MISSION STATEMENT
We the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Scranton,
in union with our Holy Father, the Pope, are called
through baptism to share in the mission which Jesus
Christ has entrusted to the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. Priests, deacons, religious and laity,
under the leadership of our Bishop, cooperate to
proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the teaching of
the Church, to celebrate the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, for the salvation of all, and to witness by
grace to the Kingdom of God so as to promote a culture
of life, justice and peace.
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This Issue:
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Ongoing Formation of Parish Pastoral Councils |
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Director of Religious Education Appointed |
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Pastoral Formation Institute Offers Series on
‘Jesus of Nazareth’ |
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Virtus Training Sessions |
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Catholic Campus Minister Position at Wilkes
University |
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Collections Set For This Weekend |
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Mark Your Calendar |
Ongoing Formation of Parish Pastoral Councils |
The October workshops on “Ongoing
Formation of Parish Pastoral Councils” will be
held at nine different sites in the Diocese.
Each of the meetings will begin at 7 p.m. on
these days:
Monday, Oct. 1, SS. Peter & Paul, Towanda
Wednesday, Oct. 3, Ascension, Williamsport
Wednesday, Oct.17, St. Maria Goretti,
Laflin
Thursday, Oct. 18, Holy Family, Luzerne
Thursday, Oct. 18, St. Joseph, (Minooka)
Scranton
Monday, Oct. 22, St. Vincent’s School,
Honesdale
Tuesday, Oct. 23, St. John Bosco, Conyngham
Wednesday, Oct. 24, St. Luke, Stroudsburg
Monday, Oct. 29, Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Peckville
All priests and deacons assigned to the
parish and all members of the Parish Pastoral
Council are required to attend one of these
sessions. The meetings will provide material for
viewing the Church and parish in the context of
Eucharist and Evangelization, and from the
perspective of Vocation, Stewardship, Communion
and Mission. This workshop will give a
comprehensive and integrated overview of the
parish through theology and spirituality. A
Reply Form for Registration will be mailed to
all pastors.
Bishop Martino has required that all
meetings begin with 20 minutes of prayer and 20
minutes of study or reflection. Prayer and study
material will be made available through the
Diocesan website to assist in fulfilling this
mandate.
If they have not already done so, all
pastors are asked to send their Parish Mission
Statement to the Episcopal Vicar for their
Pastoral Region by Oct. 30. |
Director of Religious Education Appointed |
Mary Anne Malone has been appointed
director of religious education in the Office
for Parish Life.
Mrs. Malone is a member of St. Charles
Borromeo/Holy Family Parish, Sugar Notch, where
she serves as coordinator/director of religious
education, and is the choir director and a
cantor. She is also the former coordinator of
religious education at Gate of Heaven School,
Dallas.
Mrs. Malone was previously an elementary
school teacher for 12 years at Our Lady of
Fatima School, New Castle, and St. Elizabeth
School, Wilmington, Del.
She is a graduate of Immaculata College and
holds a Master of Science degree from Wilkes
University. She resides with her husband,
Thomas, in Sugar Notch, and is the mother of two
children. |
Pastoral Formation Institute Offers Series on
‘Jesus of Nazareth’ |
The Diocese of Scranton’s Pastoral
Formation Institute will offer a series of
Reflection Days for the 2007 fall session. Each
presentation will be held at Fatima Renewal
Center, Dalton, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The series is based on the recent book
Jesus of Nazareth, written by Pope Benedict
XVI, which focuses on the true identity of Jesus
as revealed in the Gospels. The series will
consider three prominent aspects of the ministry
of Jesus: The Beatitudes, The Our Father, and
The Parables.
The first Reflection Day, The
Beatitudes: Our Call to Discipleship, will
provide for the faithful a deeper understanding
of the meaning of discipleship as experienced in
the Beatitudes, authentic models for Christian
living. Father Pio Mandato, FMHJ, of St. Joseph
Hermitage, Laceyville, will be the presenter.
The date is Saturday, Sept. 15.
The Our Father: The Prayer of Jesus
will be the second Reflection Day given by
Father Joseph R. Kopacz, V.G., Vicar General for
the Diocese of Scranton and pastor of the Church
of St. Mary of the Mount, Mount Pocono. This
talk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 27.
Because the Our Father is the personal
prayer of Jesus to the Father, Father Kopacz
will explain how praying with Jesus will
strengthen our own relationship with God.
Father Charles P. Connor, Diocesan
historian and rector of the Cathedral of St.
Peter, will conduct the third program in the
series, The Parables: Message and Mystery,
on Saturday, Nov. 10. This Reflection Day will
concentrate on three parables: The Good
Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, and The Rich Man
and Lazarus. Through these parables, Father
Connor will explain how Jesus’ message of love,
forgiveness and understanding of suffering
brings us closer into the fullness of the
Paschal Mystery.
On each of the days, the celebration of the
Mass will take place and the Sacrament of
Reconciliation will be available.
Participants may register for the entire
series or for one or two of the Reflection Days.
Fee for one day is $25; for two days, $40; and
for the three days, $60. Lunch is included in
the fee.
To register, call the Pastoral Formation
Institute at 570-563-8500 or e-mail
Fatima@dioceseofscranton.org. |
Virtus Training Sessions |
The Diocese of Scranton is continuing
efforts to create safe environments for children
and young people. Among these efforts is a
program to train all employees and volunteers
how to recognize and prevent sexual abuse. The
Diocese has been using the VIRTUS program,
“Protecting God’s Children,” to accomplish this
goal.
The program was introduced in the spring of
2003. To date, more than 470 training sessions
have been held and approximately 14,700
individuals – including the Diocesan clergy,
staff, teachers, coaches, parents and volunteers
– across the 11-county Diocese have been trained
in ways to recognize and report child sexual
abuse.
The VIRTUS program is ongoing. The upcoming
schedule includes the following training
sessions:
Saturday, August 25, Our Lady of the Snows,
Clarks Summit, 9 a.m.
Thursday, August 30, Our Lady of the Snows,
Clarks Summit, 6 p.m.
Thursday, September 6, Guild Building,
Scranton, 6 - 9 p.m.
Sunday, September 9, St. Luke's,
Stroudsburg, 2 - 5 p.m. (Call 570-421-9097)
Tuesday, September 11, St. Francis of
Assisi, Nanticoke, 7 p.m.
Sunday, September 16, Our Lady of the
Snows, Clarks Summit, 5 p.m.
Sunday, September 23, St. Thomas More, Lake
Ariel, 1 - 4 p.m.
Monday, September 24, Epiphany School,
Sayre, 6 p.m. (Call 570-888-5802)
Thursday, September 27, St. Jude's,
Mountaintop, 6 - 9 p.m.
For more information about VIRTUS training,
contact Sarah Mountain, Diocesan VIRTUS
coordinator, in the Office for Parish Life at
570-563-8500. |
Catholic Campus Minister Position at Wilkes
University |
The Diocese of Scranton is seeking
applicants for the Catholic Campus Minister
position at Wilkes University.
The candidate must be a Catholic in good
standing with a master’s degree and have
experience in working with young adults. The
person should be energetic and possess good
interpersonal, communication, leadership and
organizational skills.
The full-time Catholic Campus Minister is
responsible for the overall administration of
the Interfaith/Catholic Campus Ministry Program,
which includes designing and conducting a
variety of spiritual, social justice and
leadership activities.
Interested persons may submit letter of
intent, resume and names, addresses and phone
numbers of three references either by email to:
GILVARY@lycoming.edu or mail to: Sister
Catherine Ann Gilvary IHM, Lycoming College, 700
College Place, Campus Box 149, Williamsport, PA
17701-5192 |
Collections Set For This Weekend |
Several collections that benefit the
Church in various parts of the world will be
conducted the weekend of Aug. 25-26.
The Collection for the Church in Eastern
Europe, which traditionally had been scheduled
for the first Sunday in Lent, has been moved to
the last Sunday in August and will be taken up
in territorial parishes.
The special collections for the Church in
Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia will be taken up
in the respective national parishes on Aug.
25-26.
The faithful of the Diocese have an
extraordinary opportunity to give concrete
witness to our compassionate concern for the
universal Church by supporting any of these
collections. |
Mark Your Calendar |
Northeastern Pennsylvania Catholic Deaf
Association Interpreted Mass, Sept. 9 –– at
St. Joseph’s Oblate Seminary, 1880 Highway 315,
Laflin. Religious information and Sacrament of
Reconciliation begin at 2 p.m., followed by Mass
(signed and interpreted), celebrated at 3 p.m.
Refreshments follow. For more information,
contact Sister Mary Beth Makuch, SSCM, at
(207-2213 ext. 1100 –– voice/tdd).
Support Group for Separated, Divorced &
Widowed Persons, Sept. 21 –– 7 to 9 p.m. at
St. Ann Basilica Parish Center, 1200 St. Ann
St., Scranton. Sponsored by the diocesan Office
for Parish Life, this “Beginning Experience”
monthly session (held every third Friday) offers
support to cope with sorrow, doubt, anxiety and
loneliness after losing a spouse. For more
information/registration, call (342-5166).
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend, Sept.
21-23 –– in Shillington (Reading area).
Sponsored by the Diocesan Office for Parish
Life/Family Life, the program is an enrichment
experience to help good marriages grow stronger.
Registration deadline: Sept. 9. For information
& registration, call Butch & Trudie at
(1-800-787-7679), or visit the Web site:
www.wwme-nepa.org.
Married/Engaged Couples Workshop: “Forever
Yes: Communicating for a Lifelong Marriage,”
Sept. 22 –– 9 a.m. to 12 noon at St. Joseph
Parish Center, (Minooka) Scranton. Communication
skills workshop for all married and engaged
couples, sponsored by the Diocesan Office for
Parish Life/Family Life, to help build marital
commitment. Registration fee: $35 per couple.
For more information/registration, call Parish
Life Office (207-2213) or visit the Diocesan Web
site: www.dioceseofscranton.org/Marriage Care.
Natural Family Planning Course –– series of
classes begins on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at St.
Matthew Parish Center, East Stroudsburg. Course
instruction in the sympto-thermal method by an
NFP instructor approved by the Diocese of
Scranton. For more information/registration,
call (420-1319). Registration deadline: Sept.
15.
Retrouvaille Weekend, Oct. 12-14 –– at
Fatima Renewal Center, Dalton. Sponsored by the
Diocesan Office for Parish Life/Family Life, the
weekend program is designed for couples to
address marital difficulties. Retrouvaille helps
couples to communicate better, using a method
that can aid in building a loving and lasting
relationship. Call (655-1916 or 800-470-2230)
for confidential information/registration, or
visit the Diocesan Web site:
www.dioceseofscranton.org/marriage & family
support/marriage enrichment.
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