Mar. 06 – ICF, 5:30 p.m., Chapel Basement
Mar. 6/13 – Appalachia Trip
Mar. 07 – A.A. Mtg. 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., Chapel Basement
Mar. 07 – UConn Spring Break
Mar. 8/12 - A.A. Mtg., 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., Chapel Basement
Mar. 08 – Covenant Explorers, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Library
Mar. 10 – Finance Mtg., 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Library
Mar. 10 - A.A. Mtg. 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Chapel Basement
Mar. 10 – Faith Sharing, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Library
Mar. 10 – RCIA, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Chapel Music Room
Mar. 10 - Lenten Taize Service - 7:00 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel
Mar. 11 – Life Line Screening, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Aquinas Center
Mar. 11 – Bldg. /Grounds Mtg., 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Music Room
Mar. 11 – Focus, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Lobby
Mar. 11 – Mass, 8:00 p.m., Chapel
Mar. 12 – ICF, 5:30 p.m., Chapel Basement 
Mar. 12 – Stations of the Cross, 7:00 p.m., Chapel
Mar. 13 – Roundtable, 6:00 p.m., Lobby
Mar. 14 - A.A. Mtg. 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., Chapel Basement
Mar. 14 – RCIA, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Library
Mar. 16 - Haiti Memorial Mass - 10:30 a.m., St. Patrick's Cathedral
Mar. 17 - Lenten Taize Service - 7:00 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel
Mar. 24 - Lenten Taize Service - 7:00 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel
Mar. 30 – Chrism Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Please note:

• Holy Week/Easter Schedule
• Deanery meeting information
• Bottle and cans collection suspended.
• 2009 Contributions Statements
• Flu Season Information  

Ongoing
	Healthy Spiritual Giving - Stewardship
	Donate to Banque Agapé
	St. Thomas Haiti Committee News
	Liturgy Committee Meeting Minutes
	Gluten-Free Hosts
	Electronic Funds Transfer
	Printer-ready PDF Brochure: Opportunities to Grow in the Knowledge of Our Faith & in Our Experience of God

Faith Sharing Group Meeting
The Faith Sharing Group will be meeting every other Wednesday during each month. The next meeting is scheduled for March 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library. We will explore methods to slow down and find God in places we never thought to look. We will alternate discussion of Richard Rohr’s “The Naked Now” with viewing and discussing DVD's on spiritual topics. For more information contact Betty Ann Marsland at (860)870-4396 or email at bamarsland@sbcglobal.net.

Lenten Taizé Prayer Service
St. Mark’s is having a Taizé Prayer Service at 7:00 PM, on Thursday evenings during Lent. All are invited to attend. Taizé Prayer Services are ecumenical and include song, scripture readings, and meditation. Songs from Taizé have been used at St. Thomas. Please plan to spend some time in prayer with our covenant neighbors.

Rescheduled Memorial Mass
On Tuesday, March 16, at 10:30 a.m. Bishop Michael Cote will Preside and Father Gerry Kirby will be Principal Celebrant at a Memorial Mass for victims of the Haitian Earthquake, especially for family members and friends of our local Haitian communities who lost their lives in this tragic event. This Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, 70 Central Avenue, Norwich, CT. Light refreshments will be provided immediately following Mass. All priests are invited to concelebrate. All members of the diocese are invited to join us. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti during this difficult time.

2009 Contributions Statements
A copy of your 2009 contribution statement for your taxes is available upon request. Please contact Joan Giannelli at (860)429-6436, ext 206 or email her at jgiannelli@charterinternet.com.

Chrism Mass
This year, Bishop Michael R. Cote, D.D., invites you to the Chrism Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on Tuesday, March 30, at 10:30 a.m. The Chrism Mass is the celebration during which the sacred Chrism is consecrated and the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of the Catechumens are blessed. These oils are sanctified for use at the Cathedral and in all parishes for baptism, confirmation, the anointing of the sick and for the ordination of priests. Together the three oils symbolize the sacramental life of the Church. Three of our parishioners from St. Thomas will be sent to represent our parish at this Mass and to receive the holy oils for the parish. Since the Chrism Mass is truly a Diocesan event ALL parishioners are invited, and we would like as many people as possible to be present.

EFT Makes a Difference
We are now in the process of putting together the parish budget for 2009-2010. It is clear that use of the Electronic Funds Transfer system (EFT) has resulted in an increase in financial support for St. Thomas. EFT is fully safe, confidential and easy to start. Please consider this way of supporting your parish—it makes financial decisions easier for you and makes St. Thomas much more secure. Information and enrollment sheets are available, or you can always contact Joanne at the Parish Office (x210).

Can and Bottle Donations Suspended
Thank you for your generous donations of cans and bottles to St. Thomas over the years. The proceeds from redeeming cans and bottles have gone towards numerous worthwhile projects, including helping to finance students’ trips to Haiti. Due to the excessive accumulation of bottles and cans and as well as sanitary issues, we are no longer accepting donations. Feel free to collect bottles and cans at home for we are working on an alternative plan.

St. Thomas Haiti Committee News
In addition to our sponsorship program for Ecole Agape in Lilavois, Haiti, which serves close to one hundred children, our committee has made other donations with monies from our fundraisers. We are now in the sixth year of a Tierney-Tobin School sponsorship through the Diocese and we continue to support a family in Jeramie as well as contribute to a clinic in the south of Haiti. Last week we delivered to New York over 200 toothbrushes, tooth pastes, soaps, washcloths, as well as shoes and clothing to be shipped to the poor in Livavois. Please be sure to support our next fundraiser in October so we can continue this work.

An Opportunity To Give
Thank you for your donations to Banque Agape, our small wooden banks in chapel and center. Your continuing gifts of coins and bills in any amount small or large are especially appreciated in these summer weeks when so many are away on vacation. All funds collected go toward the support of Ecole Agape, our school in Lilavois, Haiti, and other projects that help Haitians to help Haitians.

Gluten Free Hosts
It has come our attention that there is a need for gluten-free hosts. We will have a supply of them available at Communion time in a separate pyx. If you are one of these people, please see the celebrating priest before the Mass and be in his line to receive Our Lord. Peace, Fr. John.

Flu Season: Taking Care of a Sick Person

Goals:

• Get the sick person well.
• Avoid infecting others.

The Designated Caregiver should:

• Be just one person per household who does NOT have medical conditions that would put that person at special risk from the flu.
• Call your medical provider to
  1. Report the illness
  2. See if the sick person requires special care because of a preexisting health condition
  3. Check to see if antiviral medications or over-the-counter remedies should or should not be given

• Isolate the person away from others in another room.
• Do not have visitors in the home.
• Wear a face mask when tending to the sick person.
• Thoroughly disinfect daily.
• horoughly and frequently wash hands with soap and water.
• Watch for warning signs that the person needs to get emergency medical care.

• Stay home from work or school.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Avoid dehydration.
• Eat nutritious meals.
• Wear a face mask whenever in a common area of the home.
• Cover coughs and sneezes.
• Thoroughly and frequently wash hands with soap and water.

More information and detail can be found at:    http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare_directions.htm    and
http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/caregivers/index.html

To avoid getting the flu:

• Get flu vaccinations, particularly if you are in the high risk group,
• Stay home if you are ill,
• Refrain from shaking hands or holding hands,
• Frequently clean things that infected individuals may have touched such as doorknobs, refrigerator handles, remote controls, phones, and countertops.
• Avoid being near anyone who appears ill,
• Do not share drinks, utensils, cell phones, etc.,
• Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing,
• Wash your hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly.

More information and detail can be found at:    www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/index.htm   and
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm.