From Sunday bulletins

St. Joseph’s parish in Greenfield Center has a new bereavement and grief support group; it will meet Sept. 28, 7 p.m., for anyone interested in helping others during their time of grief....

Blessed Sacrament in Bolton Landing has begun its annual celebration of the missionary heritage of the region, recreating the days when a missionary like ST. ISAAC JOGUES would use his upturned canoe as an altar to celebrate Mass. Parishioners who transformed the church sanctuary for the month of August into a wilderness scene commemorating the North American martyrs, missionaries and saints were DAVE BARNES, BARB AND KEVIN BEAUGEZ, RITA WHITNEY, JASPER ZARCONE, ANNETTE AND JOE TYRRELL, SUELLEN FRANZ, DAWN FALLER, ED SHERIDAN, PAT VAN VALKENBURGH and RAY HIPPELE, as well as LARAINE CALDWELL, who planted new flowers outside. Also remembered this month are SS. RENE GOUPIL, JOHN LALANDE and KATERI TEKAKWITHA, who are portrayed in the stained glass on the church doors and in statues in its meditation garden....

At St. Mary’s parish in Glens Falls, REV. THOMAS MORRETTE, pastor, wrote in the bulletin in light of recent abuse allegations against a retired Washington archbishop that “I know from lifelong experience in the Church that we have saints, heroes and heroines in the Church. I grew up and saw wonderfully happy and self-sacrificing men and women dedicated to the mission of Christ and living lives of integrity and holiness. I learned about men and women, both lay and clergy, who endured persecution and hardship because they loved the Lord and His holy Church.
“The same exists today. It is one of the joys of my life and priesthood to meet and see so many good men working so hard to tend to the flock and preach the Gospel. We still have ample reason to hold our heads up high,” he continued. “However, we still need to face the current situation head-on....We must stand with all the victims of abuse and offer them support and friendship. We must join the bandwagon to forge a new and more effective way to deal with clergy (especially episcopal) abuse. We should encourage good men of Christian integrity to become priests and good women of strength and faith to join religious orders or to take on leadership roles in the Church”....

Holy Trinity parish in Cohoes congratulates neighboring pastors TIM AND BRITTNEY MOORE of Spindle City Vineyard Church in Cohoes on the birth of their first child, BOAZ LUCAS MOORE, born July 27....

Immaculate Conception parish in Glenville noted that music director DEREK STANNARD has moved on after five and a half years. DR. WILLIAM J. GRAY, a conductor, organist, harpsi­chord­ist, pianist and artistic director of the Burnt Hills Oratorio Society, is serving as interim director of music....

St. Jude the Apostle parish in Wynantskill and St. Michael’s in Troy, which share a pastor, have a new Sunday Mass schedule: Saturday, a 4 p.m. vigil Mass at St. Jude and 5:15 at St. Michael’s; Sunday, 7:30 a.m. Mass at St. Michael’s, 9 a.m. at St. Jude, 10:15 at St. Michael’s and 11:30 at St. Jude....
St. Adalbert’s in Schenectady had a “blessing of the first fruits” — flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables from parishioners’ gardens — at Masses Aug. 14 for the feast of the Assumption....

ALANNA WILSON is the new music minister for St. Joseph’s parish in Scotia, although she’ll still play at Christ the King in Westmere, Albany, for the noon Mass on Sundays....

Christ Sun of Justice in Troy, located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, plans its annual welcome picnic for Sept. 2 after 5 p.m. Mass. Attendees can play Parcheesi to win prizes; there’s also a collection of scarves, socks, hats and gloves to be used as gifts at a soup kitchen Christmas dinner in December....

Parish life director JEFF PECK of St. Patrick’s in Cambridge and Holy Cross in Salem shared a story about working as a chaplain at Albany Medical Center last year: “I was paged to see a patient who had been revived after his heart had stopped. [The nurse supervisor] said he was the loveliest man and that he had a calming effect on everyone. She added it was a shame that he had no visitors or family. I entered the room and introduced myself to ‘Mike’ as a chaplain. We talked for quite a while. He told me his pension had been wiped out by a corporate buyout and he had gotten a job washing dishes at a diner from 6 a.m. until noon. He ruefully admitted that his schedule did not allow him to attend services on Sunday, but added, ‘I stop in the church every day on my home. I am so tired that I don’t dare sit or stay long; I am 79, after all. I just go in and say, “Jesus, it’s Mike,” and head home to rest.’
“I asked him, as I was leaving, if he had any family or friends I could contact for him, adding it must be lonely lying in a hospital bed all day. He told me he wasn’t lonely, but he had no one except for one visitor who came every day shortly after noon, but who only stayed for a few seconds. I asked, ‘What visitor?’ He said, ‘It’s Jesus. He stands at the foot of my bed, smiles, and says, ‘Mike, it’s Jesus.’”