All parishioners who would like to become part of the team should leave your contact information with Fr. Iura after the Divine Liturgy. Forms for providing your contact information can be found in the vestibule of the church.
Awakenings —Adult Faith Formation: “I heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne … they were countless in number, thousands and tens of thousands” (Revelations 5: 11)
The Visible and Invisible World In Holy Scripture, angels manifest the presence of God in the world, announcing to human beings the will of God. Holy Scripture refers to some by name: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel. Angels assist human beings in their spiritual growth. The Tradition of the Church teaches that God grants every human being a guardian angel: “You appointed angels as guardians.”The unity of the visible and invisible creation –human beings and angels – become manifest in the Divine Liturgy, where the earthly expresses the heavenly, and humans serve together with angels; “Let us who mystically represent the cherubim and sing the Thrice-holy Hymn to the life giving Trinity…” and “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabbaoth, heaven and earth are full of your glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Christ Our Pascha, 117)
The first meeting of the Confraternity of Saint Lazarus will be on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 pm in the church hall. This is a new organization (a ministry) formed to attend to these spiritual and corporal works of mercy: praying for and burying the dead; in particular, abandoned stillborn babies and the homeless – especially homeless U.S. Veterans.
We will be discussing the need (physical and spiritual) for this ministry in the greater New Haven area, and how we as a faith community can respond effectively and sensitively to this very important need. This work has already begun in New Haven and the Confraternity of Saint Lazarus is looking to be the spiritual and human face by caring for those babies who have been abandoned by their mothers and those adults who have died alone. The Confraternity aims at being present for those who need our prayers and our humanity. Fr. Iura and the parish will serve the funeral liturgy for some of the deceased with the help of other clergy. Please join us for a lively discussion while learning how we can serve the needs of others. Contact Paul with questions: paulzalonski@gmail.com
Helping the poor, a work of charity: The Director of the St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter in Waterbury wrote to us requesting assistance in collecting bath soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste, deodorant, Q-tips, men’s underwear for the ministry to the homeless. We will have this collection for the poor through Pentecost (June 9). These items can be put in the basket at the entrance of the church in the marked box.
Can we follow the example of the Lord who exhorted us to care for the poor? Let us follow the holy example of the Venerable Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky who heroically lived a life of Christian virtue with his commitment to the poor. Pray to Venerable Metropolitan Sheptytsky for guidance in living a holy life.
Paul Zalonski (of our parish) will drive the donations to St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Waterbury Homeless Shelter in Waterbury (www.svdpmission.org).
The St Gianna Center of New Haven will be having its 4th Annual Benefit dinner on Sunday, April 28th (1-5pm) at Amarante’s in New Haven. The Center is recognizing the Pro-Life work of Vincent Candelora (Connecticut State Representative) and Michael and Barbara Ferraro. The Guest Speaker is Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut. Single Reservations for adults are $50. All reservations must be received and paid for BY APRIL 12th. Reservations by mail must be made payable and mailed to St. Gianna Pregnancy Resource Center, PO Box 94, Northford, CT 06472.