Christmas Basket Program …

% This is the last week to choose a gift for the Christmas Basket Program. Stop by the Cry Room on your way out of Mass today and make your selection. Members of the Community Affairs Committee will be available to assist you and answer questions. Please return your gifts no later than December 7. This return date is crucial to being able to deliver to families in a timely fashion. Please, return your gifts no later than December 7.

 

% Donations made to the Poor Box during November and December will benefit the Christmas Basket Program.

 

 

Christmas trees & wreaths for sale …

Come now to get your beautiful, freshly cut NH tree from the Knights of Columbus at the Lukoil station on route 102 across from Dunkin Donuts. Tree prices start at $35-$40; there will also be a good selection of premium 9-10 ft trees for more, priced by the foot. A few smaller trees, including some of the “Charlie Brown” size, will be available for $15 or less.

            The trees will be on sale on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. and during the week from 6 P.M. until 8 P.M. Since all trees are usually sold out by mid-December, the Knights would like to encourage everyone to buy theirs early, especially those who wish to buy the taller, premium trees. All proceeds go directly to several charities and organizations affiliated with the K of C and our parish. Any individuals considering joining the K of C or parishioners who wish to assist in selling trees should contact Mike Dromgoole (434-2515) or Paul Bartlett (437-2562).

 

Keep Christ in Christmas …

This year’s Christmas card sale, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, will benefit St. Mark’s Girls and Boys CYO basketball teams. The cards will be on sale after each Mass this weekend, Nov 29/30, and next, Dec 6/7. Please help to support our teams.

 

Watch one hour with Me …

Can you give an hour for the Lord? Nocturnal Adoration will be held on Friday, Dec 5, starting at 10 P.M. We need people to join us in prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel each hour until 7 A.M. on Saturday. If you’re interested, please call Dennis at 437-6051.

 

Women of Mary …

Please join us in honoring our Blessed Virgin on First Saturday, Dec 6. We begin at 7 A.M. with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Divine Mercy Chaplet in the chapel, followed by recitation of the Rosary in the church. Mass will be celebrated at 8 A.M. We will then share a potluck breakfast in the parish hall. Our meeting this month will be Advent themed. In the spirit of Christmas we would ask that those who attend please bring non-perishable food items that we will donate to St. Jude’s Food Pantry. For more information, call Lorraine at 432-9485.

 

Religious Education …

$ 10^th grade Confirmation students will meet on Sunday evening, Dec 7, from 6:30–8:00 in the parish hall.

$ 9^th grade Confirmation students will meet on Sunday evening, Dec 14, from 6:30–8:00 in the parish hall.

$ Summer ’08 fourth grade Reconciliation students are reminded of the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Sunday, Dec 7, at 2 P.M. in the church.

$ First grade families are reminded of their next meeting on Thursday afternoon, Dec 11, from 4:30–5:45.

 

Meet me in …

v The Community Affairs Committee will meet on Monday, Dec 1, at 7:30 P.M. in the Cry Room.

v The next date for our Salad & Dessert Makers is Monday, Dec 8. Extra hands make light work, as the old expression goes, so come to the parish kitchen at 3 P.M. on Monday to prepare vegetables for the salad. Or, if you wish, donate a dessert. Sign up to bake on the sheet in the church entrance and please be sure your item is in the kitchen by 3 on the 8^th.

 

 

Two invitations …

á The Community of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Litchfield invites you to an evening of Advent Carols: The Journey to Christmas in Word and Song, on Saturday, Dec 6, at 7 P.M. Come … take time to reflect on this glorious season called Advent … a season of hope and preparation of one’s heart. For more information, please call 424-3456.

á Christmas Illuminations at the La Salette Shrine, 417 NH Rte 4-A, Enfield, will open nightly from 5–9 from Dec 5 to Dec 31. All events are free. Events include Saturday and Sunday concerts and appearances by Santa who will tell the Christmas story, talk with the children and give gifts. For more information, see the poster on the bulletin board in the church entrance.

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) …

Thanksgiving makes us mindful of all the wonderful things we want to thank God for and first and foremost is our gift of faith.

            Informal and informative sessions for people interested in investigating the possibility of a relationship with God within the context of the Catholic Church are held on a year-round basis. At this parish you are welcome to join us at any time of the year. This process is for you if you:

• Have never been baptized,

• Have been baptized into another faith or

• Have been baptized Catholic but did not receive further Sacraments.

For further information, call Paula at the parish office, 432-8711, or fill out one of the bright yellow forms in the church entrance and drop it in the collection plate.

 

Youth Happenings …

The High School Youth Group will meet this Wednesday evening, Dec 3, from 7–9 in the parish hall. Remember that HS Youth Group is open to anyone in grades 9–12. You don’t need to be a member of the parish to attend!

 

Check your closets, please …

The Community Affairs Committee is collecting gently used coats to be given to families in the community who may not be able to afford new coats this winter. If you have clean coats with working zippers, please leave them in the bin in the Cry Room under the coat rack. No dress coats, wool coats, suit coats, raincoats, or spring coats please. Those types of coats can be donated to the Prudential Verani coat drive at One Verani Way, North Londonderry. We are looking for warm, clean, winter parkas, children or adults. We also need snow pants and children’s winter boots. Thank you for your support.

 

Say it with flowers …

Remember your loved one, living or deceased, this Christmas by a donation of flowers for our altar. Please pick up an envelope on the table in the church entrance.

 

 

Christmas decorating help …

Help is needed to decorate the church hall for the 4 P.M. Christmas Eve Children’s Mass. Please come on Monday, Dec 22, from 3–6 P.M. Confirmation students will earn three service hours. If interested, please call Roberta Davis at 432-6445.

 

It’s time to register …

St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten will offer a Tuesday/Thursday morning class for 3-year olds, a Mon/Wed/Fri morning class for 4-year olds, and a Monday–Friday afternoon class for 5-year olds.

            Current students and siblings who are parish members must register at the school January 5–9, 2009. Parents of new students who are parish members may pick up a registration form at the entrance of the church on the weekends of Jan 10 and 17. These forms must be mailed to the church office along with a $100.00 registration fee that is non-refundable. Please mail to 1 South Rd, Londonderry, NH 03053. Applicants will be called to confirm the child’s enrollment or to offer placement on the waiting list. Priority placement is given to active, supportive parishioners.

            Applications for students whose families are not members of St. Mark’s Church, and the general community, will be accepted at the school beginning January 20, 2009 beginning at 8:30 A.M. For more information, please call Jackie or Jan at 432-1506.

á Please note: the Nursery School & Kindergarten will not increase tuition rates for 2009-2010. Current monthly rates are: 3-yr old two day program: $230; 4-yr old three day program: $290; 5-yr old five day program: $325.

 

Today’s thinker …

“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”         —Calvin Coolidge

 

 

"Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping." - Mk 13:35-36

 

 

 

There is no financial report this week. At the publisher’s request, this bulletin was sent to the printer on 11/20, before the weekend. The report will be included in the 12/7 edition.

Deacon’s pencil …

 

“Paul, faithful Jew or Apostate”

 

Many of the old traditional assumptions about Paul are so interrelated that changing any one of them immediately necessitates alterations in others. It has already been seen that in presuming that Paul had converted away from Judaism, one also then had to assert that Paul believed the Law (Torah) was no longer to be followed. That Paul’s previous life in Judaism had been one of enslavement to the harsh strictures and requirements of the Law. That one could only earn one’s salvation by performing works of the Law. That to follow the Law was a joyless and somber existence.

Indeed, Paul’s letters indicate the opposite viewpoint. In 1 Cor. 7:17-18 Paul insists that everyone should remain as they were before they became a follower of Jesus; Jews should not seek to become Gentiles and Gentiles should not seek to become Jews. Furthermore, it seems that Paul himself remained a Torah-observant Jew throughout his lifetime.

While Paul is absolutely convinced that Gentiles (non-Jews) need not follow the Jewish Torah to be saved, he believed that Jews who came to believe in Jesus as the Christ were expected to continue living by the Torah. For Paul the Torah was not a burden to be endured, but an expression of divine grace.

 

 

One last Thanksgiving cartoon …