105

DAILY MASS SCHEDULE Week of September 14-18

No daily masses at Good Shepherd during this week due to Priest Retreat.

Monday – 7:30 a.m. at St. Bart’s

8:30 a.m. at Notre Dame Tuesday – 8:00 a.m. at St. Adalbert’s

9:00 a.m. at Notre Dame Wednesday – 7:30 a.m. at St. Bart’s

8:00 a.m. at St. Anthony 8:30 a.m. at Notre Dame

Thursday – 8:00 a.m. at St Anthony 9:00 a.m. at Notre Dame

Friday – 7:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima 7:30 a.m. at St. Bart’s

9:00 a.m. at Notre Dame

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD FROM OUR PASTOR “Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave as I had on you? Many in our parish family recall how difficult it was to get a Catholic parish started in West Middlesex but it wasn’t a lonely struggle. There’s a true story about the origins of a Catholic parish in Rhinebeck, NY. Several years before his ill-fated trip on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor was a member of a prosperous Episcopal congregation in the New York town. The membership had grown and they were outgrowing their tiny church. They assessed their need for the future and planned to build a larger one. The financier Astor pledged $100,000 to the fund, a sum worth well over ten million dollars today. As they were nearing completion, they put the old church on the market for $5,000. At the time, Rhinebeck had a working class Catholic community with no church. They figured they could raise the five thousand and expressed an interest in purchasing the old Episcopal church building. But before they could sit down to negotiate with the church elders, the price suddenly jumped to $25,000. No explanations or reasons; that was the price the Catholics were told, take it or leave it. There was no way they could raise such a huge sum, so they walked away from the deal. However, a few days later, the Catholic pastor returned and agreed to the revised deal. He produced a cashier’s check for $25,000 and took ownership of the building as the first Catholic church in Rhinebeck. Soon it was time for Mr. Astor to make good on his pledge to the building committee. He presented them with a check for $80,000. The building committee was shocked. They told Mr. Astor that his gift was generous and appreciated, but they were counting on receiving the entire pledge. “But you have received the full amount,” Mr. Astor said. “The $80,000 I have just given you, plus the $20,000 I gave to the Catholics to buy the old church. You received every penny.” John Jacob Astor believed in sticking to a deal! (And if I didn’t know better, this story has Salvatore Mitchell written all over it!!) The “deal” with today’s gospel is this: As God loves us, God calls us to love one another; as God forgives us, God asks us to forgive one another; as God seeks us out and always calls us back, God expects us to seek out the lost and forgotten and be reconciled with them. As God gives himself totally to us in the person of Jesus, God demands we return the compassion and generosity we experience from God to each other without limit or condition. We might say that as John Jacob Astor dealt with his church, God promises to deal with us: as we forgive, God will forgive. As we lift one another up when we stumble or fall, God will lift us up. That’s not a bad deal, don’t you think? WELCOME We’re proud to host the “Covid-19 Erie Priests Retreat” this week on our campus due to a scheduling problem. Michelle, Don, Gary and Greg will be doing all the work along with our funeral luncheon team as we open our doors to 25 or so priests from various parts

WEST MIDDLESEX, PA of the Diocese of Erie. They are staying at local hotels and spending the better part of each day here for three meals daily, Liturgy of the Hours, daily Mass, three or four conferences a day and some quiet time in the church or on the grounds. Michelle told me she’s rounded up her “auxiliary” to help with desserts as well as clean-up and meal prep. Thanks in advance to all who are making this possible. And please keep these guys in your prayers this week. Have a blest and safe week, Fr. Glenn

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS

Classes begin on Sunday, September 20th for all grades 1-11 in the religious education building. Class time is 10:00 to 11:20 a.m. THANK YOU to the new catechist volunteers. We are still in need of one catechist in the upper grades. Please call Lauren at 724-528-3539 option 6 to volunteer.

WHAT IS RCIA AND IS IT FOR ME? Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then RCIA may be for you.

� A non-baptized person? � Baptized as Catholic but were never confirmed or

received Holy Communion? � Baptized, made First Communion but never had

any religious instruction beyond these sacraments?

� Non-Catholic interested in knowing more about the Catholic Faith?

For further information, contact Fr.Glenn Whitman at 724-528-3539 ext. 11 or Lauren DeFelice at 724-528-3539 ext. 6.

COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS

BBQ CHICKEN DINNER, SUNDAY, OCT. 4TH Take Out Only (11:30 AM TO 2 PM – St. Anthony Church, 804 Idaho St., Sharon, Pa (use Sherman Ave. entrance) Pre-Orders only. To place an order call: 724-342-2489 or 330-448-4577. Deadline to place an order is Sunday, September 20. Masks must be worn and social distancing maintained. Dinner includes ½ Chicken, Green Beans & Croatian Potato Salad for $10.; Whole Chicken Only for $8.; Haluski for $4.00.

AN OUTDOOR PILGRIMAGE WITH THE LAND AT VILLA MARIA

Presented by Janet Burkhart, HM, Barbara O’Donnell, HM and Natalie Terry – Saturday, September 26, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. You are invited to journey in an outdoor pilgrimage with the land at Villa Maria. This morning experience will offer an opportunity to explore the meaning of pilgrimage, to visit the Villa Maria Grounds, to share in prayer and to share in the solace of the natural world. Cost is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Registration is required. Questions, please call 724-964-8886.