Parish & Related News/Events
For UPCOMING EVENTS in Parish, please go to the latest Bulletin on Homepage
Current News & Events
Churches on-the-Hill's Good Friday Walk, April 2, 12:00 - leaves OLPH and proceeds to Yorkmister Park Baptist Church, Christ Church Deer Park, Calving Presbyterian/Deer Park United and finally to Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. It's completed by about 2:15 pm, just in time to get back to OLPH for 3 pm mass. See pictures from the 2008 walk
Decorating Church for Easter - Anyone willing to come and help, please come on Sat. April 3rd at 10:30 am. If you can come, call the office and let us know 416-489-1540 ext 221.
Children Liturgy will not be held on Easter Sunday, April 4. It will resume on April 11 at the 9:30.
Presentation of the Saint John's Bible made at OLPH on March 24
Fr. Scott Lewis, S.J. from Regis College in Toronto spoke about "According to Scripture: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament". He brought three huge volumes of this Saint John's Bible to OLPH, each about 25 x 16 in. They are reproductions of the first complete edition of the Bible to be hand-scribed and hand-illuminated in over 500 years! Not to be confused with St. John's Gospel, this is the complete Bible (total 7 volumes) that originated in 1998 at Saint John's Abbey and University in Minnesota. After touring, they will be displayed at Regis College. More info at www.saintjohnsbible.org. A few pictures from the evening with Fr. Scott Lewis and Fr. Gordon Rixon, S.J., Dean of Regis College. For picture explanation, move mouse over any part of picture.
Sharelife Campaign is underway. A generous donor has pledged to match all new and increased gifts to the 2010 ShareLife Campaign up to a total of $500,000. Help us to maximize the impact of your gift. For more information, visit www.sharelife.org
OLPH Sunday Envelopes for 2010 - did you forget to pick up your Sunday Envelopes? Contact Helen at the office at 416-489-1540 ext 221 or email office@olphtoronto.com
Stations of the Cross will be prayed after the 12:10 mass every Friday during Lent. All are welcome. The First Friday Hour of Prayer will resume on May 7th.
Baptism Preparation - next Session is on May 17 at 7:30-8:30 pm in the Library. The actual dates of upcoming Baptism are: March 20, 5:00 pm
- All parents wanting to have their child baptized in the upcoming months must have an interview with Karen Corcoran, Lay Pastoral Associate before each Baptism Preparation Session. Please note that the Baptism Date must be confirmed with Karen before you make arrangements for family and friends to attend. Monthly Baptisms are on a first come first served basis.
Archived News
2010
- Feb. 1 — Haitian Earthquake Relief - donations were accepted by ShareLife (via Caritas Internationalis) for relief efforts following the Jan. 12th catastophic earthquake in Haiti. A special archdiocesan collection was also taken up at all parishes on Jan. 24-25. An ecumenical Prayer Service for the earthquake victims was held on Feb. 1st at St. Paul's Basilica with representatives from faith communities throughout the GTA including Archbishop Thomas Collins.
- Jan.24 — Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 17-24) - the main ecumenical service was held on Jan. 24th at the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. The major Christian leaders and city-wide clergy attended with Archbishop Thomas Collins preaching at the service.
2009
- Dec. 6 — Two new Sections "Parish Donations" and "Planned Giving" were added to our website. The first method is by Pre-Authorized Giving (PAG) or the weekly Sunday envelopes - read more. Besides these methods, there are numerous other methods to support your parish, e.g., stocks, estate, life insurance, etc. - read more.
- Oct. 18 — Special Fund-raising Campaign via PAG donations - This campaign arose out of a pledge by a generous OLPH parishioner who matched, on a one-time basis till December, the dolloar amount obtained from new Pre-Authorized Giving (PAG) donors or from increases to amounts contributed by existing PAG donors.
- July 19 — Summer Issue of The Icon Newsletter was published with interesting articles about parish activities and even about our pastor. You can still read it at the very end of the "Bulletins/Homilies" section (Left Menu)
- April 19 — Surprise Party for Fr. Jim's 35th Anniversary - The surprise was kept intact till after the 9:30 mass when he was ushered down to the parish hall. It was repeated again after the 11:00 mass but not a surprise by then. Enjoy pictures from the two parties
- March 29 - April 1 — Parish Lenten Mission - This 4-day event (7:00 - 8:15 pm each evening) helped the parish to prepare for Easter through spiritual growth and renewal. It was conducted by Fr. Steve Vasek & Sr. Jean Fitzpatrick from Buffalo, NY, supported by Mission Teams of about 25 parishioners. Audio versions of each evening are available in the Bulletins/Homilies section (Archives). See pictures from each day of the Mission
- February 16 — A Holy Hour of Prayer was held in preparation for the Parish Lenten Mission (late March). It was conducted by Fr. Steve Vasek & Sr. Jean Fitzpatrick. see some pictures from that evening
- January 25 — Stopping the e-Newsletter The Insider. Based on the results of the Jan. 11th online survey, it was decided to stop the bi-weekly publication but use it for as-needed communication, e.g. important timely matters. But much of what was in the e-Newsletter would be provided via two new sections on the website: (a) Parish News and (b) Community News (news and events beyond the parish).
- January 9 — Former OLPH pastor, Fr. Wilfred Firth, died peacefully in his 86th year. His funeral mass was held on Jan. 15th at Blessed Trinity Church which he built in the mid-1960's. Read more about Fr. Firth
2008
- Sept. 14 — The OLPH Parish Mission Statement was issued, now shown on Homepage of this site
- Sept. 7 — OLPH parishioner and high school student Jackie de Santis had an amazing trip to Kenya in July 2008 with the "Leaders Today" program. Read about her experience with many pictures
- Sept. 7 — A new electronic Calendar of Events & Meetings added to website in a monthly or yearly format with the following colour-coded groups: (a) Events (within and beyond parish), (b) Ministry meetings (Pastoral council, RCIA, etc), (c) Sacramental preparation (Reconciliation, First Communion, etc) and (d) Baptism dates and preparation
- July 6 — A new section "Know your Faith" provides many links to various aspects of our Faith including Catholic Social Teaching. Please take a look
- February - June — Fr. Guenter Petricek gave a series of monthly talks/seminars following the Thursday 12:10 mass - including Church History, Lenten reflections, about Mary and about St. Paul (for Pauline year starting June 28, 2008)
- April 26-28 — OLPH School celebrated their 150th Anniversary - see many pictures from the numerous weekend events
- March 21 — The 15th annual Good Friday Walk had a good turnout, visiting and praying at the participating Churches-on-the-Hill. See pictures from the walk in Photo Gallery
- March 9 — A new bi-weekly e-Newsletter "The Insider" was launched by the website committee. The purpose of this newest form of parish communication is to inform parishioners by email of what's going in the parish and archdiocese and beyond. Read more about it
- February 6 - March 19 — A Lenten Pilgrimage of Sacred Spaces 2008, organized by the Yorkminster Park Baptish Church and joined by the Churches-on-the-Hill. This ecumenical Pilgrimage visited six churches and one synagogue throughout the city. Read more
ShareLife is the charitable fundraising arm of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Money raised from the annual appeal goes to support ShareLife's 34 agencies, helping more than 100,000 people each year.
There is a wealth of information on their Web site (www.sharelife.org), including a detailed listing of where the funds are used (click on "Who Benefits?" on their Web site).
How to make donations:
- Through OLPH: please write cheque (payable to "ShareLife - Our Lady of Perpetual Help") and drop off in collection basket or with the Parish Secretary at the office.
- Online through the ShareLife Web site: www.sharelife.org
Our goal for 2010 is $125,000.
The ShareLife campaign for 2010 started at OLPH with the Pancake Breakfast on Feb. 28th - see pictures from that event.
The final total for 2009 is $122,655 from some 283 parishioners. The pastor thanks all parishioners who helped in this endeavour.
For 2010, we have an opportunity to make an even bigger impact through the ShareLife Community Challenge. All new and increased gifts, up to a total of $500,000 will be matched by a generous parishioner in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Help us meet this challenge by making your donation today.
Do not forget that you may donate on-line. OLPH still gets the credit for your donation. In 2009, over $40,000 of the OLPH total was donated in this way.
Youth Zone: there is a section in the ShareLife Web site (click on Youth Zone) that invites young people to make a difference in the lives of others, invite a friend to get involved, and finally, provide all sorts of cool ideas that will help ShareLife help you help others!