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Dear Friends at Saint Paul: “WOW! It’s ...almost... HERE!” The final steps of preparation for our acon-packed spiritual growth week is upon us! Beginning Thursday and continuing on, we are diving into the stirred-up pool of Grace and the Holy Spirit will NOT be predictable or boring. This is for you: every parishioner – active or absent, convert, revert or sure and steady -- this is for you! Let God be in charge! Lent is a time for reconciliation (both sacramental and otherwise)! Take up one or more of the large postcards available and start a conversation with it... you only have 6 days left. They may say yes. You don’t even need to “say anything” ... just leave them the postcard. I believe that there are sidelined Catholics who want to return. I believe there are family members or neighbors who will see your kind invitation as an invitation from God. Even strangers may say yes. I believe that we NEED to invite others; they will BLESS us. Let God be in charge! Over the last few years, we’ve been through a lot, no? As a parish family, inviting anyone and everyone to join us, we are going to “pull off the busy highway” and enter a “rest stop” for prayer and truth, recovery and hope, beer directions and a shorter path to God: it’s called a Parish Mission and “It’s almost here!” This is not the me to close your eyes or withdraw or excuse yourself: Coming to Life (RE-VIVE-AL) needs your full aenon. Here’s a short list: Adults to take training to help with our new and dynamic YOUTH Ministry: That’s Thursday! Haven’t been to Stations of the Cross yet? That’s Friday at 7pm (Soup at 6) Men seeking God (i.e., every man)? That’s Friday, 7pm-9pm AND Saturday from 8:30am to 12:30pm Becoming Catholic? RCIA? That’s Saturday (all day), starting at First Presbyterian Church, Downtown High School Youth on Confirmation Retreat? That’s Family Life Center Saturday - all day Going to Mass next weekend...? Hear from Gina Bauer who leads our TOTAL PARISH MISSION-REVIVAL Are you a Parishioner or Guest, a seeker, friend, or uncommitted? Sunday, Monday & Tuesday, 6-8pm And that’s not even mentioning what comes next... Holy Week and Easter! Now you see what I mean. Let God be in charge! TOTAL PARISH MISSION-REVIVAL! Peace, Fr. Tully  More than 300 individuals took an important step toward initiation into Christ and his Church on Sunday, February 27, at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral during the Rite of Election. 13 St Paul parishioners represented 18 in our program! Please pray for them!  Interfaith Refugee Ministries
At the American Bishops meeng in the Fall, special recognion was given to the sponsorship of refugees from war-torn countries. Our “specialty” in New Bern has been the wonderful and fruiul inclusion of Burmese families into our community. This week a new family arrives for a new future here with us. Interfaith Refugee Ministries is the group out of Christ Church that has a long history with resettlement. Saint Paul has been an important partner with Interfaith Refugee. Parishioners here at Saint Paul have already responded to the need to give this new family a great start. Please contact Interfaith Refugee Ministry if you can help! www.helpingrefugees.org 252-633-9009 Priesthood Discernment Group! Really, ever thought about being a priest? The monthly priesthood discernment group meeting is a great opportunity to meet other guys who are in discernment and learn about the process. The meetings are led by Promoter of Vocations, Fr. Jim Magee, on the 2nd Saturday each month and begins at 9am with Mass and then moves to a conversation on a specified topic. We will conclude at 11:30am with Midday prayer followed by lunch. Contact Fr Magee to learn more at Saint Peter Church, 2700 East Fourth Street, Greenville, NC 27858 (Convenient to men at Saint Paul, New Bern) “What is a Parish (or Parochial) Mission?”Of course Wikipedia has an article on this! Here’s the headline: “A parochial mission or parish mission is a special pastoral effort in the Catholic Church aimed at preaching to and instructing Catholic followers. These are "home missions" geared toward Catholics, distinguished from apostolic missions to make conversions among non-believers. Such missions may consist of systematic preaching and instruction, extending over a stated number of days, performed by authorized missionaries.” Are you ready for our Parish Mission on March 26, 27 and 28? The coming two weeks should include daily prayer for God to be in charge of this Revival at Saint Paul... carefully invite a family member or friend or neighbor, especially any non-practicing Catholics you know. You will learn a lot and you never know the impact on the person you host at the Mission: you’ll never find out if you don’t ask! Dear Friends at Saint Paul,
On this Parish Feast Day, our recognition of Catholic Schools starts with our own parish school but extends to the excellent success and impact that Catholic schools have enjoyed. It is an expensive investment but now more than ever, that investment is going to yield more secure, mature and competent graduates. Saint Paul Catholic School, across the driveway, is no exception. We are a continuing surprise to parents who long to find a safe, highly movated and involved faculty in a moral culture that is based on our Catholic truth. There are two different groups at the school whose mission is to foster a catholic identity for the school and help us reach the highest of goals: awareness and reverence of the Divine. The first committee helps teachers and students to grow in Catholic prayer and devotion. The second committee helps parents and families to connect to their faith and bring their home into a fuller experience of their religious goals. The sacrifices –financial and social—that parents and grandparents make for the school is at the heart of the energy that makes the school so valuable to us. Thank you to each of our school families for this contribution to the success of your children and their development and joy in Catholic values and school spirit. Thank you to our generous and talented faculty who are not only excellent teachers but members of a corps –a movement‐‐ leading children to personal confidence and personal Faith. Thank you to the many who contribute each month to the School Investment Collection. Please be aware of my personal gratude but also the symbolic and concrete way that your participation in this second collecon is a hallmark of our parish’s participation in the success of Saint Paul Catholic School. When we celebrate Catholic Schools Week... we are celebrang YOU ‐ all of you in our parish whose prayers, example and gifts make our parochial school and its long history in New Bern such a signal of academic and community pride and our family experience. Thank you. Peace, Father Tully |
Pastor's CornerWeekly thoughts from our Pastor, Fr. Thomas Tully. 
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