From Sunday bulletins

Retirements are always significant for parishes. Holy Family in Little Falls is bidding farewell to administrative assistant JOANNA MACRI; she’ll be succeeded by LISA LACOPPOLA, who is currently coordinator of religious education, while STEPHANIE JOHNSON will take on the CRE position.

Meanwhile, at Notre Dame-Visitation in Schuylerville, faith formation director MARIE EHLINGER is retiring after 12 years of service....
More and more parishioners are hitting milestones in life: for example, St. Ann’s in Fort Ann congratulated BERNICE COOK, who just celebrated her 100th birthday; and Blessed Sacrament in Bolton Landing noted the 95th birthday of long-time parishioner MARIE SAUERWALD....

The Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Americas in Albany crowned LOURDES MEJIA “mother of the year” at a parish dinner. She is a mother, grandmother, liturgical minister, catechist and healthcare advocate for St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany. MARTY BINK was honored with flowers for decades of parish volunteer work....

Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Schenectady has new trustees, GERALD BARRY and MARLENE MAURIELLO, who replace WILLIAM DOBERNECK and JOSEPH MASSARONI. At Christ the King parish in Westmere, Albany, trustee DICK DONEY has been succeeded by COLLEEN O’HEHIR....

Christ the King parish also noted an interesting feature of its church: The floor of the gathering space is painted like a labyrinth, which can be walked as a means to prayer anytime the area is free....

At Sacred Heart in Troy, there’s an area designated in the choir loft for young children to play so their parents can view the Mass, and a TV monitor in the entrance hallway of the church so that anyone who needs to leave for a time during Mass can continue to view the liturgy....

Physical changes are afoot at several parishes: St. Joseph’s in Fort Edward is having work done on the church steps; Holy Spirit in East Greenbush dedicated a bench in its memory garden where parishioners can reflect on loved ones who have passed away; and on July 1, St. Jude the Apostle in Wynantskill will bless and dedicate its new parish center.

Holy Cross parish in Salem has a host of changes: new signs in front of the church, on the parish house, on nearby roads and in the cemetery and new railings at the entryway to the church....

In related news, St. Joseph’s in Greenfield Center has been giving away unneeded plastic preschool desk chairs and Mater Christi in Albany is getting new “Glory and Praise” hymnals. Since they replace hymnals donated by KATHY UNDERWOOD in memory of her husband, BILL, some of the old ones will be saved to honor his memory.

On June 11, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Mater Christi is also collecting unneeded religious items to be disposed of; call (518) 489-3204....

Events are filling up parishes’ summer calendars. At Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Mohawk, the S.S. Maria Addolorata Society will have its annual theme basket fundraiser July 21, 3 p.m., along with an outdoor Mass in the parish’s prayer garden. Corpus Christi in Round Lake is having a 6 p.m. Mass every fourth Thursday of the month with a free, simple meal following: “If meal time has been holding you back from Thursday night Mass, we’ll have dinner ready, so it’s one less thing you have to do,” the parish notes.

Transfiguration parish in Speigletown/Schaghticoke will have a food booth at the Schaghticoke Fair Aug. 29-Sept. 3....

Christ Our Light parish in Loudonville and St. Clare’s in Colonie are offering a bereavement support group the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. It will be at Christ Our Light July 11, Sept. 5 and Oct. 3 and at St. Clare’ s June 20, Aug. 8, Sept. 19 and Oct. 17. Contact PAM DANZ, (518) 456-3112, or TERRY RUSS, (518) 459-6635, ext. 12....

Already, Blessed Sacrament in Bolton Landing had a Pentecost parish brunch and noted its anniversary: “Back on May 21, 1963, a brand-new building (the church in which we are now worshiping) was blessed by BISHOP WILLIAM SCULLY. The former church building was sold to the Town of Bolton for $1 and is now the home of the Bolton Historical Society and Museum on Main Street”....

Speaking of anniversaries, St. Stanislaus parish in Amsterdam will celebrate the 125th anniversary of its organization next year. The proper term for a 125th anniversary is a “quasquicentennial”....

St. Mary’s in Oneonta keeps its church open throughout the week for private visits and prayer: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-noon.

Volunteers from St. Mary’s food pantry have leased a space in a community and are asking for seeds for planting. Meanwhile, St. Paul’s parish in Hancock is once again planting vegetables on the church grounds to benefit the food pantry — potatoes, peas, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, onions and squash — and is asking for help and for recipes that incorporate these vegetables to send along with the items to the food pantry....

The Mary’s Kitchen soup kitchen at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Watervliet has been benefiting from SOPHIE GERMANO’S weekly delivery of rolls donated by Schuyler Bakery....

People in need are also getting a boost from St. James parish in Chatham: Parishioners give bags of clothing to a Columbia County migrant advocate for distribution among clients, while a “garden goodies” silent auction benefited St. James’ sister parish in Haiti.