Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve - Friday, December 24
3:00 p.m. Children’s Nativity Story
4:00 p.m. Children’s Mass
5:30 p.m. Mass of Christmas
7:30 p.m. Mass of Christmas
9:30 p.m. Choir Carol Program
10:00 p.m. Mass of Christmas

Christmas Day—Saturday, December 25
7:00, 8:30, 10:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. (No 5:30 p.m. Mass)

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph—Sunday, December 26
7:00, 8:30, 10:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. (No 5:30 p.m. Youth Mass)

Mary Mother of God (Not a Holy Day of Obligation this year)
Friday, December 31 – 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass
Saturday, January 1 —9:00 a.m.

The Epiphany of the Lord
Saturday, January 1—5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass
Sunday, January 2—7:00, 8:30, 10:00 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Open Call For Assumption’s Live Reenactment of the Nativity Story!

Join us on Friday, December 24th at 3:00 p.m. at Assumption Church as the children of the parish reenact the nativity story just before the children’s Christmas Eve Liturgy. Children are needed to volunteer for the various parts for this special parish-wide event.

General sign-ups are now being held via email
Christmas@assumptionparish.org

The parts are as follows:
Stars – Open to all Toddlers, Pre-schoolers & older – Stars on a stick to be decorated by the younger parishioners and their families. Bring the stars to the Nativity Story and hold them up high when the star is released during the program. Stars & Sticks to be provided during general sign ups.

Sheep - Open to all children grades Pre K 4 and older. Costume cut-outs will be available in the community room during general sign-ups. Children decorate and add their own finishing touches at home.

Angels – Open to all children First grade and older. Parents are responsible for providing costumes.
Shepherds – Open to all children Second grade and older. Parents are responsible for providing costumes.

Greeters – Open to all children Third grade and older. No costume required.

Bell Choir - Open to all children Fourth grade and older and given on a first-come, first-served basis. No costume required. Your child must be able to attend a rehearsal on Thursday, December 16 @ 4:00 p.m. in Assumption Church.

Readers and Costumed Main Cast - A limited number of readings and main cast parts are available for children Fifth grade and older and will be selected in advance by lottery.
Once lottery selections are made participants, will be informed early in December prior to the rehearsal date. Your child must be able to attend a rehearsal on Thursday, December 16 @ 4:00 p.m. in Assumption Church. ALL REQUESTS MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL NO LATER THAN SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010.

Candle Bearers – Sixth grade & older - Candle bearers will take part in a special procession during the Silent Night meditation. Your child must be able to attend a rehearsal on Thursday, December 16 @ 4:00 p.m. in Assumption Church.QUESTIONS: Email us at Christmas@assumptionparish.org

Concert to Benefit Africa Surgery, Inc.

An enjoyable evening of music will commence at Assumption Church on Saturday evening, October 16, at 8:00 p.m. The Dicey Riley Irish Band and friends, including harpist Linda O’Connell, will share the sanctuary with the Randolph Strings orchestra to perform some traditional Irish music and song as well as selected pieces from works of highly regarded composers.

All this plus great refreshments for only $10 suggested donation for adults, children free. All proceeds will go to help Africa Surgery, Inc. (ASI) provide medical care and surgical treatment to needy people in Sierra Leone, West Africa. website: Africasurgery.org (no www. in front).

Middle School Youth Ministry Open Game Night

Next Sunday, October 3, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. the 6th, 7th and 8th graders of Assumption Parish are invited to “Open Game Night” (basketball, volleyball, ping pong, playstation, WII, etc.) plus participate in a service opportunity by helping to make bag breakfasts for the Community Soup Kitchen. Music and snacks will be provided. For more information or to register for the event email us at MSYM@assumptionparish.org or call 973-267-5638. All youth must turn in a permission slip in order to attend. The form can be found here.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

“Ask the beasts and they will teach you,” counsels the Book of Job.

As a young child, who among us has not loved and revered the pictures of Saint Francis of Assisi with the birds and the wolf? How many have wished, like Doctor Doolittle, to be able to “talk to the animals?” I’ll bet that not a day goes by that an animal lover, regardless of age or gender, seeks to communicate with their “soul mate” be it a dog or a cat or some other of God’s creations. We have all opened our hearts to the animals and they, in turn, have touched and transformed us.

In honor of all that they do for us, we have set aside Saturday, October 2 at 10:00 a.m. to Bless the Beasts of Assumption Parish and acknowledge their importance in our daily lives. Please come out with your dog or cat or some other animal who may reside in your home for the Blessing of the Animals—just remember to put your dog on a leash!

Refreshments will be served for the two and four legged alike so stay for a while and enjoy some camaraderie with fellow parishioners.

Book Drive for Hope House

One of our parish families is donating a reading room
for the children who visit Hope House. The reading
room is being dedicated to Father Martin Rauscher
who, as you know, is an avid and active supporter of
Hope House and the services it provides to the poor
and marginalized of our community.

On the weekends of July 17th and 24th we will be
collecting new and gently used books to help in this
endeavor. The books should be for the age groups of
PreK to 2nd grade. If you would like, a “donated by”
name plate will be displayed in each new book
donated to the reading room. Please put your name
on the bag and we will add it to the cover of the book.
Books can be left in the community room on the table
designated for the collection.

As always, we thank you for your generous support.
Hope House is a Catholic Charities Agency in the
Diocese of Paterson “providing help—creating hope.”

Vacation Bible School - Save the Date!!!

August 9-13, 2010
Pre-K4 thru 3rd Grade
(as of September 2010)

Come take a ride down the Nile this summer into Assumption’s Vacation Bible School. Great news. . . this summer we will have both a morning and an afternoon session to accommodate more children! We’ll need plenty of adult and teen volunteers to pull this off, so come join in on the fun! Registration forms will be available starting May 1st. Mark your calendars!! If you have any questions, please call or email Gale Grennan at 973 984-7774 or ggrennan@optonline.net. We are looking forward to another super year at VBS!

Benefit Concert to Support Africa Surgery, Inc.

THE DICEY RILEY IRISH BAND AND THE
RANDOLPH HIGH SCHOOL STRING ORCHESTRA
BENEFIT CONCERT TO SUPPORT
AFRICA SURGERY, INC.

An enjoyable evening of music will commence at Assumption Church on Saturday evening, May 1, at 8:00 p.m. The Dicey Riley Irish Band and friends will share the sanctuary with the Randolph High School String Orchestra to perform some traditional Irish music and song as well as selected pieces from works of highly regarded composers.
All this plus great refreshments for only $10 suggested donation for adults, children free. All proceeds will go to help Africa Surgery, Inc. (ASI) provide medical care and surgical treatment to needy people in Sierra Leone, West Africa. website: Africasurgery.org (no www. in front).

Youth Ministry Fundraiser

SAVE THE DATE!!!
The Assumption Youth Ministry Team would like to invite you to the 2nd Annual Cocktail Party Fundraiser for our service trip to West Virginia. The Cocktail Party will be on May 8th at the Madison Hotel from 7:00—11:00 p.m. There will be an open bar and cocktail party food. We will raffle prizes, have a 50/50, and a D.J.! The cost is $100 per person. Look for more details in the bulletin over the next couple of weeks. It is a fun night, and the profits all go towards the trip.

Middle Schoolers Open Game Night

On Sunday, April 25th, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. the 6th, 7th and 8th graders of Assumption Parish are invited to “Open Game Night” (basketball, volleyball, ping pong, playstation, WII, etc.) plus participate in a service opportunity by helping to make bag lunches for the Community Soup Kitchen. Music and snacks will be provided. For more information or to register for the event email us at MSYM@assumptionparish.org or call 973-267-5638. All youth must turn in a permission slip

Assumption Parish Mission - March 21-23

Please plan to join us for our parish Lenten mission

What: A Taste of Silence

When: March 21, 22, 23
Sun., Mon. & Tues. evening sessions at 7:00 p.m.

or

Monday and Tuesday morning sessions at 9:00 a.m.

Who: Fr. Carl Arico from Contemplative Outreach.

A Taste of Silence will give all of us a chance to learn about, and experience, developmental stages of prayer - from scriptural prayer to contemplation.

Soup and Stations

Friday, March 26, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.
Plan to join us for a simple soup supper immediately following Stations of the Cross for Children.
Kindly RSVP by Tuesday, March 23rd so we may plan accordingly.
Linda.Macios@assumptionparish.org
(973) 267-5638

Assumption’s Youth Ministry is proud to offer Roses for Haiti - a Valentine’s day flower drive.

By simply using the tear-off section in the bulletin or completing this form to order flowers for your spouse or other loved one by Monday, February 8th, you can help our Youth Ministry teens to raise funds to aid the victims of the recent earthquake.

The cost of all floral bouquets is just $40, and the flowers will be delivered to your door by one of our Peer Ministers on Sunday, February 14th. All profits from the sale will be donated to Catholic Relief Services.

Religious Education Pasta Supper

Our Religious Education department will hold its annual Pasta Supper and Basket Raffle on Saturday, February 6th, in the Assumption School cafeteria. Seatings will be at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. and take-out service will be available as well. Reservation forms for the supper can be found as a tear-off on page 6 of this weekend’s bulletin or by clicking here.  Tickets will also be on sale at the doors of the church next weekend. This is the only fundraiser our religious education program runs each year, and we ask you to help support it in any way you can.

Response to Haiti Earthquake

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, is responding to victims of the massive earthquake in Haiti.

Assumption Church will be taking up a second collection this Sunday, January 16th, to assist the victims of the Haiti earthquake. All donations will be quickly forwarded to Catholic Relief Services.  Please make all checks payable to "Assumption Church" and write "Haiti Earthquake" in the memo section.

Other ways to donate:

Call 1-877-HELP-CRS, donate online at www.crs.org or send a check to Catholic

Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090. In the memo portion of

your check, please write: Haiti Earthquake

For more information go to crs.org and crsespanol.org