St. Mark Catholic Parish

A Message from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
St. Mark’s Conference

October 2022

Dear Parishioners of St. Mark,

For many years the parishioners of St. Mark Church have supported those less fortunate in our own community through the support of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference here at St. Mark’s.

As you know, as a result of Covid-19, we were unable to continue providing food hampers to families.  Food distribution became centralized through The Food Bank of Waterloo Region at that time and a new food distribution system continues to develop.

Our SVDP conference continues to work with the various agencies involved in any way that we can, and will revisit options on how best to use our resources in the future.

While much continues to be unsettled, we appreciate your past support and wanted to let you know what we can as our community needs are as great as ever.

Part of the new food distribution system is the use of community centers being run by the House of Friendship.  We are currently in talks with the Forest Heights Community Center to see how we can pool our resources to aid families here in our community.

But for now, we are focused on Christmas.  We will be assisting the House of Friendship with this year’s Christmas program by providing volunteers and the use of our parking lot on December 16^th.  In addition, we will provide financial assistance if possible.  The number of families that can be supported through this program has been capped based on last year’s numbers.  But they are expecting more calls this year so we have offered to provide direct assistance to an additional 20 families in our area. 

Online registration for assistance with food or toys opens November 1^st at www.christmassupport.ca.  Separate forms must be filled out for food and toys.

You can again find a blue SVDP envelope in your box of offertory envelopes.  Any donation you make is deeply appreciated and will be used in our efforts this Christmas.

Sincerely,

St. Mark’s Conference Members
Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Available Food and Other Assistance Information

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region supports the Community Food Assistance Network – a system of 100+ community programs and agency partners.

A complete list of Hamper Programs, Community Center Food Distribution and Community Meals Programs can be found on their website:
www.thefoodbank.ca
and click on “Need Food?”

Alternatively, you can call:
519-743-5576 ext. 340

Included on this website for our area is:

Forest Heights Food Program
1700 Queens Boulevard
519-498-7328
This program runs weekly on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
* Identification with name and address is required. *

If you require support for other non-food services you can
visit the webpage of Region of Waterloo Community Services:
www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/community-services.aspx#
Alternatively, you can call 519-575-4400 and ask for assistance.

The Region’s website provides access to many programs including:

Ontario Works ……….……..     519-883-2100

Carizon Family Services …..    519-743-6333

KW Counselling Services …     519-884-0000

The House of Friendship ….     519-742-8327

Salvation Army ……………..     519-745-4215

Financial Support

If you are able, we hope you will consider continuing your financial support of the parish during periods of shut-down or reduced attendance.  When we are unable to open our doors or are limiting attendance due to restricted capacity, it means we do not receive regular contributions to help us pay our bills – which continue to come in.

Three options are available for donating to St. Mark Parish:

Monthly Pre-authorized Giving through your bank account – perhaps the easiest method.  You can request more information or enroll in this plan by emailing Pam at the parish office for a form (stmark@rogers.com).

Mail in your envelopes to the parish – 55 Driftwood Drive, Kitchener, ON N2N 3A2.

Online Giving (one-time or monthly) using your Credit Card, PayPal, or CanadaHelps Gift Card.  This is done online through the Diocese of Hamilton and your tax receipt will also come from the diocese, but your donation goes to the parish.  To use this method, please visit: www.hamiltondiocese.com/covid19parishfund and select *St. Mark Parish, Kitchener* from the drop-down menu (parishes are listed alphabetically by CITY).

Any of these methods would be truly and profoundly appreciated and would help the parish at a time of difficulty.
May God bless you for your generosity!

TELEVISED MASS:

Vision TV
(To find your channel, enter your postal code and service provider at www.visiontv.ca)
Sunday 8:00 a.m.
Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m., 12 noon
Saturday 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m.

Salt+Light TV
Find your Channel or Watch Live
Sunday 11:00 a.m., 10:30 p.m.
Monday–Saturday 6:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., 10:30 p.m.

YES TV
Find your Channel
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
Monday–Saturday 1:00 p.m.

ONLINE MASS:

Local Parishes
The diocese has gone to considerable effort to compile a list of local parishes who are uploading or streaming their own Masses.
As well, His Excellency Bishop Crosby will celebrate Sunday Mass from the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King, televised Sundays at 11:00 a.m. on Cable 14 and at 1:00 p.m. on CHCH TV.

YouTube
YouTube offers many channels that upload Daily and Sunday Masses.  Here are two popular ones:  Bishop Robert Barron and National Catholic Broadcasting Council

 

Lectio Divina is a Latin term, meaning “divine reading” and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us.

The first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer but the passage should not be too long.

The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

The third stage is oratio (response) where we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

The final stage of Lectio Divina is contemplatio (rest) where we let go not only of our own ideas, plans and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still small voice.

If you would like to incorporate the Lectio Divina into your life,
visit the website of the Order of Carmelites in Italy here:
http://ocarm.org/en/lectio-divina.
Once there, simply browse for the correct day of the week,
and click on “Read more.”