The Parish Community of St. Kevin

Served by the Holy Cross Fathers

303 Niagara Street
Welland, Ontario  L3C 1K5
Email
905-735-5885


September 24th, 2023

 

 

 

BBQ Thank you!

Thank you to all who came out to our Parish BBQ & Picnic on September 10th!!! We had a lovely turnout and it was an absolutely fantastic day for our Parish community!!! A special thanks to members of the Holy Name Society for organizing the event and to all of the volunteers who helped out on the day of. Everyone did an excellent job and we thank you for making the day a huge success. Great food, fun games, and lots of community spirit!

 

World Day of Migrants and Refugees

The theme announced by His Holiness Pope Francis for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (September 26th) is “Free to Choose Whether to Migrate or to Stay.” In his message, Pope Francis acknowledges that while the decision to migrate should always be free, in many cases it is not. This point was reflected by St. John Paul II in his message for the 90th World Day of Migrants & Refugees, in which he wrote, “building conditions of peace means in practice being seriously committed to safeguarding first of all the right not to emigrate, that is, the right to live in peace and dignity in one's own country.” As he concluded his message, Pope Francis referenced the words of the Lord when He said “...I was a stranger, and you welcomed me” reminding us that the Lord’s words are a “constant admonition to see in the migrant not simply a brother or sister in difficulty, but Christ himself, who knocks at our door.”

 

Season of Creation

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis asks: How might we contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this Season of Creation? He invites us to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies.
TRANSFORM OUR LIFESTYLES: Pope Francis invites us to repent of our “ecological sins." He says these sins harm the world of nature and our fellow men and women. With the help of God’s grace, let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption, especially where the processes of production are toxic and unsustainable. Let us be as mindful as we can about our habits and economic decisions so that all can thrive – our fellowmen and women wherever they may be, and future generations as well. Let us cooperate in God’s ongoing creation through positive choices: using resources with moderation and a joyful sobriety, disposing and recycling waste, and making greater use of available products and services that are environmentally and socially responsible.

 

Sunday Mass Intentions

Beginning Sunday, October 1st, we will include one Mass Intention at our Sunday 8:30am Mass and one Mass Intention at our Sunday 11:30am Mass. We will keep the 10:00am Mass ‘Pro Populo’ in honour of the people of the Parish Community of St. Kevin, meaning no intentions will be taken for the 10:00am Mass time. We are pleased to offer this and please book your Mass intentions through the office.

 

Altar Servers Needed

If any of our young parishioners would like to become an altar server, we ask that their parents/guardians please contact the parish office to inform us and we will arrange training accordingly. We ask that children wishing to serve be in Grade 3 or older and have received their First Communion. We hope to have many more join us in serving at Mass!

 

An Invitation to all Voices

Choir resumes this weekend on Sunday, September 24th at our 10:00am Mass. Choir practices will be Thursday evenings at 7:00pm in the Church. Interested in joining our choir? Please contact Stephanie Menicanin at 905.736.3469 or stephanie@thelunchlady.ca  New members are welcome to simply join in at practice! Remember – no experience is needed, and the commitment is only one hour of practice and one hour at Mass each week.

 

Children’s Liturgy

Our Children’s Liturgy will resume next Sunday, October 1st, at our 10:00am Mass. We are very excited to begin this special program again and we are grateful to our team of volunteers who make it happen.

 

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

Our RCIA program will soon begin in late fall. We look forward to working with our team once again in preparing those who wish to be part of the Catholic faith. You may know of someone who has expressed interest in becoming a member of the Catholic Christian community; or of someone who was baptized in the Catholic Church, but never had the opportunity to receive the Eucharist or Confirmation; or of someone who was Baptized in another Christian faith but are wishing to become Catholic. For those interested please invite them to contact our Parish office.

 

Culture of Life

The St. Kevin’s Culture of Life Ministry is looking for volunteers. Those interested should contact our lead Agi Mete, of our Parish Council, at agimete7@gmail.com and can expect to be invited to a meeting in early October to hear more about this important Ministry.

 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Saturday, September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. On Saturday at our 10:00am Mass, we will honour the day and our prayer will especially be for the healing and reconciliation process. Given that it is Orange Shirt Day, you may wish to wear orange as a sign of solidarity. We encourage parishioners to attend.

 

Catholic Women’s League News

Fish Fry Fundraiser:
The CWL will be holding a Fish Fry Fundraiser in conjunction with Stephanie the Lunch Lady on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29. Pick up only behind Matteo’s Restaurant on East Main Street.  Tickets can be purchased before and after masses this weekend at the back of the church.  The dinners are $13 for a 1 piece fish and chips, coleslaw and tartar sauce dinner and $17 for a 2 piece fish and chips dinner, coleslaw and tartar sauce. You can also call or email Lorrie to pre-order your fish dinners 905-734-4828 or lmack@cogeco.ca . See the posters in the foyer.  Thank you for your support of our fundraiser. 

Upcoming:

    • Sock-tober – once again we will be collecting NEW socks for the month of October to help with those in needs. Our collection will be divided among the St. Vincent de Paul Society of our parish and The Hope Centre.  Please ‘foot’ the bill and be generous with your donations.

    • Strudel Fundraiser – both apple and cherry will be available.

     

Needs of the Canadian Church

This weekend we begin to take up the ‘Bishop’s Collection for the Needs of the Canadian Church.’  Envelopes included in the regular box of envelopes and extras are available in the foyer. Donations can be placed in the collection basket over the next few weeks. We thank you for your generosity.

 
 

Please remember the Poor Box as you leave the Church.
 

Worth repeating:

Creating Three New Areas for Persons with Disabilities.

Area #1 – The choir seats. Except for the 10:00 Sunday morning Mass, the choir seats go empty. So – for all Masses except for the Sunday 10:00 Mass there are several places available; choir seats have been arranged creating space to easily accommodate walkers. A bonus here is that outside of the Sanctuary, these seats are the most comfortable seats in the church.

Area #2 – The pew immediately in front of the baptismal font. There are places in this pew easily for three persons and perhaps four persons with walkers. The “disability” sign is attached to this pew. Adjacent to the font as well, there is space or two for two persons in wheelchairs.

Area #3 – The last pew on the side of the church opposite the confessional /reconciliation room. This pew has been altered to create more space for walkers. It can accommodate three walkers comfortably. There is a place adjacent also perfect for a wheel chair. The “disability” sign is attached to this pew.

Two further points!

  • At each Sunday Eucharist, a Minister of the Eucharist will bring Holy Communion to the handicapped areas.
  • All parishioners are asked to please respect these designated areas as places for persons with disabilities.

The Stewardship Committee’s decision is clear that we must respect safety and fire codes. The foyer chairs against the back wall unfortunately, violate the fire code. Our hope is that designating these three new areas for persons with disabilities will be satisfactory. Thanks very much for your cooperation.

 

Catholic Marriage Tribunal

If you are considering remarriage in the Catholic Church at some point, or hoping to enter a marriage with someone previously married, please speak to a priest, or contact the Diocesan Catholic Marriage Tribunal in St. Catharines at 905-687-8817. Information Pamphlets are available through the parish.

 

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Due to the privacy laws, the hospital does not list our parishioners by address or parish unless you state your religion as ST. KEVIN PARISH when you are admitted. It would help the parish visiting team if when the hospital asks religion – you respond ST. KEVIN'S PARISH. If you or a family member enter a hospital for several days please be sure to call the parish office to let us know if you wish a visit. If you wish the Anointing of the Sick before an operation, either at home or while in the hospital, be sure to inform the parish office. A priest will come as soon as possible to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. We also have a group of lay people from our parish who each week visit or bring communion to Catholic parishioners in the hospital. Please, we need to know that you are there!

 

A Review of Some Parish Policies

  1. Requests: We often receive requests for baptism or marriage, or Pastoral References for teachers, who are not members of St. Kevin's Parish. Examples would be: They might like our church and so want to get married here although they live elsewhere. Or: they were baptized here and so they would like their child to be baptized here although they live elsewhere. Or: I went to Notre Dame College School. The main point here is "they live elsewhere". Now – wherever elsewhere might be, there is a Catholic parish there. Our policy is to minister to the parishioners of St. Kevin's. We have more than 3400 families; there is a lot of ministry work for us to do here. Our focus and attention is first and foremost on our own parishioners.

  2. Parishioners should be registered: And here it is important to remember – that all of our parishioners should be registered in the parish, that is, on our books with names and phone numbers and addresses.

  3. Young Adults: There is a point when the young person must register in our Parish. It does not suffice to say my parents are members of St. Kevin's and I was confirmed at St. Kevin's when that person has been living on his or her own. The young adult should not depend on the faith and loyalty of parents or grandparents but must take ownership of his or her own faith. That means, as well, the young person should be engaged in the financial support of the Parish.

  4. Support of the Church: One of the precepts of the church – parishioners should be generous in supporting the material needs of the church. Today, we do this best by regularly using envelopes to help with the expenses of administering a very large parish such as St. Kevin's.

  5. Needing a Letter of Permission: Hospitality is a wonderful characteristic of St. Kevin's Parish. And we do want to be open and hospitable to folks who are not registered members in the parish. Yet – we must be careful to observe church laws and regulations. We will consider doing a marriage or a baptism of those folks from elsewhere. But – we must ask that the person or persons making this request of us have a "letter of permission" from elsewhere, that is, from the parish in which they are actually living - a letter from the Pastor of that parish giving us permission to do the baptism or marriage. Without such a letter of permission our policy must be to refuse to do such baptisms or marriages.

  6. Weddings: To be married in St. Kevin's, one should be registered in the parish. Please call at least six months in advance to make arrangements. If not a registered member of our parish, we must have a Letter of Permission from the Pastor in which the person(s) is registered. (See above.)

  7. Baptisms: To be baptized in St. Kevin's, one should be registered in the Parish. Please call as early as possible to arrange a baptism. If one is not registered, we must have a Letter of Permission from the Pastor in which the family is registered. (See above.)

  8. Pastoral References for Teachers: Pastoral references for teachers are given for those persons who are registered in St. Kevin's Parish. The Pastoral Reference for teachers testifies that the person practices his or her faith regularly. Sunday Eucharist is the great Christian norm for the practice of the faith. The Pastoral Reference for teachers inquires as to how active the person is in participating in different dimensions of parish or civic life.

  9. Godparents / Christian Witness for Baptism: At baptism, a Roman Catholic sponsor is called a Godparent. All Godparents for Baptism should be practicing Catholics. One of the sponsors at baptism must be a Roman Catholic, 16 years of age and already confirmed. A non-Catholic sponsor is called a "Christian Witness". (This presumes that the non- Catholic is indeed a practicing Christian and baptized in a Christian church). In choosing a Godparent for baptism, parents should keep in mind that a Godparent at baptism should also be the person's sponsor at Confirmation.

  10. Confirmation Sponsors: A Confirmation sponsor must be a practicing Roman Catholic, already confirmed and 16 years of age. We ask the sponsor at Confirmation to have a brief meeting with the Pastor of his/her Parish. Simply inform the Pastor of your desire to act as a Confirmation sponsor at St. Kevin's and kindly ask the Pastor to sign the Sponsor Form. The Sponsor Form itself presents in a clear way the expectations for a Confirmation Sponsor.

  11. Parish Pastoral Practice.
    •   If someone is seriously sick at home or in the hospital, please call the office. One of the priests will be happy to visit.
    •   If one is unable to come to Sunday Eucharist over a long period of time, please call the office and arrange for a communion visit on the part of our Eucharist Ministers.
    •   When spending time in the hospital, please indicate that you are Roman Catholic and a member of St. Kevin's.

     

REMINDER:

Are You Registered in Our Parish?

Please do not take for granted that you are registered in the parish just because you attend Mass here. If we have no record of your parish membership, it could be quite embarrassing to us, or to you or your family, when someone wishes to make wedding plans, have a baby baptized, or if you have been asked to act as a sponsor for baptism or confirmation. Please fill out a registration form. This form is on the shelf in the book stand in the foyer of the church. When you have completed the form, place in the collection basket or return it to the Parish Office