2019 Philadelphia Pulaski Parade
As usually, St. Valentine’s Parish was a part of Philadelphia Pulaski Parade.
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Help Need – Heavy Storm Damage
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Our cemetery and park are in need after last Monday’s storm. Many trees are down; heavy wind broke many branches. There is a lot to be done. Therefore, on Saturday, starting 8 AM we are going to clean up all the damaged trees. Please come, whoever can come. Every pair of hands is valuable even if you can only pick up branches. Bring work gloves with you. There will be lunch and water available for all who work. Please also check if the grave of your beloved ones is ok.
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2019 St. Valentine’s Flea Market & Polish Food Festival
2019 St. Valentine’s Flea Market & Polish Food Festival
in our Church Hall and on driveway
June 1, 2019
10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Same as year ago we are going to have Polish Food Festival and St. Valentine’s Flea Market in our church hall, driveway and around our church.
It’s time already to clean your garages, attics, basements, storage rooms and all these unwanted items you can bring to us. Flea market is a great opportunity to help your Parish. Also we are counting on your donations to make pierogi, golabki, Polish kielbasa and other.
Please bring flea market items as soon as possible. If you have some items to donate but you are unable to bring them to our church hall, please call Parish Office at (215) 535-4978.
We DO NOT ACCEPT any clothing, bedding and shoes.
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Åš+P Alfreda Day
śp. Alfreda Day passed away. She was buried from our church on Saturday, February 23rd.
Åš+P Alfreda Day (nee Napierkowski) on February 16, 2019 age 84.
Beloved wife of the late Albert F. Day. Devoted mother of Lorraine Capcino (Gregory) and Vincent Day (Kim). Loving grandmom of Gregory Jr. (Kate), Dominic (Lindsey), Michael and Angelina Mangram (Christopher) great grandmom of Gregory III and Lola. Dear sister of Estelle McKee and Alan Knapp (Mary Ellen). Also suvrived by her nieces and nephews.
Please keep śp. Alfreda and her family in your prayers.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Wieczny odpoczynek racz jej dać, Panie, a światłość wiekuista niechaj jej świeci.
Niech jej dusza i dusze wszystkich wiernych zmarłych, przez miłosierdzie Boże odpoczywają w pokoju. Amen.
Bishop Bernard’s Pastoral Letter on Discipleship
January, 2019
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you in our Central Diocesan family, and welcome to the Year of Discipleship in our holy Church!
In the words of our national PNCC Future Direction Sub-Committee recently given to us..…..As our Lord said to His disciples “Follow Me†for His public ministry, He continues to call us to follow Him and wants our relationship with Him to grow and strengthen as the days, months and years goes by. Our PNCC is calling us to renew our Discipleship in our Lord this year and as we begin 2019….
Soooo – let’s get a handle on this idea of discipleship, shall we?
Not too long ago I was watching a Netflix presentation about the Masons, with a focus on their place of origin, Freemasons’ Hall in Great Queen Street, London. As I became drawn into the narrative of this society’s founding and growth, I was struck by how clearly they laid out the expectations of a mason. By contrast, I was struck by how often our Church is hesitant to name the expectations of discipleship for its members.
Our Future Directions Sub-Committee has begun laying out these expectations and will continue that effort throughout the year. I’d say, it all boils down to five basic opportunities to “grow and strengthen our relationship with Jesus.â€
Worship – We worship God together, through his Son Jesus. Worshipping regularly is a part of who we are as Catholic Christians. The people of God join together in the house of God to worship and honor God (Psalm 150). Worship is about community: the Christian community gathers to worship, to pray together, and to continue its growth in the faith.
Grow – We become affiliated with a parish society, Bible study, the School of Christian Living to grow in faith and our walk with Jesus. Jesus went to the synagogue “as was His custom†(Luke 4:16). Synagogue for Jesus was a place of discernment, learning scripture, and growing in the knowledge and love of God and neighbor. We join with other PNCC-ers here in order to grow together.
Mission – We are called to love our neighbors. We are encouraged to be involved in some mission emphasis. Jesus had a special place in His heart for the poor, marginalized, outcast, and lost. We are called to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus Christ in our world. We seek to love and serve others and believe this is vital in our Christian walk.
Talents and Abilities – All of us have talents and abilities that can be used for the glory of God. Some have the gift of teaching or leading. Others have the gift of administration, or may be gifted in finance and can help the church to be faithful stewards of the gifts offered for ministry and mission. Some have the gift of compassion, or love to send cards to those who are sick. Some feel called to reach out to the unchurched, while others have the gift of hospitality. Yes, all of us have some God-given gift, talent, or ability that we can use for the glory of God.
Proportional Giving – Stewardship is a spiritual discipline and an act of worship. Our offering is a recognition that everything we have and are is a gift to us from God. We are all blessed. We are all called by God to offer our first-fruits and our [portion] to God for the work of His kingdom (Leviticus 27:30-33; Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Our offering at a regular percentage of giving is an act of gratitude, an act of obedience, and an act of our covenantal agreement with God. Our offering is used, then, in ministry and mission on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So let’s take time to reflect on these five expectations as we undertake a life of Catholic Christian discipleship. After all, God proved he loves us so much by giving His only begotten Son to live among us, to teach us of God’s love and kingdom, to die that we might be forgiven, and to rise that we may have eternal life. God has promised to be with us always. Discipleship, then, is our faithful response to this God who “so loves the world†(John 3:16)
Peace and grace to all.
Bishop Bernard
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Christmas Liturgical Schedule
Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24, 2018
• 10:00 PM The Traditional Shepherds’ Mass – Pasterka
Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25, 2018 – Nativity of our Lord
• 9:30 AM Christmas Mass
Solemnities – Holy Family and Humble Shepherds – Sunday, December 30, 2018
• 9:30 AM Holy Mass
New Year – 2019
Solemnity – Circumcision of our Lord, Tuesday, January 1, 2019Â
• 9:30 AM Holy Mass
Solemnity – Epiphany of our Lord, Sunday, January 6, 2019
• 9:30 AM Holy Mass with the blessing of incense, charcoal & chalk
Solemnity – Baptism of our Lord, Sunday, January 13, 2019
• 9:30 AM Holy Mass
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Saturday Flea Market, Holy Mass and Picnic on Sunday
On Sunday let us meet together as Parish Family. Join us with your family members and friends for prayer, for good food and for fun. All are welcome.
Saturday, September 15th
8 AM – 4 PM – Flea market. Refreshments available. Polish Food (pierogi, golabki, kielbasa, potato pancakes, hot dogs, soda, juice).
Sunday, September 16th
12 Noon – Holy Mass (at cemetery)
1 PM – Parish Picnic. Delicious Polish homemade food.
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Åš+P Stella Novack
NOVACK Stella M. (nee Sklodowski) passed away on August 1, 2018 at the age of 88. Beloved mother of Frederick Hartman, Gary F. Novack (Marilyn) and Richard Novack. Dear Babci of Brandon, Michael, Gary Jr., and Dana (Carl). Great grandmom of Gracelynn, Gary III, Ryan and Justin. Sister of the late Anthony Sklodowski, Edward Slade, Josephine Lubaczewski and Eleanor Rybarczyk. Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing Friday August 3 from 7:30PM-9PM at the Slabinski Sucharski Funeral Home, 2614 Orthodox St., 19137. Services will be held Saturday, August 4 at 9AM at St. Valentine’s Polish National Catholic Church. Internment at St. Valentine’s Cemetery, Andalusia.
Wieczny odpoczynek racz jej dacz, Panie.
Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord.
Åš+P Stella Novack Read More »
Bishop Bernard’s Pastoral Letter on Vocations
To the Very Reverend, Reverend Fathers and the Reverend Messrs., and my dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord:
¡Viva el mes de junio! That’s Spanish for “Long live June,†“Hurray for June.†Hurray, indeed! And welcome to the month of vocations in the Polish National Catholic Church: June is Sacred Vocations month for us. June is the month we focus on our great need for priests, and on the need for significant donations throughout the PNCC to be made to the Clergy Pension Plan.
Our need of priests is dire and critical, but I am nonetheless hopeful and optimistic. Even though no Polish National Catholic families have sacrificed even one of their men, young or old, to our altars in the past twelve years, (and it doesn’t look like any family will in the near future), I remain optimistic. Even though our seminary has been empty for that period of time, except for the occasional priest from another Church orienting himself there to work as a priest in the PNCC, I have good reason to hope because I have experienced God’s providence. Our parish in Denver was declining but was pulled back from the brink of closure by an Hispanic priest from Mexico and 90 people of Mexican heritage who now comprise the great majority of that parish. St Francis, Denver, is growing, and is enthusiastically PNCC, and is flying 18 young people and 6 adults to Convo 2018 here next month.
Because Father Alfonso Castillo needs pastoral help there, I enthusiastically agreed to review applications from priest friends of his in Mexico to provide assistance to him, and subsequently serve our American parishes desperate for priests. In our Diocese, two priests, in fine parishes, are retiring next year. I have no one to fill them. A priest in our Diocese is on three parishes in Jersey. Three priests are on two parishes each. And there are ailing and aging priests all over the place! And yet I am hopeful. So I say, ¡Viva México!
With the increase in aging clergy comes the need for our Clergy Pension Plan to support them all. We collect for this vital entitlement throughout the year and especially in the month of June. We need more capital to invest, the interest from which the pension payments are made. From age 70, a PNCC priest can look forward to a monthly check in the amount of $600; and his widow, a check in the amount of $300. Please be generous in this drive. And so I say, in my optimism, ¡Viva el Plan de Pensión del Clero! (Hurray for our Clergy Pension plan!)
I believe God is showing us a potential direction for the future of our Church; and that pathway seems to be presenting itself from south of the border. For the Methodist Church, that pathway is from South Korea, and for the Roman Catholic Church, from India among other sources. In light of all of this, Bishop Hodur has indeed blessed us with a most optimistic motto for our Church when he penned: A través de la Verdad, el Trabajo y las Dificultades ¡Venceremos!
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Bernard
To read the original version as a PDF file.
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