The Knights of Columbus, Council #1703, which serves the Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley, had their installation of officers at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Skillman, NJ. Congratulations to all the new officers!

Deacon Dick Currie recently attended the National Congress of Deacons in New Orleans, LA. This was a celebration for the whole Church. Deacons and their families were joined by Bishops, Priests, religious and laity to mark the 50th anniversary of the renewal of the Deaconate as a permanent ordained ministry of the Catholic Church. The Congress activities included Masses, morning and evening Prayer, multiple daily presentations, workshops, and fellowship.

Bishop O’Connell has made an official decree for the Year of Youth! He has decreed that July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 shall be celebrated throughout the four counties of the Diocese of Trenton as a Year of Youth. {Click on the link or graphic to learn more.}

St. George parishioners, Dan and Ann Koloski, gifted our new font in memory of Ann’s parents, Elsie and Joseph Delano. Ann’s parents would be thrilled that the font will be used to initiate new Disciples of Christ. Dan built the font in the style of George Nakashima, whose work can be seen in the St. George altar, ambos, and chairs. It is black walnut with birds’ eye maple trim. The opposing boards are book matched - which means they are cut from the same board and the grain matches. The Koloski’s actually purchased the whole tree the font was made from. Dan’s hobby is woodworking so he will make something for their home from the same tree. Special thanks to the Koloski family!

The proof copy of our linked parish directory is in! Please stop by your 'home parish' to check out the proof copy and make sure we have all of your information correct! The proof copies for each parish will be available in the gathering area or vestibule of each church from December 1st to December 4th. Your 'home parish' is the parish you are registered at (St. George, St. Alphonsus, or St. James). If you notice errors we will ask that you note this directly on the proof copy. Our parish directory volunteers will then transcribe all changes into a file for Lifetouch to make before they print the final copy. Thank you!

Since July 1st 2017, our combined parish committees have been working on our year-one goals and objectives. There are many new and exciting opportunities under consideration to engage more parishioners from all three parishes to help us truly become a warm and welcoming Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley. We are always seeking volunteers to help develop and support new events that bridge our three parishes. For more information or if you have questions, please contact Paul Kimaid at pkimaid@aol.com. For a more detailed summary of our progress to date, click on our new logo!

St. George Church goes SOLAR!! Recently a new roof was installed on the new church in preparation for solar panels. The panels will be installed shortly. St. George Church is one of many churches within the Diocese of Trenton utilizing green energy. This will reduce our dependence on the utility company and lower the electric bill. We’re excited about going GREEN!!

As part of our ongoing efforts to collaborate through the Faith in Our Future Diocesan initiative, the parishes of St. Alphonsus, St. George and St. James are linked as one faith community, together known as The Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley. This new name and logo will help unify our common vision of faith, family and communion through Christ. For more information about this effort, click on our new logo!

Effective with this new July fiscal year, we will be implementing a plan based on our proposed linkage model, which will further strengthen the relationship between our three parishes. The thirteen page implementation plan outlines the goals, objectives and action steps to be completed during this next fiscal year. To see the full plan and further details, click on the graphic or the title.

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