St. John Neumann Church 157 Middleboro Road / P.O. Box 718 East Freetown, MA 02717
www.sjnfreetown.org 508-763-2240 (phone) 508-763-3040 (Fax)
Rev. Gregory A. Mathias, Pastor Rev. Msgr. John J. Smith, (Assistant in Retirement)
WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE
Sunday: 8:00, 9:30, 11:00A.M.
Saturday Vigil: 5:00 P.M.
DAILY MASS SCHEDULE
Monday – Thursday: 7:30 A.M.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday: 4:00 – 4:30 P.M.
or by appointment
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
Mary, Mother of All Nations Chapel
Weekdays: 8:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Mondays (except civil holidays)
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
PARISH OFFFICE / RECTORY 508-763-2240 YOUTH MINISTRY OFFICE
[email protected] NEUMANN HALL
Monday – Friday: 8:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. (Closed holidays) Lisa Johnson Youth Ministry
Mrs. Diane Whelan Parish Secretary JoAnn Violette Jr. Youth Ministry
OFFICE OF FAITH FORMATION 508-763-8122 MUSIC MINISTRY NEUMANN HALL [email protected] Ms. Linda Johnston Director
Mr. Philip Pereira Organist
Mrs. Suzanne Medeiros Director
Mrs. Anna Manny Coordinator for Confirmation MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES
Raymond Bedard
SACRAMENTS AND CHURCH PROGRAMS PARISH ORGANIZATIONS AND MINISTRIES
Please go the parish website www.sjnfreetown.org or contact the office for more complete information.
BAPTISM: Celebrated Sunday after 11:00 Mass. WOMEN’S GUILD: 1st Mondays
Mass on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. Baptism ST. VINCENT de PAUL: 1st Wednesdays
Catechesis is required of all parents YOUTH MINISTRY: see website for events and times.
MARRIAGE: Please contact the pastor at least 8 months Junior (Gr. 6 – 8): Every Tuesday
prior to the intended date and prior to other plans. Senior (Gr. 9 – 12) Every Monday
MINISTRY TO THE SICK: Please notify us if a homebound COUPLES’ CLUB: Once a Month
or hospitalized family member would like a visit. ADULT CHOIR: Rehearsal on Thursdays 7:00 P.M.
PRAYER LINE: Call the rectory to include your intention. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY: 1st Saturday
RCIA: We welcome adults who wish to complete their initiation TROOP 333: Every Saturday
into the Catholic Church. Please contact the office.
Welcome to St. John Neumann Parish. Thank You for joining us in worship today. We hope you will join us on
the spiritual journey, in ministry to all God’s people. Please contact the parish office.
Click on the QRC to connect to the parish website.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 13, 2013
October 12: Vigil: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
5:00PM – Eleanor Dupont by Armand & family
October 13: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
8:00AM – Brigadier General, Albert Gramm
by Al & Alberta Sequira
9:30AM – People of the Parish
11:00AM – James Lopes by Regina Lopes
October 14: Weekday, Saint Callistus I, Pope & Martyr
7:30AM – Moreau Family by family
October 15: Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor
of the Church
7:30AM – Eva Oliveira by family
October 16: Weekday, Saint Hedwig, Religious, Saint
Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
7:30AM – Jacqueline Mathieu by Doris
October 17: Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
7:30AM – Philomena Arruda
October 19: Vigil: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
5:00PM – Mary S. Kelley by family
October 20: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
8:00AM – Ernest Letendre—9th Ann. by family
9:30AM – People of the Parish
11:00AM – Joseph & Mary Lopes by Regina Lopes
Your Offertory Trust Thank you for your Parish Support through your
Offertory Trust.
BUDGET: $ 5346.00
MAINENANCE: $ 1944.00
Thanking you for your generosity.
Stop in Neumann Hall after the 8:00AM and 9:30AM Mass and enjoy Coffee & Donuts!!
St. John Neumann Catholic Parish
Scratch Tickets Wanted!
The Women’s Guild would appreciate any donation of
scratch tickets for a raffle at our Christmas Bazaar. All
you need to do is drop the scratch tickets into the collec-
tion basket or mail it to the rectory before the end of Oc-
tober. Then on November 2nd, you can come to the
Christmas Bazaar and take a chance on a basket full of
scratch tickets.
Following the Call of Christ
What makes one’s life successful? Money? Power?
Popularity? Happiness? Most philosophies of the well
-lived life are based on having something. But the
Christian perspective is that it is better to be some-
thing. The goal of the Christian life is to grow in lov-
ing relationship to Christ, becoming more like Him
through the immersion of our entire selves in His
Church, the Body of Christ. But our transformation in
Christ will not occur until we recognize Him as our
ultimate concern.
Join us starting on October 15th
Tuesday Evenings for 6 weeks
At 7pm
Neumann Hall
Mark your calendar …….Starts this Tuesday evening
www.mysticalventures.org
Are you closer to Jesus this year than you were last year?
Why not prepare for Sundays readings by reading the “Psalms in the Lectionary” col-
umn each week?
MV can be new tool to deepen your relation-
ship!
Pick a time and day each week to explore your inner self, and nature,
and learn more about our Catholic faith.
COME AND GROW WITH US!!
The Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Nurses
invites anyone that is interested to come to a
presentation titled: CANCER TREATMENT AND CARE
UPDATES. A comprehensive update in Diagnosis and
Treatment of Cancer. It will be held at White’s of
Westport on Saturday, October 19th from 8:30 am
to 3:00pm. Deadline for registering is October 12th.
Morning refreshments and lunch are provided and
the presentation fee is $45.00. Five Nursing Contact
Hours will be awarded for this program. Fore regis-
tration information, contact Betty at 508-678-2373.
Twelve Songs For Christmas
The SJN Choir will be joyously offering
a Christmas Concert on Sunday,
December 8, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.
We are recruiting members for this event to join us
in celebration during the season of Advent as we
await the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
So if you can sing (and we know there’s a lot of
you out there) and can give a commitment of
time for practice on Thursdays from 7:00 – 8:30 at
night, we would love to have you.
You can simply let Linda Johnston, SJN Music Minis-
try Director or any one in the choir know of your
interest.
We look forward to your wonderful response!!
The next meeting of the SJN Book Club
will take place on Monday, October 21st at 7:00pm
in the church library.
We will be discussing Tony Dungy’s memoir Quiet
Strength. $10.00
Tony Dungy is an unapologetic man of faith with a
Superbowl Ring and a compelling set of "principles,
practices, and priorities that have kept him on track
despite overwhelming obstacles, including firings,
stereotypings, and the tragic loss of a child."
St. Mary’s Education Fund
Fall Scholarship Dinner
The Nineteenth Annual St. Mary’s Educa-
tion Fund Fall Scholarship Dinner will be
held at White’s of Westport on Wednesday
evening, October 30th. The guest speaker
for the evening will be Jeff Kinney, award-
winning author of the Diary of a Wimpy
Kid series.
The proceeds of the Annual dinner assist the Diocese in
meeting the ever-increasing demand for “need-based”
scholarships (approximately 650 given out this year
alone) for students wishing to attend one of the 19 Cath-
olic elementary and middle schools in the Diocese.
The General Chairperson of the Dinner is Mr. Paul M. Le-
nahan, Executive Vice President of Bristol County Savings
Bank. The greater New Bedford Area committee is co-
chaired by Mr. James Kalife of Fairhaven Lumber and Mr.
Carl W. Taber of BayCoast Bank assisted by Ms. Paula A.
Freitas of BayCoast Bank, Ms. Lynn A. Motta of BankFive,
Mr. Michael Reis of Larry’s Equipment, Ms. Kathleen
Rhodes of BayCoast Bank, and Ms. Sandra Sevigney of
Plimoth Investment Advisors.
If you are interested in sponsoring, attending, or advertis-
ing at this event, or wish to make a donation to the Fund,
or want more information, please contact one of the vol-
unteers listed above or call the Diocesan Office of Devel-
opment at (508) 675-1311.
Coat & Sweater Drive
Sponsored by Confirmation I Candidates
To Benefit
Marie’s Place
Saturday October 19, 2013
&
Sunday October 20, 2013
Confirmation I candidates will be collecting new and gently use coats
& sweaters in the Narthex before and after all masses.
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CYO Basketball Get in the Game !!!!
It is that time of year for the CYO Basketball League to get underway. If you are interested in registering a
child to play in any of the divisions below please me. Please be advised that we are in need of coaches for
the 2013-2014 season, if you are interested in coaching a CYO team please let Kevin know when you call:
Girls A Division Grades 7 - 8
Girls C Division Grades 4 - 6
Boys A Division Grades 7- 8
Boys C Division Grades 4 -6
Coach Kevin Richard - 774-285-3158
Parish Prayer Line – We have a Prayer line in our par-
ish. If you are interested in sharing your faith through
prayer for the sick of our parish and for other intentions
please call Rachel Constant 508-995-4269. Thank You!! Need Assistance ??
Are you a parishioner in need of assistance?
If so please contact the Saint Vincent DePaul Society by
calling the rectory at 508-763-2240.
TRIP TO MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ICONS
203 Union St., Clinton, MA
October 26, 2013
Cost: $4.00
If you are interested, please call 508-763-4540 by Oc-
tober 14th to make arrangements to join other SJN
parishioners.
We will be car-pooling from the church parking lot at
8:30 am.
HOLY FAMILY HOLY NAME SCHOOL
presents
MURDER AT THE TONYLOU AWARDS
A Murder Mystery Comedy Dinner
by Tony Schwartz & Marylou Ambrose
Friday • November 1 • 6:00 PM Saturday • November 2 • 6:00 PM
General Admission $20.00 Call us at 508-993-3547 for ticket information
Our Lady of Lourdes School in
Taunton, MA
Fall Open House Tuesday, October
29 from 6-7:30PM. Our Lady of
Lourdes School offering 50 years of tradition in
academic excellence. Open Enrollment for Full
Day Pre-K to Grade 5.
Learn more at www.ololtaunton.com or
www.facebook.com/ololtaunton .
Encourage community and
show your support for the
Women’s Guild upcoming
Christmas Bazaar
Saturday, November 2nd 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Neumann Hall
Faith Formation Ministry Convention will be held
on November 16th, 2013 at the Resort & Confer-
ence Center in Hyannis.
All are invited to attend.
For more information including list of speakers and
times and/or to register for the convention, please
call Sue Medeiros at the Faith Formation Office 508-
Coyle and Cassidy High School will be having it's annual OPEN HOUSE, Sunday, November 3rd
from noon-2:30pm.
All are welcome to stop by and see what innovat-ed and exciting things are happening. Meet with faculty, learn about our ipad initiative and have your questions about financial aid answered.
Exorcising the Consumer Mentality
“Exorcism” . . . the word simply means “to cast out.”
For example, at a Baptism we pray that the effects of
Original Sin be cast out of an infant by the grace of Bap-
tism and we have the certainty of faith that it will be so.
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of “chairing” a
meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council which advises
the Bishop on pastoral matters from the point of view of
the laity. Our discussion centered on a new book getting
a lot of attention called “Rebuilt.” It is an account of one
pastor’s attempt at reforming his approach to leading a
parish by “exorcising” the consumer mentality which
had taken hold and cultivating a more Christian and,
hence, more challenging mentality of discipleship.
What does he mean by “consumer mentality?” In es-
sence, he found that he and his staff and the usual group
of generous volunteers where offering all sorts of pro-
grams, opportunities and events in hopes of creating a
truly vital parish community. Over time, what they
found was that they were exhausting themselves and
not realizing the desired effect. People were not really
becoming committed disciples as much as “consumers,”
of goods and services. The author expresses the prob-
lem as follows:
“Consumer culture erodes the sustainability of church
communities because it allows the congregant to as-
sume the posture of shallow commitment and the atti-
tude of ceaseless demands . . . The consumer Christian
is one who utilizes the grace of God for forgiveness and
the services of the Church for special occasions, but does
not give his or her life and innermost thoughts, feelings
and intentions over to the Kingdom of the Heaven. Such
Christians are not inwardly transformed and not com-
mitted to it, (quoting author Dallas Willard).
How do we see such consumer attitudes in our own local
church culture of Southeastern Massachusetts? One ex-
ample that is clear to me is the way in which we have
pandered to the local reluctance to make real time for
worshipping God. Most of our Churches have had Mass
on the hour every hour which, in turn, created a “get
them in, get them out” dynamic which seemed to con-
vey they idea that “this is not all that important.” More-
over, people came to expect Masses to be no longer
than 45 minutes and they felt truly blessed if they could
find a priest to whip through the liturgy in 20 minutes.
And, God forbid that anybody would have to travel more
than 30 minutes to get to Church!
Other examples are encountered with regularity: Peo-
ple steadfastly refuse to push-in from the end of the
pew to allow others to sit. There have been people who
have identified a particular place and a particular pew as
their own possession; like a seat purchased at the ball
park or a theater. And young families are routinely brow
-beaten because of their crying babies and restless chil-
dren. Equally bad is the brow beating the Christmas-
only people get when they show up in droves on Christ-
mas Eve, “Where are they the rest of the year! They took
my seat!”
These are side-effects of the “consumer mentality:” It
becomes “all about me,” . . . my church, my pew, my
experience, my salvation: And, tragically, it isn’t very
“evangelical” in its outlook. In the words of the author,
it turns a parish into “churchworld” . . . an exclusive
club which is not particularly interested in “the lost.”
There is much to ponder here in an age wherein we
wonder why so few are in Church on Sunday. I hope
that, through diocesan and parish pastoral councils we
can exorcise the scourge of the consumer mentality.