Sunday, April 28, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Our parish will celebrate God's mercy in a special way. 2:00-3:00 PM: Confessions will be heard by several priests in the upper church. 3:00 PM: A prayer service will be held in the upper church, which includes the procession of the Image of Divine Mercy, Exposition, Adoration, Diary Meditations, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and Benediction. 4:00 PM: Mass will be celebrated after the prayer service. This Mass satisfies the Sunday Mass obligation. Please come to honor and receive, the infinite mercy of God!

The Novena to The Divine Mercy starts Good Friday at 7:15 PM, before the Good Friday Service, the Novena to the Divine Mercy, will be publicly recited in the church. The rest of the novena can be done on our own. Novena/Chaplet pamphlets will be distributed at the church entrances.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and those we serve wish to thank all who contributed to the Ash Wednesday Collection. The total collection was $2,455. Your generosity is overwhelming, and enables us to continue our mission of helping those less fortunate in our community. Thank you!

All parishioners of high school age are invited to attend the 2019 Steubenville East Catholic Youth Conference, to be held at the Tsongas Arena on the weekend of July 12-14. 2019. Our group from St. John’s will be travelling by bus to the campus of UMass, Lowell, for a fun, faith-filled weekend of inspiring music, engaging liturgies, challenging speakers, and fellowship with thousands of other teens. This year’s theme is “Belong”. Students who have attended in the past have described it as “amazing” and “life changing”. We will stay in the college dormitories and eat at the campus cafeterias. Reservations are being taken now. For questions, and to reserve a place, please contact chaperones Bill and Betty Madden at 978-368-7487. More information is also available on-line at steubenvilleconferences.com/youth/conf-east/.

Thank you to all the parishioners for your support of the Mother's Day Rose Sale. Because of your generosity we were able to raise $1,175 for Problem Pregnancy, the all-volunteer Agency that supports women during their pregnancy. Thank you also to the volunteers who worked hard to make this fundraiser so successful. God Bless you and your families. Janice Donahue-Hibernians of Our Lady of Knock

We would like to ask the entire parish to remember our Confirmation Candidates and their Sponsors in your prayers as we prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, which will be celebrated on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 10:00 AM. Confirmation families, please be sure to save the date! Thank you and God bless!

Next week there will be the annual collection for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. The Society relies solely on the generosity of others to provide financial assistance to individuals & families in need in our community. Please be as generous as you can. Thank you!

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the parishioners of St John’s for their overwhelming support to our Annual Collection and Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive. Your monetary contributions enable us to continue to assist those in need in our community and with the food donations we were able to provide 50 families food baskets at Thanksgiving.

The Knights of Columbus Council #1701 wish to thank all those who contributed to our recent “Coats for Kids” program. Thanks to your generosity we were able to hand out over 90 coats, mostly kids but some adults benefitted also. A special thank you to Dottie Sears and her sister, Jeannette, who made over 100 winter hats of various styles and colors that were greatly appreciated.

The next monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, November 15 **note the date change** at 7 p.m. in the Parish Hall. A representative from WHEAT will be our guest speaker.

The CARE Food pantry is having its 3rd Annual Chicken Shoot Meat Bingo fund raiser on Saturday, September 29 at its new location at The Church of the Good Shepherd, 209 Union St. In addition to the bingo games there will be raffles including Patriots tickets and theme gift baskets. Tickets will be sold after all Masses the weekends of September 8th/9th, 15th/16th and 22nd /23rd. Come join the fun and support the food pantry.

All women are invited to this exciting Conference, to be held at Assumption College on Saturday, November 10. Hear dynamic talks from outstanding Catholic leaders: Professor Helen Alvare, Susie Lloyd, Mother Mary Assumpta Long, O.P., Dr. Janet E. Smith and Susan Conroy. Bishops and diocesan and religious priests will hear confessions. Bishop McManus will offer Mass. For more information or to register, visit our website at worcestercatholicwomensconference.com or call Corinn Dahm at 508-277-3969. Seating is limited, register today!

The Divine Mercy Cenacle meets weekly in the St. John's Parish Center on Tuesday evening at 7:00 for prayer and discussion of Scripture, the Catechism, and the Diary of St. Faustina. Our prayer group welcomes new members anytime. If you would like to know more about our Cenacle, please call Bill or Sue Belfield (508-869-0508). We also maintain a prayer line to pray for those who are seriously ill or dying. Prayer requests can be submitted by phone (978-733-0090) or by e-mail DMCPray@gmail.com. After a prayer request is submitted, it is sent immediately to members of our group. Cenacle members pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the seriously ill or dying.