St. John Bosco Parish

FAITH FORMATION 2022-2023

A New Direction
Registration Open July 25-September 2  

• Families will attend Mass and Class together once a month
  
• Children K-8 will learn and grow in faith alongside their parents
• Families will learn and share practices that help faith stick
• Materials will focus on the weekly Mass and gospel
• A Family Mass on Sunday morning will provide a separate Children’s Homily once a month
• Youth will be invited to participate more actively in the Mass
• An additional Family Sunday Evening Mass will be offered once a month with music by parish teens.
  
   

CURRENT MASS SCHEDULE

MASS SCHEDULE CHANGING
SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

To support this renewed celebration of the family and the Eucharist in our Faith Formation program, and in response to numerous requests from the parish at large, we are modifying the Sunday Mass schedule which will begin after Labor Day on Sunday, Sept 11th. -

• The Saturday Vigils at 4:00 PM St. Therese & 5:15 PM St. Mary, Sunday Mass at 7:30 AM St. Mary, and Daily Mass at 7:30 AM St. Mary will all remain the same.
  
  
• Starting after Labor Day, there will be a 9:00 AM Sunday Mass at St. Therese and a 10:30 AM Sunday Mass at St. Mary (in place of the current 9:30 & 11:30 Masses).
  
  
• Starting in October, there will be a Family Mass on the first Sunday of the month at the 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM Masses, during which children in Grades K-4 will be invited to the church hall for a Children's Liturgy of the Word. A section of the Hall will still be available for COVID seating/live-streaming.
  
  
• Starting in September, there will also be a new 6:30 PM Family Evening Mass one Sunday a month at St. Mary Church, following the Faith Formation schedule.

COVID UPDATE

The Archdiocese of Hartford has relaxed their liturgical COVID restrictions. Masking and social distancing is now up to the discretion of the individual. Socially-distant seating during Mass in the St. Mary Hall is still available for those who choose, and live-streaming of Sunday Mass will continue.

As of Saturday, May 22, 2021, the General Dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass in person on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation was lifted.

 
LIVE-STREAM MASS

For those who still need to watch from home, live-stream Mass every Sunday at 9:30 AM on our parish Facebook page or YouTube channel or watch anytime thereafter. 

If using YouTube, be sure to chose 1080p on the settings wheel for best video quality! You can also stream to a smart TV using YouTube or Facebook Watch apps, or plugging your phone/iPad into your smart TV using a HDMI cable. 

WORSHIP AIDS!

Click here to download our Aug 2022 Worship Aid!

Click here to download our Sep 2022 Worship Aid!

The churches are open for individual prayer during the following hours: 

St. Therese
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Mon-Fri)

St. Mary
7:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Mon-Sat)
7:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Sun)

The Parish Office is also open to in-person visitors
8:30 AM to 4:30 PM (Mon-Fri)

2023 MASS BOOK

FORWARD WITH FAITH

Forward with Faith (FWF) is a fundraising campaign by the Hartford Bishops Foundation to build a vibrant community of faith in the parishes, schools, and Catholic organizations in the Archdiocese of Hartford. Its goal is to raise long-term funds to empower our Church to stand prepared to serve future generations of Catholics. That is why this campaign is not only, or even principally, about the Archdiocese.

50% of funds collected through each local parish campaign will remain with the parish for specific projects outlined in a  case statement. Parishes that exceed their goals will receive 80% of those additional funds collected. This is an incredible opportunity for us to help our Archdiocese prepare for the future while taking care of our own parish needs. 

Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in this effort.  Thank you to all who have given thus far in the leadership phase to help make our campaign a success — we  have  already  reached  57%  of  our parish goal of $1,260,000! All gifts to the Forward with Faith campaign of any size are greatly appreciated!

For more information about how we will use the funds from the Forward with Faith campaign in our parish, click here.

For more information about the overall Forward with Faith campaign, visit https://forwardwithfaith.hartfordbishopsfoundation.org/

Click here to download the Annual Report of the Hartford Bishops' Foundation.

BIBLE IN A YEAR

Click here to see more information and links about "The Bible in a Year" Podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz! 

EVA.US/JOHNBOSCO

We have adopted a new way of communicating with you! You may receive an email or text message from the parish sent from our new system, Evangelus, run by the same company as our Parish App. This is not spam. We encourage you to open the message and follow the link to create a profile and select your preferred form of contact. Get emails or text messages directly to your phone during this time of social distancing, such as the link for live-streamed Mass each week. There will also be groups for you to join, just like on the Parish App. Visit eva.us/johnbosco to sign-up and let us know if you prefer to receive emails or text messages from us!

OFFERTORY - ONLINE, MAIL IN, OR DROP OFF!

The archdiocese urges that during this time parishioners who are absent from Mass make alternative provision for their weekly contributions since parishes depend on them for operation.  You can mail your offertory to the Parish Office (731 Main St.), drop off to the offertory box in the vestibule of either church during open hours, or sign up for Online Giving to make a recurring or one-time donation at https://www.saintjohnboscobranford.org/onlinegiving. 

 WELCOME TO
ST. JOHN BOSCO PARISH 

On June 29, 2017 the three Catholic parishes of Branford (St. Mary, St. Therese, and St. Elizabeth) were united into one parish named St. John Bosco Parish. This new, united parish will have the use of two church buildings: St. Mary Church and St. Therese Church. While St. Elizabeth Church will no longer have any regularly scheduled Masses, the parish family of St. Elizabeth will be a vital part of the new parish of St. John Bosco. We look forward to all the opportunities this merger will provide as our churches join together to form a more vibrant and prayerful Catholic community here in Branford.

 We are excited to welcome the patronage and guidance of St. John Bosco into the Branford Catholic community. If you would like to know more about our new name and the patron saint of our new, united parish, CLICK HERE to find information about his life and service in the Church.