ROMP

Week One | Fifth Day

Creator of Life,

At Your word, the Earth brought forth plants yielding seed and trees of every kind bearing fruit. The rivers, mountains, minerals, seas and forests sustained life. The eyes of all looked to You to satisfy the needs of every living thing. And throughout time the Earth has sustained life. Through the planetary cycles of days and seasons, renewal and growth, you open your hand to give creatures our food in the proper time.

In your Wisdom, you granted a Sabbath; a blessed time to rest in gratitude for all that you have given; a time to liberate ourselves from vicious consumption; a time to allow the land and all creatures to rest from the burden of production. But these days our living pushes the planet beyond its limits. Our demands for growth, and our never-ending cycle of production and consumption are exhausting our world. The forests are leached, the topsoil erodes, the fields fail, the deserts advance, the seas acidify, the storms intensify. We have not allowed the land to observe her Sabbath, and the Earth is struggling to be renewed.

During this Season of Creation, we ask you to grant us courage to observe a Sabbath for our planet. Strengthen us with the faith to trust in your providence. Inspire us with the creativity to share what we have been given. Teach us to be satisfied with enough. And as we proclaim a Jubilee for the Earth, send Your Holy Spirit to renew the face of creation.

In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.

“A World to Care For”

(Excerpts from Fr. Ed Ciuba’s
“Creation at the Crossroads”)
_______

Pope Francis writes, “Some studies warn that an acute water shortage may occur within a few decades unless urgent action is taken. The environmental repercussions could affect billions of people; it is also conceivable that the control of water by large multinational businesses may become a major source of conflict in this century” (Laudato Si’, 31). The United Nations states, “By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world population could be under stress conditions” (U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization).

Pope Francis is especially concerned about the movement toward privatizing water. “Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity, subject to laws of the market” (Laudato Si’, 30). On July 28, 2010, The United Nations passed a resolution recognizing the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledging that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights. Pope Francis affirms this position, writing that “access to safe drinking water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights” (Laudato Si’, 30). Access to water is a “right-to-life” issue.

Privatization of water as a commodity to be sold for profit is especially harmful to those who are poor, who often cannot pay a high price for water, even when it is accessible. Bottled water is a daily reminder of the privatization of water. Multinational corporations bottle it in plastic, market it cleverly, and stock supermarket and convenience-store shelves, charging a thousand or more times the cost of tap water. The water can come from clean natural sources, but most of it simply comes from faucets. Ironically, the largest consuming country of bottled water is the United States, where tap water is almost universally available, is inexpensive, and is perfectly clean for consumption.

How do you understand the opinion that “access to clean water is a right-to-life issue”?

Make concrete and decisive action to conserve water at home and at work.

~ Look at the World ~

Music by John Rutter

Sung by The Smith Ensemble

Week One | Fourth Day

Gracious, loving Creator God,

you who have brought living creatures from primeval waters,

and have sustained these various forms of creation with food and water.

We thank you for the presence of your Son,

Jesus Christ,

who has graced our lives with the waters of baptism

and the gifts of the Holy Spirit,

and sustained all life through the waters of the earth.

Awaken and bring to life the seeds of your wisdom,

touch our minds and hearts,

that we may be open and receptive

to the teaching of this journey.

We ask this in the power of your name.

Amen.

“A World to Care For”

(Excerpts from Fr. Ed Ciuba’s
“Creation at the Crossroads”)
_______

Pope Francis is concerned about the unsustainable level of consumption of finite natural resources. With respect to one vital resource, he writes, “Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic systems” (Laudato Si’, 28).

Though an increasing number of people are experiencing water shortages, those who are poor suffer most. Seven hundred fifty million people do not have access to clean water; 2.4 billion people do not have adequate sanitation. And yet, this resource continues to be wasted and poorly managed in the developed and developing worlds.

Agriculture, industry, and the health of people and eco-systems depend on water. More people die annually from exposure to unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially susceptible to water-borne disease. Forty-five thousand children (one child every 20 seconds) die every day from preventable water-borne deceases (U.N. Face Sheet on Water and Sanitation).

In many places, water resources are threatened by the pollution produced by inadequate sewage treatment and mining, farming, and industrial and agricultural waste are dumped into the world’s waters. Detergents and chemical products in households throughout the world also frequently end up in rivers, lakes, and streams.

At the same time that water pollution is growing, the demand for water is increasing. In addition to the needs of a growing population, some countries are experiencing a rise in the standard of living within some segments of society. For example, Christiana Peppard, in her book Just WaterI, shows the relationship between the increased demand for water and the growth of the middle class in China and India. Those in the middle class are more educated and have higher incomes. The increased income is changing their eating habits. Diets which once consisted of vegetables and chicken or fish now regularly include beef dinners. To produce a pour of beef requires 1, 799 gallons of water. Producing a pound of chicken requires 460 gallons of water.

Modern technology has also increased water usage at a massive scale. Producing one micro-chip requires roughly 32 gallons of water. That may not seem like much compared to a pound of beef. However, by 2013 there were nearly as many cell phones in the world (6.8 million) as there were people. Imagine the amount of water involved.

What habits and attitudes can you develop with regard to your use of water?

Millions of people lack access to clean water, and more than a billion lack access to sanitation facilities. Begin a campaign in your parish community to raise funds to support such a project.

~ Come to the Water ~

Music by John Foley, SJ

Sung by Brendan Rooney

On the piano: Ed Ginter

Week One | Third Day

Gracious, loving Creator God,

out of primeval darkness

you have flooded us with light.

You dispel the darkness of our minds and hearts,

and you guide our footsteps

as we try to follow your ways.

Be with us now as that light of truth.

Illumine our thoughts and prayers

with the light of your presence

as we journey together

with our sisters and brothers

to learn more about our relationship

with you, our God,

with each other, and with the earth

– our common home.

Amen.

“A World to Care For”

(Excerpts from Fr. Ed Ciuba’s
“Creation at the Crossroads”)
_______

Some have failed to understand this truth because they misinterpret the words of God in Genesis: “Be fertile and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all living things that move on the earth.” To “subdue the earth” does not mean to destroy or exploit it. The nuance of the verb, as it is used in Genesis, is to control. Human beings must work the land in order to gain our sustenance, but we must do it responsibly! The phrase “having dominion over the earth” is not a license for tyranny; we can’t do with the earth whatever we like. We are called by God to exercise the real power that we have in the manner of Christ – in loving service to God and neighbor. Being given dominion is a challenge to be accountable for the care of the earth as a sacred trust. We must continue developing and improving upon it. Our efforts at re-working and shaping the earth are intended to make the result “good,” just as God made it in the beginning.

A way of understanding the partnership between God and humankind is found in Genesis 2:15: “God then took man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.” In other words, we can take from the land whatever is needed for our sustenance, but we must be sure to protect it and give it proper oversight not only for ourselves but also for future generations. We don’t “own” the earth; it is given to us in trusteeship to be used for the common good. These ancient stories, full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction that we today share, that everything is interconnected. Genuine care for our lives, our relationships with other human beings and with nature are inseparable from fraternity, justice, and faithfulness to others.

The Hebrew Scriptures – especially the Psalms, the prophets, and wisdom literature – repeat in many different ways that God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things. Each creature, no matter how large or small, from the grasshopper to the elephant, from the little minnow to the orca whale, has its own purpose. No one, no creature, is superfluous. The entire universe speaks of God’s love for all of us creatures, living and non-living: soil, water, mountains, forests, Arctic tundra. Everything is like a caress of God. It speaks of God’s presence.

Biblical wisdom about relationships and the inter-connection of all creation helps us to understand the frequent references by Pope Francis to “integral ecology”.

Ecology is a combination of the Greek words oikos, meaning home, and logos meaning a teaching. Ecology then is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their common home. “Integral” adds an element of completeness: humans and all creatures of land, sea, and air, and our environment, are intimately connected as parts of a whole. Harming or destroying one part of the whole will cause harm and negative repercussions for another part. If we pollute our streams and rivers, we endanger the lives of the creatures that live in the water and the wellbeing of people who live along the banks. All of us are linked by unseen bonds, and together we form a universal family, sharing a common home.

What relationship do you see between religious faith and care for the environment?
Lawn and garden pesticides can harm wildlife; find alternative means of maintaining your own property without harmful pesticides.

~ Let All Creation Sing Alleluia ~

Music by Paul Tate

Sung by Pat Magliano

On the piano: Ed Ginter

Week One | The Second Day

Psalm 104: 24-25

How varied are your works, Lord!

In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

There is the sea, vast and spacious,

teeming with creatures beyond number—

living things both large and small.

There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan,

which you formed to frolic there.

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.

When you give it to them,

they gather it up;

when you open your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

When you hide your face,

they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return to the dust.

When you send your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works—

he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,

who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

“A World to Care For”

(Excerpts from Fr. Ed Ciuba’s
“Creation at the Crossroads”)
_______

To begin, we must understand what our faith teaches us about God, the Creator. When Christians celebrate Eucharist on Sunday, they profess the Nicene Creed, which begins “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible…”

These words are based on the accounts of creation in the Book of Genesis: God divides his work into three days of separation (light/darkness, heaven/earth, waters above/waters below). This is followed by three days of decoration (sun, moon, stars, birds, fish and living creatures). After each stage, the harmony, order, and beauty of the earth is punctuated by the words “God saw how good it was!”

On the sixth day of creation, Scripture tells us in a symbolic narrative, “God created man in his image; in divine image he created him; male and female he created them. And God looked at everything he had made and he found it very good.”

In the ancient world, “image” was used to represent the king’s presence where he could not be in person. When applied to the Genesis text that means that to be created in the “image of God” is to be God’s representative on the earth.

Every human being, created out of love, made in God’s image, has an immense dignity. We are capable of self-knowledge, self-giving, and of entering into communion with other persons. Each of us is the result of the thought of God; each of us is willed and loved by God; each of us is necessary. We have been chosen to be partners in the dialogue of creation, worthy caretakers of that which is meant by God to exist in harmony, good order, and right relationships. We’ve been fashioned as relational beings who can’t exist without other relational beings. We share a world of nature on which we depend for air, water, and food – life itself. The wisdom of the Scriptures suggests that human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbor, and with the earth itself. And, we are part of a larger community of life which God recognized as “very good” at the end of the first creation story (Gen 1:31).

Scripture teaches over and over that Creation is good. Reflect about an experience in your life that has taught this to you. Share in the comments below.

Research about a local community that is experiencing environmental degradation. For example, a community near a power plant, industrial wast site, or landfill. What can you do to help protect the habitats of the wild life species in your area?

~ Morning Has Broken ~

A 1931 Christian Hymn

Sung by Joseph McDonald

On the piano: Ed Ginter

Book Discussion of “Called to the Universal Christ” begins Sept. 17

We will be hosting a book discussion via Zoom of “The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe” by Richard Rohr. You may purchase the book from the usual online & retail stores.

There will be a 10am morning group & a 7:30pm evening group on the following four Thursdays: September 17, September 24, October 1, & October 8. We will be discussing Chapters 1 & 2 at our first meeting on September 17.

Click here to register for the morning or evening group

Facilitated by Diane Carr, Pastoral Associate for Adult Faith Formation & Cathie DeTora, parishioner. Feel free to email Diane at dcarr@churchofpresentation.org with any questions.

Year 1 Confirmation Registration for Incoming Freshmen

Dear Parents of 9^th Graders and Incoming Candidates joining Confirmation Preparation,

We are excited to welcome your child to our FRESHMAN program in the Fall of 2020 – YEAR ONE of Confirmation Preparation! Our engaging and impactful High School Youth Ministry Program is integrated with our Confirmation Preparation Program.

Confirmation is a parish Sacrament. Therefore, even if your child goes to Catholic school or will be going to Catholic High School, preparation happens in the parish. As you may be aware, our Confirmation program follows and builds on our Junior High program. Following Archdiocesan guidelines, Confirmation Preparation is a two-year Sacramental Preparation Process. Candidates should have a fundamental knowledge of our Catholic Christian teachings, and they should have completed their faith formation in a religious education program at a parish or in parochial school through 8^th grade. Additionally, candidates should demonstrate and express a personal interest in the Sacrament, be attending mass regularly, and be actively involved in the life of our Church Community.

Freshmen/ First Year Candidate requirements:

Complete the online registration form by clicking on this link or copying and pasting it into your web-browser:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=vjLPzhgRMUm8UIcKOTBdy2BCp92vdkZBqGlQhHSG0gtUQkpMRzZVM1ZDVElFOTNQMzYyNTE4Rk9HWi4u
*There is no cost for registration but please note: registration for Year One closes on SEPTEMBER 10th, 2020.

2. Participate in six (6) Sunday Youth Ministry Gatherings. Until we are able to resume meeting in person these Gatherings will be offered virtually using the Zoom platform.

*Due to our response to COVID-19 and exercise of social distancing practices the retreat requirement for Freshmen has been lifted for the 2020-2021 Catechetical year.

Our First Sunday Youth Ministry Gathering will be on Sunday, Sept 13^th at 7:30pm. That same night, we will have a separate Orientation for Parents at 7:30pm on Zoom as well. The Orientation will be informative and will give us a chance to talk about how we can support you as parents of teenagers. There is no registration for Sunday Community Gatherings. We also ask candidates not to bring cell phones with them to any in-person sessions or programming.

Email will be our main form of correspondence. If you notice that you are not receiving emails from our office throughout the year, please email or call us. Events will also be updated on our website, and reminders will be posted on our Youth Ministry Facebook page as well.

Please join us on Sept. 13^th to discuss our programs as well as ways we can support YOU. Additionally, even if your child does not intend to prepare for Confirmation at this time, know that all High School Students are welcome at our Youth Ministry events! As always, it is wonderful to be ministering with you in the faith development of your child. We consider it a blessing to be able to serve you and your family! If there is anything else we can do to assist you in the spiritual growth of your family, please let us know. Sincerely,

Craig Johnson, Pastoral Assoc. for Youth & Young Adults

Maureen Murphy, Administrative Asst. for Jr. High & Youth Ministry

(Click HERE to download a copy of this letter).

Justice & Peace Ministry’s Three-Part Series on Racism concludes on August 25

Our Justice & Peace Ministry will be hosting a Three-part Series entitled “Racism: Where Am I?”

This series of three virtual programs addressing racism will be offered during the summer months. The final installment is Tuesday, August 25 at 7:30pm. Registration is required via email to presentationjandp@gmail.com. Those registered will be sent a link the day before the event. Please see the Justice & Peace Ministry page for more information.

June 12 would have been the Volunteer Appreciation Cocktail Party!

To our parish volunteers,

Although we are unable to celebrate you in person, please know we are thinking of you and holding you close in our hearts. We can’t wait until we are together again…..we love you and are so grateful to each and every one of you!

Love,
Your Presentation Staff Family

Summer MusiConnectED 2020 | This week’s entry: The Lord’s Prayer | September 14, 2020

Father Bob Stagg on Pastoral Leadership: Preach then get out of the way | Sunday to Sunday

Father Bob Stagg is the pastor of The Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, N.J., located in Northern Bergen County, with over 4,700 families and 100 ministries. Community service and volunteerism are hallmarks — as diverse as growing a parish garden for soup kitchens in Newark and New York City, to the funding of a fully-staffed health clinic in Haiti. Father Bob is the best example of how preaching inspires and helps forward a cooperative model of pastoral leadership.

CHURCH OF THE PRESENTATION

Wedding Ceremony