| June 22, 2005
Dear Friends and Members of the St.
Thomas More Society,
Enclosed you will find a calendar of Society events scheduled for July.
Please note the changes from the original schedule. All confirmation
classes with Fr. Connor will be held on Wednesdays, so we will continue
through July with the same pattern as obtained in June.
You will see that we have three Catechism classes on Wednesday
evenings. Again, these will begin at 6:30PM, and they will be preceded
each week at 6PM by recitation of the Rosary in the church. One change
has been made. Our young people who are old enough to receive First
Holy Communion instruction will meet at the same time as the adult class
each Wednesday to be taught in St. Clare School. The Diocese of
Scranton has arranged for Linda Sepkowski, the Christian Education
Director at St. Patrick’s Church in West Scranton, to prepare our
children to receive the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.
In your daily devotions please give thanks for Linda’s generosity of
time and talent on behalf of our group.
We will keep the practice of meeting for question and answer sessions at
3PM on those Sundays that I am in Scranton. In July I will be here
every week except for July 10th, when I will be in Boston for
my theological evaluation at St. John’s Seminary. The Sunday sessions
are offered so that we might expound upon the material covered on
Wednesdays with Fr. Connor. The make-up sessions are for those who must
miss on Wednesday night. Wednesday or the following Tuesday classes
are mandatory, so make arrangements with me to receive instruction
if you have missed some of these classes. I will make myself available
to you at a time convenient for you.
We do not as yet have a date for us to receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation. I anticipate that we will soon schedule a date for late
September or early October, but before we do I want to make sure that
everyone will be in town for this festive occasion. If you know you are
going to be away in September or early October let me know exactly which
days you are unavailable. We want no one absent and I will do all in my
power to ensure that our date is one we all agree on.
Offering envelopes have arrived, and they will be available for pick-up
this week at church. This change will make counting much easier for
those who undertake this work, but they will also serve as a reminder to
you that our needs continue even on those Sundays you are not able to be
with us. Please be sure to get yours on Sunday.
As you probably know by now we will hold the Society’s summer picnic at
the Bear Creak picnic grove on August 13th. Jerry McGreevy
is the chairman of this event and he could use your help. If you can
volunteer to assist in the planning and implementation of this social
event, call him at 347-6420. The picnic is open to all whom you might
choose to bring along, so set aside the date and invite your friends and
family.
Finally, there is a board meeting on July 14th, and any
member that is interested is welcome to attend. Along with authorizing
monetary disbursements the trustees will begin discussing the transition
we will soon make from a community in conversion to one with its own
unique celebration of the Eucharist each week. Pray that our evangelism
opportunities will increase as we move ever closer to full communion in
the Catholic Church.
Yours in Christ,
Eric L. Bergman,Director
St. Thomas More Society of St. Clare |
