St. George Monthly E-Newsletter
July 2009

Saint George Church
40 Brattle St.
Worcester MA 01606
508-853-0183
www.saintgeo.com

Prayer For Our Nation

Gracious and loving God, we come to you in humble prayer
for the United States of America. Bless our President.
Give him wisdom and strength to serve the American people
and lead our country in ways that are pleasing to you.
Bless our Congress. Instill in them knowledge and understanding
to enact laws that protect the sanctity of life
from the unborn to the elderly and promote the
good of all people. Bless the people of the United States.
Make us aware of our responsibility as citizens to
uphold the principles of life, liberty, justice and equality.
Send your Holy Spirit upon our beloved country.
Make us people of faith in times of uncertainty.
Make us people of compassion
with those who are less fortunate.
Make us people of peace in our homes,
our communities, our country and our world. Amen.

Father Michael Lavallee!

On July 1 we welcome Father Michael Lavallee to our parish as Associate Pastor. We look forward to the ways in which God will direct Father's ministry in our parish for our good and for God's glory. May God bless him as he begins his priestly work at St. George's.

New Parish Pastoral Council Members
We are pleased to announce that the following parishioners have been elected to three-year terms: Meg Coffin, Nancy Forhan,
Gerry Frew, Bob Giasi and Scott Krug. Incoming and outgoing members will be recognized at a ceremony during Mass in the Fall.
Thank you to outgoing Pastoral Council members Irene Jones, Brenda Trayah, Mike Fornari, Jack McLaughlin and Jerry Lynch
for their loyalty and dedicated service to St. George Church.

Volunteer Cantors Needed
If you would like to share your musical gift and be a cantor, please call Michael Lizotte at 978-563-1758 or see him in the choir loft
after any weekend Mass. It would be helpful if you have a basic knowledge of reading music.

In Search of a Keyboard Player!
If you can play the keyboards please consider using your talents to lift the congregation in songs of praise! The Contemporary Music Ministry is seeking a keyboard player to join their team at the 9:00 am Mass. If you think this might be you then it could be the Holy Spirit at work! Please call Bill White at 508-829-3165 for more information

Many Thanks to our Music Ministry
As our adult choir members rejoin the music making from the pews for the summer, we want to thank them for their dedication and hard work this past year. Parishioners commented in our Parish Survey saying, "I love the choir and love the music", "The music is outstanding", "Michael Lizotte is very knowledgeable and an asset to our music department...his contribution to the music ministry of the parish is outstanding." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reminds us that "God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praises." We are most grateful to our choir for helping us recognize God's presence among us.

French Choir and Orchestra

Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. Paul
High Street - Worcester MA
Entrance: Free

French youth musicians from the Choeur d'Enfants et Jeune Choeur d'Ile de France (Children and Youth Choirs of France) and the Jeune Orchestre Symphonique Maurice-Ravel (Maurice Ravel Youth Symphony Orchestra) come together from France for this exceptional program to perform the Mass of St. Cecile by Gounod and excerpts from the Saint-Saens Symphony with Organ. Organist will be Ian Watson from the Cathedral.

Conductor Francis Bardot, an oratorio tenor soloist, performed in over 2,000 concerts across France, and made some 20 recordings with RCA and Deutsche Grammophon. His youth choirs have made over 20 highly praised recordings and receiving two "Orphee d'Or" awards from the French Academie du Disque Lyrique.

Please plan to attend this remarkable event at the Cathedral! There is nothing more soothing than hearing a 120 piece orchestra and pristine voices in lush acoustics. You may remember this group from two years ago for their remarkable performance of the Gounod Requiem at St. George's.

Please remember that our parish's financial security depends on you. Our bills don't take a summer vacation. Sincere thanks to all of you who continue to support our community through the year. We appreciate it!

The Chapel of the Perpetual Eucharist Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
is in need of additional adorers. Call Deacon Archie at 508-847-3710 or 508-853-8169 to sign up or for more information.

Parish Ministry Fair
Save the date and begin to creatively plan to share the opportunities offered by your ministry at the Parish Ministry Fair
after all Masses on September 19/20.

An update on the St. George Gala: Celebrating Our Community.

This new event is intended to bring parishioners together socially, provide an opportunity to celebrate this community,
and….. bring in some new funds that will support all the good work that goes on in our church.

A steering committee has been meeting since January, and here are the details: An evening of merriment
will be held on Saturday, October 3 in the ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center at the College of the Holy Cross.
During the cocktail hour beginning at 6:00 pm, a string ensemble will help motivate you to seriously consider
silent auction items on display.

Dinner begins at 7:15 pm. After dinner there will be music provided by Tony Caramello, and we will honor
individuals who have committed their time and talents to our community of ministries. The committee’s initial
list was quite lengthy, but we have decided to honor the following in this inaugural event: Joe and Pat Cote,
Harry and Anita Litchfield, Fran O’Brien, and Father Henry Donoghue

There are a number of ways that you can help to make this event a success.

	First, there is now a need for additional members to staff the subcommittees. Perhaps you can help with decorating, sponsorships, invitations or the auction.
	Second, you might consider whether you might contribute or help procure auction items: might you or someone you know donate a vacation home for a weekend, Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins or event tickets, memorabilia, dinner events, golf outings and the like?
	Third, perhaps your business or family might become a sponsor of this event. There will be a number of sponsorship levels available.

If you can help us with service on a subcommittee, auction items or sponsorships, or if you have any questions,
please call Bill White at 508-829-5746. In addition, you may approach any of the steering committee members
Gerrie Bak, Bob and Kathy Chakarian, Father Ron Falco, Jim and Ann Lauring, Bob and Joanna Longden,
Jim Moughan, Palma O'Keefe, Greg and Lisa Post, Tom and Patti Ryan and Bill White.

Invitations will be mailed and tickets will be available in August. This is a most important event for our parish.
It is an opportunity to use fun and frivolity to build community, to honor service and to provide budgetary
relief for our parish and all the good that we do. So please save the date, and plan to join us on Oct. 3
for what promises to be a great night for St. George Church!

For Parents and Catechists!

Friendship Blessing for two to three children or two adults and a child
Sing to tune of London Bridge. Make a bridge with your arms and have the person receiving the blessing stand in the middle.
Sing...."God is with you day and night, day and night, day and night. God is with you day and night. God bless (child/person's name)."

Blessing Jar
Keep a jar, bowl or basket on the kitchen or dining room table with a pad and pencil nearby. Invite everyone to jot down anything that happened during the day for which they're especially thankful. Challenge the family to fill the jar by suppertime. As you eat, take turns pulling out notes and reading them aloud. (From "Making Faith Fun" by Amy Viets; Acta Publications, Skokie IL)

Prayer for Job Seekers
Gracious and loving God, you know our need for meaningful work. Send your Holy Spirit to guide those who are searching
for employment. Help them to recognize the gifts and talents you have given them. Deepen their desire to follow your will.
Inspire them as they contact potential employers. Given them patience as they wait for responses. Shelter them from feelings
of rejection. Protect them from discouragement. Give them courage to overcome fear. Shower on them the graces they need
to persevere. Let this time of searching become an opportunity to grow in faith, to cultivate the virtue of hope, and to experience
your healing love. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

God on the Go

God on the Go is a Bible on a USB flash drive. That means that you can take Scripture with you wherever you go simply by plugging this device into your computer. Anyone who wants to keep Scripture close, but doesn't want to carry a heavy book everywhere, will love this handy little device. $24.95 from ACTA Publications Check out the ACTA website for more information.

New Priest Warranty

MANUFACTURER'S NOTICE:

It has come to our attention that the pastor you received was shipped with a slight defect: he is not psychic. This defect necessitates certain special procedures to ensure optimum performance of your unit.

It is necessary to inform him of any members who are hospitalized.
It is necessary to inform him of any members who should be added to the "shut-in" list.
If someone you know is sick or otherwise in need of the pastor's prayers, or if you know of someone who should be included in the prayers on Sunday morning, the pastor must be told, or he won't know.
If you are in need of a pastoral visit or some other service from the pastor, you will get best results if you ask him.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause. If these special procedures create an undue burden, please feel free to send the unit back, and one with full psychic abilities will be shipped as soon as one becomes available.

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