Christmas Wishes
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2013 to all parishioners and friends of St. Francis Parish.
Fr. Andrzej, Monika, Adam, Robert, and the Parish Committee
Christmas
Christmas Holy Masses at St. Francis, East Meadow
December 24th, Vigil of the Nativity (Christmas Eve)
Shepherd’s Holy Mass at 9 PM – Celebration of the Eucharist
December 25th, Solemnity of the Nativity (Christmas)
Christmas Morning Holy Mass at 9 AM – Celebration of the Eucharist
Christmas Holy Masses at St. Francis, East Meadow Read More »
Christmas Fundraiser Dinner
Come join us for our annual Christmas Fundraiser Dinner at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 2nd.
Celebrate Christmas with delicious traditional holiday dishes! Great food and tons of fun! Lots of Raffles… and St. Nicholas will be there for the kids!
Loads of great raffles, prizes & caroling.
R.S.V.P by November 28th to Carol Thomas at (516) 546-2535. Seating is limited to 80. When you call for reservations, please leave your name, phone number and the number of adults and/or children (ages & sex so St. Nick can bring an appropriate gift) in your party. Tickets $15 for adults and $6 for children.
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Christmas Fundraiser Dinner
Come celebrate Christmas at St. Francis on Sunday, December 4th at 3pm. We will be serving delicious traditional holiday dishes! There will be great food and tons of fun! Lots of raffles, prizes & caroling too…and St. Nicholas will be there for the kids!
Seating is limited to 80. Please call for reservations, leave your name, phone number and the number of adults and/or children in your party (note each child’s age & sex so St. Nick can bring an appropriate gift).
Tickets are $15 for adults and $6 for children.
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Christmas Holy Mass Schedule
Christmas Eve, Vigil of the Nativity Shepherd’s Mass will be held on Friday, December 24th at 9:00 p.m. Come Rejoice!
Our Christmas Tradition continues. Please join us in the Parish Hall after Shepherd’s Mass for our special time to share a meal together, listen and care for one another. Let us know what food/dessert item you’d like to contribute (so far we’ve got: cold cuts, rolls, kielbasa, sausage bread, borsch soup, babka & chrusciki).
Christmas Day, Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord, December 25th… Holy Mass will be held at 9:00 a.m.
Solemnity of the Humble Shepherds, Sunday, December 26th… Holy Mass will be held as usual at 9:00 a.m.
Christmas Holy Mass Schedule Read More »
St. Francis’ celebrates the Christmas season
From EastMeadowPatch: St. Francis Christmas Dinner Spreads Holiday Cheer: St. Francis’ congregation celebrates the holiday season
The holiday spirit was bustling in East Meadow on Sunday at the St. Francis Polish National Catholic Church. The congregation held their annual Christmas fundraiser dinner. There were approximately 80 members in attendance, making the event full and joyous.
The congregation adopts a family in need every year. St. Francis fundraises through this dinner to provide necessities for that family.
“We have three dinners a year, but this dinner is meant to fundraise for the family that we adopt,” Reverend Andrzej Koterba explained.
The evening was full of festivities. Throughout the church hall, there were smells of homemade Christmas dinner, sounds of happy chatter and children running around, excited at the thought of meeting Santa Claus.
Giving is definitely a sentiment that the church members were comfortable with. The congregation held a raffle where almost all members participated. A donation box for the adopted family was brimming with dollar bills. The church also had a “wish list tree,” a tree filled with cards on ornaments that list an item that the church needs. Churchgoers are able to pick any ornament that they want, and then they can purchase and donate that item to the church. Everyone was so willing to give generously, which contributed to the true Christmas spirit felt throughout the evening.
St. Francis also gave out Polish wafers. The wafers are used at Christmas dinner on Christmas everyone breaks off a piece of the wafer, symbolizing peace for the year to come.
The children, especially Natalie, 5, and Adam, 4, were more than happy to chat with a newcomer. They both eagerly explained what they wanted Santa Claus to bring them: a Lego jet, Batman, a glowdome and a remote control helicopter.
Before digging in to the wonderful home-cooked meal, Reverend Koterba delivered a beautiful blessing on the food.
A surprise visitor came in the middle of the raffle, ringing jingle bells and jollily greeting the children – it was Santa Claus! He gave a gift to each of the children in attendance, who were delighted to sit on his lap and smile for a lovely picture.
The night offered a sense of family and home that is rare. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and loving.
“We welcome everybody and we appreciate greatly the generosity of our congregation,” Joni Blenn, the vice president, said.
View photos of the celebration at EastMeadowPatch.
St. Francis’ celebrates the Christmas season Read More »
Christmas Dinner
St. Francis Polish National Catholic Church will hold its annual Christmas Dinner on Sunday, December 5th at 3 p.m.
Celebrate Christmas with delicious traditional holiday dishes! There will be great food and tons of fun! Lots of raffles, prizes & caroling… and St. Nicholas will be there for the kids!
Tickets are $15 Adults, $6 Children. Seating is limited to 80. When you call for reservations, please leave your name, phone number, and the number of adults and/or children (ages & sex so St. Nick can bring an appropriate gift) in your party.
Please R.S.V.P by December 1st to Carol Thomas at (516) 546-2535.
A beautiful gift, a lasting memory
In this season of giving, our Parish of St. Francis received a very kind and generous gift, on the Feast of the Epiphany (The Feast of the Kings).
Our need called for an outdoor Nativity to display. This Sunday we received this beautiful gift, of an eleven piece set, detailed to perÂfection, three foot in height.
The Nativity was given in Memory of Å›p. +Anna Ruggiero, who was called to eternal life on Christmas Day, December 25, 2009. The Nativity was donated by Å›p. +Anna’s daughter Maria and William Piro.
We note that Anna so loved Christmas for its spiritual and family orientation. This will remain a lasting and enduring gift giving to many for years to come. Anna, we know returned to God on Christmas. She is now witnessing the greatest gift of gifts, Jesus Himself, the Son of God. In this knowledge we extend our continued thoughts and prayers.
Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and may the perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.
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Our Prime Bishop’s Christmas Letter – December 2009
To my dear brother Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and Faithful of the Polish National Catholic Church:
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As Prime Bishop it is my privilege and distinct pleasure to extend greetings and best wishes to the entire Polish National Catholic Church. All of us are now making preparations to celebrate the Nativity of Christ, Christmas. We will again be reminded of the birth of the Christ Child as recorded in Luke 2:11: ” … to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is the Messiah, the Lord.” We will send and receive Christmas cards, sing the beautiful Christmas carols, and read and listen to the Holy Scriptures that proclaim the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem–that event that changed the whole course of history and even today changes the lives of those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
Each year we are reminded that Christmas is that Solemnity that brings us hope, joy, love and peace in Christ Jesus. We know that “… God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.”- John 3:16. So all of our celebrations should focus on the fact that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came into the world as the Child in Bethlehem to save us from our sins and to unite us with our Heavenly Father. Hopefully, we will be strengthened in our understanding of this fundamental truth through the Christmas carols that we sing, as well as with the customs and traditions we uphold during the Christmas season.
Therefore, let us make sure that we include Jesus Christ in all of our preparations and in all of our celebrations, for His coming to this earth is the only reason why we celebrate Christmas. Also, let us make sure to prepare a place for Jesus in our hearts! Our Holy Church calls for us to rejoice because Jesus, the Promised One, the Messiah, has come. Let us reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas with every Christmas carol we sing, every Christmas card we send, every Christmas gift we give and every good deed that we do during this holy season. May each of our actions bring that heavenly joy not only to us, but to others as well. May our words and good deeds be a living testimony of our love, honor and respect for the Christ Child of Bethlehem.
When we gather together with family and friends and break the Christmas wafer at the vigil supper or on Christmas Day, let us remember Jesus. When we go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day let us welcome the Christ Child into our hearts, remembering how the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to see and welcome the Christ Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Let us give Him praise and honor as we worship Him during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. Just as the three Magi came to adore our Blessed Lord and to present their gifts to Him, let us adore Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament and offer Him our gifts–our love, our hearts, our talents, our all.
May this Christmas will be one filled with the blessings of the Christ Child for you and your families. May all of us continue to show our love, dedication, service, sacrifice and devotion to Christ through our Polish National Catholic Church. Let us also remember to give thanks to God for the abundant blessings we have received during 2009 and for all of the good that has been accomplished through our Holy Church during this year. May the hope, love, peace and joy of Christ be yours at Christmas and throughout the New Year 2010.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Wesołych Świat Bożego Narodzenia i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku! Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo! Linksmų Šv. Kalėdų, laimingų Naujųjų metų! Vesele Vianoce i na zdravie v novom roku! Veselé Vánoce a šťastný nový rok! Buon Natale e felice Anno Nuovo!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich Prime Bishop
Our Prime Bishop’s Christmas Letter – December 2009 Read More »