Wednesday Weekly January 7, 2015 Print Version
1. The Year for Consecrated Life
Please place the following information in parish bulletins:
In light of the Year for Consecrated Life and in recognition of their dedicated ministry to our diocese, all parishioners are invited to a special celebration in honor of our religious women and men. A Mass will be held on Monday, February 2nd, 2015 at 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Cathedral followed by a reception in the lower church. All are welcome to attend.
2. Schedule of Collections 2015-2016
For those parishes who are ordering Collection envelope packages, the schedule for 2016 collections is attached. The 2015 schedule is also included for reference.
3. Domano Renewal Centre
Parishes are asked to please post the attached Domano Renewal Centre’s January to June Calendar. The program brochure is being printed and will be distributed to parishes next week.
4. Returning to Spirit
Please post the attached poster and place the following information in parish bulletins:
The Aboriginal Returning to Spirit Workshop is scheduled for January 26-30th, 2015. This workshop is designed for Aboriginal people who continue to experience the legacy of residential schools. The workshop benefits survivors, families of survivors, and anyone who wants to move beyond healing to reconciliation and discover the spirit of who they are. This five-day session will be held at the Domano Renewal Centre in Prince George. Please call 250-964-4475 for registration. Please note the date for the Non-Aboriginal Returning to Spirit Workshop has been changed. It will now be held from March 16-20, 2015.
5. Okanagan Live – In, February 20-22, 2015
Parishes are asked to put the following notice in bulletins during January and February:
The Okanagan Winter Live-In weekend will be held at Immaculata Regional High School in Kelowna B.C. the weekend of February 20-22, 2015. The Live-In is an experience of God’s love through Jesus and the Live-In faith community. Past participants are asked to consider deepening your faith by being part of the back-up community: in serving others, we serve Jesus. If you would like more information or would like to register please contact Darlene Heaney at 250-542-8690 or darleneheaney@gmail.com.
6. Message for the 2015 World Day of Migrants and Refugees
The 2015 World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated on Sunday, January 18. The 2015 message from Pope Francis with the theme “Church without frontiers, Mother to all” is attached.
7. Week of Christian Unity – January 18-25, 2015
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be celebrated around the world, January 18-25, 2015. Drafted by a writing team in Brazil, and using the theme “Give me a drink” (John 4.7), the materials for the 2015 Week of Prayer invite a prayerful reflection on the meaning of water and sharing with “the other”. In a letter last month to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Pope Francis wrote:
Spiritual ecumenism, which reaches a high point in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, lives and develops through countless channels, which truly only the Lord sees, but which we, too, often have the joy of knowing: it is a worldwide network of prayerful moments which, at parish and international levels, spread the oxygen of the authentic ecumenical spirit through the body of the Church; a network of acts, which see us united and working together in so many works of charity; and it is also a sharing of prayer, of meditation and other texts which circulate on the web and can contribute to raising awareness, respect and mutual esteem.
For further information and online Canadian resources, please refer to the Canadian Council of Churches website at: http://www.councilofchurches.ca/our-faith/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity/
8. Payroll Reminders
- WCB Reminder – the 4th quarter report of payments the parish or school has made to individuals and to contractors who are not registered with WCB are due. This includes replacement ministry personnel. Please send to Payroll Services by January 15th if you have not already done so.
- T4-A’s – We must issue T4-A’s to an individual if the total of all payments to the individual in the 2014 calendar year was more than $500. This includes anyone who considers themselves self-employed, has the payment made in their personal name and is not registered with WorkSafeBC. Payments include but are not limited to lump-sum payments, retiring allowances, fees or other amounts for services. The most common type of payment would be honorariums for presenters and payments for services such as cleaning, snow removal, gardening, organist and other miscellaneous activities. Please provide Payroll Services with the name, address, social insurance number and total amount paid in 2014 so that a T4-A slip can be produced. This information must be provided to Payroll Services by February 5th as T4-A slips must be sent out by February 28th.
If you have any questions, please call Lynn Monteith at 250 964-5646 or e-mail at: lynn-monteith@pgdiocese.bc.ca.
9. Appeal Update
To be eligible for a 2014 donation receipt, donations must have been received by the parish on or before December 31, 2014 but did not have to be deposited in the bank in December. Any cheques must be dated for 2014. Please separate any Appeal donations that were received in 2014 and send them immediately to the Finance office labelled “2014 Donations”. Thank you!
Income tax receipts for donations made in the 2014 calendar year will be issued in February 2015 except for those donations made by using CanadaHelps. They issue receipts for all donations made through their website.
