On Sunday June 21, 2015 our community of faith gathered to celebrate a significant moment in the life of the parish as marked 125 years of St. Lawrence Parish’s ministry to the North End of Hamilton.

The walls of this beautiful building have witnessed so much. Just imagine how many children have been welcomed here to the life of faith through the Sacrament of Baptism, how many couples have said “I do” at their weddings, how many people’s lives have been celebrated here as we’ve said our final goodbye to them at funerals. If only these walls could talk! There is certainly so much to be grateful for and so much to appreciate in this place “Where Faith Builds Community.”

PICTURES from the Anniversary Mass:

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This anniversary celebration is not only about remembering the past, but also about imagining the future and moving forward to new beginnings. We need the courage to embrace a new vision, to do things differently, to imagine this parish alive and welcoming, a place where newcomers can make a spiritual home. We are looking forward to creating a plan for welcoming new parishioners, developing parish goals for all age groups, and promoting stewardship—all in keeping with the Parish Mission Statement: “We are called to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ by actively embracing our Baptismal commitment. We gather as a family of faith at the Eucharist. Through our experience of shared faith we strive to build a welcoming community.”

PICTURES from the Anniversary Dinner:

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PRAYER FOR THE RENEWAL OF OUR PARISH:

Heavenly Father, You have gathered us together as a parish to be Your visible life in our world. Here we unite in worship, proclaim Your word, celebrate the Eucharist, and are sent forth to share Your love and make disciples. Lord, we take your Great Commission seriously and long for our parish to be so on-fire that we draw people to You. Help us in that endeavor, as we strive to work together—ordained, religious and laity. Please make our parish amazing, through Your power and Your grace. Amen.

Dear Parents,
It is our hope that “Chosen” will not only offer your child a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Faith, but will also win over their heart at this critical time in their life. The program has been carefully designed to address and answer your child’s fundamental questions about life, and to challenge him or her to embrace a life of faith.
Let’s face it—our world is full of distractions and detours that can easily set a young person on the wrong path. Nothing can take the place of a strong faith in God. It is our faith that gives us our identity and our direction in life. The Church recognizes that you, as parents, are the primary educators of your children in matters of faith and morals – and “Chosen” offers you a unique opportunity to join your child as he or she journeys through the Catholic faith.
We invite you to watch a twenty-minute video “Chosen Parent’s Session” that was shown at the Parent Information Session. This powerful and inspiring message to Confirmation parents features Chosen author Chris Stefanick and presenter Fr. Mike Schmitz. It is available at ConfirmationStudy.com/teachers.
Thank you for your time and interest in this important stage of your child’s spiritual development.

This year we offer a new exciting, comprehensive and relevant preparation program

“CHOSEN: Your Journey Towards Confirmation” that calls teens to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. The program is designed to fully equip and prepare teens to receive the grace of Confirmation; it connects with teens and inspires them on multiple levels—intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. The sessions begin on November 16 and will be offered every week on Sundays following 10:30am Mass.

Within a few weeks of the program there will be an orientation meeting for the parents and sponsors. This meeting will provide an opportunity to look at the vision and schedule of the immediate sacramental preparation in our parish, to share our expectations, and simply to get to know each other.

[su_button url=”http://stlawrencehamilton.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Letter-to-Parents-re-Confirmation-2015-St.-Lawrence.pdf” size=”5″ icon=”icon: file-pdf-o”]Letter to Parents re Confirmation[/su_button]

We are excited to introduce a new Confirmation Program this year. The program is called “Chosen”:

In order to provide a life-changing experience for our youth, we need a number of dedicated leaders within the program. If you have a passion for working with youth, have good communication and social skills, are open-minded to new ideas and possibilities and would like to be involved in this area of the parish life, or you’ve been involved in the past, please speak to Fr. Jay.

Please know that all who are involved in this ministry must go through the diocesan screening process and have appropriate police checks before starting.

The past couple of years of ministry and the experience of The Amazing Parish conference confirmed for us a need for A Real Leadership Team as a priority for the ministry and pastoral life in our parish of St Lawrence. It’s important to remember that a parish leadership team is not the same as a parish council. And it is not the parish office staff, or the people who do bookkeeping, reception and other administrative functions. It is the group of leaders who the pastors will rely on to help him with strategic and operational decisions and implementation.

In the coming days we will be calling some of parishioners who passionate about the parish and its renewal to step up to this leadership vocation. We will begin with forming the pastoral team from the perspective of building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability and focusing on results. This will give us a great start in the process of building “amazing” leadership team for our parish of St Lawrence. Please keep us in prayer!

Our parish Mission Statement reminds us that “faith builds community”. Celebrating the patron of our parish is certainly an opportunity to embrace who we are as the faith community. Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 am followed by a procession to the Statue of St. Lawrence. Come join us in celebration of our Patron Saint’s Feast Day. Enjoy great conversation, snacks and refreshments.

Enjoy this video from last year’s celebration: St. Lawrence Feast Day 2013