NeW PARISH ADMINISTRATOR
Bishop Serratelli has appointed Fr. Joseph Orlandi as the temporary administrator of St. Jude Church effective February 8, 2010. Many in the parish remember Fr. Joe through the liturgies he celebrated at St. Jude, which highlighted veterans. Fr. Joe served as a military chaplain in combat zones in the Balkans, Afghanistan and recently in Iraq. In the aftermath of this service, he pursued a sabbatical year at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome for theological studies. Prior to his service as a chaplain overseas, Fr. Orlandi served as pastor of St. Michael Church in Paterson for eighteen years, and as a member of the pastoral team of St. Brendan Church, Clifton.

PALM BRANCHES
As the church prepares for the season of Lent, palm branches from the previous year are burned to form the ashes which are imposed on Ash Wednesday. These ashes, which are a reminder of our Lenten commitment to penance, are intimately linked to the Passion of Palm Sunday. We invite anyone who has palm branches at home to bring them to the church through February 14.
There will be a basket in the church narthex for your palm branches.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO HAITI DISASTER
The Catholic community in the United States is reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Haiti in significant and immediate ways. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, is mounting a major emergency response to this disaster and has made an initial commitment of 5 million dollars for immediate use in relief effort. If you would like to donate, please call 1-877-HELP-CRS, donate online at www.crs.org, or send a check to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090. Please write in the memo portion of your check” Haiti Earthquake.

CHILDRENS BOOKS
In the narthex of the church we have placed a basket with a wide selection of books for children that can be used during or before mass. In the last few weeks, more than 1/2 of the books have been taken and not returned. If you have any of these books at home, please return them so that we can continue to provide them for all the children to use.

Parish Library
Start the New Year right by expanding your knowledge of your faith without leaving the comfort of your home. St. Jude Parish has its own parish library that was created a few years ago and is sadly underutilized. Beginning in January, the parish library will be open for use to check out materials whenever there is a “coffee and” being sponsored in the parish center. If you would like to see the library open at another time, please offer a suggestion and we will see if it can be arranged. The library houses a variety of books and tapes on various topics about our faith and religious practices.

PARISH OFFICE REQUEST
Do you have a new Address? Are you moving? Are your envelopes getting lost in the mail? We’re still receiving undeliverable envelopes at the parish office with postage due. Please take a moment to let us know so we can ensure prompt delivery! Contact the parish office at 973-691-1561or send your updated information to secretary@stjudeparish.org

Seating Latecomers at Liturgy
Throughout the past year our hospitality ministers (ushers) began to request latecomers to hold back from walking into the worship area at sacred moments of liturgy that include spoken prayer, scripture readings, song, and homilies. We do this out of respect for all ministers, members of the assembly, deacons, and priests in that the seating of latecomers at these sacred moments renders a great distraction to the minister who proclaims, sings, or preaches, as well as members of the assembly who seek to pray. Therefore, to avoid these distractions, hospitality ministers (ushers) wait for the conclusion of the prayer, reading, song or homily before they guide you to a seat. Although this may disturb those who arrive late for liturgy, the situation could be avoided if all who gather for prayer make a little greater effort to arrive for liturgy at least five minutes early. This permits both ministers and the assembly a few minutes of quiet time before the gathering song.

use of Church Envelopes
If you receive church envelopes from our envelope company, you receive a record of your contributions for the year. For safety’s sake, whenever possible make your contribution by check. Also, for accuracy in recording the amount of the donation into your record, please always remember to record the amount of your donation on the outside of the envelope.

MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER  
Military families, are you getting ready to deploy? Is your family trying to reconnect after deployment? Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers tools of communication that have kept many military marriages strong and happy through out the ups and downs of military service. Contact your local chaplain or call 1-800-499-6552 for more information.

Church Books for Children
In the narthex of the church there is a wide selection of books for children that can be used during or before mass if you feel it is beneficial to your child. However, please do not allow young children to use the maroon music books located in the pews. Some books have been discovered to have numerous crayon markings and ripped/folded pages coming from a lack of care.

Lighting Church Candles
Please be aware that there are candles located throughout the church to light which is one way we bring our prayer to God. However, please do not bring in your own candles for placement in the candle stands or inside the glass containers that hold the candles in that it is against safety/fire regulations.

Baby Changing Table
A changing table for infants has been installed into both the ladies and men’s restrooms that are located in the hallway next to the parish center. Many people have requested the changing tables due to the amount of infants that are brought to church and other parish activities.

USING THE HYMNAL BOARD
Two hymnal boards have been placed on the pillars to the right and left of the sanctuary in church so that music selections and biblical readings can be found with a quick glance if an announcement is missed. In using the hymnal board please be aware of the following; song selection that comes from the Gather Hymnals is indicated by the number of the song selection, Biblical readings for liturgy are indicated with an “R” that precedes the page number of the readings, and music that comes from the supplement is preceded with an “S” before the number of the selection. For those who need to follow the order of the mass, it is found on page 134.

BRINGING UP THE GIFTS
Families, individuals and guests are always welcome to bring up the gifts during the Offertory Procession on Sunday liturgy. Anyone wishing to bring honor to God in this manner should mention it to one of our ushers or ministers of hospitality in the back of church. They will be happy to guide in this important part of the liturgy.

SECOND COLLECTION
On the Fourth Sunday of each month a second collection will be taken at the parish for the Building and Grounds. This is to maintain the facility and render necessary improvements that come forth through the usage of the church complex. Preventive maintenance is a necessity to the church grounds in that it receives much wear with numerous activities that are planned at the parish. Ongoing improvements are always part of keeping the facility in good shape.

RINGING CELL PHONES
It is common courtesy to shut off cell phones prior to entering church for liturgies. Keeping a phone on makes a statement that YOU are more important than God or your neighbor. This is a sad statement and a BAD example for our children. Ringing cell phones become great distractions to the prayer of ministers and the assembly. Please observe this courtesy so that a prayerful spirit can be maintained at all liturgies.

THE QUIET ROOM
Please be mindful that a “quiet room” is available for “crying infants” and small children that you may feel need special attention at mass or bring distraction to yourself or others in the church. The room in located on the far right side of the church near the altar server sacristy and youth ministry office. Recently a sound system was added to the room so that liturgical prayers/songs could be heard as a person participates in liturgy. The room is also a perfect location in church to teach your child about liturgy as services take place. Please know that priority for people with infants and small children should be given to this location.