FROM ASHES TO GLORY: ASH WEDNESDAY TO EASTER SUNDAY
All parishioners are invited to participate in our parish Mission, February 27th - 29th. Our presenter will be Msgr. James Forsen, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Msgr. Forsen has extensive retreat experience and will lead us in meditation and reflection on three foundational aspects of the journey of the Christian disciple: suffering, death, and resurrection.
The mission week begins with Msgr. Forsen preaching the homily at all weekend masses on February 25th and 26th. The daily schedule includes the celebration of the Eucharist at 8:30 am, followed by the mission talk of the day, refreshments, and the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The morning talk will be repeated at 7:00pm each evening, with refreshments and fellowship following. Our mission will conclude with the celebration of the Eucharist on Wednesday evening.

Read the Bishops’ letter on threats to Religious Liberty and visit the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Washington State Catholic Conference websites to learn more about current efforts to curtail religious freedom and how you can contact your congressional and state representatives to oppose them

Marriage and the Common Good (English, Spanish)

The Bishops of Washington State have issued a pastoral statement entitled, Marriage and the Common Good, in response to legislation introduced to change the current law defining marriage, HB 2516 and SB 6239.

On January 23rd, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain presented oral testimony in opposition to SB 6239 before the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee. Testimony in opposition to HB 2516 was delivered to the House Judiciary Committee.

To read more on the statement issued by the Bishops of Washington State click here: http://www.thewscc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69&Itemid=40

In the event of inclement weather, Faith Formation classes will NOT be held.  Our policy is that if school is cancelled for the day, dismissed earlier, or if afterschool activities are cancelled, we will not be having religious education classes.

We follow the guidelines of both Central Kitsap School District and Bremerton School District. If you have any questions, please call the Faith Formation office at 479-9525 during office hours.

If you have questions about whether you should bring your children to Faith Formation classes, please follow your instincts. Our main concern is the safety of you and your family.  Thank you!

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

Due to the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, which mandates the protection of patient privacy, Harrison Hospital will no longer be able to provide our local faith communities with a list of the names of Catholic patients who are hospitalized.

What this means for us here at Holy Trinity is that you will need to notify the parish office if you, a family member, loved one, or friend is in the hospital and wishes to celebrate the Anointing of the Sick due to serious illness, surgery, unexpected hospitalization, or if you wish to receive Holy Communion during your hospital stay.

 Harrison Hospital will be able to contact us if a Catholic patient specifically requests the ministry of a priest for the celebration of a sacrament or of a Eucharistic Minister for Holy Communion during their hospitalization.

 We will, as always, be able to see patients, however, we will only be able to ask about or receive information about the location of a patient if a specific name is provided. So, if we are not informed of a hospitalization, we will not be able to meet a need.

I will continue to respond to emergency calls and to visit the hospital on Thursday if there is a spiritual care request and our Eucharistic ministers will visit the hospital on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, as they always have, if we know that a Catholic patient is in the hospital.

We will continue to strive to provide the best in sacramental and pastoral care to our parish members and to Catholics in the wider community. But your initiative in notifying us about a hospitalization and a ministry request will be essential to our success in serving our Catholic faith community.

 Please let your family members and friends know of this change in the hospital policy so that they can plan accordingly. And as always, please notify us of the need for the Anointing of the Sick prior to an anticipated hospitalization or surgical procedure, whenever possible.

I celebrate this sacrament at our weekday masses with our morning mass community adding their prayers to mine for healing and recovery. If you are not able to be present at mass, I also celebrate the Anointing of the Sick at area care facilities for which we are responsible and in parishioner homes, if necessary. If we all work together we can help to minimize the impact of this mandated change to previous policy. May God bless us all.

Your, Brother in Christ,

Fr. Jack Buckalew