Weekly Digest

Welcome everyone!
This week at the parish:

• Tuesday - Saint Agnes Playgroup (10:30 am), Baptism Briefing, Choir Practice and Fatima Apostolate (7 pm)
• Wednesday - Bereavement Meeting (7 pm)
• Thursday - First Friday Confessions (4 pm)
• Friday  - First Friday Adoration (all day, Benediction at 5:00, Mass at 5:30), First Friday Playgroup (10:30 am), Prep for Boston Sock Exchange (7 pm)
• Saturday - Boston Sock Exchange (Park Street T-stop, 11 am)
• Monday - Pro-Life Meeting (7 pm)

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Saint Agnes Family Playgroup
We are done with Christmas break, and will resume in "Winter Playgroup" mode, when Fidelity House hosts our playgroup within their building.  We owe them our thanks!  We also are grateful to Father Flatley for helping us to get a small curriculum going this year.  Bring your thinking caps and get ready to pay attention to some short activities each week!

Thus, Tuesday playgroup will take place at Fidelity House, right near church: 25 Medford Street, from 10:30 am-12:30 pm.

• Please remember some behavior guidelines: No running out of the playroom, no kids in the toy closet, respect physical limits, use a time-out chair, please discipline your own children promptly, and be considerate of others!
• Fidelity House is being very generous by letting us use this space. Please consider a donation to help with their costs. Minimum suggested donation is $1 per person in attendance.
• Please no food.... drinks in spill proof containers are OK. 

Parking is on the street around Fidelity House. Check the street signs for the rules. Once you walk in the front door, go up the stairs, past the front desk, and to the back of the building. There is a door from the room to an outdoor courtyard, so bring your kids' coats too. We will also teach a brief lesson for the kids.

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Baptism Briefing
Don't forget that baptisms for babies at Saint Agnes are held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 2:00 pm. You must attend Baptismal Briefings prior to having your child baptized.

Baptism briefings happen once a month, and you can go to one on Tuesday night! The briefing session begins at 7:00 pm in the Saint Agnes Parish Center at 51 Medford St., Arlington. The meeting usually lasts under an hour.

If you would like to learn a little more about Christian baptism and why the Catholic Church encourages infants to be baptized, you can read about it here.

Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. The catechumen or the Godparent is asked: “What do you ask of God’s Church?” The response is: “Faith!” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1253)

Parenting is certainly not an easy task: it is filled with difficult decisions, personal setbacks and growth, expanding relationships, disagreements, love, AND forgiveness. We offer you our support and encouragement along this journey, and we invite you warmly into our parish and Christian life!

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This Friday, February 7th, is the first Friday of the month.  On Thursday, February 6th, from 4:00-5:00 pm, there will be the opportunity for confession in the lower church.  On Friday, Saint Agnes will be offering all-day Adoration, concluding with Benediction and Mass at 5:00/5:30pm, in the lower church. Also at noon there will be a Holy Hour to pray for priests and victims of clergy sexual abuse. Adoration is a wonderful opportunity to spend some quiet time with the Lord and gain some focus in our lives - especially with all the busy distractions of daily life. For more background on the long tradition of keeping a First Friday devotion, look here or here.

Also, anyone who wishes to walk across the street to spend time alone with our Lord in Adoration may do so, while the other mothers watch your children in the playroom.  First Friday playgroup is from 10:30 am-12:30 pm at Fidelity House (25 Medford St., Arlington). Fidelity House is being very generous by letting us use this space. Please consider a donation to help with their costs. Suggested donation is $1 per each person attending. Please remember some behavior guidelines: No running out of the playroom, no kids in the toy closet, respect physical limits, use a time-out chair, please discipline your own children promptly Please no food.... drinks in spill proof containers are OK.

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Boston Sock Exchange
This Saturday, January 11th is the Boston Sock Exchange at 11:00 am at the Park Street T-Stop.  This ministry helps the homeless men and women of Boston, by distributing gifts of sandwiches and clothes near the Park Street T-Stop on the second Saturday of the month. Prep and packaging for the day is held in the parish center on Friday night, December 10th at 7:00 pm. Help and/or donations is a wonderful way to put your faith in action!  For more information, see the calendar to the right, or email Jennifer Hermanski at jennifer.hermanski [at] gmail.com.  The Boston Sock Exchange is currently in need of winter clothing, especially winter coats, SOCKS, long sleeved-shirts, sweatshirts, coats, hats, gloves, and scarves.  We also need rain gear: ponchos and umbrellas.  Thank you! 

"Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe of what the poor have

to carry, rather than stand in judgement of how they carry it." Fr. Gregory Boyle, SJ

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FALL 2014 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR OUR WONDERFUL PARISH SCHOOLS!

FIDELITY HOUSE - Preschool and Pre-K

SAINT AGNES GRAMMAR SCHOOL - Pre-K through Grade 8

Links to these websites are located at the top right-hand of the blog page.

When you invest and involve your family here, you can participate

in the evangelical mission and service of these community resources,

which are offered by - and in the long tradition of - our very own Catholic Church.

Financial Aid is available.  WOW!

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Are you a Crafter?

Attention All Crafters: Saint Agnes School is organizing its first-ever Craft Fair for Saturday, February 8, 11:00 AM-6:00 PM in the School Hall. Proceeds will benefit Saint Agnes School.  Click here for a vendor registration form.

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Workshop on Visiting the Sick

This workshop on Pastoral Care to the sick and homebound starts Tuesday, March 4 and runs for six weeks from 6:30-8:30 pm (March 4,11,18,25, April 1,8).  The program is offered at Saint Patrick’s Parish in Stoneham.  Dr. Mary Beth Moran, a certified chaplain from Winchester Hospital will teach the course. The workshop will include a review of communication skills, the basics of pastoral visitation, key illness issues, spiritual needs and concerns, grief, loss and  dying, and care giving issues. Eucharistic Ministers, pastoral visitors, Parish nurses and others are encouraged to attend. The fee is $40. Registration information is available in the Parish Office or by calling 717-746-5843. Pre-registration is required. Please register by February 25th.

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Can we provide a Catholic VBS?
Saint Agnes Outreach hopes to offer a trial-version Vacation Bible School this June. However, our ability to do this will depend largely on a strong volunteer corps. We are asking for an initial response to see whether or not offering VBS this year will be possible. If you are interested in helping with a one-week, approx. 3 hours / day commitment, please email Marianne Hudelson (marianne.hudelson [at] gmail.com). If we do not receive enough replies, we will not be able to proceed with this project. Many thanks for your input!

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World Marriage Sunday - February 16, 2014

Saint Agnes Parish will celebrate World Marriage Day on Sunday, February 16th at the Noon Mass. All married couples are cordially invited to attend, renew their marriage vows 

and celebrate their commitment to married life and each other. Those who are celebrating significant anniversaries this year are invited to call the Parish Center at 781-648-0220.

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Training for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a Montessori-based religious education program that addresses the religious potential of children ages 3-6 (Level 1).  It is in its 11th year at our parish.  Please consider joining us in this beautiful ministry!  Part 1 of a 2-part catechist training course takes place July 7-12, 2014 (part 2 to take place July 2015) in Clinton, MA.  The cost of Part 1 of the course is $200.  For more information, please contact Kateryna Cuddeback at 617-504-3028 or kcuddeb@gmail.com