Bulletin – June 26, 2022

Welcome

We would like to welcome Fr. Bill Murphy CP to St. Gabriel’s Parish. He will be our Interim Pastor until Fr. Brando returns from his sabbatical. Fr. Bill is from Jamaica, New York and is happy to be here with us.

If you wish to contact Fr. Brando while he is on sabbatical, his emails are: dnarb_recp@yahoo.com or brandorecana@gmail.com

Happy Summer!

This is the last bulletin until the Labour Day Weekend in September. We wish you all a happy and safe summer!

Friday, July 1st is Canada Day.

The office will be closed on Friday for the holiday.

There will be no 9:00 AM Mass on July 1st.

ANNOUNCED MASSES

June 27th to July 3rd, 2022

MONDAY – KOK YAU FUNG ✞ – Requested by Kok Yau Lam
TUESDAY – ROSA LAI HING CHAN & FAMILY – Requested by Thomas Li & Family
WEDNESDAY – VINCENZO & CONCEITA GRECO ✞ – Requested by the Grech Family
THURSDAY – FR. PAUL CUSACK ✞ – Requested by the Taylor Family
FRIDAY – CANADA DAY – No 9:00 AM Mass
SATURDAY – YUNG-NIEN HSU ✞ – Requested by the Hsu Family
SUNDAY, 10:30 – MELANIE WHITE ✞ – Requested by Sophie & Candida Pereira
SUNDAY, 12:30 – KOK SHING WING & CHIU LAI SAU ✞ – Requested by Kok Yau Lam

Announced Masses for the summer months will be posted on the bulletin board in the Gathering Space.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY

This is the final week for the children’s liturgy until the fall. Thank you to the wonderful team of adult and student volunteers who led the children in expressing and deepening their faith.

When we resume in the fall, we look forward to adding more volunteers to the team. For more information or to volunteer, please call Dawn Burke at 416 671-0561 or leave a message at the Parish Office.

THANK YOU TO OUR CHOIR

Thank you to our faithful choir members for their ministry! They will be taking a break, returning in September. New members are welcome to join them.

The senior choir practices on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:00 PM and sings at the10:30 AM Mass.

For more information, please email Serena Neil at serena.meharchand@gmail.com

CHILDREN’S FAITH PROGRAM – 2022/2023

Registration forms for the Children’s Faith Program are now available in the parish office. This program is for children of the Parish who attend other Catholic schools, public or private schools. Classes are held at St. Gabriel’s School every second Sunday beginning September

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 2022/2023 school year. These forms are also available in the Parish Office. Baptismal Certificates are required for First Communion and Confirmation.

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 in September. 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.

If you are interested in joining the RCIA meetings or if you would like to have more information about it, please contact Sr. Maria Lucia at 416-221-8866.

CARING FOR THE HOMELESS IN OUR CITY

Thank you for your generous support of Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre.

Rosalie Hall assists young parents and their children to realize their potential.

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.

Your food donations are more important than ever during the summer months as numbers of needy people continue to increase. Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired.

ST GABRIEL’S REFUGEE COMMITTEE – UKRAINIAN FAMILY SPONSORSHIP

There will be a second collection in support of our Refugee Sponsorship on the weekend of July 16th/17th. Thank you in advance for your support.

We have learned that a neighbouring church, St Elizabeth of Hungary Church, received a Ukrainian Refugee family on very short notice. We are assisting them by sharing our settlement plan with them. Our Sponsorship is through the Office of Refugees Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT) and they have a team in Poland speaking to Ukrainian families about resettlement in Canada.

Thank you for your continued support of this important work.

Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

SHARELIFE

Help homeless youth through ShareLife

Covenant House is one of the agencies you support through ShareLife. It’s located in Toronto, but its young clients – largely homeless youth – arrive from throughout the archdiocese.

“Your commitment to love and care for the youth experiencing homelessness and trafficking who come to Covenant House truly means so much,” says the agency’s director. “Your support gives hope to young people who need hope right now – and you give youth a real chance for a better future.”

Our goal this year is $198,000. To date we have achieved $132,650 Please give at the parish using a ShareLife envelope, online through our parish website, or at sharelife.org.

CASSEROLES FOR THE GOOD SHEPHERD CENTRE

Summer Collection: July 30th/31st, August 27th/28th

Thank you to all who prepared casseroles for the Good Shepherd Centre for the month of June.

During the summer, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on
the weekends of July 30th/31st and August 27th/28th.

More volunteers are needed, especially during the summer months, to help feed the hungry in our city. We encourage you to pick up a copy of a casserole recipe and a pan and give it a try. Three recipes are available on St. Gabriel’s web site. Printed copies of the recipes are also available in the Parish Office. Please remember to mark the label on the pan lid with the name of the casserole. For more information, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.

ANNUAL MASS FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

Wednesday, August 17th at 7:00 PM

Catholic Cemeteries and Funeral Services, Archdiocese of Toronto wishes to invite all families to participate in the Annual Mass for the Faithful Departed on Wednesday, August 17th at 7:00 PM.

His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins will celebrate Mass at Holy Cross in Thornhill.

Rev. Msgr. Paul Zimmer will be the celebrant at Mount Hope Cemetery in Toronto.

Most Rev. Bishop Robert Kasun will celebrate the Mass at Christ the King Cemetery in Markham.

In the Event of Rain, Mass will be celebrated in the mausoleum at Holy Cross and at St. Monica’s Church instead of Mount Hope Cemetery. Mass will be celebrated in the Reception Centre at Christ the King Cemetery.

GARDEN SHED

CHILDREN’S LITURGY GARDEN CARE EXPERIENCE

This Sunday, June 26th, the Garden and the Children’s Liturgy ministries are once again collaborating to give the children an experience of caring for a garden that grows food for those in need of a meal. (The produce from St. Gabriel’s Garden is given to the Good Shepherd Ministries.)

The summer issue of our Garden Ministry newsletter, Growing News, is now available on the parish website. Featured in this issue is an interview with Fr. Brando, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination, in which he reveals the captivating story of his call to the priesthood.

To contact the Garden Ministry, please email sgpgardenministry@gmail.com

ELDERS RETREAT

Saturday, July, 23rd from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Elders in the parish are invited to a mini retreat on Saturday, July 23rd from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the parish sponsored by the Garden Ministry and the Ministry for Maturing Adults.

Through hands-on encounters in the garden, reflection and discussion of scriptural passages, elders will be invited to share their wisdom and discover the spiritual roots of their relationship with nature.

More details and registration information will be available on posters in the Gathering Space next weekend.

MINISTRY FOR MATURING ADULTS

During the last two years, the Ministry for Maturing Adults has been organizing programs to meet some needs of our parish’s maturing adult population.

Currently, MMA is teaming with the Heather Bennett and the Garden Ministry Team to organize a Garden Retreat on July 23rd with the emphasizing “how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for ecclesial communities.

MMA will also be hosting a Technology Workshop starting in July for those would like to learn how to use technology (cellphone, social media, emails, etc.) in a safer way. This is being done in collaboration with the Youth Ministry Team of our parish.

If you have any ideas, suggestions, or interest, please contact our Maturing Adult Ministry Team via Sr. Maria Lucia at StGabrielMMA@gmail.com.