News - Welcome!

Both of our parishes were recently awarded grants from the Diocesan Social Justice Trust Fund Grant Program, which is funded by the 2017 Diocesan Annual Appeal. Nativity BVM received a $2,000.00 grant on behalf of the Seven Loaves Soup Kitchen in Tunkhannock. St. Mary of the Lake received a $2,000.00 grant on behalf of the Lower Wyoming County Food Pantry in Lake Winola. We thank our parishioners of both parishes who volunteer their time in support of these worthy community programs.

The Eleventh Annual Saint Mary of the Lake "Nite At The Races" will be held on Saturday, October 6, 2018, at 5:00 PM at Saint Mary of the Lake Parish Hall, 1872 Dalton Road, Lake Winola. Ten races will be run, and your admission ticket includes Hot Dogs, Pulled Pork, Wimpies, Beverages, and Desserts ALL NITE LONG! Admission is $10.00. Sponsor a horse for $10.00 and win $50.00 if your horse wins. The deadline for ticket sales and horse sponsorship is Tuesday, October 2, 2018. Click above for more information and ticket form.

Click above to view the 2018 Saint Mary "Baskets Galore" Winners.

The Saint Mary of the Lake Altar and Rosary Society is sponsoring "Kids' Night at the Drive-In" on Friday, September 7, 2018, at 5:30 PM at Saint Mary of the Lake Parish Hall. The movie feature is "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Admission is free and refreshments will be available for purchase. Click above for more information.

View the video of the 65 Baskets included in the 2018 Saint Mary of the Lake "Baskets Galore" Basket Raffle at the Wyoming County Community Fair. The Fair is open from Wednesday, August 29, through Monday, September 3. Come and check out our brand new building! Click above for the basket video.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to DEACON RAY & VIRGINIA PIERETTI, who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on August 29th. May God grant them many more happy and healthy years together. Ginna and Ray, may God bless you and grant you joy. May He deepen your love for each other. May He bless you and your family and friends, and lead you to unending happiness in Heaven. May Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us all, and keep us in His love for ever and ever. Amen.

Click above for the final volunteer schedule for the Saint Mary of the Lake "Baskets Galore" Basket Raffle Booth at the Wyoming County Community Fair. See you there!

The weather was great; spirits were high; and the greens were smooth for the 24th Annual Saint Mary of the Lake Golf Tournament held on Monday, August 20, at the Scranton Canoe Club. A special “Thank You” goes out to all those who helped to make our Tournament a success! Click above for more information.

CCD for Nativity BVM will begin on September 23, 2018. Registrations may be done online or forms will be available in the back of the church beginning on August 26, 2018. The fee will remain the same as in previous years It is $20.00 for one child, $35.00 for two children and $50.00 for three or more children. A form must be completed for each child including those who are in the Confirmation class. Please complete and return the Social Media Release Form in addition to the registration form. Please send forms with fee to the office for Nativity. If you have any questions, please call Mrs. B. at 570-240-2094. Click below for forms.

Click above to view Bishop Bambera's remarks on the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report.

The Wyoming County Community Fair is a major fundraising event for both of our parishes. It is only possible if our parishioners and friends step up and volunteer some of their time to make it work. The Fair runs for six days (Wednesday August 29th – Labor Day September 3rd). If you can spare a few hours on any one of those days to help out at our booths, please call the Parish Office (570-836-3275) this week. We will provide Fair admission tickets to all volunteers who are on our schedule as of the Monday prior to the start of the Fair. Thank you for helping our parishes succeed in this important endeavor. Special Notes: Saint Mary: Ellen Wengen has graciously volunteered to be St. Mary’s coordinator of Fair volunteers. If you can help out for a few hours at the Fair, please contact Ellen (570-378-2014 or 570-840-6539). This year’s shifts are three hours long. Click above for the current Saint Mary Volunteer Schedule. Nativity: Volunteers are needed to set up and tear down at Nativity’s building at the Fair. Our schedule is: Setup: Meet in the Nativity parking lot at 8:00AM on Monday August 27th. Tear Down: Meet at the Fair building at 8:00AM on Tuesday, September 4th, to bring things back to Father Nallin Hall.

Golfers are still needed for the Saint Mary of the Lake Golf Tournament, which will be held on Monday, August 20 at the beautiful Scranton Canoe Club in Lake Winola. Cost is $50.00 for tournament and buffet. Click above for the registration form.

It is now time for us to get our baskets ready for the Fair. Everyone who is generously donating a basket can now start bringing it in. If help is needed with wrapping, please bring it in ASAP. The last date we can accept baskets and be properly prepared for our presentation will be August 11th. Please include a list of contents with your basket. We will need time among other prep work to get the list of items printed up for display. This is something that we need to do for proper presentation at the Fair. If you will be wrapping your basket, please remember that it needs to be in clear wrapping plastic. Again this year, our goal is to display our baskets in the Saint Mary Parish Hall on the weekend of August 25th & 26th. We now have an enclosed building at the Fair Grounds and it will be a different setup, so please bear with us as we will be having a new layout. If you have any questions, please call MaryAnn Barni at (570-687-3070). Thank you once again and God Bless!

Both of our parishes have recently completed a mailing to all registered parishioners regarding our 2018 Capital Campaign. In the mailing, Fr. Albert highlighted the capital projects that we hope to complete this calendar year to protect and improve our parish properties. Your support is vital if we hope to achieve these goals. If you did not receive a letter from Fr. Albert and a contribution card for the campaign, please contact Mary Lou at the Parish Office (570-836-3275) so that we can update our records. Thank you for your continued support of our parishes. For our summer visitors and friends who would like to assist us in these projects, there are contribution cards and return envelopes at the entrances to the churches. We thank you for joining us and for your assistance in maintaining our churches.

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, August 7th at 6:30PM in the Rectory Conference Room to plan our participation in this year’s Wyoming County Community Fair. All volunteers are welcome and encouraged to attend.

There will be a meeting on Wednesday, August 1st, at 6:30PM in the Hospitality Room to discuss our project to redecorate St. Mary of the Lake Church (painting, carpeting, etc.). Anyone who has an interest in the planning of the redecoration is invited to attend.

The Solemn Novena in Honor of Saint Ann will be conducted in both parishes on a daily basis from July 17th - 26th. Daily Mass will be celebrated each day at Nativity at 7:00 AM and at Saint Mary at 8:00 AM, with Novena prayers following. Novena prayers will be offered after all weekend Masses. Click above to download the Prayers for the Novena to Saint Ann.

The Saint Mary of the Lake Parish Pastoral Council has established four Ministry Committees which will assist in developing goals for the future development of Saint Mary of the Lake as well as action plans to ensure the achievement of these goals. The Worship Committee will focus on the prayer and worship life at Saint Mary of the Lake. The Word Committee will focus on the faith education and catechesis of all parishioners at Saint Mary of the Lake. The Service Committee will focus on serving those in need, making justice a lived value at Saint Mary of the Lake. The Community Committee will work to enhance and communicate the sense of community at Saint Mary of the Lake. We are asking that you prayerfully consider giving your time and talents as a member of one or more of these four Committees. The time commitment would be four meetings per year, not to exceed 1.5 hours in length, plus whatever other time commitment you are able to give to the process. The first meeting of all Committees will be on Tuesday, July 24th, at 6:30PM, in the Parish Hall. If you are interested in being considered for membership on a committee, please call the Parish Office at 570-378-2181 and give your name, phone number and preferred Committee. You may also contact one of the Committee Chairs directly and let them know of your interest: Worship Committee Chair: Bill Waters (570-378-2367); Word Committee Chair: Still Looking For a Volunteer; Service Committee Chair: May Lou Franko (570-586-4811); Community Committee Chair: Bernie Garvey(570-862-7651). Thank you for your consideration!

Mark your calendar NOW for the Saint Mary of the Lake Annual Parish Meeting and Breakfast. Meet with your fellow parish family members for FAITH, FELLOWSHIP, and FOOD! Renew old acquaintances and meet new friends! The breakfast will be held on Sunday, September 9, 2018, after the 9:00 AM Mass in the Parish Hall. The cost is $5.00 at the door. See you there!

We extend our congratulations to Nativity BVM parishioner Scott Williams II, who applied for and has received a cash scholarship from the ANNE KEANE TOWNSEND HIGHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP. Nativity BVM is the trustee of this fund. He received his award at the Baccalaureate Mass on June 24 in Nativity BVM church. Scott, a graduate of Holy Redeemer High School, plans to attend the University of Notre Dame to major in Engineering. We wish Scott God's blessings as he proceeds to further his education.