Welcome to Immaculate Conception Parish!

This week we thank two specific groups.

 First, we thank the St. Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE) team for their presence at the Apple Festival. Their outreach promoted spiritual nourishment for many people.

 We also thank the volunteers who assisted with traffic flow in and out of the parking lot during the weekend. It would have been extremely confusing without them.

This fall the Service Team will once again sponsor the Harvest Bag Program for the residents of Titus Towers. This will be our ninth year providing these residents with fresh fruits and vegetables during the holiday season.

Look for us after Masses the weekends of September 27/28 and October 4/5 when we will be collecting monetary donations. Any dollar amount is appreciated. Alternatively, you can donate online through this link. It is through your generosity and support that we are able to continue with this ministry.

Please see the bulletin for more information.

Once again Immaculate Conception is partnering with Cross Catholic Outreach for this year’s Box of Joy Campaign. which helps provide personal care and fun items to children less fortunate in other countries across the world. Beginning the weekend of October 4th and 5th, Box of Joy Shoeboxes along with lists of items to pack in the boxes will be available at the main entrances to the church after Masses. Items to pack can include personal care items, toys, activity booklets, etc. Boxes can be dropped off at the collection spot in the church or at the parish office. ALL BOXES MUST BE DROPPPED OFF by Wednesday, October 22nd. PLEASE NOTE that Cross Catholic Outreach also requests that you also consider a donation of $9 to help offset the cost of shipping the Boxes of Joy to the children receiving your gift. If you have any questions, you can contact Rich at the parish office or email him at [email protected].

The 2025/26 Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) theme is “Together We Bring Hope and Hope does not Disappoint!” Last year, Immaculate Conception’s 215 donors made it possible to exceed our goal and receive $1,273.25 back for use by the parish. Fr. Chumo is so grateful for the generosity of our parishioners for meeting the needs of the parish, the cemetery and the CMA.

This year our goal is $68,000. One of the most important aspects is participation. If we can increase the number of participants, we can easily reach our goal. Our hope is that we can do this by Christmas. If we can increase participation by 10% or 22 people/families we can earn a $1,000 bonus. Plus, the parish receives half of the donations that exceed our goal. The funds raised by the CMA are used to fund specific programs, services, and ministries that meet the real needs of the Diocese: serving people through Catholic Charities, supporting seminarian, deacon, and pastoral leader education.  In addition, their outreach assisted development and education for our youth and more.

 If you did not get a pledge card in the mail, there are extra forms available at the entrances to church. Watch our charts and the bulletin to track our progress and hear more about how the CMA benefits the parish. Please pray for another successful year.    

The Ithaca Council Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring a Coffee Hour next Sunday, October 12 after the Masses. Come downstairs for some treats and fellowship and get to know the men in this wonderful organization.

We do have Low-Gluten Hosts available for anyone needing them during Mass. Please come to the ciborium which has a drop-down handle as this contains the low gluten hosts. If unsure, just ask the Communion Minister to point you in the right direction. Just note that these are low gluten, not non-gluten.

We welcome these new members to our Parish Council this year.

Dan Carney-Chair, Claire Nicholson, Victor Besse, Dan Matychak, Luke Dumouchel, Judy Briggs, Claire McNally and Mary Jo Clark.

Holy Hour on Mondays will begin at 6:00pm. Please make note of the time change. We will resume on Monday, October 6th.

Immaculate Conception Church has its own app for iPhone and Android smart phones. The My Parish App allows us to better communicate with you throughout the week and bring you relevant parish news and updates. The app is very well designed and very intuitive. It is a great resource for parishioners by providing daily Mass readings, Catholic news and prayers, convenient prayer and Confession reminders, our bulletins and more. Download the app from your app store on your cell phone.

Beginning on Saturday, September 6th, our usual 9:00am Marian Mass will now become a Regional Mass. We will still feature our wonderful Children’s Choir. It’s a great way to start out the weekend. Bring your children, bring your families! Coffee & Doughnuts will be offered after Mass. 

New members are welcomed into the Catholic Church through a process of prayer, study, discussion, and a series of ceremonial steps known as the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). All people who are open to learning more about the Catholic Church are welcome to begin the OCIA process. The process begins in September and ends at the Easter Vigil (the night before Easter).

Those who have never been baptized will prepare to receive Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. Those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church will prepare to receive Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

 Those who were baptized Catholic as infants but did not complete the Sacraments of Initiation will prepare to receive Confirmation and (if they had not already done so), First Penance and First Holy Communion.

 The OCIA program will begin on September 22 at 6:30pm in the Immaculate Conception Parish Hall (basement of the Church). Deacon Dan Hurley ([email protected] 585-319 8205) and Deacon George Kozak ([email protected] 607-351-3642) will be leading the program. Please contact us if you have any questions or for further information.

We are always in need of new singers to join the choir! You can join the choir to sing at 8:30 or 10:30 am on Sundays, feast-days, or any combination of the above. The Resurrection Choir sings for funerals and Memorial Services. Sunday choir members are invited to attend the weekly rehearsal on Tuesdays 6:16-7:30pm. We also have the Children’s Choir, which sings for the 1st Saturday Regional mass at 9:00am. Rehearsals are Tuesdays from 5:30 6:15pm. Please consider serving in this essential liturgical ministry. Contact our Music Director at [email protected] to express interest or if you have any questions. 

Kindly visit the lost and found basket in the northern corner of the front entrance of the church and check it out. There are some precious items in the basket. The basket is pretty full, and it needs to be emptied. Thank you! Items not removed will be donated to the homeless shelter.

The Care and Concern Committee of the Church sends cards to church members in nursing homes. However, often people in our congregation are in the hospital, healing at home or are at rehabilitation centers to gain strength. We want to be sure that our church family knows that we’re thinking of them and praying for them. If someone you know would be blessed by receiving a card, please send the contact information (name and address) to [email protected]…so the Holy Spirit can touch lives one card at a time.

Is there someone you know who could use a warm, cozy shawl that comes with a prayer to help brighten their day? We have Prayer Shawls available for people to hand out. These shawls have been knitted by members of the parish with love and hope that they can help make a difference in someone’s life. Please contact the Caring Team or Parish Office  607/273-6121 if you would like one.

Your voice matters. If you have a suggestion, good idea around the pastoral goals of the parish; spiritual opportunities, outreach/community building, youth and family, buildings/grounds, cemetery and financial matters, kindly stop by the pastoral council meetings that occur every first Thursday of each month. You will be listened to because you love your parish.

Confessions are heard every Saturday from 2:00pm-3:30pm in the Church.

Call 273-6121 to receive this Sacrament or if your loved one is in the hospital.

For Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation email Rich at [email protected] for information or to register.

Call 607-273-6121 at least 6 months in advance of your wedding date.