St. John Fisher Roman Catholic Church

From Our Pastor ~ October 3, 2021

27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B21

Recently there has been opposing letters in The Rivereast concerning the Bible; on the one hand questioning its authenticity and on the other defending its view of history. While some arguments on both sides have a bit of validity, both sides show a lack of understanding about what the Bible is and what it is not.

A Note From Our Music Director

Breaking Bread 2021 Beginning September 19, we will start singing new Mass parts at the Sunday Masses. The Mass of Christ the Savior Mass parts can be found in the missalette if anyone would like to look at them beforehand (921-930).

Thank You

Special thanks to all those who are volunteering their time and their talents to share their faith by being a catechist this year. We are incredibly blessed to have such a dedicated team guiding our young people as they grow in faith. Please keep them and our youth in your prayers as they begin another fruitful year of ffaith formation.

Deepest Gratitude

Our deepest gratitude to all the parishioners who supported our Confirmation Community by donating snacks and drinks for the 10th grade retreat. We deeply appreciate your donations and ask that you continue to pray for these young men and women as they take the final steps in preparing for Confirmation on November 6th.

Peace Prayer of St. Francis

May we consider the life of St. Francis on his Feast Day of October 4th and his desire to live as Christ lived as we pray:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

East Catholic High School

Our admission process for the 2022-23 school year has officially started! Please go to our website: echs.com/Admissions-Process to fill out our online application. Also, please mark your calendars: our Open House is scheduled for Thursday, October 28th at 6:45 pm. It will be followed by Placement Test on Saturday, October 30th at 8:30 am. The second date for the Placement Test is Saturday, November 13th at 8:30 am. Looking forward to welcoming you at East! Go Eagles!

Calling All Juniors and Seniors

Looking to get a jumpstart on your green cord service hours? Need to do some service hours that will have a real impact while you have some fun? Mrs. O’Neill has a variety of projects that you might be interested in supporting. We are also looking for strong leaders to join our Teen leadership team in developing future programs and service projects. Reach out to Mrs. O’Neill at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested. We wish you all a wonderful year.

Blessing of the Pets

Pets Blessing

In celebration of the Feast of St. Francis, we will once again be offering the blessing of the pets on Sunday, October 3rd at 12:30pm. If you can’t make the blessing or do not have a pet, take some time on October 4th, the feast day of St. Francis, to go outside and notice the wonder of God’s creation.

St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment, recognizing God’s beauty in all of creation.

From Our Pastor ~ September 26, 2021

26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B21

Are you an “innie” or an “outie”? Think about it; an “innie” or an “outie”. I’m not asking about bellybuttons. That would be “TMI” (Too Much Information) as well as totally inappropriate.

An “innie” means you belong to an “in” group or a group that’s respected, e.g., an athletic team, or someone you want to around because they have it all such as stunningly good looks, wearing the latest style, and having an outgoing personality. An “outie” is almost completely opposite, someone who is easy to ignore, having average looks, isn’t up on the fashion world, and has a personality that is more introverted or shy. ^[1]

September 22nd ~ First Day of Autumn

I praise you, Lord, for autumn:
for falling temperatures and morning chill, trees turned gold and red, brown and orange, falling leaves and blowing leaves,
the smell of burning leaves,
the joy of leafpile jumping.

I praise you, Lord, for autumn:
the interplay of outside temperatures
and inside warmth,
the promise of cider and pumpkin bread,
the blessing of blankets and sweaters.
I praise you, Lord, for autumn:
the beauty and hope in the change of season, the promise that the coming of autumn heralds another ending,
a new beginning.

Knights of Columbus 8th Annual Golf Classic Drive for the FISH

September 23, 2021, Blackledge Golf Course 180 West Street. Hebron

To sign up, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. If you cannot participate, donations are greatly appreciated. Please send any donations to the church with a check made out to the Knights of Columbus.

From Our Pastor ~ September 19, 2021

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B21

Six days after the 1^st prediction of the Passion, Death and Resurrection and this week’s Gospel in which Jesus again talks about what would happen to him, there was a surprising event. Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and was transfigured before their very eyes! His clothes became dazzling white; Elijah appeared, accompanied by Moses, conversing with Jesus. “Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.’” (Mark 9:7) Suddenly, it was over and only Jesus remained with the three apostles. Coming down from the mountain to join the other nine, Jesus charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone until he was risen from the dead. And they kept the matter to themselves. But they kept wondering what rising the dead meant.

Confirmation Meeting

Confirmation001 There will be a Confirmation meeting in the church for all incoming 9^th graders and their parents on Tuesday, September 21^st at 6:30. If you have not registered yet, please visit the St. John Fisher Faith Formation page at https://www.stjffaithformation.org/.

From Our Pastor ~ September 12, 2021

24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B 21

Peter was feeling pretty good about himself. While everyone else gave answers of what other people were thinking about Jesus though the one about John the Baptist was strange since he had recently been put the death, Peter, in a moment of insight blurted out: “You are the Christ.” He got Jesus’ identity right! Jesus was (and is) the Anointed One, the Messiah!

QPR Training (Question, Persuade, Refer)

Monday September 27th, 5:30-6:30pm

Virtual On-line Training

Every week in Connecticut, an average of 8 people die by suicide.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death by Americans under 50, and this training is crucial if you ever find yourself in a position to save a life!

This program is being offered in partnership with St. John Fisher Church, Marlborough, CT

Training will include:

Good Samaritan Law
Support information and resources
Warning signs of suicide crisis, and how to respond

CLICK HERE TO VIEW DETAILS AND DOWNLOAD THE FLYER

Grandparents Day Blessing

God of our ancestors,

we thank you for our children

and our children's children.

They are reminders from you about how precious life an be.

We humbly ask for wisdom and patience as we take pride and wonder in our grandchildren.

Those of us who now pray to you


Upset?	John 14
Weak?	Psalm 18:1-29
Lonely?	Psalm 23
Sinned?	Psalm 51
Worried?	Matthew 8:19-31
Anxious?	Phillippians 4:4-9
Unhappy?	Colossians 3:12-17
In Danger?	Psalm 91
Depressed?	Psalm 27
Lack of Faith?	Exodus 14
Others Unkind?	John 15
Need Courage?	Joshua 1
Need Direction?	Psalm 73:21-26
Seeking Peace?	Matthew 11:25-30