Parafia p.w. Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny
ST. MARY’S POLISH PARISH
21 Wesley St., Sydney, NS, B1N 2M5
Tel.: (902) 564-4847
www.stmaryspolishparish.ca
Witamy wszystkich! Welcome to all!
St. Mary’s Polish Church is a heritage landmark designated by the Province of Nova Scotia
We are pleased to share our faith and rich traditions with the whole community.
Established in 1913. Church rebuilt in 2015-2016. Our second century of faith and service

PROBOSZCZ/PASTOR:  Father Dennis Lamey 902-564-4222; sttheresasydney@gmail.com

MSZY/MASSES: PLEASE NOTE: Public health protocols in place. Mandatory masks, distancing, 25% capacity, max 50 in building, including 40 in main part of church, no choir or congregational singing

SPOWIEDŹ:  Godzina do uzgodnienia z księdzem.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Anytime upon request to the priest.

SAKRAMENT CHRZTU ŚWIĘTEGO:  Prosimy o kontakt z księdzem conajmniej na 1 miesiąc przed planowaną datę.
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM: Please contact the priest at least one month in advance.

SAKRAMENT MAŁZEŃSTWA:   Zapowiedzi powinny być ogłoszone conajmniej na 6 miesięcy przed planowaną datę.
SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY: Intentions must be announced at least six months in advance.

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III Niedziela Zwykła / Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

CZYTANIA / READINGS:
Pierwsze czytanie / First Reading: Ne 8,1-4a.5-6.8-10
Psalm: 19
Drugie czytanie / Second Reading: 1 Kor 12,12-30
Ewangelia / Gospel: Łk 1,1-4;4,14-21
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Słowa Twe, Panie, są duchem i życiem / Your words, Lord, are spirit and life

ALTAR SOCIETY DESIGNATED VOLUNTEERS FOR JANUARY: Marilyn Gillis, Joe Gillis

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OGŁOSZENIA / ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRAYERS AND CONDOLENCES: Świętej pamięci MARY PIERRYNOWSKI: Mary passed away peacefully at the Cove early Thursday morning with her daughter Wandzi at her side. Our parish is deeply grateful to Mary for her leadership over the years, for the way in which she loved and cherished our parish community, and for doing so much to keep alive and pass along our faith and spiritual traditions, the Polish language, our culture, and our beautiful customs. She was a wise, active elder until the day of her passing, and was always thinking about the well-being of our parish community and its people. Among other ways in which she served, Mary was part of our parish choir for about 75 years and its director for many years. Bόg zapłać, Mary, for your friendship. We will miss you. Wieczny odpoczynek racz Jej dać Panie a światłość wiekuista niechaj jej świeci. Niech odpoczywa w pokoju wiecznym. There will be an obituary for Mary in the Cape Breton Post on Wednesday.

THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL ON-LINE JASEŁKA GATHERING LAST SUNDAY! On Sunday evening, we had a really enjoyable on-line Jaselka and Oplatek gathering as we approach the end of our long Christmas season. (In the Polish tradition, the Christmas season extends right through January.) Many of us -- representing all generations --took on designated roles in a pop-up Polish folk Christmas pageant, and others joined in to observe. Some of us "acted" in the Polish language for the first time. We sang traditional koledy. Fr. Rich Philiposki was present and he blessed our homes. We had a virtual exchange of Opłatek. So grateful for the sense of community! There’s a screenshot showing some of the participants on the parish Facebook page.

A REQUEST FOR NON-PERISHABLE ITEMS: We would be very grateful if you could bring a non-perishable food item or personal-care item (eg. shampoo, soap, toilet paper) to church. There will be a box at the entrance. These items will help to stock our Food Cupboard outside the Polish Village Hall and also assist Loaves and Fishes.

WEEKDAY RADIO SPOTS ABOUT POLISH CULTURE AND LANGUAGE IN CAPE BRETON: The Coast Radio: Every weekday at 3:50pm and 7:50pm (FM 89.7). It’s called the “One Minute Polish Broadcast”. Learn a new Polish word, phrase, or cultural tradition. Presented by the St. Michael’s Polish Benefit Society. Would you consider sponsoring a whole week of our radio segments for $100? The Coast has kindly agreed to allow the St. Michael’s Polish Benefit Society to do this as a fund-raiser (they are not charging for air time). Sponsors will be acknowledged on air (IMOs are welcome, birthday tributes, etc). Dziekujemy! And, we’re recruiting volunteers to go on air (pre-recorded). We’ll help you get ready. No previous experience required, and you do not have to be a Polish speaker. This is a great way for us to bring forward members of our community, as well as promote and share Polish language and culture in our region. This past week we featured the classic, beautiful, illustrated children's book Elementarz, which most Polish children learning the language have seen. The first edition came out in 1910 and there have been many subsequent editions! Alison Etter lent her voice to this segment. (A Note from Alison and Tom: We’re going to be ordering a copy of Elementarz this week. If anyone else would like one, we’d be happy to make it a bulk order!) RADIO SEGMENT THIS COMING WEEK will be on Zupa Pomidorowa (Polish tomato soup). Thank you to Nicole MacCormack for lending her voice to this segment. This segment is in memory of Annie Schella from Robert Schella and Robert’s sister Donna Dalrymple. Annie would have turned 100 on January 30. We cherish Annie’s memory and pray for her and her family.

WEEKLY COLLECTION: Apologies for the delay in the collection data. Our dedicated collection / banking volunteers, who were held back by last weekend’s snow, will be submitting a bulletin report shortly covering the past couple of weeks. Many thanks for your generosity!

THANKS VERY KINDLY FOR YOUR DONATIONS TO OUR PARISH DURING THE PANDEMIC: We are truly grateful for everyone’s generosity through the pandemic. If you are attending Mass, you will find a collection basket near the entrance and exit (since we are not passing around the basket due to the public health restrictions). Also, please free to use the mail: St. Mary’s Polish Parish, 21 Wesley St., Sydney, NS, B1N 2M5. Donations can also be made securely on-line at Canada Helps (which will email you an instant tax receipt):   https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/st-marys-polish-parish/. (link to this site is provided on our parish website homepage). Thanks for your support!

NEXT SUNDAY, IN ADVANCE OF CANDLEMAS DAY, WE WILL HAVE AUTHENTIC GROMNICE CANDLES FROM POLAND WITH AN IMAGE OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GROMNICE: These are the special Polish candles for Candlemas Day. They have an image of the famous Our Lady of Gromnice (the thunder candle) with peaceful wolves at her side. This candle is often lit during natural disasters or when praying for someone who is sick or dying. In the Polish countryside, there are many special traditions around this day. As in recent years, the free-will offering for the candles will go to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, which does humanitarian work around the world – often helping people to recover from disasters. It’s a special way of linking our Polish Catholic spiritual traditions with our call to compassion, service and solidarity.

On Friday, people of Polish heritage marked Grandmothers Day. And on Saturday, Grandfathers Day! We pray for our babci i dziadkowie, living and deceased.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY – January 18 to 25:
Questions for Reflection from the Canadian Council of Churches: Over winding roads and uncertain pathways, the Magi made their way to the place of the Christ child, guided by the star of God’s guidance. Even when their road was blocked by Herod’s evil intentions, they found a new road through the light of the star. Throughrenewed minds (Ephesians) and divine wisdom (Matthew) we can be led on the true path of life.
1. How can we choose our ways and our manners so as to stay united in Christ?
2. What can we bring from our different roads when we come together?
3. How do we react when our road is blocked by the “Herods” of this world, and of the church?

Życzymy błogosławionego tygodnia / Wishing you a blessed week!