Honoring Mary during Advent: 8am, Saturday mornings, there will be a Mass to honor Mary in our chapel. Following the Mass we will pray the rosary. Mary is a great Advent figure.

Advent Giving Tree: Our Giving Tree will be up the first weekend in Advent (December 1st and 2nd). Our Social Ministries depend on your generosity to help make Christmas brighter for their guests/clients. Please take a tag and buy a gift. Some tags will have several gifts on it –  you only need to buy one! If gift cards are requested $25 is the standard, however, feel free to give what you can – any amount is greatly appreciated. IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT YOUR GIFTS ARE CLEARLY LABELED with the ministry! You can tape your tag to the gift or write your own tag for the gift. PLEASE DO NOT WRAP YOUR GIFT! Gift cards may be put in an envelope and placed in the collection baskets. – again, clearly marked with the ministry. Other gifts can be placed in the food baskets and brought up with our gifts at Offertory. Thank you for your gracious generosity during this Advent season. Ministries represented are: Inn Dwelling, Face to Face, My Place Germantown, Par Recycle Works and DePaul School. Please return gifts by December 18th.

Seasonal Singers Wanted: Have you been thinking about joining the choir but are not sure if you can commit right now? Consider this: Do a trial run and be a seasonal singer! Join the choir and sing for one or two of the Masses on Christmas at 4:30 pm and midnight. You can sing at one or both. The rehearsal schedule is Tuesday, Dec 4; Wednesday, Dec 12 and Tuesday, Dec 18. All rehearsals are 90 minutes and will begin at 7pm in the rectory chapel. Questions? Cal Valerie (215-327-1035)

PARISH RETREAT: Save the Date! Mark your calendars! One year from now (Novemher 8-10, 2019), we will hold our next Parish Retreat at the  beautiful Malvern Retreat Center. Open to all  parishioners 18 and over, this special weekend will help us deepen our faith journey and strengthen our community as together we focus on our common call: Weaving God’s Tapestry
of Love. A Saturday-only option will he available, as well as transportation for those who need it. We anticipate that the retreat cost will he heavily subsidized by parish fundraising efforts in the year to come, including a monthly second collection beginning December 8/9. (You can buy a $10 mug anytime to benefit the retreat fund.) Please hold the date, and watch for
announcements as details unfold and as retreat sub-committees in need of volunteers are formed. Above all, please pray for the work of the Core Team, that we may open ourselves to God’s deepest desires for our faith community.

GIVING TREE: Our Giving Tree will soon he put up. Please take a tag and buy a gift for  DePaul Catholic School, Inn Dwelling, Face to Face, My Place Germantown. They should be returned  wrapped with tag by December 18.

“Please Pray for Sick” section in Bulletin: All friends of Vincent will be eliminated, since many have been in for two to five years. We will start a new list immediately. If you want someone on the prayer list, please contact the office with the names.

Soulful Christmas Concert: The Philadelphia Black Catholic Mass Choir is participating in the Soulful Christmas Concert, sponsored by the Kimmel Center, on Tuesday, December 11th at 7pm. Purchase tickets at www:kimmelcenter.org

Ministry Meetings after 6pm: If your ministry meets in the evening, please make sure your meeting is scheduled and the ministry head has a key or that someone will be in the rectory to open the door.

All Weekends from November 3-4 through December 22-23:
St. Vincent de Paul mugs are for sale for $10.00 before & after
most Masses. Great gift for any occasion!! All profits benefit the
2019 Parish Retreat!

Parenting classes: Every Friday from 11 to 1 for twelve weeks, starting October 19th.

Scholarship: Scholarships are available to all active members, who are sending children to Catholic schools (from Kindergarten to 12th).

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN & ROOF PROGRESS
While the roof is being done, they are working on the interior of the church and handicap accessibility. Thanks for all who gave so generously to the capital campaign. If you have not given, but would like to help, please feel free to make a pledge for a year or a onetime donation. See Kevin and Mary Murray or John and Terry Trudeau, for more information. You may notice that there are lots of flakes from the ceiling on the pews and church floor. This flaking is a good sign. It means the roof is working and our church ceiling is drying out, causing the flaking. We will begin the final phase of our roofing project…the dome, apse and back roofs. Actual work on this has begun, and we are hopeful that all will be finished by the end of October.

Seeking Volunteers for Nov. 2019 Retreat: Good news! St. Vincent’s is planning a weekend retreat at the Malvern Retreat House, Nov 8-10, 2019. Those who were able to attend our 2016 retreat in Harvey Cedars remember what wonderful opportunities for faith sharing and community building a parish retreat provides. We will share more news in the coming months; right now, retreat co-chairs, Wiley Redding and Christine Eberle are seeking dedicated volunteers to form the Cor Team (Cor= heart!) This is a 15 month commitment to the planning process, including monthly meetings (generally on Saturdays) and committee work. We are seeking volunteers with passion and skill in the areas of Publicity, Logistics, Art, Hospitality, Program Design and Fundraising. Intrigued? Contact Wiley at wiredding21@gmail.com or Christine at christine0707@me.com with your name, phone number, and area(s) of interest. Please note: the Cor Team will kick-off our work together with a half-day retreat on Saturday, September 8 from noon to 4!

Parish Pastoral Council: The Parish Pastoral Council has adopted a set of by-laws. You can read them here.

One neighbor at a time, or maybe four, six or eight! We want to have dinners together because we really want to become a community of friends. We want to get to know each other better, and the best way to do that is to sit at the table just to enjoy each other’s company around good food and conversation. We propose to have dinners where members of the parish sign up for a meal without knowing who their hosts are, or even who the other guests will be, except for one other person if you want to go as a pair. We will start in June , and we hope by the fall everybody will  be signing up enthusiastically as hosts or guests. The mechanics of how this will work will be explained next week. Meanwhile, if you are willing to host a blind dinner, please place a card with your name, some possible dates, and how many people you can host, but do it secretly! You will call your mystery guests and give them details. Perhaps ask them to contribute a simple dish, bread, or an appetizer for the meal. Perhaps just bring their appetites and their good will. It is very likely that we will all make new friends, and that our Parish will be come stronger, a true people in community.