Christmas Carol Festivals to abound in diocese
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Parishes throughout the Diocese of Trenton once again will participate in the award-winning Christmas Carol Festival, a program which bridges generations and promotes joyful, Christ-centered faith sharing during the holiest of seasons.
Now in its fifth year, CCF is a blend of prayerful witness, Scripture, music and parish fellowship. The 45- to 90-minute program, which concludes with a solemn procession of a statue of the baby Jesus to the manger, is accompanied by opportunities for fellowship and invitations to future parish programs with the aim of welcoming the newly engaged or lapsed Catholics into a more active role in the Church family.
Both new and experienced CCF participants expressed excitement about the parish family evangelization project. St. Mary Parish, Bordentown, will hold its program in the city’s community center; “the neutrality of the site … is a way to reach out to inactive Catholic family members without preaching to them,” noted Earl Alger.
Mary Weisman of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, eagerly anticipates their first CCF “not only as an outreach to those who have fallen away from their Catholic faith… but to deepen and strengthen the faith journey of our active parishioners, while enhancing their skills as evangelizers.”
Christine Brandt of St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford, recalled, “Entire families came together; the decision to have [CCF] again this year was unanimous, by the committee and the people who attended.”
“The CCF event is a way to put Christ back in Christmas, and to bring our community together in a friendly, welcoming and spirit-filled atmosphere,” noted Carmen Romero of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton.
St. Veronica Parish, Howell, will hold its third annual CCF and anticipates hundreds of attendees. “[They] comprise all ages and stages of life, singles, families, some bringing three generations,” stated Sue Wurzler. “As soon as this event is mentioned, it brings smiles to those who have already attended! The infant Jesus is the star of the show!”
Co-creators John Boucher, associate director of the diocesan Ministry of Catechesis and Evangelization, and his wife Therese, an adult religious educator, were awarded the 2010 “New Wineskins” award for the Christmas Carol Festival, which is expected to be conducted at nearly two dozen parishes in the diocese throughout December and numerous locations around the nation. For local CCF dates and locations, go to trentonmonitor.com, or find the program on facebook at www.facebook.com/christmascarolfestival.
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Parishes throughout the Diocese of Trenton once again will participate in the award-winning Christmas Carol Festival, a program which bridges generations and promotes joyful, Christ-centered faith sharing during the holiest of seasons.
Now in its fifth year, CCF is a blend of prayerful witness, Scripture, music and parish fellowship. The 45- to 90-minute program, which concludes with a solemn procession of a statue of the baby Jesus to the manger, is accompanied by opportunities for fellowship and invitations to future parish programs with the aim of welcoming the newly engaged or lapsed Catholics into a more active role in the Church family.
Both new and experienced CCF participants expressed excitement about the parish family evangelization project. St. Mary Parish, Bordentown, will hold its program in the city’s community center; “the neutrality of the site … is a way to reach out to inactive Catholic family members without preaching to them,” noted Earl Alger.
Mary Weisman of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, eagerly anticipates their first CCF “not only as an outreach to those who have fallen away from their Catholic faith… but to deepen and strengthen the faith journey of our active parishioners, while enhancing their skills as evangelizers.”
Christine Brandt of St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford, recalled, “Entire families came together; the decision to have [CCF] again this year was unanimous, by the committee and the people who attended.”
“The CCF event is a way to put Christ back in Christmas, and to bring our community together in a friendly, welcoming and spirit-filled atmosphere,” noted Carmen Romero of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton.
St. Veronica Parish, Howell, will hold its third annual CCF and anticipates hundreds of attendees. “[They] comprise all ages and stages of life, singles, families, some bringing three generations,” stated Sue Wurzler. “As soon as this event is mentioned, it brings smiles to those who have already attended! The infant Jesus is the star of the show!”
Co-creators John Boucher, associate director of the diocesan Ministry of Catechesis and Evangelization, and his wife Therese, an adult religious educator, were awarded the 2010 “New Wineskins” award for the Christmas Carol Festival, which is expected to be conducted at nearly two dozen parishes in the diocese throughout December and numerous locations around the nation. For local CCF dates and locations, go to trentonmonitor.com, or find the program on facebook at www.facebook.com/christmascarolfestival.