Entries for May 2023

This Tuesday we’ll welcome a seminarian, Andrew McCarroll, to St. Boniface and St. Lawrence Parishes. He will be here for a “pastoral year.” I know it’s been some time since our parishes hosted a seminarian for a summer or winter assignment. I suspect it’s been since never that we’ve had someone here for the duration of a year. So, let me give you some sense of what this experience means. Andrew, a native of Lehman (at the upper end of Route 118) and a son of St. Aloysius Parish in Wilkes-Barre, has just finished his third year in graduat...

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Congratulations to our three new pastoral council members as they join current council members in advising our pastor on matters related to the spiritual health and administration of The Parishes of St. Boniface & St. Lawrence: Greg Deck, Karen Kirk-Newman, and Scott Lorson. Their three-year terms will begin in June. A special thank you goes out to our Recruitment and Training Committee for organizing and overseeing this year's council elections. 

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A Memorial Day Mass will be at the St. Boniface Cemetary on Monday, May 29 at 9 a.m. We will honor all those who died in military service for our country. Parking at the cemetery is limited, but parking will be available in the SJNRA High School parking lot. In case of inclement weather, Mass will be held at St. Boniface church. Light refreshments will be provided by the Hospitality Committee. Please bring your own lawn chair.

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Most mornings I read the news from the New York Times on my phone. Many mornings I’ll take a stab at the games the NYT provides—the crossword, the sodoku, the spelling bee. That last game invites us to create words from a limited number of letters: the more letters, the more points. But, sometimes I put in a legitimate word and it gets rejected—either because it’s a foreign word, a proper name, or just one that the game designers don’t know. Two examples: “cenacle” and “novena.” Real words. Actual words that play into th...

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We are currently working on the St. Boniface lector and eucharistic minister schedules for July, August, and September, and would like to add more liturgical ministers to our list. Both parishes need additional eucharistic ministers, especially for Saturday Masses. If you are interested in joining these ministries, please contact the parish office for more information and training. (email stboniface@comcast.net or call 570- 326-1544)

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It’s time once again for summer VBS, sponsored by St. Boniface, St. Lawrence, St. Ann's, and St. Joseph the Worker. In order to make VBS affordable for families, we charge a fee that covers only a small portion of the cost of this program. The parishes are responsible for the remaining costs. So, we are asking parishioners to help us by donating some of the items we need to offset those costs. There are posters located in the back of each church that outline VBS needs. Please take a moment to review these items and consider donating. Items should be brought to chu...

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Vacation Bible School

The pastoral council election takes place this weekend, May 20 & 21. Sheets with candidate biographies are in the back of church. Please take the time to read about each candidate so you can make a thoughtful decision as we continue to build for the future of our two parishes. Candidates should be individuals that are called to work cooperatively and creatively for the greater good. Ballots will be located at the church entrances by the bulletins. Please take a ballot and make (3) three selections and return the ballots to the collection boxes. 

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The Mass schedule: let’s cut to the quick! We will keep the PREP year Sunday schedule in place throughout the year—8 a.m. at St. Lawrence and 10:30 a.m. at St. Boniface. Thank you to everyone who offered their input. The responses were relatively even. Some folks actually argued both sides. Some people proposed completely different schedules from the two options on the table. I have to tell you, you don’t all share the same definition of Sabbath rest. Many of you want the Lord’s Day to offer an opportunity to sleep in. Others find rest in gettin...

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Our parishes are responsible for providing the meals for Family Promise from Sunday, May 28 through Saturday, June 3. If you are able to donate a meal, please contact Pam Fink at (570) 916-0883 or email her at picturepam@comcast.net. The parishes will also be responsible for meals August 13-19 and November 26-December 2.

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Family Promise

Congratulations to the following individuals that have been nominated for our pastoral council: Greg Deck, Chris Heim, Karen Kirk-Newman, Scott Lorson, Gloria O’Connell, and Rosemary Proctor. Pastoral council elections will take place the weekend of May 20 & 21. Candidate biographies can be found as an insert in the printed weekly bulletin.  Please take the time to read about each candidate so you can make a thoughtful decision as we continue to build for the future of our two parishes. There will be a candidate meet & greet after Mass on May 14 a...

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Parish Center. Rectory. Convent. The building behind St. Lawrence Church has had a host of names and quite a variety of uses throughout the years. This summer that building’s name and use will change yet again. Beginning this summer, the parish will rent that property to St. John Neumann Regional Academy—to be used as a preschool campus. We hope this will be a positive for both the parish and our regional Catholic school. For the school, this means more much-needed room for the growing pre-school program at SJNRA. For the parish, we’ll no longer be paying ...

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Thursday, May 18 is a Holy Day of Obligation marking the day that Jesus ascended into Heaven 40 days after Easter by His own power. Services will be held at St. Lawrence at 7 a.m., at St. Boniface at 10 a.m. and at 5:30 p.m. To read about the Ascension, see Acts1:14, Mark 16: 19-20, and Luke 24:50-53.  To see the schedule of Masses offered at area Lycoming County churches, please refer to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stbonifaceandstlawrenceparish/

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Holy Day

Save the date! The St. Lawrence Church rummage sale is June 9 & 10. As you clean out and prepare your home for warmer weather, consider donating any items that could be resold at the sale. Please contact Dianne Fisher at 570-322-3278 or Judy Campion at 570-323-6202 for more information about donations.  Download the full information brochure for the event at https://stbonifacecatholic.com/

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Please note the new schedule for Holy Days in our parishes: Holy Day Masses will be held at 7 a.m. St. Lawrence, 10 a.m. at St. Boniface (SJNRA), and at 5:30 p.m. at St. Boniface. Schedules for area churches will be posted as needed.

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Holy Day

Some years ago, I celebrated a Mass—probably during Catholic Schools Week—where a high school student gave a talk about his experience of Catholic education. He had clearly prepared well. He was convincingly excited about his Catholic faith. But, I was a little surprised what people said—and didn’t say—as they talked to him after Mass. I heard: “You speak well—you should be a teacher,” “—you should be a lawyer,” “—you should be in politics.” What I didn’t hear: “You could be a pr...

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