Upcoming Meetings & Events
Advent Giving Tree: Saturday/Sunday (thru 12/15), after all Masses, narthex
Casserole Collection: Saturday/Sunday (12/7-8), before all Masses, social hall kitchen
First Penance/First Holy Communion Candidates: Sunday (12/8), Blessing at 9:30 AM Mass, church + Family Reception at 10:30 AM, social hall
Holy Day of the Immaculate Conception: Monday (12/9), Mass at 7:30 AM, church [non-obligatory holy day]
EFF Advent Prayer Service: Monday (12/9), 5:00 PM; Tuesday (12/10), 6:30 PM; Wednesday (12/11), 5:00 PM, church
RCIA Inquiry: Mondays, 7:00 PM, St. John the Baptist
Walking With Purpose: Mondays (12/9), 7:00 PM, St. Matthew & Holy Family Room + Wednesdays, 9:30 AM, St. Matthew
Adult Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:00 AM, St. Matthew & St. Mark; 7:00 PM, St. Matthew
Advisory Council for Evangelization: Tuesday (12/10), 7:00 PM, chapel & St. Mark
Finance Council: Tuesday (12/10), 7:30 PM, St. Luke
High School Youth Group: Tuesdays, 7:00 PM, CLC
Bereavement Ministry Team: Wednesday (12/11), 9:00 AM, St. Luke
Parish School - Student Confessions: Wednesday (12/11), 1:15 PM, church
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays, holy hour at 6:00 PM in chapel and meeting at 7:00 PM, Holy Family Room
Cub Scout Den Meetings: Wednesday (12/11), 6:30 PM, social hall
Stewardship Day of Service Team: Wednesday (12/11), 7:00 PM, St. Mark
Ignatian Spirituality Series: Thursdays (12/12 & 12/19), 7:00 PM, Holy Family Room
Women at the Well: Thursdays, 7:00 PM, St. Mark
Women at the Well: Friday (12/13), holy hour in chapel, 9:00 AM + meeting in St. Mark, 10:00 AM
Elizabeth Ministry-Happy Birthday Jesus: Friday (12/13), 9:30 AM, social hall
Queen of Peace Marian Prayer Group: Fridays, 1:00 PM, chapel
Pre-Jordan II: Saturday (12/14), 10:30 AM, St. Matthew & St. Mark
TAPistry Choir Practice: Sunday (12/15), 10:30 AM, choir room
Blessing of New Altar Servers: Sunday (12/15), 11:30 AM Mass, church
Filipino Christmas Gathering: Sunday (12/15), 3:00 PM Mass, church, 4:00 PM reception, social hall
Joseph’s People: Monday (12/16), 7:00 PM, St. Luke
Advent Penance Service: Tuesday (12/17), 7:00 PM, church & chapel
Chosen Fathers: Tuesday (12/17), 7:30, St. Luke
Cub Scout Christmas Party: Wednesday (12/18), 6:30 PM, social hall & CLC
Men’s Spirituality Group: Thursday (12/19), 7:00 PM, St. Luke
Parish School Advent-Christmas Prayer Service: Friday (12/20), 2:00 PM, church
Extended Confessions: Saturday (12/21), 9:00-11:00 AM, church & chapel
SEAM Board: Monday (12/23), 7:00 PM, St. Luke
Christmas Eve: Tuesday (12/24), Mass at 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Christmas Day: Wednesday (12/25), Mass at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM
OTHER ACTIVITIES OF INTEREST
Help Wanted: Immaculate Conception Academy, Douglasville, is seeking a part-time Math Aide. The Academy is also looking for a part-time STEM teacher. If interested please contact Lisa Forkin at
Part-time Companion Needed: Looking for a parishioner willing to spend a few hours a few times a week with my elderly mother to provide companionship and minimal aide for things she can’t do herself. We are looking for these services in Uwchland Hunt. Compensation will be provided. If interested please contact Toni at 484-797-8213.
SS. Peter & Paul, West Chester: Marriage Spirituality Groups Forming! Teams of Our Lady is an international lay movement in the Catholic Church designed to enrich marriage spirituality and make good marriages even better. A Team is comprised of 5 to 7 couples who meet once a month, rotating from one home to another, accompanied by a spiritual counselor (priest, brother, sister or deacon). The Team shares a simple meal, shares on the spiritual activities performed between meetings and focuses on a particular study topic. If you are interested in increasing and improving your prayer life while growing closer to your spouse, please contact Sheila Johnson at
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary: Join us for Silence of the Season Open House & Christmas Concert, Sunday, December 8. Seminary tours begin at 1:00 PM, with the last tour beginning at 3:00 PM. Light refreshments will be available during the Open House tours. Christmas Concert, which begins at 4:00 PM, will feature music by our seminarian choir and musicians, Christmas readings and an opportunity to view the international Christmas Creche display and Papal artifacts from the 2015 Apostolic visit. The concert is free and open to the public. No need to RSVP. Free-will offering will be accepted to benefit a charity selected by the seminarians.
Best Kept Secrets Tour: Join in on this shopping, food and adventure tour between November 30 and December 14. Tickets are $10 ($1 per ticket donated to CRC Watersheds) which entitles you to all the perks of the tour and includes tour guide and map, coupons from 33 businesses, chance to win $900 in gift cards, and VIP treatment at every stop! Every business has something special planned for you. Things like refreshments, gifts, games and drawings, factory or farm tours, demos, how-to sessions and more. For more info and tickets visit www.bestkeptsecretstour.com or call 717-721-9409.
Mauger-Givnish Funeral Home: We cordially invite you to participate in our Memorial Tree Service on Wednesday, December 11, at the Funeral Home (24 Monument Avenue, Malvern). Registration begins at 6:30 PM and service begins at 7:00 PM. Families who have lost a loved one in recent years will be given the opportunity to place an ornamental dove, which carries the name of your special person on the tree. Refreshments will be served following the service. We are also collecting Toys for Tots which supports the efforts of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Drop off a new toy at the funeral home during the holiday season and help make some children’s Christmas more joyful..
Saints Peter & Paul, West Chester: Join us for a bus trip to Sight & Sound Theatre’s “Miracle of Christmas” on Wednesday, December 11. Cost is $110 which includes round trip bus transportation, driver’s tip, theatre ticket and a delicious, all you can eat dinner at Shady Maple Smorgasbord. The bus will depart SSPP parking lot at 8:45 AM and will return at approximately 6:00 PM. To reserve your ticket, contact Judy Magee (
Catholic Daughters of the Americas: Catholic Daughters Court Our Lady of Fatima #2739 extends an invitation to all Catholic women over the age of 18 to join the largest Catholic Women’s Organization in the world. Under the patronage of the Blessed Mother, our mission includes participation in spiritual, educational and charitable programs. For more information, please call/text Michele Byler (484-832-2683) or Roe Fulmer (484-612-2736) or check out our website:http://cdapa.
com/2739/index.html. Regular meetings are held the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM at SS. Simon & Jude, West Chester. Next meeting is Saturday, December 14 at 10:00 AM.
St. Mary of Providence, Elverson: Save the Date! Join us on Saturday, December 14, 12:00-6:00 PM for the Christmas Tour at Langoma. Historic 1890 Pott’s Mansion Tour, Amazing Raffle Baskets, visits with Santa, hot chocolate & treats at the Gingerbread House. Tour tickets available at the door for $15 donation. You can also call ahead for tickets and more information at 610-942-4166.
What Can We Do? The Role of the Laity in a Time of Crisis: As the Church undergoes this period of profound crisis, many of us feel helpless as we watch a drama unfold that we can do nothing about. But the truth is that we are not powerless. The history of the Church tells us that lay people have a role to play in the Church's times of turmoil. Join us for an evening of reflection on the mission of the laity in times of ecclesial crisis and learn what you can do to cooperate with Christ's action to purify and heal His Church, on Monday, January 27, 7:00-8:30 PM at Saints Peter and Paul Church, West Chester. Speaker will be Meghan Cokeley, Office for the New Evangelization. No charge to attend. Please RSVP at phillyevang.org/events or call 484-473-8205 for more information.
Retrouvaille: Rediscover the Love in Your Marriage! Is your marriage hurting? Do you feel helpless? Hopeless? Retrouvaille (retro-VIE) can help and offers hope for a better relationship. Retrouvaille can help heal your marriage. The next program in our area is the weekend of February 21-23 at the Family Life Center in Malvern. Another weekend will be held in April. For more information, or to register for one of our weekends, visit www.HelpOurMarriage.org or call 1-800-470-2230 or 215-766-3944. All inquiries are kept strictly confidential.
CatholicPhilly.com: Sign up for CatholicPhilly.com’s free newsletter sent to your email in-box twice a week - go to catholicphilly.com/newsletter. Don’t miss our multi-part series, “Our Changing Church,” at www.CatholicPhilly.com/church.
Daughters of St. Mary of Providence: Come & See Weekends at the Convent, for single women (ages 18-35), interested in exploring religious life. There will be Reflections on God’s Call, vocation stories from the Sisters, Liturgy of the Hours, Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. Weekends will be held on December 27-29, 2019 and March 13-15, 2020. Contact Sr. Brenda McHugh at
Schedule for Sacramental Reconciliation in preparation for Christmas
All are encouraged to celebrate the sacrament of Penance in preparation for Christmas. Here at Saint Elizabeth, we will have a Communal Reconciliation Service with individual confessions at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, December 17, and an extended period of confessions (9:00-11:00 AM) on Saturday, December 21. A number of visiting priests will be on hand for both occasions.
There are also Penance Services in area parishes, as follows: on Monday, December 16, at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church & SS. Peter & Paul Church in West Chester; on Wednesday, December 18, at St. Joseph Church in Downingtown; on Thursday, December 19, at SS. Simon & Jude Church in West Chester and at St. Patrick Church in Malvern; and on Monday, December 23 at SS. Philip & James Church in Exton. All begin at 7:00 PM.
Christmas Mass Schedule
Note: Because of the severe over-crowding at the first Mass on Christmas Eve each year, we encourage our regular parishioners, if at all possible, to plan to celebrate Mass at 7:30 PM on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day itself. Thank you for your cooperation!
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Masses of Christmas: December 24-25
Tuesday (Christmas Eve)
Vigil Mass at 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Wednesday (Christmas Day)
Mass at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 11:30 AM
Feast of the Holy Family: December 28-29
Regular Weekend Schedule
Saturday Mass at 5:30 PM + Sunday Mass at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM & 11:30 AM
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: December 31-January 1
(A holy day of obligation for all Catholic believers)
Tuesday (New Year’s Eve)
Vigil Mass at 5:30 PM
Wednesday (New Year’s Day)
Mass at 9:30 AM & 11:30 AM
Schedule of Christmas Eve Masses at Area Parishes
St. Basil the Great, Kimberton - 4:00 PM, 6:00 PM and 11:45 Midnight
St. Joseph, Downingtown - 4:00 PM, 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 12:00 Midnight
St. Peter, West Brandywine - 4:00 PM, 6:30 PM, 9:00 PM
SS. Philip & James, Exton - 4:00 PM, 5:30 PM, 7:30 PM and 10:00 PM
St. Thomas More, Pottstown - 5:30 PM and 9:00 PM
Greetings to you and to your loved ones from all of us on the parish staff at Saint Elizabeth. May you and your extended family have a wonderful Christmas, and may the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph bring blessings of health, happiness and peace to all the individuals, couples and families of Saint Elizabeth Church throughout the New Year 2019!