September 17, 2006
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Weekend Mass Intentions
Saturday,  September 16
    6:00 PM   For Leon Therrien by Therese Therrien
Sunday,  September 17
    9:30 AM  For the parishioners of St.Paul
Saturday,  September 23
   6:00 PM   For Henry Hebert by Therese Therrien and Normand & Jeannine Fraser
Sunday,  September 24
   9:30 AM  For Juliette Boisvert by Gabrielle Moisan

Parish News and Notes

Parish office hours
    Our parish office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The Pastoral Associate is in most afternoons until 4:00 PM.  If you need to come in the PM please give us a call to make sure someone is here. Messages can always be left on the answering machine. 

Are you registered?
     Are you new to our parish?   If you are, please pick up a registration form in the vestibule of the church. Registration is very important.  Just drop it in the basket or mail it to our office.  Thanks!  We are always happy to receive new parishioners.  We welcome you and pray you will be happy here with us.

Please use church envelopes 
    Envelope users provide the bedrock of our financial support.  Please consider using them.  New packets of envelopes are mailed every three months. If you would like to receive some but you are not yet on the mailing list, please call Jeannine to give her your name and address. Thank you!

Envelope Request Form ____ I want to support our parish on a regular basis. Please add me to the envelope list. Name ______________________________ Address___________________________ Town ________________,NH Zip ________

The Altar Server video which has turned out to be in the form of a DVD is now ready for distribution.  If your child has expressed a desire to be an altar server, please pick up your training DVD tool.  It is short and packed with valuable tips and necessary information,and of course is totally visual.

Christian Formation News

Grades K – High School     If you have children of age for Religious Education, please remember to pick up a registration form for Religious Education for the coming year.  All children from grade K – the end of Confirmation must register.  The registration does not roll over from one year to the next.  You can pick up a form in the back of the church or you can visit the parish office Monday – Thursday during office hours or give us a call at 483-8481 and ask us to mail you a form.  We would be happy to do this Grades K- 3  Classes for children in these grades will resume on the weekend of September 16/17..    Grades 4 – 10 +    Last year we initiated a new program for the children in these grade levels.  The classes are held once a month and the program is geared to the entire family. Parents are strongly urged to attend the sessions as there is an adult component to the program which helps them to deepen their knowledge of the faith as well as making it possible for them to compliment the practice of the faith in the home. Our first class will be on Sunday, October 15, 2006.  This year, the classes will be held from 4:00 – 6:00 pm here at St. Paul’s.  A full year’s schedule will be given to you on the first class day.  Please mark your calendars.

Question of the Week
23rd  Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: (Taking Up the Cross)
Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-9 (The Lord is My Help)
Reading II: James 2: 14-18(Faith and Works)
Gospel:  Mark 8: 27-35 (The Suffering Son of Man)

Question for Adults: What choices must I make this week in order to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who, out of pure love freely embraced suffering for others?  When we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross we often have difficulty getting away from the idea that Jesus literally hung on the cross and died.  So, when we are asked to reflect on the notion of following his example we literally cringe.  This is not a pleasant thought and we would rather not think about it. 
      However, following in the footsteps of Jesus does not necessarily mean that we have to be crucified.  We all have many opportunities to embrace suffering for the love of others.  You may have a terminally ill spouse for whom you have to care.  You may have children who demand all your time and energy, sometimes stretching you to the point of exhaustion. 
    Following Jesus does not mean losing our physical life, it means dying to our selfish, self-centered life (which is often even more difficult)
What choices have you made in this respect lately?   

Question for Children? What might Jesus be asking of me this week?      One easy place to begin with this question is to remind your child that Jesus always asks us to think of others before we think of ourselves.  This is a great opportunity to teach or remind them that they must follow Jesus by thinking of things that will make others happy.  Ask them to make a list of things they could do, then, have them choose one or two to put into practice.

Question 4 Teens
    What does the Cross of Jesus have to do with my life today?  Sometimes we have a hard time putting things from history in line with our own experience.  Who even wants to think of a Cross when we are teens.  Actually, the idea of the Cross is directly related to the life of a teen.  When you want someone to love you, be a trusting friend, or a supportive team mate, you are really asking the other person to think of you first, then of themselves, aren’t you?  That’s what the Cross is really about.  How do you measure up?

Community News

Respect For Life. . .  We are pleased to announce that Julie Laughner has volunteered to be the coordinator and thus the diocesan liaison for our parish in the area of Respect for Life.  Julie has a great passion for this ministry.  She will be a tremendous asset to the parish.  Unfortunately, this is an area that the parish has not given sufficient attention to due to a need Julie is now ready to provide  She will be providing us with materials and information on the topic as time ensues.   Thank you so much Julie! 

A Parish Pictorial Directory
    This year, 2006, the parish is St. Paul is celebrating its 35th Anniversary.  With this in mind,  after much discussion, the Pastor and I along with the Pastoral Council have decided to have a new Pictorial Directory for the Parish.  Our last Directory was completed in 2001. 
    This year’s Directory will be developed by Olin Mills.  They are the Company that served us in 1998, 2 directories ago.  Many parishioners were very happy with Olin Mills so we opted to go with them rather than the company that served us in 2001. 
    There are many new families in the parish and those of you who were with us last time have had more children or they have gotten much older.  A good turnout would be a great way of bringing us all together and helping one another to get to know who we are and what we look like. Sign up dates begin on September 9th and 10th.  Mark you calendars.  If you are unable to make the dates of October 19-21, you may be able to go to another nearby parish and you family photo will be sent to our directory.  You can also give us a photo of your own as long as you did not have it taken at another company such as Sears, Walmart etc.  You would need their permission to use a picture they photographed