St Mary's Church, Swormville

This weekend is “We Care – We Share” when non-perishable grocery donations are accepted at the entrances to the church. St. Mary's Society of St. Vincent de Paul delivers the groceries to soup kitchens and food pantries in Buffalo, Lockport, Tonawanda, and Clarence.

Disciples make an impact! Please sign up to help out tomorrow for St. Mary's Day of Service. https://www.stmaryswormville.org/page/st-marys-day-of-service

Wednesday Evening Rosary, tonight, 7- 8 PM in the chapel.

Just a quick reminder: now through Labor Day, St. Mary's Daily Masses (7 AM and 9 AM) will be held in the church.

Others need your help! More volunteers are needed for our parish Day of Service this Saturday, June 10. Details here: https://www.stmaryswormville.org/article/1135927

VBS 2023 will be "Stellar"! Click on this link for details, registration, volunteering: https://www.stmaryswormville.org/o/smsp/page/vacation-bible-school-2023

St. Mary School fifth graders are developing as Disciples of Christ. They enjoyed spending some quiet time in the church yesterday during Religion class. Students read Ephesians 4: 1-16 (“Live a life worthy of the calling you have received…”), then completed a personal reflection on their own special gifts and talents.

A few days ago the second graders were able to color the last square on their Easter Season calendar! Throughout the season, they enjoyed keeping track of all 50 days, and were excited to color the picture for Pentecost!

Many more disciples are needed to make an impact on St. Mary's Day of Service, ​Saturday, June 10, 2023. Please join us in service to others. Volunteers are invited to attend 9:00 am Mass at St. Mary's and gather for a blessing after Mass before proceeding to their service sites. This year, we have three service options from which to choose. For details on each and to sign up, click on the service activity below: Gardening & Activities at Brothers of Mercy: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054caba72fa7fd0-20232#/ Making Blessing Bags for the Homeless: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054caba72fa7fd0-blessing#/ Planting & Gardening at St. Mary’s: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054caba72fa7fd0-20231#/

Today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Gospel Lk 1:39-55 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever."

Memorial Day traditions continued with the celebration of Mass in St. Mary's parish cemetery and the Alfred Jurek American Legion Post wreath ceremony at the American flag at the northern corner of the school.

St. Mary's Parish and Finance Councils, School Board and Home School Association have issued a joint statement regarding the recent news about Fr. Luke Uebler's reassignment and the Family of Parishes. Use this link or go to the News section of either website. https://www.stmaryschoolswormville.org/o/school/article/1130565

We have recently learned that, effective July 1st, the new Pastor of our Family of Parishes will be Rev. Thomas M. Mahoney. Fr. Tom was born and raised in Depew where he attended Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. He went on to receive an Accounting degree from Niagara University after which he worked in Public Accounting for nine years and as a Chief Financial Officer for ten years. He was ordained on June 6, 2015, served at St. Gregory the Great Church for four years, was the administrator at St. Peter's in Lewiston for several months, and has been the Pastor at Infant of Prague Parish for the last 3 years. Fr. Tom is looking forward to getting to know our St. Mary's family and his new Family of Parishes.

​Rev. Luke Uebler, III announced during Masses this weekend that beginning July 1, 2023, Fr. Thomas Mahoney will be the new pastor of our Family of Parishes which includes St. Mary's Church (Swormville), St. Teresa of Avila (Akron), Our Lady of Peace (Clarence), and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Harris Hill). Fr. Tom will be coming to our Family from Infant of Prague in Cheektowaga. Ministering together with him will be parochial vicars Fr. Art Mattulke, Fr. Walter Szczesny, and Fr. Joe Franz. Fr. Luke Uebler has been named the pastor of St. Raphael (Niagara Falls), St. Peter (Lewiston), and St. Bernards (Youngstown), also effective July 1st. ​As we go through this time of transition, we keep our Prayer for Renewal in our minds and hearts. St. Mary's Faith Community is truly grateful for the faith-filled leadership and friendship that Fr. Luke has shared with us. We will miss his smile, enthusiasm, humility, and love of the Lord. At the same time, we welcome Fr. Tom and his team of parochial vicars to St. Mary's and look forward to continuing our spiritual journey with them in service to God and others.

Ascension Thursday's 9 AM and 7 PM Masses will be live streamed for those that are homebound.

The St. Mary’s Forever Young Group meets this Wednesday, May 17 at 7 pm in the parish center. Our guest speaker will be Ava Thomas from the Family Justice Center. The topics are domestic violence and elder abuse. All parishioners over 55 are invited to join us. Refreshments will be served. Any paper or soap donations to the parish food pantry are appreciated. Questions? Call Pat at 335-8475.

Where at SMS is Holly? Today she is our newest BEE! Thanks to Cecilia Trigilio and Holly for boosting our school spirit! Thursday is 'Be a Bee for Day" when SMS will welcome prospective students to shadow and parents can take a tour. Details are on the school website.

BE A BEE FOR A DAY OR TOUR ST. MARY SCHOOL THURSDAY, MAY 18, 9 AM - 1 PM Prospective 2023-2024 students are invited to spend the day (shadow) with their potential classmates and parents are invited to take an on-school-time tour to see our bees in action! Registration is required for this event. Please submit the "Be a Bee"/Take a Tour Registration Form to participate: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxyfSDoJRYtL6XSIQ1w26HOvg_PQdT-rbrh9kWX8bNQh4j0Q/viewform

Wednesday Evening Rosary tomorrow, May 10, 7 PM, in the chapel

First Communicants at 9:30 Mass today were on hand for the May Crowning.