Bulletin – September 4, 2016

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to all our parishioners who have been away on holidays. We hope you have had an enjoyable summer.
For those young people who are off to university, we wish you every success as you begin a new stage of your life. For those students and teachers returning to elementary and secondary school, we wish you a very positive and rewarding year.

FROM THE DESK OF FR. BRANDO

On behalf of the St. Gabriel’s Parish Community I would like to welcome Fr. John Muthengi, CP who is now our new Associate.

BAPTISM

The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome:

Patrick Ross Hood
Chloe Joan Krause
Chloe Wing Lim Ah Ken
Jasper Wang-Caijun Mansker
Jet Wang-Caijie Mansker
Lucas Anthony Piazzese
Xavier Crispin Prillo-Homer
Lily Isabel Subramanian
Cassandra Megan Varillas
Ryan Martin Young

All received the Sacrament of Baptism during the months of July and August. Congratulations!

ANNOUNCED MASSES

September 5th to September 10th, 2016

MONDAY – LABOUR DAY – No 9:00 AM Mass
TUESDAY – DAWN & CLAIRE BURKE – Requested by their Family
WEDNESDAY – SR. LAURA GATIEN IBVM – Requested by Margaret Anne Leckie
THURSDAY – HARRY LEUNG – Requested by John Chan
FRIDAY – GUS CALDERONE – Requested by Marie Calderone
SATURDAY – RENATO BELLISARI – Requested by Family and Friends

ECO-SABBATH

Sunday, October 2nd at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room

St Gabriel’s has a long tradition of hosting the Eco-Sabbath every first Sunday of the month. This year, the tradition will continue. The first meeting of this year after the summer break will be held on October 2nd, at 11:30 AM. All are invited.

CHILDREN’S FAITH PROGRAM

The Children’s Faith Program for children attending private or public schools will begin on Sunday, September 11th at 10:00 AM. Classes are held at St. Gabriel’s School. Registration forms may be picked up in the Parish Office.

Please note that a separate Sacramental registration form is required if your child will receive the sacraments of First Communion, Reconciliation or Confirmation during the 2016/17 year. These forms are also available in the Parish Office.

R.C.I.A. AND ADULT FAITH DEVELOPMENT

Meetings in preparation for the R.C.I.A. (Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults) will begin soon. These meetings are for persons interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith. The exploration may lead the candidate to seek baptism, and become a member of the Catholic Christian community; or for Christians already baptized into another Christian denomination, the reception into the Catholic Church.

Adult Catholics who have not received the sacrament of Confirmation but who wish to do so are also encouraged to attend these sessions.

As well, these meetings may be an opportunity for “Born Catholics” to deepen their understanding of our faith. Very often, especially for those of us who received our religious instruction at an early age, we tend to grow physically, mentally, psychologically etc., but the understanding of our faith does not grow correspondingly. The RCIA may serve as a good opportunity for us to ask questions and to develop a more adult understanding of our faith.

If you are interested in joining the RCIA meetings or if you would like to have more information about it, please call Fatima Lee at the Parish Office, 416-221-8866, ext. 228.

SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN PREPARING FOR BAPTISM

If you have, or know of, school age children (ages 7 to 14) who wish to prepare for Baptism, please contact the Parish Office, or Fatima Lee directly, at (416) 221-8866, ext. 228. Classes for them will begin after Thanksgiving.

ST. GABRIEL’S MUSIC MINISTRY

“Those who sing pray twice.”

Our senior choir practices on Tuesday evenings, from 7:30 to 9:00 P.M. and leads community song at the 10:30 AM Sunday Mass.

Our junior choir practices on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and leads the music at the 12:30 PM Mass.

We always welcome new voices and hope you will consider joining us! For more information, please contact the choir director after any of the Masses.

GOOD SHEPHERD CENTRE CASSEROLES

Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 31 casseroles for July and 30 casseroles for August.. For September, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of September 24th/25th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.

More volunteers are encouraged to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. Three different recipes are available in the Parish Office or online at the Church website.

If you require more information or would like to get a copy of a recipe and a casserole pan, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.

THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE

You can make a difference in the lives of the hungry and homeless this Thanksgiving by participating in the annual Good Shepherd Ministries Thanksgiving Food Drive.

Good Shepherd provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless in our city as well as a chance to start again through the Resettlement or DARE Programs.

Urgently needed items include:
rice,
pasta and pasta sauces,
peanut butter,
jam
oatmeal
pancake mix
teabags
ground or instant coffee,
sugar
cookies and crackers,
canned tuna,
soups, stews, meats, fruits and vegetables.

Please no fresh or frozen foods.

We thank you for your generous support!

FOOD FOR ROSALIE HALL

Each month the food we collect is sent to Rosalie Hall. Rosalie Hall assists young parents and their children to realize their potential through the provision of a wide range of child development, community, residential and educational services.

With everyone struggling at this time, these donations are more important than ever. Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Thank you for your generous support.

BUNDLE UP WEEKEND COMING UP!

This Weekend, September 3rd/4th

Spring Cleaning Year Round!

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is collecting gently used clothing for men women and children, shoes, household goods, linens, draperies and toys to support the needy this weekend, September 3rd/4th They cannot accept books, baby furniture, appliances or mattresses.

Please bring your donations and help others in your community. They will donate or sell these donations to support their outreach efforts.

The truck will be open Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Volunteers will be there to assist with loading before and after each Mass.

HIKE AND PRAYER: AMAZING RACE

Saturday, September 24th 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Join other young adults (18-39) on a scavenger hunt race around the city and learn more about the Sisters of
St. Joseph of Toronto!

Prizes include a dinner for 4 at Vino Rosso (995 Bay Street), and 4 tickets to the Hockey Hall of Fame. We’ll start at Mustard Seed, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto at 791 Queen Street East, and end with a dinner to celebrate a new decade of Faith Connections at the formation house of the Sisters of St. Joseph on Palmerston Boulevard.

The cost is $20 (if a concern, please contact us.) with proceeds to go to charity. You can register as a team of up to 4 together, or you can be placed on a team if you don’t have one.

Registration is required by September 12th. Please call Vanessa Nicholas-Schmidt at 416-467-2645 or e-mail faithconnections@csj-to.ca.

FINANCE CORNER

Weekly Offertory
Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week.

Collection for last weekend:
Envelopes 340 $ 6,688
Loose Change 1,037
Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving 163 3,002
Total 503 $ 10,727