Nov. 2016 to February 2017

Feb. 20 -- Each night of the winter season, a coalition of 20 Rockland houses of worship makes sure that one of its churches, synagogues, or mosques is open to receive the homeless. This group is called Helping Hands Safe Haven, and St. Ann’s Church has been involved with the program since its inception 12 years ago. Nine times this winter, parish volunteers provided a good, hot meal and overnight shelter for over 30+ guests. It takes a team of about 40 to make this happen for each block of days St. Ann’s hosts the homeless. Parishioners serve as bus drivers, cooks, servers, and overnighters.

This photo was taken the weekend of Feb. 17-19. More photos here.
 

Feb. 5 -- Members of Martha’s Hands, a new parish service group, were welcomed at the Feb. 5 meeting of the St. Ann’s Rosary Altar Society by president Maria Eskinazi (front row, second from right). Denise Oswald of Martha’s Hands (back row, second from left) spoke of the group’s work, making prayer shawls, hats, and lap blankets for the sick. Martha’s Hands meets the second Sunday of each month from 9:30 to 11:15 am at St. Ann’s School. All skill levels are welcome. 

Feb. 22 -- On Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, a Mass for the Brokenhearted was celebrated at St Francis of Assisi Church in West Nyack. This event was offered through the efforts of the cluster bereavement support team.

The mass was open to all those suffering heartache in their lives, whether from loss of a loved one, loss of relationship, joblessness, disease, mental illness, addiction, loneliness, etc. The celebrant was Fr. Robert McKeon, pastor of St Francis.

In the first reading from Isaiah 41:8-10, 13-14, we hear the Lord has chosen us and will not cast us off … He  tells us not to be dismayed. He will strengthen us and heal us.  ‘For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” We are reminded God grabs us by our right hand and will not let go.

The second reading was from the Gospel of Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus gave us the Beatitudes, speaking of the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are hungry, the persecuted.

The beautiful music liturgy included The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor, You are Mine, and On Eagles' Wings.

We each have our own story -- the Lord reminds us how near He is to us, He consoles us and will never abandon us. God knows our pain and anguish. In our suffering we become united to the sufferings of Christ. We come to Mass to unite our burdens with the sacrifice on the altar and to become what we receive. We become the body of Christ and strive to be the Body of Christ for others. Jesus feeds us with his body and our souls are healed. At Mass we come to say our Amen.

We closed with a final reflection on the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is natural (internal) -- we can do something about happiness in our lives. The life events that cause heartbreak often are not under our control, unbidden. Joy is supernatural (external) -- we have no control over joy. In times of great sadness and difficulty, it is helpful to pray for joy -- a supernatural gift that comes from God.

by Nancy Conroy

Dec. 18 -- A snowstorm the day before the Christmas Pageant closed the school and cancelled the costume distribution and rehearsal scheduled for that morning. But in the best "the show must go on" tradition, director Janet Fenton, her staff, stage crew, children's choir, and wonderful cast of narrators, angels, shepherds, Holy Family, and Kings managed to nail down all the details the next day in a dress rehearsal between the 8:45 mass and 11:30 mass performance. 

For more photos of the cast getting ready, please click here. Then click on a photo to enlarge it, and scroll through the slide show.

Dec. 18 -- More than any holiday, Christmas is a time for stories. That's not too surprising, for the memory of what happened on that Holy Night lives in our hearts as a story we've been passing on for more than 2,000 years now.

The children of St. Paul and St. Ann's retold that story again as a Christmas pageant -- the coming of the Angel Gabriel to Mary with the news that she was to be the Mother of God, the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of the Child Jesus in the stable, the coming of angels and shepherds, and the Three Kings.

And like the generations before us, we listened in wonder to the re-enactment in songs and story of how Love was born on that night so long ago with the coming of the Child whom prophets called Emmanuel,  "God With Us." 

The pageant was directed by Janet Fenton and performed at the 11:30 Children's Mass at St. Ann's Church.

More photos, click here.  Click on a photo to enlarge it, and then scroll through the slide show.

 

Dec. 18 -- Saint Nicholas, himself (the fourth century Bishop of Myra, that is) made a visit to the Children's Mass at St. Ann's Church. Some said the saint looked remarkably like Deacon Luke Conroy, but the children were delighted and swarmed about him at the reception in the school cafeteria following the mass.

More photos here. Click on a photo to enlarge it, and then scroll through the slide show.

Nov. 17, 2016 -- Two days before the annual Thanksgiving distribution of food for the needy at St. Paul's on Saturday, Nov. 19, Don Paoli, Kim Cardazzi and their crew of adults and students were busy preparing the bags of foodstuffs for the over 500 people who were anticipated.

In a room in the building behind the main school, St. Paul's Food Cupboard volunteers had organized an efficient assembly line, along which each student moved a shopping bag down the length of a 20-foot line of tables, collecting canned vegetables, stuffing mix, applesauce, and other fixings for a full, traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

The students, from Nyack and Clarkstown schools, were earning community service hours, but their laughter and comaraderie showed that they were enjoying their opportunity to do some very important work for others. There was no fooling around -- and soon the loaded bags of food were filling the floor space along the far wall.

Still to come later were the turkeys, provided by the Hudson Valley Food Bank, the Pearl River Elks, and through a grant from the Cornell Co-operative Extension. Besides their Saturday food distributions, the St. Paul's Food Pantry prepares special holiday bags for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. About 500 bags are prepared -- and a couple extra, so no one will go away empty-handed. For more photos, click here. Click on a photo to enlarge it, and then scroll through the resulting slide show.