In Grateful Appreciation
From the Lang Family

My brothers and I wish to express our sincerest thanks and appreciation to our many parishioners who joined us for our sister's funeral Mass and offered their Masses and prayers for the repose of her soul. Our heartfelt prayers for you, asking God to reward you as he knows best.

Bud & Marilyn, August & Nancy and Father Lang

Celebrate Marriage!

Celebrate Marriage! is a one-day marriage enrichment that offers the opportunity to take some to look at where we are in our marriages and to revisit our basic communications skills. We will reflect on the importance and dignity of our Sacrament of Marriage in God's plan for us. The program touches on some of the concepts covered in greater scope and depth on the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. It will be held at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills, NY on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 from 9:30am to 4:30pm. We have a limited number of spaces available, so please don't delay; call Bob and Melinda Nobbs at 718-805-7232 as soon as possible. Cost is $25 per couple which includes coffee and bagels, a hero and salad lunch and materials.

New Parishioners - April 2008

 

Do You Have Any Questions About the Bible?

Ask them to Father Dominic Obielosi (studied Theology in Rome) in the Bible Study to be held in the School Hall every Sunday starting January 20th from 6:30 to 7:30pm. For more information, please call Shelly Muniz at 718-290-7738.

 

Make Your Voice Heard

The New York State Catholic Bishops have formed a statewide Catholic Advocacy Network of concerned Catholics who want to put their faith into action. Together, we can speak out in support of the poor and vulnerable, the sick and the elderly, the unborn, children and families. Our parish encourages you to join this network. There is no cost. The easiest way to join is to go to www.nyscatholic.org to sign up. Or you can send you name, address, phone number and email address to:

Catholic Advocacy Network
NYS Catholic Conference
465 State Street
Albany, NY 12203-1004

Be sure to mention that you are a member of St. Robert's parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Reminder: St. Robert's Knights of Columbus

The parish Knights of Columbus reminds members that applications for the Anthony Negovetti Scholarship must be received by the Council by June 30th. For more information on the KofC scholarship, call Alan Soel at 718-224-7902.

Television for the Homebound

Each week through television, Passionist Communications brings the Sunday Mass to the sick and homebound. It can be seen in the New York area:

Help Our School - Save Box Tops and Campbell's Labels

Thank you to all who have sent in Box Tops and Labels. St. Robert Bellarmine School receives cash from box tops and can select school supplies with Campbell's labels. Please continue to help the school by saving the following:

Put the box tops and labels in an envelope marked "Box Tops" and drop in the collection basket or deliver to the Rectory or school. Each item makes a difference! THANK YOU!

Bereavement

Have you or some you know suffered a loss? The Bereavement Center for Support and healing is here to help. They are located at 66 Boreum Place, Brooklyn. Please contact Ingrid Seunarine, Director of Bereavement Services, Diocese of Brooklyn, at 718-722-6214 for further details.

On the first Tuesday of every month from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Sacred Heart Church holds a General Bereavement Support Group for those who have recently experienced death. Call Sister Kathleen Masterson at 718-224-5695 for further information.

Family, Marriage and Individual Therapy

Professional therapy, provided by NYS licensed or certified therapists, is available to our parish. You may be seen at any of the other 70 participating parishes. This program, under the direction of Dr. George Guiliani, has been conducted in the diocese for the past 34 years for the convenience of parishioners. Services are provided by the Catholic Counseling Center, a proprietary professional corporation, which is independent of and not controlled or supervised by the parish or diocese. Most insurance policies are honored. Confidential information and appointments are available by calling Dr. Guiliani.

Diocesan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Assistance Program

The holidays can be a joy for many, but also a season of stress and sadness for others. Many people experience significant problems with feelings of depression and loss at this time of year. Some may resort to the use of alcohol or drugs to help them cope. The Diocese of Brooklyn has created a program to provide confidential ongoing assistance to parish families who suffer from the effects of alcohol and substance abuse. Catholic Charities and the Diocesan Program for the Development of Human Potential collaborated in developing this initiative which provides counseling, support, treatment and care to those seeking assistance. To connect to a network for services that will help you and your family in addressing this concern, please make a confidential call to the Diocesan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Assistance Program Hotline at 800-659-1603. For general information, please visit Catholic Charities' website at http://www.ccbq.org

Evening Learning Series

For more information about this series, click here. We began the Evening Learning Series on Wednesday, January 23rd in St. Robert's School Hall with "The Miracles of Jesus - Fact or Fiction?" We watch a magician try to perform Jesus' miracles in an attempt to prove that these were miracles and not tricks.

Upcoming Excursions and Events...

Save the Date!
Third Annual Msgr. John B. Lavin Golf Outing 2008
Honoring BOB COCCIA with the John B. Lavin Award
Monday, May 19, 2008 at Harbor Links Golf Course
$200/Golfer - $75/Dinner only
Call Martha at 718-207-0966 or Bob Coccia at 718-224-4344
View the flyer!

150th Anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes Pilgrimage

Paris - Lisieux - Lourdes
Spiritual Director: Father Marc Swartvagher
September 25th to October 3rd, 2008
Price is $2849 per person/double occupancy
Please call Achille & Gina at 718-423-5077

AARP

June luncheon and installation of officers will be on Tuesday, June 3rd from 12 noon to 4pm at Vesuvio's of Whitestone with music by Vic Vincent. Cost is $42.

The May 20th trip to Atlantic City includes a narrated cruise, Fiesta buffet lunch, IMAX show and a $15 coin package. Cost is $62.

Call Evelyn at 718-423-9416 if interested.

St. Roberts Seniors and Italian American Club

The following trips will be run:

For more information on these and other trips, please call Bill at 718-428-9283

Religious Education News

Extraordinary Ministers and Lectors

Training for new Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and Lectors will take place on May 17th at The Mary Louis Academy. Please contact the rectory if you are interested in further information.

Adult Confirmation Classes

Do you need to receive Confirmation or know someone 17 or older who needs to receive Confirmation? Class is now being formed to prepare individuals to receive the sacrament of Confirmation on Pentecost Sunday, May 11th. To join, or get more information, please contact Deacon Andy at 718-225-3181.

Registration for Religious Education

Is taking place now! Registrtion forms can be obtained by calling the Religious Education office. Forms may be returned to the rectory with the $135 registration fee to the attention of Deacon Andy. Classes are being formed for grades K through 7.

Searching For Catholics

Do you know someone who is interested in becoming a catholic? Do you know someone who was baptized but never received communion or confirmation? The RCIA process is designed to prepare these people for initiation into the parish community. RCIA gatherings are lead by parishioners and clergy. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested, please contact Deacon Andy at 718-225-6465 or email rcia@stroberts.org for more information or to enroll. Classes are being formed for the fall.

Scouting News

Cub Scout Pack 142 invites all boys and their parents, grades 1-5 to its meetings on Fridays at 7:30pm in the gym. Boy Scout Troop 142 invites all boys and their parents age 11-17 to it's meetings on Thursdays at 7:30pm in the gym. For more information, contact Dave Risueno at 718-423-0238.

Sports and Sport Schedules

To obtain more information, please email sports@stroberts.org

Soccer and Cross-Country Track Registration

St. Robert's Youth Sports Ministry does not currently have programs in some sports so we are pleased to inform you that The American Martyrs Parish Athletic Association is currently taking registrations for its Soccer, Cross-Country Track and Swimming programs. Any St. Robert's boys or girls interested in these sports should leave a message on the AMAA Hotline at 718-776-2767 and you will be contacted by a program director.

Volleyball

The American Martyrs Athletic Association Girls Volleyball team has begun practice on Thursday nights at PS 205. Grades 4-7 practice from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Grades 8 and up practice from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. Any girls interested in joining should leave a message on the AMAA Hotline at 718-776-2767 and you will be contacted by the program director.

Swim Team

Holy Family/St. Luke's Girl's Swim Team is looking for swimmers to join their team. 1st through 9th grade. Registrations will be in September. Call Cathy Donohue at 917-929-2752 or contact her via email - donohue2000@yahoo.com.

Youth Group

We need your help to maintain the St. Robert's Youth Group. Youth Group is open October to May, Friday nights, 7:00 - 10:00pm in the Parish Hall. We need volunteers, Moms and Dads, to set up and breakdwon the Hall and to supervise the activities. Please help us keep the Youth Group going.

PAST EVENTS

Ministry Fair 2004

St. Robert's Ministry Fair was held on October 31, 2004. Special thanks to Noel Foronda for graciously providing the lovely snapshots. If you can help us out by putting some names to the faces listed here, please click the "Webmaster" link at the bottom of any page!

50th Anniversary Celebration of St. Robert's School
Photos

A celebration of the first 50 years of St. Robert's School was held @ the Immaculate Conception Center on April 3, 2005. The album with some pictures can be found at www.srbschool.photosite.com . If anyone has pictures of the event they would like to share, please e-mail them to SRBAlumni@aol.com or mail them to the school c/o the Alumni Association and we will add them to the album. Please identify people in the pictures.

Parish Mission 2005 Photos

Again, many thanks to Hermes Allas and Noel Foronda for providing some wonderful memories of the parish mission. To view the pictures, click here.

Our Lady of Antipolo 2005 Photos

Thanks to Ms. Marie Ellen Megiossi of the TABLET, for providing a pictorial history of this celebration. For such an event, a lot of effort went in the planning, preparation and hard work by the officers and members of the Filipino American Community of St. Roberts under the able leadership and dedicated service of Bert Cruz who is the current Chairperson of the Filipino Community. Bert worked closely with the Filipino Diocesan Apostolate under the Catholic Migration Office, Diocese of Brooklyn to make this celebration a reality.

Thanks Bert!

Pictures can be viewed here

Our Lady of Antipolo 2007 Photos

What happened to 2006? Well, we never got the pictures from the TABLET, like we did in 2005. However, thanks to the expert talents of Noel Foronda, we have pictures for our 2007 celebration. Many kudos to Noel for providing such beautiful photos!

Pictures can be viewed here

St. Robert's Feast Day and Picnic 2005

Many thanks to Laurie for providing pictures of the event. Pictures can be viewed here.

We were also very fortunate to have Marie Ellen Megiossi of the Tablet who covered the event send us pictures of the procession, the Mass and the picnic.

St. Robert's Parish Mission - Spring 2007

Many thanks to Noel Foronda for providing the pictures of our Spring Mission of faith. Pictures are available here.

St. Robert's Feast Day Celebration 2007

Thanks to the superlative efforts of our planning committee, the 2007 celebrations were complete successes!

Also, many thanks to our intrepid shutterbugs who took the time and effort to document the fun!

Teen Dance 2007 - by Nancy Romanzo - pictures can be viewed here

Mass and Picnic 2007 - by Michael Vialago - pictures can be viewed here

Dinner Dance 2007 - by Hermes Allas - pictures can be viewed here

Teen Dance Report

A good time was had by all! Those were the key words as the young people of our parish gathered for the Youth Mass and Teen Dance on January 26th, 2008. Our young people did a wonderful job and following a beautiful Mass celebrated by Msgr. Geraghty with Deacon Andy and Deacon Patrick assisting, our teen congregation and their friends gathered for music, dancing, food and fun. On behalf of the Committee, we would like to thank everyone who helped make this event such a success, the committee who gave so generously of their time, particularly Deacon Andy who went above and beyond throughout, the day of event volunteers, parishioner Tom Choi from the 73rd Avenue Market who arranged the food and most of all, the young people who participated.

Communion and Confirmation - 2008

Many thanks to Richard Lew for sharing some of the many wonderful and blessed moments shared by our parishioners during the First Holy Communion and Confirmation celebrations this year. Pictures can be viewed here.