December 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Daily Mass: Mon - Fri: 9am Morning Prayer 8:45am

St. Athanasius Church 300 Haverhill St, Reading, 01867 Monday - Friday 9am-4pm www.StAthanasiusReading.org [email protected] Facebook:

Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays 6:30 - 7:30pm Confessions Available

Twitter: twitter.com/StAsReading Phone: 781-944-0330 Fax: 781-944-1266

Sunday Mass: Vigil 4pm; 9am, 11am

facebook.com/StAthanasiusReading

First Saturday Mass: 9am

Reconciliation: Saturdays 3:153:45pm and during Eucharistic Adoration. Baptism: Celebrated the 3rd Sunday at 1pm. Call to register for Baptism Prep. Anointing of the Sick: Notify the office when a person is seriously ill. Extraordinary Ministers are available to bring the Eucharist to the homebound. Marriage: Call at least 6 months in advance of your wedding.

St. Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

December 18, 2016

Please pray for our military and civilians who defend our freedom, especially: The 26th “Yankee” Brigade, and 1st Lts. Ryan & Nolan Johnson, US Army, Patrick Cavanaugh, PFC Christopher Lewis, Lcpl Brenden Amico, Cpl. 3rd Class Christopher Donohue, Justin Whitmarsh, Pvt Michael Goddard, Chaplain Tom Whiteman

Saturday, December 17 4pm Lucy Bertoncini Birthday Memorial Sunday, December 18 9am Vincent Connors Memorial Mass 11am Mass for the People of St Athanasius Monday, December 19 9am Fr. Richard Ahearn Tuesday, December 20 9am Cathy Cann Wednesday, December 21 9am Dorothy Thompson & Deceased Members of the Thompson Family Thursday, December 22 9am Anthony Emerald Memorial Mass Friday, December 23 9am John & Bertha Casey Memorial Mass Saturday, December 24 4pm Upstairs & Downstairs 6pm Upstairs 11pm Upstairs (Midnight Mass) Sunday, December 25 10am Upstairs

Remember those in need of prayers, especially: Maryann Lucerto, Margaret Sumner, John Cadigan, Mary Lou, Dianne, Bill, Scott , Dan Hallidy, David S Attachi Family, Olga Calautti, Paula, Joanne Curran, Jimmy, Charles Morrison, Frank F, Frank DelGreco, Barbara Coffin, Ruthie, Richard Rossi, Robert D, Thomas D, Andrew D, Richard D, Phil T, Jen M, Fran P, Bryan M, Marion M, Anna Windels, Mary McNerney, Larry Y, Denise S, John, Mary G, Shirley N, Carol & Frank, Deborah, Patricia Maines, Justin L, Jay, Paula, Mike, David, Bubba Toussaint, Joan D, Nana K, Sue, Remo, Katie Willenborg, Denise, Josephine, Sammy, Bill, Guarino Family, Joan B, Kevin G, Brian, Joe O, Cathy M, Cynthia L, Jill, Marianne G, Dillon R, Mr. Blunt, Denise B, Ann Swift, Molly, Rob, Guy, Denis Hebert, Babies Max and Nate, Mike P, Paula P, Jeff M, Andrew R, Justin L, Marge Q, Jen M, Norma M, Julie, Pat K & Family, Marie Brown, JDF & Family, Patrick & Brianna, Rick Q, Trudy, Sean T, Dianne, Bob L, Flora T, Danny, Dina Luongo, Tim I, Beth O, Anne Bernadette, Caroline, Steve R, The Nowicki Family, Scott, Jon S, Trudy, Carla, Patrick M, Matthew, Paula, Marie M, Julius L, Barbara, Gil, Sheila S, Brian, Sue, Bob C, Kaitlyn, Rose, Dom, Daniel, Ron R, Alison

Altar Flowers in Memory of Catherine Lombardo S CRIPTURE 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

SUN Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat SUN

FOR THE WEEK OF

D ECEMBER 18

Is 7:10-14/Rom 1:1-7/Mt 1:18-24 Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a/Lk 1:5-25 Is 7:10-14/Lk 1:26-38 Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a/Lk 1:39-45 1 Sm 1:24-28/Lk 1:46-56 Mal 3:1-4, 23-24/Lk 1:57-66 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16/Lk 1:67-79 Vigil: Is 62:1-5/Acts 13:16-17, 22-25/Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25, Night: Is 9:1-6/Ti 2:1114/Lk 2:1-14, Dawn: Is 62:11-12/Ti 3:47/Lk 2:15-20, Day: Is 52:7-10/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14

These names will stay in the Prayer Corner until Sunday, January 4th. Call the office or email [email protected] to add or renew your loved ones on the list.

M EETINGS & E VENTS Sunday, Dec 18

Lessons & Carols with Christmas Pageant Tree Lighting

Monday, Dec 26

Office Closed

W EEKLY O FFERTORY Mass Attendance: 558 First Collection: $6317 Deficit Reduction: $2890 Next Week (Christmas Collection): Clergy Health & Retirement Trust 2

2:30 Church

St. Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

December 18, 2016

Advent Events

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE ANNUAL CHILDREN’S PAGEANT HELD ON DECEMBER 18th

St. Athanasius Church Saturday, December 24th

Sunday, December 25th

4pm upper and lower Church 6pm, 11pm “Midnight Mass” 10am

(as part of the Lessons and Carols program)

JOIN US DOWNSTAIRS IN THE CHURCH HALL AT 2:00 TO RECEIVE A PART AND PRACTICE EVERYONE GETS A PART (there are no speaking parts)

JOIN US FOR HOT CHOCOLATE AND COOKIES AFTER THE PROGRAM IN THE PAC.

Join us for Eucharistic Adoration at St. Athanasius

ADULT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP KEEP THIS TRADITION GOING.

Every Thursday from 6:30-7:30pm With Confession

Questions contact MaryAnne Cuscuna @781-944-5460 Grades 7 - 10 this is part of your group classroom requirements.

On Wednesday December 21 from 6:30-8:00pm St. Athanasius will be open for Confession. The Archdiocese has set up a site, www.TheLightIsOnForYou.org, to help you prepare. It has info on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, on how to make a good Confession, answers to frequently-asked questions and more. Please plan to come and spread the word of this outreach of mercy to those you know.

Donation Opportunities for Special Items Heating Oil (1 week) 1 Month of Altar candles Flowers for the week Bread & Wine for the week 3

$500.00 $100.00 $50.00 $40.00

St. Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

December 18, 2016

Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Financial Report for Saint Athanasius Parish The good news is that we as a Parish community were able to meet our day to day operating expenses while continuing to support expanded ministries and part-time Pastoral support. Additionally, we were able to replace the church’s decades old boiler and original hot water heater for less than $25,000 total, although that money was spent this past fall, which is FY17 technically. Last year’s increased offertory campaign was successful and spurred an additional $32,038 in offertory collections and $28,438 in one time bequests. Sustaining that increase is our most pressing revenue need. Most likely not repeatable, a warm winter and lower oil prices were very favorable to our property costs, which dropped $9,694 relative to the previous year. However, because we no longer receive a tithe abatement (“tax credit”) from the Archdiocese and, thus, fully meet our responsibilities to the wider Church, our “tax” is now truly 10% of offertory. While this means that particular expense increased by $8,328, it also means that we as a Parish are on a firm financial footing. The Christmas Faire, other fund raising activities, and the bottle/can collection all continue to play an important part in financially sustaining our Parish community. These positive trends allowed St. Athanasius to continue to not solicit funds through either a fall “Grand Annual” or emergency fund raising effort in order to support capital/building budget items. Fr. Colarusso would like to acknowledge everyone who responded to the increased offertory campaign, but points out that we would need to repeat the number of one time gifts in order to meet the total revenue we received last year. Please reach out to him if you can help in this manner. Looking forward, the Finance Council has guarded optimism that we at St. Athanasius Parish can continue to meet our day to day expenses. Caveats being that we need continual commitment to both the increased offertory and one time gifts. Manageable operating costs such as compensation and maintenance related expenses continue to be aggressively controlled. Similar to our own personal finances, some expenses such as heat, insurance, and retirement related costs are beyond the control of the Parish. The main area of concern is that we still have very limited rainy day funds and do not have a funding mechanism to grow funds for unexpected expenses or long-term capital projects. The weekly offertory is our major source of revenue, so we need your continued support to be viable as a parish. Also, please consider the convenience and consistency of offertory Electronic Funds Transfers. Lastly, if you can help out a little more on a weekly basis, that would be greatly appreciated, too. Your financial support continues to be critical to sustaining both the stability and expanded parish outreach of the St Athanasius community. Thank you again for your generosity! Respectfully, Saint Athanasius Parish Finance Council Bill Monagle, Joseph McDonagh, Dino Cuscuna

4

St. Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

December 18, 2016 Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2016

June 30, 2015

Income Collections

408,346

376,308

Offerings, Bequests, and Flowers

73,610

45,172

Fundraising Activities

31,145

34,162

Tuition and Fees

54,947

44,549

Investment Income

1,063

1,093

Rental Income

10,948

9,685

Other Revenue

7,074

4,640

Total Income

$587,133

$515,608

Expenses Compensation

313,181

293,986

Employee Taxes Benefits & Costs

43,332

54,637

Pastoral & Liturgical Costs

25,080

20,568

Administrative and Office Expense Professional Development

45,004 457

44,833 692

Fund Raising Costs

9,337

6,269

Property Costs

66,388

76,082

Tithe - Archdiocese

40,175

31,847

Total Expenses

$542,954

$528,914

Net Operating Income (Loss)

$44,179

$(13,306)

5

St. Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

December 18, 2016

Parish Staff

Grade 1 Religious Education classes make their own Advent wreaths as part of their lesson ...

Pastor ………………………………. Reverend Darin V. Colarusso [email protected] Parochial Vicar………………………..Reverend Patrick Armano [email protected] Permanent Deacon………………………….Deacon Neil Sumner [email protected] Permanent Deacon…………..….………...Deacon Matt Baltier [email protected] Administrative Office Manager………………….. Nancy Sieger [email protected] Coordinator of Religious Ed……………………….. Jo-Ann Rossi [email protected] Music Director..………………………………………..John Donovan [email protected] Business Manager……………………………………...Janine Castro [email protected] Administrative Assistant ……………………….. Luann Barretto [email protected] Youth Ministry……………………………………….Brad Agostinelli [email protected]

Bulletin Submissions [email protected] By Monday 9 am READING FOOD PANTRY NEEDS December

Christmas Collection

Microwave Popcorn, Spaghetti Sauce, Raisins (6Pack), Hot Cocoa, Canned Meats & Fish (Turkey, Ham, Spam, Tuna, Sardines, & Chopped Clams, Laundry Detergent, Soap, Toothpaste, Kleenex

This Christmas, the collection will once again benefit the Clergy Health and Retirement Trust which cares for the needs of our priests. Our priests are always there for us; they share Christ’s good news, perform good works, and build communities of good faith. All are welcome to learn more and make a gift online at clergytrust.org. And don’t forget to find the Trust on Facebook by searching “@ClergyTrust.” Thank you in advance for your prayers and support.

Coffee Hour We need hosts for January 8 Contact Sophie at 781-944-9085 or sign up in the Parish Center. 6

841 Main Street Tewksbury, MA 01876 Clergy Health and Retirement Trust P.O. Box 424 Canton, MA 02021-0424

(978) 851-9103

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