The Diocesan Dispatch

Please Cut & Paste items in your bulletin as appropriate to your parish.    
The Diocesan Dispatch is usually published on Monday mornings by 8 am via email. Submission must be received by the previous Friday for inclusion and should be at least 2 weeks before an event date in order to have an opportunity to be included in parish bulletins before your event. You can email submissions directly to [email protected].

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Have space available in your bulletin this week? Consider including one of the ongoing resources: Click HERE for ONGOING RESOURCES

For December 1, 2025

The next Diocesan Dispatch will be published on Friday morning Dec. 5 due to early deadlines from bulletin publishers. Send your notices early for inclusion!

Stewardship Reflections for Bulletins

Second Sunday of Advent
“Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”    Matthew 3:10Do you bear good fruit for Jesus?  Do you spend time in prayer or do you waste it with mindless activity?  Do you use your talent to help others or are you too busy?  Do you use your treasure to support the Church or do you buy more things that go unused.  Our time, talent, and treasure are gifts from God.  What we do with these gifts is our gift back to Him.  What gifts are you planning to give to the Lord during this upcoming Christmas season?

Domingo 2o de Adviento
“Por lo tanto, cada árbol que no da buenos frutos será cortado y arrojado al fuego.”    Mateo 3:10¿Da buenos frutos para Jesús?  ¿Pasa tiempo en oración o lo despilfarra en actividades sin importancia?  ¿Utiliza su talento para ayudar a otros o está demasiado ocupado?  ¿Usa sus tesoros para apoyar a la Iglesia o compra demasiadas cosas que luego no usa?  Nuestro tiempo, talento y tesoros son regalos de Dios.  Lo que hacemos con estos dones es nuestro regalo para Él.  ¿Qué regalo planifica darle al Señor durante esta venidera temporada Navideña?

Vocations Reflections for Bulletins

Bulletin inserts in English and Spanish for vocations awareness.
For weekly Vocations Intercessions, CLICK HERE for English  (en espanol)

Second Sunday of Advent
"The kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:2) John’s call to prepare for Christ echoes in every family. In holy matrimony, love and faith creates the foundation where God’s kingdom flourishes. Is God calling you to build a holy family? Ask Him to show you His way by praying for your (future) spouse and children. 

Segundo Domingo de Adviento
"¡El reino de los cielos se ha acercado!" (Mateo 3:2) El llamado de Juan a prepararse para Cristo resuena en cada familia. En el santo matrimonio, el amor y la fe crean el cimiento donde florece el reino de Dios. ¿Te llama Dios a construir una familia santa? Pídele que te muestre su camino orando por tu (futuro) cónyuge e hijos.

Alpha Program starting in Sturbridge
St. Anne and St. Patrick parish will be starting another Alpha session, a program that fosters spiritual enrichment, invites people to bring friends for a conversation about faith, and serves as an exercise in community building.  It will begin on Friday, Jan. 16 from 6:30pm - 8pm and continue until March 27.  It is held at the Parish Center at St. Anne - St. Patrick in Sturbridge.  It is free. To register email Ashley C. at [email protected].  Feel free to check it out for the first few weeks but you still need to register ahead of time.

Job Opportunity

Store Associate at The Little Store in Worcester
We’re looking for team members who are friendly, dependable, and eager to help customers while keeping our stores running smoothly. If you enjoy providing great service, staying organized, and working as part of a team, this is the role for you!
Please contact Rod Pfannenstiel 508-831-7455 [email protected].

PAST DISPATCH NOTICES

First Saturday Devotion in Worcester

TO: Parish Administration

Advent Weekday Evening Masses in Worcester
For Advent, Christ the King Parish, located at 1052 Pleasant Street in Worcester, continues its custom of offering a Mass at 5:30 pm Mondays through Fridays. The first Mass will be on Monday, Dec. 1 and the last on Tuesday, Dec. 23. It is for those who wish to attend daily Mass during this holy season but who cannot do so in the morning. All are welcome. Daily Mass is a wonderful way to prepare for spiritual Christmas!

Holiday Bazaar in Charlton
All are welcome to a Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at St. Joseph Church Hall, 10 H Putnam Rd. Ext., Charlton. Actively seeking crafters and vendors for this event. Call Joyce at 774-262-0820 for a registration form or information.


Book/Author Talk on Dealing with Trauma
Turning Our Tears into Dancing is a collection of three dozen God Moments — real-life snapshots of the author encountering the Divine. Maybe it was a coincidence, an unexplained solution, or a memory that came to mind at that perfect moment, or ?? The author is a survivor of the trauma of two homicides in her family. Journey with her as she adds up those God Moments and applies them as a healing remedy to her trauma. Discover with her the deeper meaning — below the obvious — by asking herself, “What was I meant to learn from this God Moment?”
For the parish admin/communication: Copies of the book are available. Mrs. White is prepared to give an author talk (30 mins. with slides) to parish ministries, e.g. social justice, support groups, parish staff, veterans, first responders, or the community in general.

Volunteer Opportunity
Notre Dame Adult Hospice and Pedi Pal Program is seeking compassionate volunteers to provide comfort and companionship to individuals in their final stages of life. Your presence can bring peace to patients and much-needed support to their families—especially if you are a male veteran or feel called to serve. To learn more or get involved, please contact Brunni Clarkson, Volunteer Coordinator, at 508-852-5505 or [email protected].

Learn how we can help our priests and religious serving us with Religious Worker Visa
Let your US Senators and Reps know we need our priests and nuns!
We need your help. An increasing number of priests, religious sisters and brothers, and others serving our local parishes and throughout the United States will be forced to abandon their ministries and leave the country for a lengthy period of time due to the backlog in the system under the terms of their Religious Worker Visa if policymakers do not act soon. Learn more about the issue and what you can do by visiting worcesterdiocese.org/religious-visa including an interview with one of our local pastors and his experience. (NOTE: Parishes can share this video below on your eCatholic website - go to Add SHARED content and drag the icon for "featured program onto your web page)
Include our video in your Flocknote ! Just add the "play" icon and paste the following code: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1082627245
       
Avoid Being Scammed!
You will never receive an email or text from our parish, our pastor, or anyone associate with us looking to "reach out to you personally" for gift cards or cash - other than the official programs we administer for our charitable giving programs. DO NOT RESPOND TO EMAIL OR TEXT REQUESTS. Either delete them or call the parish office to check. Hint: if you look at the actual email address it often looks "close" but it is not the actual parish email address! 

Volunteers needed for Problem Pregnancy
Problem Pregnancy of Worcester is seeking volunteers to assist them in their pro-life mission of helping women in crisis pregnancies to choose life. Types of volunteer opportunities include distributing clothing and diapers to young mothers and providing counselling to women needing direction and assistance (training provided). Problem Pregnancy also welcomes donations of layette clothing and diapers. Your compassionate response truly makes a difference for vulnerable young women. For more information, contact Kathy Callahan at 508-308-1664.

TO: Parishes

Free online Videos to Strengthen Families
Men and women, young and old, strengthen and grow in your faith for your families with five short videos produced by the Knights of Columbus called the “Mission of The Family”.  The videos can be found on the Knights of Columbus website for free!  Use the QR Code (artwork below)  to find “The Mission of The Family” videos:  https://www.kofc.org/en/campaigns/into-the-breach.html  The five videos are less than 14 minutes in length.  You can also find the original “Into The Breach” video series by rolling down on this webpage and under CATEGORIES click on “Into The Breach”.  This series is also free of charge and is sure to help you grow in your faith."

Catholic Moms Group
Are you looking to connect with other Catholic moms?  If you’d be interested in a Catholic moms’ group in your area, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

EMAIL NOTICES
We often hear from pastors and parishes saying they are not getting emails from us, even when we have a correct address. No Email system is foolproof (Gmail, MSN, Outlook, aol, Charter.net, Verizon.net,  etc.) and your provider may be very aggressively blocking emails from your inbox based on general algorithms. Please remember to check your junk mail regularly to see if emails from our Flocknote system or from worcesterdiocese.org or other sources are being inadvertently blocked. You can always use your email system’s rules when this happens to “always accept email from this sender.” Usually that option appears when you “Right Click’ on the email in question with your mouse.

TO: Pastors & Administrators

Third Party Usage of Parish Property
As a reminder, any and all third parties who are using Parish property, whether for a fee or not, are required to sign the Catholic Mutual Facility Usage/ Indemnity Agreement and provide proper insurance. (see attached) This agreement provides a level protection from liability by having indemnification language as well as requiring the 3rd party user to provide the parish with general liability coverage, naming the Parish as additional insured, in the amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence. This policy applies to all third parties that use Parish property. This includes such things as: civic groups, parishioner and non-parishioner families that rent or use parish facilities for wedding receptions, family reunions, anniversary parties or other similar activities; as well as any other organization, municipality or county organization that uses parish facilities for a meeting or function that is non-parish sponsored. Parish ministries or parish affiliated events/groups are generally covered under the Diocesan insurance coverage with Catholic Mutual and do not need to sign the form or provide additional insurance.  However, there are clear guidelines of what constitutes a “parish entity”.  Generally, the parish has to have control of the group, both financial control and organizational control; lead by parish staff or Priest designated volunteers; must be open to all parishioners; and promote a mission of the church. Groups that do not fit the definition of a parish controlled group are required to sign the 3rd party agreement and provide proper insurance.
Please keep a file of these 3rd party documents for a period of time greater than a year, but less than 7 years from the event date. In the unlikely event of a claim made by the 3rd party, the parish may be asked for the signed Facility Usage Agreement and and insurance document.      
For full definitions, insurance requirements and details, as well as the document itself, please see the Diocesan website, under Finance, Facility Usage Forms. For additional information or further assistance, including a cursory review of any related documents,  please contact Parish Liaison Officer, Stephen Sycks.  [email protected]   

Department of Unemployment Letters & Notices 
Many parishes have been receiving letters from the State Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) informing them of a delinquency in submitting quarterly DUA forms. Please do not ignore these.  While the Diocese and all parishes are exempt from paying for State DUA, as we are self-insured through our transitional assistance program, we ARE required to submit quarterly payroll reports. As all known 3rd party payroll companies provide this as a routine service, it appears that the parishes who are self-producing payroll (either through a bookkeeping system or bookkeeper) have been contacted by the DUA.
If you have received a letter, please:

1. Register your parish on the DUA website. 
2. Complete all required forms.
3. If you have been levied a fine, you may dispute it or may consider paying it as you file the delinquent forms.
4. Please confirm with your payroll person all quarterly DUA forms have been filed.
5. Please let Stephen Sycks at the Diocese know, as he will assemble a master list.     

Here is the State DUA website:  www.mass.gov/unemployment-insurance-ui-for-employers. For additional information or further assistance, please contact Parish Liaison Officer, Stephen Sycks at [email protected]. Thank you.

Young Adult Prayer Group in Gardner
Join with other young adults age 18 - 35 and pray the St. Michael Chaplet!Greater Gardner Young Adult Group meets every 1st and 3rd Thursday at 7 pm at Annunciation Parish Center located just behind Holy Rosary Church in Gardner. For more information about this event and/or about the greater Gardner Young Adult Group, please reach out to Jonah Kattau at [email protected].

Vigilance against Fraud
A parish shared with us how someone tried to redirect an employee's paycheck via an alternate direct deposit account. ALWAYS BE CIRCUMSPECT! Before even considering such a change, never act just from an email. Consider the following:

1. Have the employee complete a properly signed form along with the bank information Routing # , account  etc 
2. Provide a voided check to be kept on record which matches that information
3. Process the request thru the payroll service.  
4. Keep the information in the employee's personnel file

Coming to Chancery for Appointments - Protocol
The chancery remains closed to the public except for scheduled appointments. The front vestibule is OPEN during business hours and a phone is present to call your appointment to notify them of your arrival. If you are dropping off material for a department (e.g., Marriage Tribunal, Partners in Charity or Finance, please call that department to let them know. Phone messages will be checked regularly and we encourage parish staff to use the direct dial numbers for each department which are listed in the Diocesan Directory.

eCatholic tip: online payments and donations
The monthly fee to use eCatholic payments is waived for parishes in the diocese and transaction fees are as low as it gets in the industry.  The site is very secure, and the money goes right into your parish bank account and you get a report letting you know! You can also use eCatholic Payments for one time or recurring payments and donations for offertory, religious education tuition and more! But, if you already have an online offertory platform you can use eCatholic Payments with their web forms alongside that platform for one time donations for events, etc. Questions: email [email protected] anytime.

Promoting events? Use your eCatholic and Flocknote Resources!
It is EASY to set up an event announcement and registration/ticket form on your eCatholic website. If you have not yet done so, contact them for an online account to accept credit cards via your site. Not only will it make it more convenient than “come to the rectory for tickets;” you can reach more people and plan better for your event. Costs are as low as it gets in the industry, the site is very secure, and the money goes right into your parish bank account and you get a report letting you know! PLUS you can then send everyone a link by Flocknote to go to the site with one click from their phone, tablet or computer and get the tickets, make the donation or at least be aware of the event details to share with family and friends. Let your Communications Ministry tools work for you! Contact Luke at [email protected] if you need to get set up or to learn more.

Senior Fraud Hotline
RSVP’s Senior Fraud HelpLine is a toll-free resource for seniors and their families to call when they are concerned that they are being targeted by scammers.  If they are in doubt, they should check it out by calling 1-800-297-9760. Confidential. Knowledgeable. Local. Supportive.

REDUCED-FEE LEGAL SERVICES IN WORCESTER 
The Worcester County Bar Association has a Reduced Fee Program where household income exceeds the requirements for free legal assistance but makes hiring an attorney unfeasible. You must be a Worcester County resident and legal services include bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosures, wills, divorces, custody and evictions. Call 800-622-9700 800-622-9700 for more information, indicating your interest in the Reduced Fee Program.

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON ONLINE LEARNING (DIOCESAN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM) 
Have you ever had a desire to expand your knowledge of the faith in areas such as Scripture, Liturgy and Worship, Prayer and Spirituality, Sacraments, Creed, or Church History? Check out the on-line courses available to adults through our Diocesan Partnership Program with U Dayton and the Virtual Community for Faith Formation. You can receive a substantial discount while learning in your own space during your personal hours of availability. If you have any questions, please call Barbara Ramian at 508-929-4308.

PROJECT RACHEL CAN HELP WITH THE PAIN OF A PAST ABORTION 
Hurting from a past abortion? We can help. Project Rachel is the Catholic Church’s ministry of healing and reconciliation to those who have been wounded by abortion. Our services are free and strictly confidential. Call Project Rachel at (508) 791-HOPE.

FERTILITY CARE PROGRAM 
There is an alternative to artificial methods of birth control and IVF. Learn about The Creighton Model System of FertilityCare, the reproductive science that is 99% effective to avoid pregnancy, highly effective to achieve pregnancy and offers couples who are experiencing infertility hope to achieve their dream of pregnancy without artificial reproductive technologies. This is accomplished while following the teachings of the church. To learn more about the program contact Barbara Meier, RN, FertilityCare Practitioner at 609-457-0108 609-457-0108 or [email protected].

CAR DONATION PROGRAM
Did you know you can donate your car, truck, motorcycle or boat to Catholic Charities and help us help your Worcester County neighbors?  It’s quick and easy to do.  Just visit our website to donate your vehicle online atwww.ccworc.org or call 1-888-CAR-7308 1-888-CAR-7308 to arrange a convenient pickup time and confirmation of your donation from Catholic Charities Donation Angel Program.  The car in your driveway can help us to continue to offer many services to children, families and elders in our community so that they may regain home for a brighter future.  Thank you!

Employees or Independent Contractors?
The Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has issued new guidance on the classification of hired personnel as employees or independent contractors. Hired personnel are considered employees unless: (1) the individual is free from the employers direction and control in connection with the performance of the service, both under his or her contract for the performance of service and in fact; (2) the service the individual performs is outside the usual course of business of the employer; and (3) the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed.