Cardinal Tobin has moved the Feast of the Ascension to Sunday, May 16, 2021, for this year only. Thursday, May 13, 2021, therefore, is a regular weekday.

We began our parish LGBT outreach called, “LGBTQ at Grace,” after our archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Tobin welcomed a gay pilgrimage to our Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark in May 2017. The following year he invited 20 LGBT Catholics to the cathedral for dinner and a discussion. Our LGBT leader, Gary Stavella, and Christine Zuba, our May parish Zoom chat guest speaker, attended. Since then, we have held meetings pre-COVID and now on Zoom.

People ask me, “Why do you have a Pride Mass?” Because we believe the lives of all people are worth dignity and respect and we have failed as a Church to do that with our LGBT brothers and sisters. That is part of our official catechism.  Pope Francis has asked us to go to the peripheries to find people who have been estranged, disenfranchised or rejected and bring them into the fold.

As we prepare to celebrate our Fourth Annual Pride Mass on Sunday, June 27 at Our Lady of Grace Church, we reflect on how inclusive Jesus was and how we need to bring that quality to our parish and Church.

Back in 2010, Tyler Clementi left Ridgewood to start school at Rutgers, New Brunswick. Prior to leaving home, he informed his parents that he is gay. One night, he invited a man back to his dorm room and his roommate, unknowing to Tyler, filmed the encounter and posted it online. Tyler was not out publicly and was a very shy and private young man. Two days after he learned of the video, he jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

After a period of grieving, his parents Jane and Joseph Clementi formed the Tyler Clementi Foundation. Jane is now the president. She will be our June parish Zoom chat guest and speak about the need to eradicate bullying of LGBT individuals, especially youth.  The foundation is asking parishes to sign on to an LGBT anti-bullying pledge. You can find the pledge and the opportunity to sign on the right side of our parish's homepage. There is colorful art that says, “Support Our LGBT Youth.” Click on the art. Your name will not be released but is simply for parish purposes. And no one will see any other name so only you and I will know that you signed.

Easter is the second most important collection for us. Over the last months we have restored the OLG altar rail and pulpit and completed additional stained glass window work. We will soon install a new parish telephone system. At St. Joseph we have engaged a contractor to repair exterior damage to the church and repair any openings so we can fix the church interior. Our Easter collection goal for both churches is $37,000. Your generosity enables us to complete the work that will position our churches for the rest of this century. If each person, couple or family donates $100, we will go over our goal. We hold the collection open until the Feast of Pentecost, May 23, 2021, and then publish a list in the bulletin unless you ask us to omit your name.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin has written a beautiful pastoral letter on the Eucharist.  You can access it in English and in Spanish here:  www.rcan.org/cardinal-joseph-tobin-pastoral-letter

Tickets for the parish's bimonthly raffle are available after Mass. The next winner will be drawn on June 28.  You may take some tickets home to sell to family, neighbors and co-workers. Or contact Socorro Martinez at the Parish Center (201-659-0369), and she will mail them to you.  Thank you for your support!

Please consider making a Mass or memorial intention for 2021 at Our Lady of Grace or St. Joseph.  You may reserve 2021 Mass intentions by calling OLG at 201-659-0369 or stopping by the OLG Parish Center (411 Clinton St.).  For St. Joseph, please call 201-659-0221.  You may also complete the form on the church tables and mail it in or drop it in the collection or at the Parish Center or St. Joseph Rectory. 

Have you connected with the parish yet on social media? Don't miss out -- follow the parish's Facebook and Instagram pages to catch the latest news and events, and don't forget to tag us in any parish-related photos that you post on Facebook or Instagram. Links to all the parish's social media accounts can be found on the left side of our webpage.  Check us out today!