Friday, August 6th is the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The feast recalls the moment that Jesus took a few of his disciples up Mount Tabor and allowed them to experience his glory. He did this to strengthen them as they prepared to endure his suffering and death. What should we know about the Transfiguration? Take time this week to reflect on the glory that lived within Jesus and that Jesus wants to fill you with as well!
Did you read last week's BULLETIN? Have you "subscribed" to our YouTube Channel (it does not cost anything but helps us build our reach; please do so today). Worshipping in person is safe for you, please be with us! You are welcome to worship from the front lawn at the 10 am Mass. Please continue to invite your family, friends, and neighbors to return to worship or worship with us for the first time! Our world needs people committed to prayer, worship, common beliefs, and acts of charity.
We invite our Young Disciples to join us for a week of Vacation Bible Camp (Youth ages 5-10). The camp will take place from Monday, August 23rd thru Friday, August 27th. Campers will arrive at 9 am and will be dismissed at 4 pm. Join us for a week of faith, fellowship and fun! The fee for participation for the week is $50 per child. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR CHILD OR GRANDCHILD! Please contact Richara at richara@saintrayond.net if you would like to volunteer for a couple of hours to support this great experience for our youth!
Jesus pulls us all through!
The Dominicans, the community that Saint Raymond belonged to as a priest, are celebrating its 800th Anniversary! There is a group of Dominicans making a walking pilgrimage through Europe. Follow their adventure...
Infertility can be a great source of suffering for many couples. The Catholic Church desires to walk with couples through this season, and to that end there is a wonderdul ministry called The Fruitful Hallow.
As we schools, workplaces and even cities implement "mandates" on vaccines, there are ethicial considerations. As Catholics, we do not have grave moral objections to the vaccine but there are matters of conscience that need to be respected. Take a minute to consider...
Need a new school for your child or grandchild? Perhaps you have a neighbor looking for a new school? Recommend St. Raymond School (we have a few openings for the new year).
The Archdiocese provides news on the local, national and international Church through its website CatholicPhilly. You can sign up to receive a weekly email from them as well. Stay informed!
There are many opportunities to develop your Catholic Faith throughout the Philadelphia area. CHECK THIS OUT!
As you are aware, there have increases in the numbers of people who test positive for COVID in our region. Thankfully, the evidence tells us that those who are vaccinated rarely test positive, even for the Delta Variant. Those who do contract the virus (called "breakthrough cases") rarely have symptoms and only very few have been hospitalized. Thus, vaccinations are working! At this time, we are not changing our COVID Protocols at St. Raymond. You are welcome to wear a mask (if you are not vaccinated, we ask that you please do wear a mask). You are welcome to choose to sit in the Choir Loft (mask only section) or in pews along the windows which are socially distanced seating. Please continue to sanitize your hands upon arriving and through your time at St. Raymond. Please remain hopeful...God delivers us from being cripped by fear or worry...he promised!
As we have shared before, we are transitioning to a new online system for electronic giving Parish Giving has served us well, Pushpay will take us to a new level with text to give and more (and the processing fees are less). As we begin our new Fiscal Year on July 1, perhaps it is time for you to think about your sacrificial giving to St. Raymond. Please consider signing up for PushPay (and stopping other online giving accounts once that is done; if you need assistance with that do not hesitate to contact us). START HERE. If you choose to start the process from your mobile device, simply text straymond to 833-363-7471. We are most grateful for your goodness! Use this Instruction Sheet to end your giving through Parish Giving and start giving through Push Pay:
We are now using our new data system called Church Community Builder. The Parish Staff are learning the “ins and outs” of the system and are very excited to see the many wonderful things that can come from its many features. As mentioned, it offers a “web portal” much like the ones used in your doctor’s office or at your bank which allows you to interact with others (the Parish Office, those you serve in ministry with, those you join in a Life Group - formerly called Small Groups), check on your donations to the Parish, sign up for events and more! We know it will take many of us a while to learn but we areconfident it will be a great blessing for us as a Church Family! For now, we are asking two things. First, you will be receiving a phone call from Parish Staff and our Office Volunteers in the weeks to come. They are calling to update information in our data system and we need you to spend 5-10 minutes with them or find time to call back so we can be sure our data is as best as it can be! Second, beginning next week you will have a chance to create your own log-in for Church Community Builder and begin updating some of you’re the information yourself as well as adding a photo of yourself! This is more helpful than you can imagine! Do not fear that "everything is going too technical"; Father Chris and the Staff are always ready to serve you over the phone or in person!
This weekend we will launch our Bethany Ministry. Named after the hometown of Martha, Mary and Lazrus who welcomed Jesus often (pictured above), this ministry will assist in making people feel welcome each time they arrive for weekend Masses at St. Raymond. Their roles will include saying hello to all, welcoming first time visitors, ushering people to seats and communion, and assisting in case of emergencies. Of course, it is the everyone at Mass to make those around them feel welcome. While we may need to maintain some social distance, this does not mean we are spiritually or emotionally distant! Be sure to thank our Bethany Team members as you see them over the next few weeks! We are grateful to Minta Brown who is organizing the Bethany Ministry. If you want to learn more, contact her at minta@saintraymond.net
We congratulate Kenny Arrington (our Director of Music) and JoAnne Wells who will be married at St. Raymond this Saturday at 2pm. May God bless them with many years of happiness and joy together! You are welcome to attend their ceremony in our Church (the reception that follows is private). You are also welcome to join via YouTube.
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