Dear Parishioners,
WELCOME TO OUR SAINT ROSE CHURCH WEBSITE!
The first Catholic Mass in Fairfield County was celebrated in Newtown in 1781 and since her founding in 1859, Saint Rose Church has been the spiritual center for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for our area communities. Saint Rose Church is the "Mother Church" of several surrounding parishes having once served eleven towns in upper Fairfield County earlier in her history. Saint Rose Church has been designated a National Catholic Historical Site by the Order of Alhambra. In keeping with our tradition, we have assembled a diverse set of parish information and Catholic Christian internet links to spread the Good News by the means available to us in the modern day. We honor our rich heritage and strive to live the Word together, today, through our common faith in Jesus Christ and our love of the Church.
I hope you find this information useful and relevant. Better yet, come join in one of our parish ministries or use your gifts to create a new one! Whether you are looking for prayer, fellowship, knowledge, answers or even fun, you will find it here. This website is not intended to be a replacement for our weekly bulletin. Rather, it is intended to be a tool that we can each use to spark continued spiritual dialogue among ourselves and within our families, as we all continue our journeys of faith. It is intended to be another place where we can find out who is doing what and where in the parish. Most of all, it is a place created for the praise and glory of His Name.
We will do our best to serve your needs, whether you are a life-long parishioner or you are new or considering joining our parish. Our ministry staff as well as our lay leadership are committed to providing all that we can to meet the spiritual desires you have in this ever demanding secular world. Come and find peace in Jesus through our liturgies, our educational programs, our sacramental life, our outreach and our hospitality. All you need to do is call!
These are exciting times as we enter a new millennium of faith. We must remember the covenant promise that God made to us that He will forever be our God as He calls us to be His people. We need to draw on the strength, faith and hope of one another; we need to be a community of people committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please use this website in this spirit; share, discuss, enrich and excite each other in the Catholic Christian tradition!
May your faith be deepened as you worship with us and may we be blessed in the gift of one another.
God bless and love,
Msgr. Robert E. Weiss
Pastor
STAFF
Rev. Ignacio Ortigas, Parochial Vicar
Rev. Luke Suarez, Parochial Vicar
Norman Roos Jr .
Deacon
normroosjr@aol.com
Donald Naiman
Deacon
Daniel J. O'Connor, Sr.
Deacon
Our Catholic Faith is a wonderful gift from Christ to the world. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you or anyone that feels that the Catholic Church has "left them" or is just not relevant in their life.
Please take another look and let's talk!
Having lived in Newtown with my wife and four children for twenty years, I know what it means to be a brother, husband, father, and now Deacon. I would be pleased to listen to anything that you may have to say and meet with you to help bring a better understanding of our Church and to re-connect you to the Sacraments and the wonderful people of St. Rose. The Roman Catholic Church wants you back, there is almost always a path, and I would be pleased to help!
Send me an email dnoconnor@diobpt.org or call the rectory 203-426-1014.
Deacon Dan
What is a deacon?
A deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church.
Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came "to serve and not to be served." The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church.
What do deacons do?
All ordained ministers in the Church are called to functions of Word, Sacrament, and Charity, but bishops, presbyters and deacons exercise these functions in various ways. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church.
As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the Church's resources to meet those needs. Deacons are also dedicated to eliminating the injustices or inequities that cause such needs. But no matter what specific functions a deacon performs, they flow from his sacramental identity. In other words, it is not only WHAT a deacon does, but WHO a deacon is, that is important.
Kenneth E. Stroud
Deacon Emeritus
Pam Arsenault, DRE
Director of Religious Education
203-426-2333
Sr. Mary Ellen Genova, CSFN
Director of Pastoral Outreach
203-426-2572, ext.:11
Office Staff:
Frances Gargano, Parish Secretary
Jean Otton, Parish Census Coordinator
Doreen Morrissey, Bookkeeper
Roberta Shea
LAY
MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION:
Bill Calderara
Jim Gerbo
Sue Lehmann