March 3, 2019 Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mar 10: 1st Sunday of Lent

 Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Reading II: Romans 10:8-13

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

STEWARDSHIP UPDATE:

Average Weekly Regular Offertory Amount Needed to Meet Our Annual Budget = $5,050  

Offertory for Feb 24: $ 4407

“Give and it shall be given to you.” - Luke 6:38 Thank you for your generous contributions.

CHURCH OF SAINT THOMAS MORE A Community of Parish & University Ministry PO Box 620, Durham, NH 03824; 868-2666

The office open Mon, Tues, & Thurs 9am - 3pm; Wed 9am - 1pm

Masses: Mon,& Tues at 12:10pm Ash Wed: 12:10pm, 5pm, 7pm w/distribution of ashes

Food Pantry: Thursdays 4pm-6pm

 

Welcome Child of God!  

No matter what your present status in the Catholic Church, No matter your personal history, age, income, background, gender, race, ethnicity or spirituality, or marital situation, 

No matter your own self‐image of holiness or virtue, You belong to Jesus Christ and you belong to us! 

You are invited, accepted and respected here at the Parish of Saint Thomas More.  

Take our hands, Lord Jesus, leading us in courage to confront with courage the forces which oppress and divide. Take our hearts, Lord Jesus, and open them to the truth which will set others free. 

Accompany us on our way, Lord Jesus, as we seek to share our Roman Catholic faith and life in your Spirit. 

For March 2nd – 3rd

Saturday, 5pm – Catherine & Bernard Beezer Sunday, 9am – Regina Boyland

Sunday, 11:15am – Barbara Tremblay

For March 9th – 10th

Saturday, 5pm – Kristen Marie Fox Sunday, 9am – Darren Matthew Calleja

Sunday, 11:15am – Crescentia Healy True (13th Anniv)

Ash Wednesday

March 6 Masses with distribution of ashes: 

12:10pm, 5pm, 7pm 

Awareness of Mortality  

  Eleanor Harrison Bregman, who serves as a Protestant chaplain at Jewish Home 

Lifecare, a nursing facility in New York City, wrote these words on the ritual of Ash Wednesday:  

As the priest puts the ashes on my forehead, [saying] “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,”  I remember pu ng the ashes of my mother’s remains into the earth a li le over two years ago.  This is real.  Death will happen, someday….  As I approached the priest this morning and those memories surfaced, I wept, and I thought, “Oh my God, it really is all going to end.  It ended for my mother, it will end for me, someday, too….  Yet immediately upon the heels of that fear—almost terror—of dying, something else even more powerful welled up.  I felt deep, deep thanksgiving for life.  It is when you walk right up to your own mortality, or the mortality of those you love, that you know what and for whom you live and love.  If you are lucky, you feel the grace of God so deeply that you know that even when it seems like it is all over, it isn’t, because we are all res ng in the palm of God’s hand, now and forever. 

 

  During this Lenten Season we journey with the Lord Jesus as he approaches death and then Resurrec on.  May God bless our journey from Ashes to Easter.  

                In Christ,                 Fr. Andrew 

Second collection on Ash Wednesday: Aids churches in Central & Eastern Europe,      & churches in Africa. 

Faith Formation

Upcoming classes:

Mar 10, Mar 17 and Mar 24

No classes Mar 3 because of school vacation.

Middle School Faith Formation

Next sessions are March 4 and March 18 from 6-7:30pm.

Confirmation Classes: Mar 4 & 18 7:30 - 8:30pm.

HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH MINISTRY

Cardboard City Sat – Sun, Mar 9-10 Life Teen: Sun, Mar 24 6-8:30 pm (snacks) Confirmation Retreat Sat, Mar 30 9am - 5pm

Care for Creation

Laudato Si’, Care for Our Common Home envisions a world growing closer, rather than consumed by war and dissension, and stresses that there is a connection between care for the earth, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and our own interior peace.

- Bishop Peter Libasci, Diocese of Manchester NH 

Return your palms to the Church or Student Center star ng next weekend through this weekend  (March 2 & 3) to be burned for Ash Wednesday.  

Thank you! 

Fr. Andy is NOT sending out emails reques ng iTunes or Google Play cards!  Staff (and others) have been 

receiving bogus emails that look like they are from Fr. Andy.  THEY ARE NOT.  Please check the actual email  address emails are sent from.  Fr. Andy does NOT have a gmail account.  Please spread the word.    Thank you! 

STM HS Youth Ministry Is asking for your help  

to support homeless veterans in NH  

Our teens will be sleeping overnight in cardboard boxes   

March 9‐10  

on church property.  They are collec ng funds, protein food items (non‐perishable, preferably no can opener required), adult clothes (especially warm clothes, sweatpants and sweatshirts)  and grocery store gi  cards for the Liberty House in Manchester.  Boxes are in the back of the church, the student center, and the church hall.  And they are raising awareness of homeless veterans in our state.  

See the flyer on the website (stmdurham.org) or contact Ann McGurty (stmfaith@comcast.net) or Felicia Sperry (stmHSYM@gmail.com) for more details.  

Keep  the teens and the veterans in your prayers. Thank you for suppor ng our veterans and our teens!! 

Congratulations!

Patrick Lynch and Olivia Tapia were joined in Holy Matrimony on February 16th.

On behalf of the St. Thomas More parish community, we wish you many years

of wedded bliss!

LENT ~ Giving UP ~ Doing For ~ Make a Difference  

We are delighted!  Our Parish Service Commission has  a new coordinator, Beth Pescosolido.  Good SAMS outreach is part of Service Commission and provides meals for parishioners who ask for help...new baby, accident, illness.  If you need assistance or want to share a meal, contact Beth through STMPastoralMin@comcast.net.  

Do you know someone who is homebound who would like a visitor or to receive communion? 

 

Do you enjoy visi ng with elderly people? We have  several care facili es and seniors in the area who are homebound ~ who would love to have a visit and/or  receive communion weekly. 

 

We cover Dover Rehab; Harmony Homes, Harmony by the Bay; Carriage Hill; Riverside, and Brookdale Sprucewood (Brookdale is also seeking someone to lead the Rosary with residents once a week). 

 

Want to  join a UNH student supper team; coordinate a Bible Study or adult forma on program? Help with the Food Pantry?  So much more! 

 

Contact Roberta MacBride to get the conversa on started at stmpastoralmin@comcast.net. 

40 DAYS FOR LIFE MANCHESTER kick off rally on March 3 at 2pm at Ste. Marie’s Church in Manchester. Speaker: Fr. Jeff Paveglio; music & refresh-ments. Prayer vigil to end abortion through prayer, fasting and public witness. Every day from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday, 7am – 7pm, people gather outside Planned Parenthood in Manchester & Equality Health Center in Concord to peacefully pray for all affected. See 40daysforlife.com/Manchester or Call Sheila at 978-226-3240 with questions or to sign up for the vigil.

WORLDWIDE MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord." Be firm, steadfast and devoted to your marriage by attending a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. The next Weekends are Mar 8-10, 2019 in Duxbury, MA and Apr 13-14, 2019 in Brewster, MA. For more information, call Stephen & Michelle O'Leary at 800-710-9963 or visit them at https://wwmema.org/.

ST MARY ACADEMY Open House & Art Show on Weds March 13, 5-7pm. Interested Student Shadow Day on Friday, Mar 22 8:30am - 2pm. To learn more or to reserve a spot email Blake McGurty at bmcgurty@stmaryacademy.org. Visit www.saintmaryacademy.org.

FAITHWORKS: A faith-based support group for unemployed/underemployed men & women. Meetings held monthly on the 2nd Thurs. The next meeting is Mar 14 at St. Michael parish, Exeter; Gabriel House 7-9pm. Begins with networking & refreshments at 7pm; program begins at 7:30pm. Tim Diaz, an entre-preneur with experience in consumer products and manufacturing, will speak on understanding how past experience will help open your mind to new indus-tries/businesses. Join Linkedin.com & search for “Faithworks Employment Support Group-NH” under Groups. For information contact Glen White at white.glen@comcast.net

CRISIS PREGNANCIES St. Gianna's Place (NH-based home for mothers in crisis pregnancies) opening benefit banquet on May 1 from 5:30 pm - 9:15 pm at the Executive Court Banquet Facility, Manchester. Guest speaker is James Wahlberg. Reservations are $60 pp / $600 per table before March 15, and $65 per person / $650 per table thereafter. Make checks payable to St. Gianna's Place and mail to Banquet Reservations, 3 Jersey Street, Londonderry, NH 03053. Visit stgiannasplace.org for details.

200 CLUB

Will the luck o’ the Irish be shining on you at the next 200 Club drawing

at the St. Patrick's Day dinner on Sunday, Mar 17th after the 5PM Mass?

There are 25 members who are ready for renewal. It’s $200 for an annual or $100 for a semi-annual

membership. Payments are due to the Parish office by 3pm on March 14 for the March drawing. If you are

unsure of your renewal date, please contact Tom Dolan at 603-659-7162 or tomdolan84@hotmail.com for an update.

Membership/renewal envelopes with instructions are

available in the pamphlet rack at the main entrance to the church, and on the table at the side entrance.

Additional Information is available on-line at stmdurham.org, on the Church Facebook page at www.facebook.com/

stmdurham, or contact Tom Dolan at 603-659-7162 or

tomdolan84@hotmail.com.

Update on the 

2019 MATCHING GIFT CAMPAIGN (as of 2/25/19) 

 

A er about four weeks, we have received one pledge of $5,000 and six dona ons totaling $3,650! 

 

This means we need an addi onal $1,350 of dona ons to earn the pledge amount and have a total of $10,000!  

Please help us reach that goal. Every dona on,  no ma er what size, is very much appreciated! 

 

Updated “thermometers” showing our progress  have been posted at the doors of the Church  

over the past couple of weeks.  

Don’t wait! Donate now if you can. THANK YOU!  

The Yarn Crew

No Yarn Crew mee ng in March. Thank you. 

CARING & SHARING  

For this week the Pantry needs are:

pancake mix, pancake syrup, mustard, ketchup, relish, vegetable soup, chowders, applesauce  

Thank you!!

Diocese of Manchester Safe Environment Announcements

Keep Kids Safe – NH Reporting Requirements Did you know? In New Hampshire, it is the responsibility of all adults (not just doctors, school counselors, therapists, ministers, etc.) to report sus-pected abuse or neglect of a minor (a child under the age of 18) to the Division for Children, Youth & Families (800-894-5533). Failure to report suspected abuse or neglect is a misdemeanor.

For more information, visit www.catholicnh.org/safety

 

  STM PRAYER SHAWL            MINISTRY   

Prayer Shawl Ministry meets in the Student Center Library, 11am – noon on Tues, March 5.

If you have questions or know anyone who would benefit from God’s healing love by receiving a shawl, please contact

the STM office at 868-2666.

SUNDAY‐ 5 PM‐ Student Mass       St Thomas More Church 

6 PM– Student Supper      St Thomas More Student Center 

TUESDAY‐ 1 PM– Community Lunch       Holloway Commons Dining Hall      2nd Floor– Look for Our Table! WEDNESDAY‐ 7:15 PM– Catholic Student Org (CSO)      MUB 334

FRIDAY‐ 5:00 PM– Community Dinner at HoCo     

6:00 PM— Women’s Group‐ MUB 334             Men’s Group– Lighthouse 

UNH Campus Ministry Spring 2019– Vol. 6

 

MARCH CROSS ROADS OF 2019!

Our next date of the semester is on Monday 3/4!  We will meet at 4:20 PM at the Student Center and return by 7:30 PM.   

Contact the Campus Minister (Ryan Cornelissen) for more details!

Hello parishioners and students! As spring break approaches and Lent is upon us this Wednesday, I hope you can take some  me in prayer to be grateful for the wonderful gi s God has given you (and con nues to give you each day)!  I encourage you to come up with a Lenten prac ce that is prac cal yet challenging for you.  Talk with your friends and family to brainstorm ideas and encourage each other along the way.  Happy break!                          Peace,                                  ‐Ryan Cornelissen, Campus Minister                STM_CSO@COMCAST.NET

Weekly Events!

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES! 

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

Thank you to the five students who came out to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in Manchester this past weekend!  Your 

generous efforts helped further the progress of families in need of affordable housing to support their families here in NH!  

LOVE SERVICE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND WISH THE CHURCH DID TOO? GOOD NEWS‐ IT DOES!

Please join us for “Catholic Social Teaching 101” on Sunday nights a er the Student Supper in the Student Center Library at ≈ 7 PM to  learn about and discuss the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching!  STARTS FEBRUARY 17TH  

‐ Life and Dignity of the Human Person ‐ Call to Family, Community and Par cipa on 

‐ Op on for the Poor and Vulnerable ‐ Rights and Responsibili es 

‐ Solidarity ‐ Care for God’s Crea on 

‐ The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers 

Contact the Campus Minister (Ryan Cornelissen) for more details!

WEEK 3- Rights

And Responsibilities