On April 7th, join the Body of Christ in a procession down E. Washington Street, beginning at 3 pm at Petaluma United Methodist Church (410 D St.) and ending at St. James Catholic Church (125 Sonoma Mountain Pkwy). Call Sheila Almquist (707-775-7973) or email Stephen Morris (stephenmichaelmorris@gmail.com) for more information.
Thursday, April 27th at St. James Parish. Social time begins at 6 pm. Program begins at 6:30 pm. Contact Joanne Ferris at jferrispetaluma@gmail.com or call 707-481-6431.
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Last Saturday morning, we had an unexpected but most welcome visitor from Dublin, Ireland. Let me set the scene. At 10:00 a.m., I had six baptisms in Spanish and, at the conclusion of the final blessing, there was the usual bedlam as parents, godparents, relatives and newly-baptized children line up to take […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, A couple of weeks ago, a parishioner e-mailed me asking what the main collection pays for, and why we have so many second collections. I thought some of you might be interested in my answer. The first collection goes to the day-to-day expenses of the parish. The largest item by far is […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I thought Iād do something different with the Pastorās Desk this week, and provide information on a number of matters. Video Masses: For the next several weeks, the Saturday evening Masses will not be posted on the parish website, due to the unavailability of our videographer. While most parishioners have returned to […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I am happy to lead with very positive news. The result of our October Mass Count is that our Mass attendance shows an 18% increase over 2018. This is particularly welcome news after the long COVID lockdown. Still, there are long-time parishioners who still feel unable to return. We continue to offer […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, October is significant ā especially this year ā for three anniversaries: the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Though they differ in character, they are important dates for those who lived through them, and whose effects continue to this day. October 11th was […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Rather than use homily time, I would like to use The Pastorās Desk for an update on a few matters concerning the workings of the parish. This past summer, two valued and long-time staff members retired: Kim Williams, our Office Manager and Bookkeeper, and Rose Marie Woodruff, our Director of Religious Education. […]
Dear Parishioners, Over the course of a week, we have two feast days which celebrate angels: the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Rafael on September 29th, and the Holy Guardian Angels on October 2nd. Catholics set up altars honoring Guardian Angels as early as the 4th century, and the feast of the Guardian Angels has been […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) speaks deeply to two realities of human life which are outside of Godās positive will: It is not Godās will that anyone be lost. It is not Godās will that anyone be alone. The parable is also mysterious, as there is an element of […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Iāll begin by wishing you all a blessed and safe Labor Day weekend. In the past, school started on the Tuesday after Labor Day. So much of our school calendar was designed around agricultural life. Even today, there is Harvest Break in northern Maine for school children to help bring in the […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners,Ā It is very nice to see so many of you after returning from vacation earlier this month.Ā Many of our parish families are experiencing another annual event: return to school, in all its many forms, whether to our parish elementary and high school, or local public schools, the first day of pre-school or Kindergarten, […]
Our parish mission statement identifies St. Vincentās as a Eucharist centered people who, as the Body of Christ, live our faith in word and deed by sharing our time, talent, and treasure to support one another and serve those in need.
This website is intended not only to provide you with the information you need about our parish but also to help us build up our life as a community and so help us in our mission. It provides a way for us to connect with each other; and we invite you to use it to share stories, to learn about whatās happening and whatās coming up, and to provide information you think we all need to hear. This site will evolve as our parish evolves; it belongs to all of us. I hope you find it helpful.
This hymn speaks to the atmosphere, design, and heart of St. Vincentās parish: there is a place here for everyone. In fact, you are not only welcomed, but needed! As we explore and expand our ideas of just what a Church community is, we recognize first that pivotal life events occur in church: weddings, baptisms, First Communion, Confirmation; but, we also find that we need community in order to be a Spirit filled Church where we praise God, share our faith, and help one another by way of fellowship, and the numerous ministries available to all parishioners. Through our stewardship, the gift of our time and talent, there is a wonderful opportunity to give and receive, to make friends, to help friends, to see how our talents are a gift from God made for sharing. We are bonded to a group of people with whom we already have at least one thing in common, and that is our faith. It is our hope that you will use this community website to build bridges and connect with one another, and see that each of us, too, is a gift from God meant to be shared.