1st Sunday of Advent

Greetings:

Your bulletin: https://saintspeterpaulpalmyra.org/december-1st-2024/

Here are the highlights for the upcoming week and beyond:

• Our Angel Giving Tree has arrived. Tags are on and ready to be selected. Please wrap gifts and return to the tree with tag attached, by Sunday, December 8th. Thank you for bringing the joy of Christ to the less fortunate this Christmas!
• Thanksgiving Mass is tonight, Wednesday, November 27th at 6pm.
• The office will be closed on Thursday and Friday this week.
• Our flower guild is now 5 strong but we need to expand to a minimum of 6 members; this allows for members to take time away and no one will have to serve more than once a month. This team will rotate on a weekly basis and concentrate their efforts on arranging flowers each week in the church. The time commitment is about an hour a week for one person, in most cases. Please contact the office at 434.589.5201.
• If you are interested in displaying your nativity at Lessons & Carols, please bring it to the Hall on Saturday, December 14th between 10am – 2pm.
• During Advent, which begins on December 1st, we will have Mass on Tuesdays at noon with Confession following Mass.
• Monday, December 9th is a Holy Day of Obligation. We will celebrate Immaculate Conception on that day. Mass will be celebrated at 9am at St. Joseph and at noon at Sts. Peter & Paul.
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• 11 days until Giving Tuesday on December 3rd but Advanced Giving is open now through December 2nd! https://richmond.igivecatholic.org/organizations/saints-peter-paul-catholic-church. Come to the Parish Hall on December 3rd to join in the Giving Tuesday festivities from 8am – 8pm.
• Lessons & Carols is on Sunday, December 14th at 2pm. Santa will be available to hear your wishes; there will be classic stories and carols for all to enjoy. The children will entertain us and let’s not forget the Nativity Exhibit – special this year, the kids will display their own creations of the Nativity. We are seeking donations of cookies for this festive event.
• This year, we will once again have Christmas dinner for parishioners who otherwise would be alone. There is a sign-up sheet on the kitchen door in the Commons and a box to drop a donation for the turkey fund. Let us know what side dish or dessert you are able to bring and share with others.
• What do Good Shepherds, Ushers and the Bake Sale ministries all have in common? They all need help. If you want to learn more and think you can help, please call the office (434.589.5201) for more info.
• Sts. Peter and Paul Religious Store: The store is open before/after Mass on Saturdays and after Mass on Sundays. For a limited time the store will be offering custom Christmas t-shirts; you pick from pre-selected designs and colors to create the shirt of your liking. The store will hold an OPEN HOUSE on Friday, November 29th from 12-3 and receive a 25% discount. This is a great time to get your Advent wreath and candles. You can contact the store via email at [email protected].
• Chesterton Academy is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.
• Chesterton Academy Game Night is Friday, Dec. 6th from 5:30-7:30pm. Eighth graders and current high schoolers are invited to an evening of games, fun and prizes. This is a great opportunity to check out Charlottesville’s affordable classical high school in the Catholic tradition. Shadow days are available. For details and registration visit ChestertonSJE.org.
• If you have misplaced any items in the church, come see Karen in the office; it’s where many lost things go.
• If you have recently changed your email address or phone number or signed up for Faith Direct and no longer need envelopes, please send a note to the office so we can update the system and make sure you don’t miss out on any information we have to share with you.

St. Joseph’s News:

• Parish surveys are due back by December 1st to the box in the parish hall.
• A Novena Rosary, leading up to the Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe, will start on Sunday, December 1st after Mass; Monday through Saturday it will be at 7pm, and again after Mass on the 8th.
• There will be a Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe at 6pm on December 12th at St. Joseph’s, preceded by the Rosary at 5:30pm and followed by food & fellowship in the hall.
• Our Advent prayer service and potluck is on Sunday, December 15th after Mass. Please bring a dish to share.

“Heavenly Father, this Advent please give us the grace to be free from enslavement to every distraction, and the grace to look with expectation for the coming of your Son.”

I pray that everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!
Karen Davidson