Living Water Catholic: new collaborative website replaces hfamesbury.com and hfamesbury.blogspot.com

Holy Family and Star of the Sea Parishes, the newly formed Amesbury - Salisbury Catholic Collaborative now which collaborative is to be known as Living Water Catholic, together are pleased to announce the launch of the new website for the collaborative - livingwatercatholic.org. 

Why Living Water Catholic? God our Creator has blessed the Amesbury and Salisbury communities with an abundance of water - lakes, ponds, rivers and the ocean. Water also has a religious and spiritual meaning. The two parish communities are bound together in faith born in the waters of baptism. When Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, he offers her the gift of living water.

All are invited to explore livingwatercatholic.org, an important tool for communication and the new evangelization for and in the two parishes.

Jesus  answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."   

John 4:10

THIS CONCLUDES ENTRIES INTO THIS WEBSITE.

Walking in the Light as children of Christ

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SNOWCAMPS 2015 - A HUGE SUCCESS!!!

The weekends of February 27-March 1 and March 6-8, over 200 junior high students and 225 high school and adult staff attended SNOWCAMPS at Camp Brookwoods in Alton, NH, where they learned that God wants to “See You at the Party”.  There were 25 campers and 30 staff members from Holy Family Parish and Star of the Sea Parish who participated in this fun filled, high energy, spiritual growth experience. This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of SNOWCAMPS! 

Thank you to all who supported us in prayer and financially. 

Father Ixon - TV Mass Celebrant

Father Ixon regularly celebrates Mass on Catholic TV. 

Welcome newly Baptized Olivia and Leo

You have put on Christ! Olivia with parents John & Kim.

Receive the light of Christ. Leo Charles with parents John & Karen.

The Heart of the Cross - a Passion Play

Photo by C. Leblanc

 The play brought to life the passion and spirit of Easter through the love, faith and triumph of five women who loved Jesus.

  The women in the play, all played by Actress Olivia Woodford of the Healing Theatre of Durham, NC, gave witness and recounted the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection. These extraordinary events were re-told with devotion, humor and great feeling: A young girl sneaks up the stairs to watch The Last Supper; Veronica watches Jesus carry the cross; Mary Magdalene watches Him die on the cross and later is at the tomb when He rises; Mother Mary cleanses and buries Him; and Martha wonders at the events of Pentecost.

FATHER SCOTT'S MARCH PRAYER INTENTIONS

Father Scott invites you to join in his prayer intentions for March 2015:

·         - For all of our members preparing for the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, or Confirmation... For Tim Tuxbury, our adult candidate for Confirmation and Eucharist and reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

·         - That members of our Pastoral Council and Finance Councils will benefit from their Evangelization Training.

·        -  That as we prepare for the Easter feast we may seek a change of heart, give ourselves to prayer, and persevere in good works.

·        -  For an end to oppression and human trafficking, especially of children and women.

Saint Andrew's Dinner - learning about the vocation of priesthood

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Hugh Buxbaum and his Mom attended the Saint Andrew's Dinner hosted by Cardinal Sean for high school students who may be interested in the vocation of priesthood. Joining them for the informative evening were Father Scott and Father Ixon. (Pray for vocations.)

St. Andrew’s Dinner is a gathering for young men in high school to join Cardinal Seán O’Malley and their parish priest, campus minister, youth minister and others for an informal dinner. The evening consists of Evening Prayer, dinner, conversation with seminarians and vocation witness stories. St. Andrew Dinners are named after the apostle, who, in the Gospel according to John, brought his bother Simon Peter to meet Jesus. These dinner's in the Archdiocese of Boston are an opportunity for all priests and youth ministers to invite high school men from their parish to meet with the Cardinal and some seminarians, to have prayer and dinner with them, to listen to witness presentations, and to ask the Cardinal questions about responding to God's call.

Celebrating Ashes with Father Scott

Ashes are a reminder and call to penance for all the faithful. The act of imposing ashes symbolizes human mortality and fragility and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God.

Septenber SVdP WALK 4 the POOR featured in Newburyport News February Spotlight

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A Rare Desistance

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  Parish Closed Sun. 2/15 due to BLIZZARD and WIND CHILL warnings.
No Sunday Masses.

Father Scott's February Prayer Intentions

Father Scott invites you to join in his prayer intentions for February 2015:

That Tim Tuxbury, our candidate for reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the sacraments of confirmation and Eucharist, may grow daily in his fidelity to his baptismal covenant.

That all the members of our parishes may fruitfully employ the Lenten season to renew themselves through self-denial and works of holiness.

That members of our staff will benefit from their leadership training (February 24-26).

That many members of our parishes will provide important input for our pastoral plan by participating in the Disciple Maker Index.

That God may provide strength and support to those addicted to alcohol and/or drugs, especially to those addicted to heroin.

Record January snowfall closes Holy Family Religious Ed three Mondays in a row!

Photo by R. Murphy via Amesbury Talks FB Post - Click to enlarge.

Hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.  

(Daniel 3:70)

Singing praise on a snowy day at Star of the Sea.

SOUPER BOWL OF CARING SCORES BIG AT HOLY FAMILY

 

On Super Bowl Weekend, the 4th grade Religious Education classes, as part of Holy Family's 1st Sunday Food Drive Ministry, participated at all the Masses in the Souper Bowl of Caring, a partnership of people throughout the U.S. who were responding to God's gracious love by loving their neighbors. Our generous parishioners donated $738.74 and an overflowing wagon of canned/boxed goods that will support the needs of the hungry people of Amesbury through Our Neighbors Table. 

Last year, over 10,500 congregations and organizations across the country participated in the Souper Bowl of Caring and they raised $9.8 million to care for the hungry and hurting people. With God's help, ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

WINGS: THE IMPORTANCE OF BIBLE STUDY

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LIFT MINISTRIES AT HOLY FAMILY

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Staff News

Members of the one staff serving both Holy Family and Star of the Sea Parishes traveled to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Braintree, MA, on Wednesday, January 7, and Thursday, January 8, to participate in Evangelization Training. On Wednesday, they heard presentations, had conversations about and participated in activities on many topics including:

• The structure, method, content and audience of the New Evangelization.
• Staff’s role in the New Evangelization.
• How to propose the Gospel.
• The universal call to holiness and ongoing conversion for each of us 
•  The phases of intentional discipleship.
•  How to witness (share personal testimony).

Thursday's presentations, discussions and activities were centered on:

• Living the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) by forming disciples.
• How parishes can become centers for the new evangelization.
• Using "gateway moments" (Funeral, Baptism, Marriage, RCIA, First Eucharist, Confirmation, etc.) as opportunities for evangelization

There also were times for prayer at the beginning and end of the day as well as celebration of the Eucharist (Mass) in the middle of the day.

The staff will participate in leadership training on February 24, 25 and 26.