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PARISH HAPPENINGS
1st Quarter 2009

 

On Saturday, March 17th,  A Memorial Mass for James and Laura Gallagher was held at St. Paul's, with Father Stephen and Father Chris concelebrating the Mass. James was the brother of Maureen Hunt. He and his wife Laura were tragically murdered in February of this year. They lived in Ogden, North Carolina. The Bethany Ministry hosted the luncheon following the Mass.

On Tuesday March 17th, the Bethany Minister volunteers served lunch to about 75 family members and friends of Luella Gotthardt. Luella passed away last weekend. Father Chris did the funeral service at the Biedekapp/Henderson Funeral Home and also the committal service at the cemetery.

On Saturday, March 7th, Mary's Flowers and Blue Knights completed the Stations of the Cross together, starting the first station with the eldest Flower/Knight to youngest and cycling  back through again. They did remarkably well considering for some of them this was their first time!

 

After Stations of the Cross both groups went to the hall for an enormous breakfast prepared entirely by the Blue Knights. Mary's Flowers were not allowed in the kitchen for preparation or even clean up. The Blue Knights claimed that this was a thank you for the many times they joined Mary's Flowers for morning snacks, but no one was prepared for what was set out. The gentlemen made pancakes of all shapes and sizes, bacon and scrambled eggs. Andrew Gross even took orders for over easy eggs! The Blue Knights were excited and had tons of fun making breakfast for everyone.

 

While the gentlemen were cooking the ladies were continuing with their patterns for tote bags. As we were reviewing the pattern directions and sewn sample pieces of the different steps it was easy to get distracted by the smell of bacon cooking. After breakfast the ladies returned and made great progress. Two machines were set up, but the second was not working very well. As a result, the project was not completed by all, but will be in just one more meeting.

 

With this sewing project Mary's Flowers progressed from the more simple projects to one that requires patience, complicated steps in sequence and the ability to stay focused. Mary's Flowers have matured in their faith and demeanor.

 
 

On Valentine's Day, Grace Tomaiolo celebrated her 80th birthday with a party of some friends and family at the Hancock House Hotel. Then on Sunday, February 22nd, Grace and Sal received a special blessing by Father Chris at the 10 AM Mass. This was in celebration of their Sixtieth Wedding Anniversary. Congratulation!!!!  

St. Paul's, Cure for Cabin Fever Pot Luck Supper was held after the 4 PM Mass on Saturday, February 21st. The theme was Mardi Gras, complete with beads and masks. The atmosphere was festive and the  various types of food, including the many desserts that everyone brought in was incredibly delicious.

Thanks to Carol Lohndorf for heading up the committee, Karen and Ed White and all of the many volunteers that helped set up, wash dishes and do all the clean up that always come with such an event. Thanks to the Holy Name Society for so generously supplying the ham for the dinner.

In January, St. Paul's welcomed into the Catholic Faith two infants though the Sacrament of Baptism. On January 1st,  Bronx Andersen Eugene Stanfield was baptized at the 10 AM Mass. He is the son of Byron Luke Stanfield and Holly Murray Stanfield. The Godparents were Jeremy Allen Murray and Kaitlin Marie Rosengrant.
On January 25th, Charleigh Elizabeth Pratt was baptized at the 10 AM Mass. Charleigh is the daughter of James Arthur Pratt and Jeanne Marie Madej Pratt. The Godparents were John Fay and Lillian Walsh.

After the 10AM Mass on Sunday, St. Paul's parishioners were invited to spent some fellowship time in the Father Rausch Hall with coffee, tea, juice and breakfast snacks, put on by the your Parish Council. Despite the large snowfall that fell over night, 63 people braved the weather for the 10AM Mass. Almost all of them came to the hall after Mass and everyone seemed to enjoy this time together. We would like to hold this Sunday fellowship time once a month, especially during the winter time. In order not to have the same people doing it each time, it would be nice to have  some different people or a group volunteer to this. If you or your group would like to help out, call the rectory (637-2571 to get on the schedule. 

Congratulations to everyone, donors and volunteers who helped top our goal of 29 pints at the Blood Drive held at Father Rausch Hall on January 12th 2009. Thanks to your efforts we collected 36 units of blood and recruited 7 first time donors. Several donors participated in the double Red Cell Donation - A special process called Apharesis which allows donors to safely donate certain components of their blood cells in larger amounts. This process helps everyone in need of blood,
specifically trauma patients and cancer patients. Our apologies to the many walk ins that wanted to donate blood, but could not due to the lack of time.

To better serve you please feel free to pass on any comments about the donation process to Socorro Marin/ American Red Cross Hancock, Chairperson--225 East Main Street, Hancock, NY 13783. All donors were treated with a complimentary coupon for a pound of Dunkin Donuts Coffee compliments of The American Red Cross
for their efforts.
Again, many thanks for helping to boost the blood supply in our area.

 
The Hancock Community preschoolers happily pose for a picture to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. holiday after listening to his story book. Activities to inspire youngsters to celebrate diversity called "celebrating our differences" were greeting cards, poems, songs and unique keepsakes.
 

The January meeting of Mary's Flowers and Blue Knights began by celebrating Mass with Father Chris, followed by one decade of the Rosary, led by Helena Dirig. For those that follow the happenings of Mary's Flowers, Helena Dirig is a great friend of the young ladies of Mary's Flowers. This past July the young ladies had a great time weeding her lovely garden. After Mass and the Rosary, we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany with lively educational conversation and breakfast with Father Chris and the Blue Knights.  The breakfast was scrambled eggs and waffles made by Mary's Flowers. Blue Knights and Mary's Flowers separated for different activities. Mary's Flowers started work on making tote bags. The girls selected coordinating fabrics for the outside, lining and handles.  After selecting the fabric and design they drew out a pattern, pinned the fabrics and cut out their tote bags. Next month they will complete their tote bags. Many thanks to Valerie Hunter who helped us figure out the accurate placement of a bobbin casing on an older Kenmore sewing machine!

The young boy of the parish are called the Blue Knight and also meet the 1st Saturday of each month. This meeting was on the meaning of the 10 Commandments and how they relate to our faith. They had time to play some games while they waited for the lunch to be ready that was prepared by Mary's Flowers.