Text Box: RELIGIOUS EDUCATION We are happy to announce that our Religious Education Program will begin on Sunday, September 21st. Grades Pre-K, K, 1, 3, 4, and 5 will meet at 11:00 A.M. Grades 2, 6, and 7 will begin on Monday, September 22. Grades 2 & 6 at 3:30 P.M. Grade 7 (Confirmation Class) will meet at 4:45 P.M. If you know of any child in the 1st Grade who would like to enter our Religious Education Program, please contact Mr. Gary Cushing at 718-625-1161. On Sunday, September 21st we celebrate “Catechetical Sunday.” Our teachers will be commissioned at the 10:00 A.M. Mass LITURGY COMMITTEE The Liturgy Committee will meet on Monday, September 22 at 7:30 P.M. in the rectory. Anyone who would like to join this committee is cordially invited to this meeting. Text Box: SEPTEMBER 11 - MEMORIAL On Thursday, September 11th, our parish will celebrate a special Memorial Mass at 10:00 A.M. The firemen from Middagh Street, along with the family and friends of those who died, have been invited. All are welcome to this special tribute. DIRECT DEPOSIT Parishioners have asked if they use “direct deposit” for their weekly giving. There are forms in the back of the church for your benefit. It is a simple procedure. This is a great way of giving on a regular basis. Please consider this alternate means of donating to our parish. If you choose to use “direct deposit,” please complete the form and submit it either to Father Carrano or to the rectory on Middagh Street. Thank you! Text Box: Twenty - Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Text Box: BVM Text Box: Assumption Text Box: From the Pastor’s Desk Dear Friends: Ezekiel has advice on how to warn the wicked to change their ways. Yet, we are not supposed to judge others. Are we supposed to avoid making honest judgments? When you think about it, on any topic, we are looking for sound judgment. We cannot avoid living out our values together. With every choice we make, we impact others. In the Body of Christ, we are faced with two very down-to-earth realization: We are far from perfect. We are interconnected. Jesus offers a simple and sobering way to live with these facts. Have a problem? Go in private, go in humility, and talk to the one you find at fault. Create a place for real pain to be expressed, for real fault to be named. If it doesn’t work? Jesus pushes us to bring the problem to a wider, more objective, yet still small place for help; if the person causing the trouble will not listen, take one or two others with you. If the person still won’t listen, the whole Church is going to feel the effects. This method is not designed to escalate the problem. It is meant to push us to deeper level for help. Above all, we should expect the presence of Christ among all involved. Yours in Christ, Rev. Michael A. Carrano