Summer Update from Fr. Tim
Dear Parish Family,
Praise the Lord. Summer is here! I am sure that many of you will be vacationing, or receiving visitors over the next couple of months. May God keep us all healthy, safe, and relaxed during this wonderful season. I have completed one full year as your Pastor, and so I feel much more settled in and familiar with life here at Holy Trinity Parish. I have been listening, learning and absorbing as much as I was able, and I am delighted to begin this second year with you. I have high hopes and joyful anticipation for what the next parish year will bring. Before September, let us take advantage of this beautiful season to recreate, reflect and rest. I can already taste the lemonade and watermelon. How about you?
I have a few important items to bring to your attention. Firstly, concerning absences from the parish, from Monday July 8 until Monday July 29, I will be on summer vacation in Kitchener Ontario to visit my Mom and Dad and my brother and his family. Fr. Yves will be on duty while I am away. I will try to get in a Blue Jays game and a day at the beach on Lake Huron. Then, I will be away at the end of August for the Companions of the Cross annual Community Days in Ogdensburg, New York, from Monday, August 26 until Labour Day Monday. For Fr. Yves, he will be away from Monday, August 5 until Saturday, August 31. He will be visiting his family in Saskatchewan until joining up with the Companions of the Cross on August 26 with me and the Companions of the Cross Community.
There will be some comings and goings throughout the summer. Deacon Tim will be returning to Ontario at the end of July, and Fr. Graham Keep will be moving into the Priest’s House on Denneb Crescent at the beginning of August. Fr. Graham Keep is a priest from the London, Ontario diocese who is discerning a call to become a Companion of the Cross. He has already finished his first year of applicancy at Assumption Farm with the first year seminarians, and now he will be helping out part of the time at St. Benedict Parish and part of the time leading parish missions and the like at the five different dioceses where the Companions of the Cross are ministering. To add to our numbers at the priest’s house, he will be living with me and Fr. Yves. He is very joyful, Spirit-filled and we are looking forward to his arrival.
Shelly and Alex begin their new jobs at the parish this month. Please keep them in prayer as they adjust to their new responsibilities and duties. They are a real answer to our prayers, and I look forward to having them on board with us.
I will speak elsewhere in this newsletter regarding the Pastoral Council and the Eucharistic Congress, so please check that out as well. Now that we are all in the loop, let us enjoy this summer season and receive all the special blessings that God wants to send our way. Fr. Yves and I keep all of you in our daily prayers and especially for those going through particularly difficult times right now. We put our hope in Jesus.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Tim
— Time is Running Out! — Only ONE WEEK Left to Register for Vacation Bible Camp
With July now upon us our registration window for our Vacation Bible Camp is running out! In order to adequately prepare for our camp and activities,we’ll need registrations by no later than next Wednesday, July 10! We’ll need a total of 18 attendees to make it possible for us to offer our camp, so if you’ve been on the fence, now’s the time to jump in! Youth who will be in Grade Primary through Grade 5 in the 2024-25 school year are invited to join us during the week of July 22-26 for a week of stories from the scriptures teaching us all the ways God feeds and cares for us! We’ll learn all about God’s love through skits, songs, crafts, games, and of course, food! Registration is required to participate. Contact Alex Craven at faithformation@holytrinityns.ca for more information or to help out that week! To register please fill the ONLINE registration form.
Pastoral Council Update and Appeal
Michelynne Gomez, Anthony MacNeil, Alex Stapleton and Cam Beare have served our parish well as members of pastoral council. Michelynne has stepped away to spend time with her young family, Alex is joining our staff, and Cam is moving to Ontario. Therefore, we are in need of assembling a new group of parishioners who are willing to work with me in visioning for the future of our parish as we apply our five year strategic plan, released Fall 2023, and to create new goals as the years go by.
Do you have excitement about our parish vision and mission? Are you someone who likes to think about what our parish community could be five, or even ten years from now? Then, please present yourself for consideration for the Pastoral Council. I am looking for people who have taken the Alpha course, have read Divine Renovation, by Fr. James Mallon, and who are willing to take the Clifton Strengths Assessment which will help us to assemble people with the right gifts appropriate to this task.
The Pastoral Council will likely meet 4 times a year, with prayer and visioning homework in between. I will need to fill at least 4 spots in order to fill out our Council. I would like to receive names and to consider future members of Pastoral council over the summer months, and hopefully we can begin meeting shortly after Thanksgiving. If you feel the Lord may be prompting you to put your name forward for consideration for the Pastoral Council, or if you can think of someone you know who you think fits the bill, please email me at office@holytrinityns.ca
God bless,
Fr. Tim
Holy Trinity Parish and the Eucharistic Congress
In anticipation of the Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress, October 18-20, Holy Trinity parish will be preparing in several ways:
- Our first initiative was the Corpus Christi Procession held in June. I thought it was a great success, and I look forward already to next year’s procession.
- Secondly, Fr. Yves and I would love to introduce you to a great devotional book entitled “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory”. It is a book designed to prepare someone to consecrate themselves to the Holy Eucharist. See the details in the Spiritual Book Pilgrimage announcement following this one. Please highly consider this book and timeline as a great way to prepare for the Congress.
- Next, Deacon Tim, Fr. Yves and myself will be preaching about the Eucharist during the weekends from July 28 until August 25, as we go through the wonderful sixth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel. This will be a particular time to dwell more deeply on the amazing reality of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
- Finally, for the Congress itself, we will be foregoing the 4:30 Mass on Saturday, October 19th in order to be present at the Eucharistic procession downtown along with the talks and worship events taking place that day. Please see the schedule on the Archdiocese website found HERE and consider how you might make plans to be present at this special moment in our Archdiocesan history. We are working on organizing a bus to bring Holy Trinity parishioners there and back on Friday evening and on Saturday – stay tuned.
Also, I am hoping that we can learn more about Blessed Carlo Acutis, a very relevant apostle of the Eucharist. Blessed Carlo, pray for us at Holy Trinity Parish, that we will deepen in our faith, hope and love in the Holy Eucharist.
In Christ,
Fr. Tim
Spiritual Book Pilgrimage; 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory
To support the Eucharistic Congress event this October in our Archdiocese we are encouraging Holy Trinity parishioners to journey through this guide to Eucharistic Consecration. Copies of the book will be made available for purchase in our front office Tuesday- Friday 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for $20.00. We will also be selling books after each Mass on the following weekends: July 6/7, Aug 3/4 , Sept 13/14. It is also available as an e-book for those who prefer that option.
As a parish we plan to have final prayers and dedication on Sunday, October 20. This will mean starting the book pilgrimage by September 17 in order to prepare for consecration on October 20. But some early birds might want to use the relaxed summertime to pray through the book, or even find some friends to journey together and meet weekly as a group. We would still love for you to join us on October 20 and renew your consecration with our parish family even if you finish the book early.
EXULT Night at Holy Trinity
On Friday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m., a group of seminarians from the Companions of the Cross are hosting an event at our parish! You are invited to have a renewed encounter with the Lord: experience greater freedom in worshiping Him and have your faith in His power to heal strengthened through praise and worship music, a teaching on praise, and communal prayer ministry, especially for healing. See their Facebook Event page: Exult 2024
Pray for our Teens at Steubenville
This Friday, 36 teens and their chaperones will join a sold-out crowd for Steubenville Atlantic at St. Mary’s University! Please continue to pray for our teens throughout the summer especially during Franciscan LEAD (July 1-5) and Steubenville Atlantic (July 5-7).
Archdiocesan News: For the latest news from the Halifax-Yarmouth Archdiocese click here.