Immaculate Conception  & 

Assumption of Our Lady 

There will be a Parish Family Barbeque with entertainment and activities for children on Saturday, June 26, at Noon, rain or shine. A special guest, Cardinal Dolan, will be joining us. We will be following all COVID protocols related to outdoor dining as established by the CDC and New York State. Please register for the event using the form attached below. (Note: The section to list persons aged 16-20, since their age must be included, can be found at the bottom of the form.) The cost is:

• Children aged 5 and under: Free

• Children aged 6 - 15: $15 each

• Persons aged 16 and older: $30 each

(maximum charge per family: $100)

Registration Form

Please send your check and registration form to Maria in the Parish Center to the attention of “Parish Picnic” by June 20.

Sunday, June 20, is the last weekend that Fr. Tom Collins, President of Archbishop Stepinac High School, celebrated Mass as our Weekend Assistant at Immaculate Conception & Assumption of Our Lady. The last Mass that he celebrated in our Parish was Sunday, June 20, 9 AM at Assumption Church.

Fr. Collins has been named Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in White Plains by Cardinal Dolan. He will remain President of the High School nearby.

We wish him all of God’s blessings and thank him for his many years of service here. He will always be a welcome part of our family.

The following is an excerpt from Deacon Orlando's personal letter of introduction. The full letter can be found HERE.

"I am Deacon Frank Orlando, but I tell most people that God knows me as Francis. In November 2020, I was happily transferred to the Parish of Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady; happily, because I know what a terrific parish this is.

[...]

If you ask me what my profession is, I find it to be a very difficult question. I think my answer would have to be deacon/attorney/teacher. I often tell people I traded the classroom for the courtroom and the courtroom for the pulpit.

[...]

All of that led me here to the Parish of Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady, as a deacon and as the new Director of Religious Education. I’m looking forward to working with all the parishioners as well as with the catechists, staff, parents and students in PREP."

As the new academic year approaches, we are asking our veteran catechists to return and seeking new catechists for the Parish Religious Education Program (PREP). As emphasized by Pope Francis, the ministry of catechist is vital to the survival of our church and the salvation of our children.

What is a catechist?

A catechist is much more than a teacher; a catechist is someone who accepts the ministerial role of building life-long faith formation in those who are not yet fully-initiated members of the Church.

Faith formation has four dimensions: human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual.

• Each of our students in PREP need to be formed as humble and compassionate human beings, capable of loving and caring for their neighbor: their brothers and sisters.
• Each needs to be formed spiritually: they need to be formed in an environment of prayer, meditation, and contemplation.
• Each needs to be formed pastorally: They need to be shown how to care for those in need and learn how to recognize those in need of physical and financial assistance and those in need of spiritual or moral assistance.
• Finally, the students in PREP need to be formed intellectually: They need to be instructed in the doctrine of the faith, the Sacramental life of the Church, and the reading and interpretation of Sacred Scripture.

If you want more information on ministering as a catechist, please contact the PREP Office.

Call the PREP Office at (914) 961-1076
or
send an email to Deacon Orlando HERE

In your packet of envelopes, you will find the Father's Day envelope. If you do not receive envelopes, Father's Day envelopes are available at the usher's tables in both churches. Please write down the names of all your fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and father figures, both living and deceased, on the envelope, and return the envelope by June 13 so that we can place their names next to the tabernacles of our two churches for a novena of Masses beginning on Father's Day, June 20. The novena of Masses will conclude on Monday, June 28.

Couples who celebrated their 25th or 50th Wedding Anniversary at any time during 2020 or are celebrating their 25th or 50th Wedding Anniversary during 2021 were honored during the Wedding Jubilee Mass on Saturday, June 19 at 5:00 PM in Immaculate Conception Church.

Loosening of Pandemic Protocols
Beginning the Weekend of May 29-30

On May 19, some careful loosening of the COVID-19 Protocols for Churches in New York State went into effect, approved by the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York in his newsletter to the clergy.

What does this mean for our Parish? Beginning the weekend of May 29-30:

1. All doors will be open (the sanitizing stations will remain).
2. Masks must be worn by those who are NOT fully vaccinated, until further changes.
3. The Cardinal has asked us to continue to receive Holy Communion only by the host and in the hand.
4. Much of the tape that has been guiding us during this past year will be removed. We rely on you to keep a comfortable level of social distance.
5. Ministries will once again be activated (i.e. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and Altar Servers).
6. Entrance and Recessional Processions will return as well as the Presentation of the Gifts of Bread and Wine by anyone who has been fully vaccinated.
7. Our Missalettes will return to the Pews for use during Mass. Please do not remove the Missalettes or the covers from the churches. 

We appreciate your cooperation as we move ever closer to a full reopening of our Parish.

You are invited to join Fr. Novio on a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land! The pilgrimage will begin on December 26, 2021, and conclude on January 4, 2022. There will be stops in Nazareth, Cana, Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ein Karem, and Emmaus. The enrollment deadline is June 30, 2021. Please click HERE for the full brochure of information.

You are invited to join Fr. Sorgie on the rescheduled pilgrimage to the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The itinerary is the same as the 2020 program. The pilgrimage will begin on September 14, 2022, and conclude on September 23, 2022. Please click HERE for the full brochure of information.

On March 19, 2021 (the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Cardinal Dolan consecrated the Archdiocese of New York to St. Joseph. View the Act of Consecration HERE. Pray along with Cardinal Dolan using the prayers found HERE.

Pope Francis has announced 2021 as the Year of St. Joseph. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church.

It has come to our attention that the names of the pastors of our three local parishes (IHM, St. Joseph's, and ICA) are being used in an email scam. We would like to officially state that Fr. Sorgie would NEVER ask for gift cards or anything of the sort through email. If you have any doubts about the veracity of an email, please call the parish office - (914) 961-3643 - and speak to a staff member before responding.

If Fr. Sorgie were to ask for assistance, he would reach out through more personal means, such as a phone call or speaking in person. Thank you for your assistance in stopping this cyber-crime.

The image below provides an example of where to find the information detailed underneath. It is not an actual Scam email.

• When receiving an email of uncertain origin, look at the sender's email address (black arrow in image above) at the top of the email.
  • Our parish emails will always have an "@icaparish.org" or "@flocknote.com" address.
• If you receive a scam email, please report it, within your email provider, as "phishing," "spam," or a similar type of description (blue arrow in image above) so that these thieves cannot take advantage of anyone.
  • Within Gmail, the menu to report an email can be found by clicking the vertical ellipsis (blue star in image above).

The 2022 Mass Book is ready and will record all Mass Intentions for the living and deceased in 2022. You may come by the office in the new Parish Center to reserve a Mass. Daily Mass Intentions which appear in the bulletin are $20 and Unannounced Mass Intentions are $15.

Please note: At any given time, no more than five Mass intentions will be taken.

Follow the construction of the New Holy Mount Terraced Gardens and Columbarium with pictures and regular updates from the construction team:
HERE

The opening of our long-awaited, new Parish Center began with the move of all Parish Offices out of the Rectory. The Parish Center can be entered from the original entrance to the school building. There is a handicap ramp between the Church and School and a new sign to lead you directly to the new center.

For all Parish business, please visit our new offices and see the center as we prepare for its complete opening.

Due to the construction of the New Columbarium at Holy Mount Cemetery, the cemetery will be closed periodically to allow the construction equipment to be operated safely. These periodic closures will only be temporary. For updates, please call the parish office or check here.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.