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Page updated 12-10-11 |
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St. Jerome’s parishioners have notable community-wide events throughout the year. See the photo gallery for scenes from selected events. Pastoral Council Nominations and Elections, May Parish Raffle and Picnic, Early June Ministries Weekend, Late Spring Fr. Mike Book Club, Spring and Fall Pancake Breakfast, Spring and Fall Parishioner-to-Parishioner Services Directory Pastoral Council Nominations and Election, May New officers of the Pastoral Council elected for the next Council year are:
New members are nominated and elected every year in May, are commissioned with a special blessing at the Masses on or near Pentecost, and become part of the Council at the June meeting. The Council would like to thank all of the parishioners who nominated candidates and voted in the recent election. The candidates elected to the Council for the next two years are these parishioners. An asterisk indicates re-elected.
Congratulations to the successful candidates and thank you to all the candidates for participating in the election. Newly elected members are inducted into the Council with a special blessing at the Masses on Pentecost. The first meeting of the Council that the new members attend is the June meeting at which new officers of the council are elected for the coming council year. CONTACT: Parish Raffle and Picnic, Early June Since 1997 the Parish Raffle has contributed significantly to the financial well-being of our parish community and helps maintain the operations of the parish. Deep thanks to the many volunteers who make it so successful by selling tickets and to the many parishioners and friends of the parish who purchase tickets. A limited number of tickets are sold. From 1997 through 2010 raffle tickets were $100 each, included a parish buffet dinner for two, and the first prize was an automobile such as a brand-new Mercedes-Benz, a BMW, or a Subaru Forester. In 2011 the raffle ticket price went to $50, a sizeable cash award became the first prize, and all ticket purchasers were invited to an afternoon parish picnic in the church hall. The raffle drawings cap the afternoon's picnic. Everyone enjoys good fellowship and plentiful food. John Kuczo and Jim Alvord chaired the parish raffle for its first fourteen years. Karen Christensen became raffle chairperson in 2011. CONTACT: Started in 1999 and held in early fall each year on a Sunday close to the September 30th feast day of Saint Jerome, the St. Jerome’s Parish Festival celebrates our parish and its parishioners. Each year a different theme - be it Octoberfest, Country & Western, Caribbean, or Italian - energizes the day. The festival location is Norwalk’s Cranbury Park, just a hop, skip, and a jump from the church. Parishioners enjoy a picnic cookout, live and recorded music, and celebratory activities. From noon until the concluding Liturgy of the Eucharist, over 300 children, young people, and adults attend, enjoy plenty of good food, music, children’s games, and the chance to meet old and new friends and join with each other in conversation and fun. By 8:00 AM on Festival day, things are buzzing and volunteers are working hard on preparations at the festival site. Decorations tailored to the year’s theme are put up, tables readied, and grills started for the theme cuisine, and for hot dogs, hamburgers served from noon until about mid-afternoon, a filling lunch rounded out with loads of different types of salads, and bread, juice, tea, and coffee. Music and singing, heard throughout the celebration, enliven the day. Live music by parish players with both solo and join-in singing often draws a crowd and impromptu dancing. Kids Korner engages our young people with pumpkin painting, face painting, bead arts and crafts, and numerous other activities. A magician, a caricaturist, maybe even a clown, entertain children and adults alike. Finally, to signify our unity and diversity as a faith community, Festival Day culminates with the Celebration of the Eucharist, outdoors at the park. Admission ticket prices are reasonable for adults (age 14+) and for children (ages 3-13),while children under age 3 are free. Parish volunteers handle all pre-Festival preparations and on-site activities. We greatly welcome, call for, and need parishioner volunteers to organize and staff the many events of the day. For more information about the Festival Committee, click here. CONTACT: FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS SIGN-UP SHEETS Ministries Weekend, Late Spring On a weekend often on or near Pentecost Sunday, St. Jerome’s hosts a Ministries Weekend “open house” in the church hall where tables are set up for each parish committee or group. Parishioners are invited into the hall after all the Masses to find out about the work of each ministry, committee, and group. Representatives explain their particular ministry, its agenda, schedule, accomplishments, and future plans, and ask visitors to sign up for membership or more information.
Current list of books under discussion CONTACT: Pancake Breakfast, Spring and Fall Twice a year, in spring and fall, several hundred parishioners, including many families with children, enjoy a parish buffet pancake breakfast in the church hall after Sunday morning Masses. All enjoy loads of delicious pancakes — blueberry, chocolate chip, and plain — plus scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice, and coffee.
Both events are sponsored by the Pastoral Council and staffed by volunteers, especially the Men’s Ministry, and are part of the Pastoral Council’s initiative to foster community and social togetherness among all age groups in the parish. CONTACT: Parishioner-to-Parishioner Services Directory
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“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Book club, noun, “a group of people who meet regularly to discuss books they are reading.” Led by Fr. Mike who taught English literature for over 30 years, Book Club readers meet in the spring and fall on a mid-month Wednesday in the Kevin Eidt Youth Room in the church hall. Readers attend either of two sessions, Wednesday at 9:30 AM or Thursday at 7:00 PM. Some months the Thursday evening selection is different than the Wednesday morning selection. Recent titles discussed include The Shack by William Young, Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen, Staggerford and North of Hope both by Jon Hassler, Faith Stories edited by Michael Curtis, Still Alice by Lisa Genova, and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
On a mid-season Friday in Lent over 150 parishioners have an old-fashioned, sit-down fish fry in the church hall. The buffet dinner includes fried fish and shrimp (with no trans fats) for adults and fish sticks or macaroni and cheese for children; plus French fries, coleslaw, corn bread, iced tea, lemonade, coffee, and dessert. 
To encourage parishioner-to-parishioner contacts for needed services and to support skilled workers in the parish, a directory has been compiled of those in the parish who work in services such as: electrical work, home improvement, interior/exterior painting, tree removal, computer repair, tailoring, tutoring, counseling, candidate placement, real estate, and other services. Please click |
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