Wishes for 2011
May the Lord send upon you and your loved ones, His abundant blessing throughout the New Year – 2011!
Fr. Joseph & Family and the Parish Committee
Parish Life
Christmas Dinner With Saint Nicholas and a New Member of our Family
Sunday, December 5th proved to be a festive event with the celebration of St. Nicholas Day at Holy Cross Church – Woodland Park, N.J. Delicious food, music, and a visit from “Jolly Old St. Nick” delighted the adults as well as the children. Sunday school students performed for their audience and invited them to sing – a – long Christmas Carols. In addition to that the youth were singing the well known songs Give Thanks and My Life is in You. We had a great number of people. A special cake was made to honor the birth of Jesus. St. Nicholas distributed gifts to the precious children asking them in return to be good for goodness sake. During the dinner there was a drawing of Santa basket, 50/50 cash prize and certificate for the brunch of two at the Bethwood. We thank ladies who brought delicious baking goods. This event would not have been possible without the support of the members of the Parish Life Committee.
On Sunday December 19, 2010 after 11 AM Mass the Holy Cross Church had a great occasion. Fr. Joseph administered the Sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation (with the bishop approval) to Jeffrey Lee Valentine Volyn. Jeffrey went through preparations with Fr. Joseph. Godparents were Irene Legawiec and Dane Volyn. Witnessing the ceremony were Lois Volyn, Jeffrey’s wife and their children. We congratulate Jeffrey for being accepted as the new member of our Christian family.
Christmas Dinner With Saint Nicholas and a New Member of our Family Read More »
Christmas Holy Mass Schedule
May the Joy and Peace of Christmas be with you now and all throughout the coming year 2011
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – 2011!
Wesołych Świąt i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku – 2011! (Polish)
Joyeux Noël et bonne année 2011! (French)
Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo 2011 (Italian)
¡Feliz Navidad y próspero año nuevo 2011 (Spanish)
Frohliche Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr 2011! (German)
Sretan Božić! Sretna Nova Godina! 2011 (Croatian)
Veselé vánoce a šťastný nový rok 2011 (Czech)
Father Joseph Cyman with Family and the Parish Committee
Christmas Holy Mass Schedule Read More »
Advent Tree to support DYFS, Eva’s Shelter, and Shelter Our Sisters
This annual project coordinated by Pat Olsen, will help boys and girls of DYFS (Division of Youth and Family Services), senior men from Eva’s Shelter and women with babies from Shelter Our Sisters. Your generosity is appreciated and rewarded by the Lord who asks us to take care for the needy. All gifts are due by Sunday, December 19th for timely distribution.
Advent Tree to support DYFS, Eva’s Shelter, and Shelter Our Sisters Read More »
Youth News
Want to meet new friends in a safe Christian environment? Our Parish invites youth ages 12 and up for a Youth Fellowship Meeting on Friday, December 3rd from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. Enjoy Food, Fun and Refreshment. Bring your favorite game and inspirational story and share it with others. Inform us about the number of youth attending by Thursday, December 2nd by calling Father Joseph at 973-256-4888 or Juan Reyes at 973-754-9355.
Christmas Dinner “Happy Birthday Jesus”
Come and enjoy! Invite your family and friends!
This Christmas Program is presented by our School of Christian Living on December 5th after 11am Holy Mass (approx. 12:15pm). Dinner includes Tilapia with Mango Sauce, Roast Chicken, Roast Pork, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce, String Beans Almondine, Baby Carrots, Cole Slaw, Rolls & Butter and Desserts, Coffee and Tea.
There will be a Raffle for a brunch for two at the Bethwood Restaurant, Totowa (value $100), a 50/50 raffle, and a Santa Clause basket raffle. Santa Claus – (St. Nicholas) will be present.
Tickets are $12 for adults. Children are free; Youth helping with clean up are free. One free ticket for a table of 10.
Please call 973-256-4888 for tickets and information. The deadline for tickets is November 28th.
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The Seasons ahead – Advent and Christmas
Thanksgiving Eve Mass will be held on Wednesday, November 24th at 7 p.m. Let us give thanks for the Almighty God and for all His gifts which we so often take for granted.
Advent – The First Sunday of Advent will begin on Sunday November 28, 2010. The last Sunday of Liturgical year – The Feast of Christ the King – will take place on Sunday November 21, 2010.
Christmas Dinner – “Happy Birthday Jesus” will be held on Sunday, December 5th after 11 A.M. Holy Mass – Don’t forget to mark your calendars for an enjoyable afternoon with great menu and Christmas Program by the children of our School of Christian Living. The dinner will be prepared by Deacon David Gaydos and his helpers. Tickets are $12 for adults. Children are free of charge and the youth helping with clean up are free of charge as well. Tickets are now available. The deadline to purchase tickets is Sunday, November 28th. The Menu is: Fish Tilapia with Mango Sauce, Roast Chicken, Roast Pork, and Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce, String Beans Almondine, Baby Carrots, Cole Slaw, Rolls & Butter and Desserts, Coffee and Tea. We will have a raffle for a Brunch for two at the Bethwood Restaurant, Totowa. The value is $100, 50/50 raffle and Santa Claus – (St. Nicholas) will be at the dinner. Invite your family and friends. One Free ticket for a table of 10.
Christmas Eve Holy Masses – We will celebrate traditionally two Holy Masses on the Vigil of the Nativity (Christmas Eve), Friday, December 24th. The Holy Mass with the participation of children and youth will be held at 4 PM. The second solemn Holy Mass will be celebrated at 10 PM.
Solemnity of the Nativity (Christmas Day) Holy Mass – One Holy Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, December 25th at 10 AM.
The Seasons ahead – Advent and Christmas Read More »
Halloween Party Memories
On Sunday October 31, 2010 a Halloween party was prepared by the teachers of the School of Christian Living: Mrs. Claire Centrella, Mrs. Karen Paulison, Mrs. Jamie Santos and Mrs. Natalie Lazar. The children came in wearing their favorite costumes. During the Mass the youth read prayers of the faithful especially for all children who will be out celebrating Halloween: for their safety and well-being … and that all monsters would stay under the bed.
Musical chair game was one of the several games children participated in during their Halloween party. All children received prizes for participation and for winning different games.
The winners of three categories costumes were; from left the prettiest costume – Natalie Cyman, the original costume – Angie Cardona, and the scariest costume – Nayef Kiame.
Halloween Party Memories Read More »
National United Youth Project
Brothers and Sisters, On Behalf of the National United Youth Association Board and its President Lauren Bilinski, may I take this opportunity to invite you to share in a ministry project.
By now, I’m sure you have no doubt heard of the report that Lauren had made to the 23rd General Synod. Therein she had asked all of us to participate in “Operation Christmas Child”. For some of you, this is an annual project in your parish; for some, this may be new. Your participation involves filling shoeboxes with various items that a child would like to have (small toys, personal hygiene items, crayons, coloring books; well, you get the idea.) Along with your box, Samaritan’s Purse will provide a copy of the Scriptures in that child’s language, so that the whole story of God’s love will be shared. I have provided a sheet of labels that you can place in your box -just indicate whether it is for a boy or a girl and their age. Feel free to place a greeting from your parish in your box(es); there is a good chance you’ll receive a reply. After filling as many as your congregation is able, you need to check out the Samaritan’s Purse website to find out where the closest collection point is in your area. The website is also filled with helpful hints, downloadable and requested promotional materials. They do ask a small donation for each box to help with the shipping.
I remember the year our parish received a card back from a young girl in Zimbabwe. She wrote that she enjoyed all the gifts in the box; and learning about Jesus. What a gift we can give to someone we will probably never ever meet somewhere in the world – a joyful gift and the joy of Jesus! The collection week is 15-22 November; so get busy fillin’! And may our gracious Lord bless whatever sacrifice you make for His kids!. Fr. Stan, Chaplain.
Dear Youth – You are all invited to participate in this worthwhile project. In our parish hall you can see one shoe box already filled in. Bring empty shoe box and any items you can donate for the children who will greatly appreciate your Christmas Gift. – Fr. Joseph.
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Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament Society (ANS) News
The New York/New Jersey Adoration Societies were honored this year to have our Prime Bishop, the Most Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich, as our guest speaker at the annual convention held on September 19, 2010 at the Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish, Wallington, NJ. He made some wonderful suggestions as to how to increase our membership by getting some more people involved in our projects, or just by asking them to sit with us and hold a candle to adore the Blessed Sacrament. It was very inspiring.
Right now our Society is selling raffles to win a gift certificate to a local restaurant worth $100. The drawing will take place at Christmas Dinner on December 5, 2010. Our last raffle, a Basket of Cheer, enabled us to buy four new liquid wax candles for our altar. We sell majority of our tickets at the various dinners held at our parish.
In the spring on Saturday May 14, 2010 from 9 AM to 4 PM we will be holding a Flea Market at which time we will be selling homemade food including stuffed cabbage. In 2009 Mrs. Renata Cyman and Fr. Joseph made quite a few, but they were sold out before Lunch. Next year the women will be helping so that we can make many more.
We are very fortunate that the Daughters of Holy Cross chose to join our ANS. Combining the two has enabled us to accomplish so much more.
We are also blessed to have dedicated members such as Alice Kriskewic, who has faithfully taken on the job as treasures for so many years. Also, Nelly Cabrejos washes and changes the altar linens whenever it is needed. We have much to be thankful for.
We are looking forward to the upcoming beautiful and joyous holidays. Greetings to all members of the ANS.
Karen Peano, Holy Cross ANS President
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