33rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
November 18/19
SUNDAY SCRIPTURE – QUESTIONS TO PONDER
~ Do you make it a point to dedicate your day to God?
~ How do you seek to stay alert to God’s presence?
~ When do you share the grace God has given to you, and when are you tempted to ignore God’s goodness in your life?
READINGS FOR THE WEEKEND: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111923.cfm
LIVE-STREAMING: Visit https://www.youtube.com/c/StPolycarpSmyrnaDE for live stream at 7:30 am, Tuesdays – Friday* and 4 pm on Saturdays.
PARISH WEBSITE: Visit: www.saintpolycarp.org/.
WEEKLY PARISH BULLETIN: CLICK HERE . (New Bulletins are posted on Fridays.)
BULLETIN OVERFLOW: There’s always information that doesn’t fit in our Bulletin – Bulletin Overflow – CLICK HERE
ATTENTION: Staff will not be able to access their email after 3 pm today until tomorrow, around noon. (Staff does not regularly check email on the weekends.) We will get any messages on Monday.
ADVENT RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE & CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE 2023 CLICK HERE
Weekday Masses at St. Polycarp are now celebrated at 7:30 am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Weekday Masses at St. Dennis are celebrated at 9:30 am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (No 8:30 am Masses) In conjunction with the National Eucharistic Revival, the addition of weekday Masses will allow greater opportunity to receive the Eucharist. Come join us! A wonderful way to start your day! Weekend Masses remain the same.
THIS WEEKEND, November 18/19 (and Monday, November 20th – Friday, November 24th)
GOOD LUCK TO OUR ST. POLYCARP FLAMES! The Bishop’s 5K is this Saturday at St. Mark’s High School (2501 Pike Creek Road, Wilmington). It’s not to late to join the walk/run or make a donation. The Bishop’s 5K benefits Catholic Charities.
https://runsignup.com/RaceGroups/35468/Groups/1386989. Call or email Michael Pyle (302-423-9732 / mjpyle58@msn.com) for more information!
HELP NEEDED: The Parish Office is looking for someone to help at the front desk on Tuesday mornings from 9 to noon. If you are willing and able to serve in this ministry, please contact Kathy in the parish office at (302) 653-8279 or office@saintpolycarp.org.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD: CLOW will be offered this Sunday, November 19th, during the 10:30 Mass
THE DIALOG: Pick-up the latest edition of the Dialog as you leave Mass this weekend. This issue contains times and dates where you can attend Adoration during Eucharistic Adoration Week – November 26 – December 2.
CHRISTIANS OF THE HOLY LAND – OLIVE WOOD: CANCELLED. .Our representative from the Holy Land has had to cancel his upcoming visit for this weekend, November 18th and 19th. Please continue to pray for peace in the Holy Land. We will try to reschedule the visit in 2024. Thank you for your understanding
UPCOMING SMYRNA-CLYATON MINISTERIUM EVENTS: Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Sunday, November 19th from 2-5 pm at Smyrna Elementary School Cafeteria (the school across form our St. Polycarp Church). Everyone is welcome! Come and celebrate what the Lord has provided together with our community, friends and family!
Community Thanksgiving Eve Service, Wednesday, November 22nd at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 22 N. Union Street, Smyrna. Everyone is welcome! A time of fellowship will follow the service.
THANKSGIVING MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED AT ST. POLYCARP on Thursday, November 23rd at 9 am. (No 7:30 am Mass on Thursday, November 23rd or Friday, November 24th)
THE GIVING TREE – Our Giving Tree Committee coordinates the Christmas gifts for needy children in our community. We work closely with our Parish School of Religion and the Smyrna School District to identify children in need. The Giving Tree is now set up inside the Main Entrance of the Church with the children’s requests. Please purchase a gift for the child on the tag you choose and return it to the Parish Hall no later than Sunday, December 3rd. Contact Fran Walls at (302) 653 – 1450, if you have any questions. Thank You!
EARLY DEADLINES FOR NOVEMBER, DECEMBER & JANUARY BULLETINS: As we enter the busy holiday season, the bulletin is due earlier to the publisher. Therefore, all submissions that you would like to appear in the bulletin will need to be submitted earlier than usual. Plan ahead! If you plan on having an insert, please contact Judy immediately. Insert deadlines are sooner than the deadlines listed below! ALL Submissions (including inserts or questions about inserts) should be emailed to submission@saintpolycarp.org. Judy can also be reached at the parish office (302) 653-8279.
Bulletin Date December 3rd – Submissions due November 21st end of day; Bulletin Date December 10th – Submissions due November 29th by noon; Bulletin Date December 17th – Submissions due December 6th by noon; Bulletin Date December 24th – Submissions due December 12th end of day; Bulletin Date – Submissions due by December 19th end of day; Bulletin January 7th Submissions due by December 26th end of day.
TUESDAY EUCHARISTIC ADORATION: Tuesdays from 9am to 8pm in the Chapel. We are still in need of people to fill in the following openings 9:30 am, 10:00 am, 10:30 am; 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm and people to fill in when others are ill or cannot attend. Do you have one hour to spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Call Cheryl Thomas at (302) 363 – 0404 or email her at salcrest7@gmail.com. All are welcome to stop in and adore Jesus between 9 am and 8 pm in the Chapel on Tuesdays. Stay for 10 minutes, 1 hour…
2023 FAITH AND CHARITY CATHOLIC APPEAL: We extend our heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of you who have already contributed to our parish Faith and
Charity Catholic Appeal. We are $3,939.30 above the $60,000 goal in pledges. $57,214.64 has been collected, leaving $2,785.36 to still be collected to reach the $60,000 goal. Our parish has raised significant funds for the Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal. If you’ve pledged, kindly ensure your payments are up to date. Your commitment matters greatly. Thank you for your continued support.
Once we reach our goal in collected donations, we will receive back half of the money collected above the goal for projects around our campus. We invite those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to give to the Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal to join us in spreading the spirit of gratitude. Envelopes can be found at the doors of the Church. To learn more about the Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal, visit www.cdow.org; click “Giving” then “Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal,” or simply scan this QR code with your cellphone.
THE SMYRNA/CLAYTON MINISTERIUM FOOD PANTRY is located downstairs at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 22 N. Union St., Smyrna. The pantry is open from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, Monday thru Friday. Here at St. Polycarp we have bins under the coat rack in the hallway near the bathrooms to accept your donations. Due to increased need in the community, the pantry is in great need of cereal, juice boxes or pouches, peanut butter & jelly, hamburger helper, tuna helper, canned tuna, sloppy joe sauce (Manwich), boxed spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, the pantry is also in need of vegetable beef and chicken noodle soups, macaroni and cheese and Chef Boyardee canned pastas. Please NO CANNED vegetables or beans are currently needed. Please, no expired items.
NEXT WEEKEND, November 25/26 (and Monday, November 26th – Friday, December 1st)
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY SODALITY ADVENT RETREAT – Next Saturday, November 25th, 8:30 am until 1 pm. You are invited to join the Sodality in spiritual reflection and prayer for an Advent Retreat. The retreat will begin with Mass at 8:30 am celebrated by our Retreat Master Msgr. George Brubaker. Lunch will be provided. Those interested in attending must register. Please call Betty Sloven at (302) 547 – 8174 or email her at churchladybetty@gmail.com by Monday, November 20th. There are also sign-up sheets on bulletin boards. This is a free retreat but we are accepting love offerings.
ST. POLYCARP ANNUAL FALL CLEANUP – NEXT Saturday, November 25th, 9 am – Noon. Come join us for the Annual Fall Cleanup. We need you to help beautify the campus by clearing the ground of leaves, branches, and debris. Please bring a rake, blowers, gloves, and your friends. Great opportunity for Confirmandi volunteer hours. We welcome folks on riding mowers that can vacuum up the leaves. We appreciate any amount of time you are able to give. Light refreshments will be available. Please text or call Michael Pyle at (302) 423 – 9732 or email him at mjpyle58@msn.com so we can know how many folks to expect.
THE VOCATION CHALICE MINISTRY: Please consider signing up to host the vocation chalice in your home for a week. Families and individuals are encouraged to sign up! Text or call Alice Gaston at (302) 670 – 7924. For more information visit https://saintpolycarp.org/vocation-chalice/ Next Saturday, November 25, 4 pm Mass – K. Kelvin
COMMISSIONING OF EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS: The Commissioning of Eucharistic Ministers will take place on November 25th at the 4 pm Mass.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION WEEK – NOVEMBER 26 – DECEMBER 2: This is a week when we, as a Diocese, will be especially united in our Eucharistic prayer. To hear a message from Bishop Koenig visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3572Xl766QI&t=22s The November 17th Dialog will have a list of times/dates of when/where Adoration is available throughout the Diocese.
RESERVED PARKING SPOT – Help out the Church with annual fundraiser and Parish tradition of putting up a parking spot to the highest bidder! You will have the reserved spot (with your name on it) for one year. With the winter weather coming, maybe you will want to have that close spot for you or loved one (maybe as an early Christmas gift). Please submit your bid amount by Friday, December 1st at 3pm by emailing financialmanager@saintpolycarp.org with the Subject Line: “Parking Spot Bid” or dropping it in the collection basket or black drop box under the portico labeled “Parking Spot Bid” with your name & phone number on it. Individual parishioners as well as parish groups are welcome to bid. All bids MUST be in writing.
UPCOMING
ANNUAL TURKEY & HAM DRIVE – The St Vincent De Paul Society, along with the Knights of Columbus, will be conducting the Annual Christmas Gift Program. Parishioners are asked to donate a turkey or ham. Gift cards (not to exceed $30.00) are also greatly appreciated. Kindly bring your frozen turkey, ham or gift card to St. Polycarp’s Church parking lot on Thursday evening, December 7th between 6:30 to 7:30 pm. St Vincent de Paul members will deliver the turkeys, hams and gift cards Saturday morning, December 9th, between 9 am to noon, to those in need within the parish boundaries. Someone must be home to receive these gifts. If you know of anyone who is in need of a turkey/ham/gift card, please call St. Vincent de Paul at (302) 264-6630.
BREAKFAST WITH JESUS: Come join us, after Mass, on Sunday, December 17th, for BREAKFAST WITH JESUS. Brother Vincent Knights of Columbus will be serving a delicious breakfast to all. Let us celebrate the upcoming birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Breakfast is free, donations will be accepted. St. Nicholas (Santa) may be attending!
ROCK AND ROLL TRIBUTE “SAVE THE DATE”: Come join us on Saturday, January 13th, 2024 to ROCK in the New Year. Brother Vincent Knights of Columbus along with our Columbiettes is sponsoring a ROCK AND ROLL TRUBUTE with an evening of dinner and dancing.
Mr. Charisma will be back to entertain us.
FROM FR. LENTINI, Dean – Silver Lake Deanery
Dear Parishioners of St. Polycarp Parish,
The Silver Lake Deanery is Church’s administrative territory covering the areas overseen by St. Dennis (Galena), St. Polycarp (Smyrna), Holy Cross (Dover), Immaculate Conception (Marydel), and St. John the Apostle (Milford/Harrington). As part of the Diocesan Planning process, the various Deaneries of the Diocese of Wilmington, are seeking ways in which Parishes within a Deanery can more effectively work together to provide services to the faithful (and, conversely, identifying those areas where that is not practical).
To that end, as Dean of the Silver Lake Deanery, I have compiled a survey to get parishioner assessment regarding areas/topics that have been reviewed by our Deanery Committee or by the Diocesan Pastoral Planning process. The survey is fairly simple, and should take only a few minutes to complete.
I would like to compile the results of this survey to present to our Bishop and the steering committee of this Pastoral Planning process by early December. Thus, I would set the deadline for submissions to this survey at Tuesday, November 28th, 2023. The survey itself is housed at the Immaculate Conception website, which provides a simple link for all to use: www.iccmarydel.org/survey.
On behalf of my brother priests in the Silver Lake Deanery, I thank you for your faithfulness and your participation. I remain,
Yours in Christ,
Vy, Rev. James Lentini, VF
Dean – Silver Lake Deanery
.WE NEED YOUR HELP!
NEEDED – NEW MINISTRY SCHEDULER: We are currently looking for someone to take over the scheduling of our ministers for the Weekend Masses and Holy Days of Obligation. This person must have good PC organization and computer skills. If you think you might be interested in this position, please call Frank Patton at (302) 508-5268.
SACRISTAN NEEDED: We are still in need of someone to step forward to serve as sacristan. Sacristans have the duty to arrive early to the Church in order to unlock the doors and prepare the Church for Mass. Becoming a sacristan would be a great way to learn more about our beautiful liturgy and become more involved in carrying it out. No previous knowledge is required. If you are interested, please contact the head sacristan Adam Bauer at ajpd.bauer@gmail.com.
DIRECTORY COORDINATOR: The Pastoral Council is looking for a parishioner to coordinate the preparation for a new directory for Saint Polycarp. Our last directory was published in 2018 and we understand there may be an interest in producing a new directory. Please contact Kathy Curlett at (302) 222 – 9326 if you are interested.
ONGOING
SATURDAY EUCHARISTIC ADORATION at St. Polycarp will take place monthly at the Vigil Mass for the Second Sunday of the month. December 9th. Eucharistic Adoration at St. Dennis Church (Galena MD) will take place on the Fourth Sunday of the month following the 8 am Sunday Mass. (November 26th).
TUESDAY EUCHARISTIC ADORATION: Tuesdays from 9am to 8pm in the Chapel. We are still in need of people to fill in the following openings 9:30 am, 10:00 am, 10:30 am; 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm and people to fill in when others are ill or cannot attend. Do you have one hour to spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Call Cheryl Thomas at (302) 363 – 0404 or email her at salcrest7@gmail.com. All are welcome to stop in and adore Jesus between 9 am and 8 pm in the Chapel on Tuesdays. Stay for 10 minutes, 1 hour…
THE VOCATION CHALICE MINISTRY: Please consider signing up to host the vocation chalice in your home for a week. Families and individuals are encouraged to sign up! Text or call Alice Gaston at (302) 670 – 7924. For more information visit https://saintpolycarp.org/vocation-chalice/ November 25, 4 pm Mass – K. Kelvin; December 10, 10:30 am Mass – Donna Adams, December 24, 4 pm Mass – S. Roch.
CONNECTED IN CHRIST (ADULT FAITH FORMATION) meets every Tuesday at 9:00 am in the Parish Library – ALL are welcome. Please join us. If you have any questions, please call Cookie Ruane at (302) 540 – 6429. We begin to gather at 8:40 am in the parish library, following the 7:30 am Mass, Rosary, and Divine Mercy Chaplet. We will begin promptly at 9:00 am with our faith-sharing lessons.
FAITH WITH FRIENDS (ADULT FAITH FORMATION) meets the first Thursday of every month at 6 pm in Room 7. Everyone is invited. Questions? Contact Ashley Wilson at (302) 535-4118.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD: Children’s Liturgy of the Word is offered every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month during the 10:30am Mass. (This month – November 5th and 19th).This is a wonderful opportunity for children in PreK-4th grade. It mirrors the worship experience of the larger community in an engaging and interactive style. They will listen to Scripture and engage in discussions about what they have heard at their age level. Children will be called forward before the First Reading and will return to you after the General Intercessions. Our lead catechist is Anna Skinner. She, along with her assistants, have cleared background checks.
GLUTEN FREE? Do you have an intolerance to gluten? If so, our parish offers gluten-free wafers to be consecrated for you. Please see our Sacristan 10 – 15 minutes before Mass and let them know that you need a gluten-free wafer put in the pyx. At Communion, please proceed down the aisle to the priest who will have the pyx in his hand and let him know you need a gluten-free host.
IS THAT YOU, FR. JIM? If you receive emails or texts from Fr. Jim asking for favors, gift cards or gifts or stating something similar to “I am currently busy in a meeting now, no calls so just reply to my email.”, please ignore and delete. If an email looks suspicious and you’re not sure, give the office a call.
FORMED: Thanks to a very generous and thoughtful parishioner, our FORMED Subscription has been RENEWED for another year! Please SIGN UP NOW and begin enjoying the abundant amount of Catholic content that FORMED has to offer! You won’t be disappointed! To gain full access to FORMED; follow these simple steps:
~Go to: www.formed.org or scan QR Code
~Enter our parish’s zip code (19977)
~Click on St. Polycarp Church
~Enter your name and your email address
REDNER’S MARKETS 1% SAVE-A-TAPE FUNDRAISER: Turn your food shopping into cash for our parish. Simply be sure to obtain and scan your Redner’s Rewards Card each time you shop. Save your whole receipt. Bring your receipts to the Parish Office or put them into the collection basket. There is no expiration date – you can turn in receipts months old!
BULLETIN SPONSORS: Thank you to all of our weekly bulletin sponsors for your support during the year! Your support has not gone unnoticed by our parish community and is so appreciated!
USEFUL LINKS:
WEBSITE: www.saintpolycarp.org.
BULLETIN: https://www.jppc.net/onlinebulletins/301template.pdf
BULLETIN OVERFLOW: https://saintpolycarp.org/this-weeks-bulletin/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/StPolycarpSmyrnaDE
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SaintPolycarpCatholicChurch/
ONLINE GIVING: Please consider becoming an e-giver. It is easy to make your weekly or one time contributions in support of the Parish. For more information and to sign up for online giving, visit faith.direct/DE831
ST DENNIS: http://www.stdennischurch.org
DIOCESE OF WILMINGTON – LIVE STREAMING https://www.youtube.com/user/DioceseofWilm
FOR THE SAKE OF GOD’S CHILDREN: https://www.cdow.org/giving/fsgc/
THE DIALOG: http://thedialog.org/ Newspaper of the Diocese, copies available as you leave Church or online
EWTN: ewtn.com
FROM THE DIOCESE:
CATHOLIC FORUM/RELEVANT RADIO: Saturdays at 1:30 pm on Relevant Radio 640AM. Paul Yoder will discuss his book, “Maryland’s Eastern Shore Historic Churches,” on the November 18th Catholic Forum podcast, episode of Catholic Forum podcast. CLICK HERE You can listen online at cdow.org/CatholicForum, or by searching “Catholic Forum” on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or Amazon Music podcasts. “Like” Catholic Forum on Facebook at facebook.com/CatholicForum @CatholicForum.
LET US PRAY: 
Dear Lord, on Thanksgiving Day, we bow our hearts to You in prayer. We give You thanks for all You have done, mostly for the gift of Jesus Christ, Your Son. For beauty in nature, in which we see Your Glory, for joy and health, friends, and family. For our daily sustenance, Your mercy and care, these are the blessings You kindly share. So today we offer this response of praise with a promise to follow You all of our days. Amen.”