Weekly Bulletin August 15/16 & 22/23
(A PDF version of the bulletin as printed is available here)
Seeking a Dynamic Leader for our Junior High Youth Group (Grades 7 & 8)
Do you love God, youth ministry, and the distinct daily thrill of communicating with beings whose primary emotional vocabulary is a heavy sigh?
We need a brave soul to guide our Jr. High Youth Group (comprised of 7th and 8th graders) through bi-monthly Sunday morning meetings (11:15 am-12:15 pm).
Why You’ll Love It
- The Challenge: Translate ancient scripture to humans who treat a two-minute car ride as a human rights violation.
- The Energy: Channel the intense, caffeinated mood swings of middle school into actual community.
- The Vibe: An open, progressive faith community that values questions over quietness.
What You Will Do
- Lead Sunday sessions for our Jr. High Youth Group during the FREP* year.
- Decode awkward silences and sudden outbursts of extreme laughter.
- Share snacks and snacks-based bribery.
- Help kids explore a loving, inclusive God.
For more information, please contact our Pastoral Minister of FREP and Social Justice Susan Rutkowski, Susan@Paulistcenter.org or 617-948-2426.
* Family Religious Education Program
Meet Colleen! – Eat Ice Cream! – Join the Realm Team!
Aug 8/9 and Aug 15/16
We invite you to meet our new Executive Director Colleen Burns after each of the Masses on August 15 & 16. We will gather in the auditorium where we will host an Ice Cream Social!
There will also be in-person guidance on Realm Connect, available on the weekends of Aug 8/9 and Aug 15/16. Assistance will be available to help you get up and running on Realm.
Live-Streaming
Find all the livestreams and recordings on youtube.com/ThePaulistCenter
- Sunday, August 16, 10am, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – YouTube Link
- Sunday, August 23, 10am, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time — YouTube Link
At the time of each livestream, the appropriate Order of Worship will be available at paulistcenter.org/order-of-worship.
Confirming Mass Intentions
We recently transitioned to a new recording system for Mass intentions and would like to verify that all upcoming intentions are correctly scheduled and that no recent intentions were inadvertently missed.
If you previously requested a Mass intention that you were not present for in June, July, August – or in the coming weeks/month, please send an email to norm@paulistcenter.org with the date, time and requested intention (name – living or memorial).
And for any new intentions, please stop by the reception area during the week, email Sal Whooley at sal@paulistcenter.org, or call 617-742-4460, to arrange for a Mass and/or if you wish to make a $10 donation for a Mass card. Thank you for entrusting these intentions to the Paulist Center Community and for helping us to ensure that all requests are honored as intended.
Creation Care ministry: Save the Date – October 4
On Sunday, October 4, after the 10am Mass, we will honor the close of the Season of Creation with “The Crisis in Plastic” presented by Phil Landrigan, M.D., of Boston College, a renowned pediatrician and public health expert. Phil’s lifelong work has focused on protecting children and communities from toxic environmental exposures and advancing healthier public policy. Save the date!
Daily Reflections for the Season of Creation
Once again this year the Creation Care ministry offers daily reflections from Sept 1 to Oct 4. Each provides a 2-minute “pause–reflect–act” opportunity. These are the same reflections as last year; if you received them before, you’ll receive them again (unsubscribing is easy). To subscribe (free), email: seasonofcreationdaily@gmail.com.
Welcome to a New FREP Year
Continuing the work of re-imagining our Family Religious Education Program (FREP)! Building on Last Year’s Foundation
Re-imagining FREP has been at the top of the pastoral plan for the past year. Last year, we began Phase 1 by streamlining the curriculum and placing special emphasis on the social justice theme of the dignity of all human beings. We met with teachers to streamline the curriculum and with parents to better understand what families need to raise children who love God and know that God loves them. Our goal was to keep what works and re-imagine how our program can continue to grow.
What’s New This Year
After considering your feedback and the input from our community meetings this past year, we are now rolling out Phase 2 of re-imaging FREP. This next phase will include more intentional ways to form the children of our community while strengthening the role of parents and families in that formation.
New offerings such as Family Pods and Parent Faith Formation, will complement our traditional religious education classes and create opportunities for parents and children to learn together, deepen relationships, and become more involved in the life of the Center.
The Details
Traditional Religious Education Classes – Grade-based classes, as have existed in the past, will meet approximately twice per month.
Family Pods – Families will be assigned to a group (pod) before the start of the FREP year. This group will include children, parents and grandparents and will meet five times over the course of the year. The intention is to offer an opportunity to get to know one another better and create community learning in a smaller intergenerational group rather than a large gathering. Families in each pod will share family traditions, holiday ideas, best practices on how to raise children in the Catholic faith, etc.
Parent Faith Formation – Four times a year, parents will get together during their child’s class time to drink coffee, eat food, and discuss faith formation topics that interest them.
Inclusive Confirmation Program – In our attempt to be a radically welcoming faith community, this year we will intentionally offer an inclusive confirmation program. This program considers that our community includes many neurodiverse children and teens and that we all learn differently. We are shifting to a supportive environment built on inclusive language, flexible learning spaces, and multimodal options for exploring faith. Your teens can engage through art, discussion, or movement, and we will collaborate directly with you to meet their unique sensory and processing needs. The Body of Christ is glorious, beautiful, and neurodiverse! All are welcome!
Looking Ahead
We are grateful for your continued partnership as we begin this new FREP year. Together, we hope to create a program that forms children in faith, strengthens families, and builds deeper community at the Paulist Center. The finalized calendar will be available next week, but please mark Sun, Sept 20 as our FREP Kick-off celebration and social!
Please Register!
Please take a moment to fill out your FREP registration at
https://www.paulistcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/FREP-Registration-Form-2026-2027.pdf
You can pay the registration fee online HERE or send a check to:
Paulist Center, 5 Park Street, Boston, MA 02108.
If you have any questions or concerns about any part of our programming, please contact Susan Rutkowski at susan@paulistcenter.org or 617-948-2426.
Thank you for your continued support of our Family Religious Education Program!
Upcoming Retreat For LGBTQ+ Catholics, Families, and Allies
September 11 – 13
Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center (West Hartford, CT)
New Ways Ministry is hosting a weekend retreat titled “Unfolding the Moral Life,” led by Fr. James Keenan, SJ. This retreat offers a restorative space of reflection, presentation, shared meals, and prayer for LGBTQ+ individuals, family members, and allies navigating faith and identity. Registration is $435 (includes overnight accommodations and all meals). Partial scholarships are available prior to August 31. To register or view the full schedule, visit NewWaysMinistry.org/unfolding or email info@NewWaysMinistry.org for more details.
Summer Adult Confirmation Classes at the Paulist Center
Four Consecutive Thursday Evenings – 6:30pm to 8:30pm
August 13: Introduce self…why are you here?
- Faith journey that got you to this point?
- What does it mean to be Catholic?
- Where is God in your life?
- How do you pray?
August 20: Baptism, Eucharist, Mass, Scriptures
August 27: Confirmation and Holy Spirit
September 3: Healing Sacraments: Anointing of the Sick, Reconciliation
Vocation/Service Sacraments: Marriage, Ordination
Paulist Center Young Adult Ministry (YAM) Needs Your Feedback!
If you’ve ever felt the desire to be involved in, have had a gripe with, or, have enjoyed being a part of YAM, we NEED to hear about it. In a moment of transition for the Young Adult Group, we have put together an anonymous survey to assist in discerning the future of the ministry. Please go here to access the survey. We appreciate your honesty and sincere suggestions as we aim to cultivate a community of friendship, spiritual care, and commitment to service.
Summer Young Adult Faith-Sharing Group Schedule
This summer all young adults (ages 18-39) are invited to join Young Adult Ministry’s weekly faith-sharing group, (almost) every Sunday immediately following the 6:00pm Mass in the 3rd Fl Library.
Gatherings will always include an invitation to check-in with the group, and a reflection on a brief text to be provided. These gatherings are a great way to get to know other Paulist Center young adults, and ‘center’ yourself as the week begins. We hope to see you there!
Faith sharing group sessions will occur:
- August: 8/2, 8/9, 8/16, and 8/23
LGBTQ+ Ministry at the Paulist Center
The Paulist Center welcomes LGBTQ+ identified individuals. The LGBTQ+ Ministry hosts occasional events and social gatherings. To be added to a confidential email listserv with announcements and information, contact Bob Bordone at bobbordone@gmail.com.
Stewardship
The Paulist Center receives no funding from outside sources. All costs to operate our ministries for both members and the wider Boston community, maintain the building, and pay our staff are supported solely by your financial donations. We are so grateful for your financial support! See paulistcenter.org/give/ways-to-give for a variety of ways to give to the Paulist Center.
Two options include:
Give a one-time or recurring donation using your bank account or credit card by visiting tinyurl.com/DonatePaulistCenter or scanning the QR code on this page outlined in blue. You can use this method for donations for specific programs, too, and, if you are a registered member with us, these donations will be included in a year-end tax statement sent to you for any donations that are tax deductible per IRS regulations. Giving by this method helps us with our budgeting and stewardship efforts.
Use Apple Pay or Google Pay by visiting donorbox.org/paulistcenter, scanning the QR code on the red cards in the pews, or scanning the QR code on this page outlined in red. Please note that these donations will not be included in any year-end giving tax records, and they solely support our general operations.
Community Gift
The Paulist Center gives 5% of our annual offertory to 52 other charitable organizations with missions consonant with our own. These organizations receive an equal amount from our annual offertory.
The Paulist Center gives 5% of our annual offertory to 52 charitable organizations with missions consonant with our own. These organizations receive an equal amount from our annual offertory.
The weekend of August 15 – 16 we raise up Casserly House – a place of welcome and connection for immigrants and a collaborative partner on neighborhood issues in Roslindale.
The weekend of August 22 – 23 we raise up Catholic Charities USA in their efforts to provide disaster relief to those suffering and displaced by fast-moving wildfires in and around Spokane.
Mass Intentions
Please stop by the reception area during the week, email Sal Whooley at sal@paulistcenter.org, or call 617-742-4460, if you would like to arrange for a Mass and/or purchase a Mass card:
- in memory of someone who has died,
- in honor of a special occasion,
- or for the special intentions of yourself or a loved one
LGBTQIA Catholic Collective
The Paulist Center is a member of the Greater Boston LGBTQIA Catholic Collective which offers monthly Zoom meetings for friends and family of LGBTQIA Catholics and could be a resource for Paulist Center members who are actively supporting their families in embracing transgender or nonbinary family members. Email greaterbostonlgbtqiacatholics@gmail.com for the meeting schedule and Zoom links. More info @ https:/www.bostonlgbtqiacatholics.org
Paulist Center Rosary Circle
All are welcome to the Paulist Center Rosary Circle which meets every Monday at 7:30pm via Zoom. ID: 487 503 158; passcode: 021078.
Do you have a special intention that you would like the Paulist Center Community to pray for? Our weekly Rosary Circle is happy to include your intentions (may be anonymous). Go here for the form.
Low-Gluten Hosts
Low-gluten hosts are available upon request. Please see the presider in the Chapel or Sacristy fifteen minutes before Mass and indicate where you will be seated in the Chapel so the communion minister in that section will have the low-gluten host for you at communion.
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction is an opportunity for one to reflect and share one’s life and prayer experience and be guided in one’s search for God. Spiritual Direction is available at the Center from Sister Kathleen Hagerty, CSJ, or Christopher O’Rourke.
Sister Kathleen can be reached at 617-755-9729.
Christopher can be reached at 617-817-3977.