On March 17th, the Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester released another letter addressing some details about how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact several areas of diocesean life. Please click here to see more!

Given the extended nature of our nationwide quarantine due to COVID-19, staff at OLQP & STM are working to learn how to record, edit, and publish the Mass so that parishioners can participate from home. Please click to see more!

This afternoon the Very Reverend Bishop Salvatore Matano made the difficult decision to suspend all public Masses in the Diocese of Rochester, until further notice. Please click to see more!

On Wednesday, 11 March 2020, Pope Francis offered a prayer to the Virgin Mary to mark the Diocese of Rome's day of prayer and fasting for the coronavirus emergency. Please click to see more!

Join us for the 10:30 am mass (April 12th), and sing in the Cherub Choir! Students from Grades 3 – 9 may participate. Please click to see more!

Tomorrow our Lenten journey begins with Ash Wednesday.  We hope that you are able to join us at one of our Masses at either Our Lady Queen of Peace or St. Thomas More.  All Masses will include the distribution of ashes. Please click to see more!

February 26, 2020 is Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of our Lenten season.  While it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, we hope that you will join us at one of the 4 Masses that we are offering.  All Masses will include the distribution of ashes. 7:00 am at Our Lady Queen of Peace 8:00 am at St. Thomas More 12:15 pm at St. Thomas More 7:00 pm at Our Lady Queen of Peace Please click to see more!

Youth Ministry Service – Souper Bowl of Caring Collection Thank you to those who helped with the Feb 1 & 2 Souper Bowl of Caring collection.  We had about 15 grocery bags of soup and soap donations that families delivered to St Andrews Food Pantry.  That was about 150 items. Thanks for your generosity!   Please click to see more!

As part of the legacy of Fr. Tony Valente, pastor of OLQP from 1986-1995, each year, on the anniversary of his death, we recall his compassionate care and outreach to the poor.  The impact of his example on our community has been profound. Please click to see more!

Come and build into your week some time for a shared meal and community, an opportunity to learn about and exzperience a particular kind of prayer/spirituality from our tradition, and engage in reflection together. Please click to see more!

Every Tuesday morning, from 9 am - 11 am, a group of dedicated women gather at Our Lady Queen of Peace in the Hospitality Room to serve their community with their needles.  These women are active in their community in many different ways, but enjoy spending a few hours together each week to sit down and chat while their fingers make quick work of the graciously donated yarn that they receive.  Everyone seems to have a niche: some knit, some crochet, some love the color purple, and others hate to work with fuzzy yarn.  Some of the women are parishioners at OLQP, others at STM, and still others outside of our own cluster.  These women support each other in the same tender manner that they support the most vulreable among us.  They have seen each other through life's joys and it's sorrows, all the while, yarn in hand. This year, through their generous donation of time and talent, they have made over 395 sets of items between June and November of 2019!  Some of these sets include a child's sized hat, a scarf and mittens for children attending RCSD School # 34 and Mary's Place.  Many sets of warm winter accessories have gone out to the House of Mercy, among others, to help keep the homeless men and women in our community safe and warm.  The women of the knitting group also make baby blankets and hats for the annual Respect Life Baby Shower in October and lap robes for adults who might be homebound or ill.   If you are interested in joining, please either contact Beth Watkins at h.elizabeth.watkins@gmail.com, or just show up!  

 Thanks to all who contributed to this year’s Mitten Tree Collection.  Over 340 mittens were distributed, representing 6 different local agencies.  In the  letters of thanks we received, comments included “Your gifts help us shine brighter during this holiday season, sustaining hope through time of darkness” (Willow), “Your continued generosity made it possible for each patient to receive a gift” (Rochester Psychiatric Center), “Largely in part to you, we are able to help those who sometimes get discouraged as they try to move forward” (Andrews Center), and “Your donation made it possible for Brighton Food Cupboard to help families and individuals who are in crisis or are coping with day to day financial demands, helping to provide        desperately needed support and food.” Among the thank you notes that we received, there was a  letter sent by a Mitten gift certificate recipient.   In his letter, he thanked his “friends at St Thomas More and Queen of Peace” for the great Christmas gift.  He went on to say that it made their Christmas and at the end of the letter was the request, “please pray for our family that things may change.”  The Mitten Tree truly represents the best of the Christmas spirit. Your generosity reached far beyond our parish community to provide light, hope, support and happiness to others.  May God bless you all.

Please join us once a month, from January until May, for Sacred Music at St. Thomas More.  This organ recital series will occur on the Mary Wegman Organ on the following Sundays at 4:00 pm. January 26, 2020 Alden Wright & Benjamin Henderson February 2, 2020 James Kealey March 15, 2020 Sarah Johnson April 19, 2020 Caroline Robinson May 3, 2020 Ivan Bosnar $10.00 suggested donation.  Please contact Connor Doran at connor.doran@dor.org for any questions.  We hope to see you there!

This winter we are asking all of our parishioners to completely update their contact information.  We attempted to fill in the gaps last winter with a short form left in the pews, but unfortunately, we didn't capture all of the data that we were hoping to.  As a result, we are working together to complete a total overhaul of our census- with a goal to have it completed by the end of February.  Accurate and complete contact information is necessary so that we can serve you better in the future. As a staff, we have worked together to generate a completely new census form which more efficiently collects the contact information that matters in 2020.  This includes updated entries for individual e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers as well as demographic information, special needs, and sacraments.

Dear friends in Christ, on this Fourth and final Sunday of Advent, we recall the fullness of time, when the Son of God became human, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.  We remember Mary's joyful acceptance of God's plan.  In her "yes" to God, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. As we light all four candles on the Advent wreath, let us join Mary as willing servants of the Lord; may our "yes" welcome Christ into our world. (c) 1988, OCP, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR, 97213.

Dear friends in Christ, on this Third Sunday of Advent, we are invited to rejoice in the Lord, for he is near.  In anticipation of the joy of Christmas, we light three candles on the Advent wreath, recalling that joy is one of the surest signs of God's presence among us. (c) 1988, OCP, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR, 97213.

This weekend, many churches in the area will be holding Advent Penance Services for our Catholic community.  The penance service in our cluster will be held on Saturday, December 14th beginning at 10:00 am at Our Lady Queen of Peace.  In addition, the priests at Saint Thomas More and Our Lady Queen of Peace regularly make the Sacrament of Reconciliation available on Saturdays from 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm, as well as by appointment.  The Diocese of Rochester also maintains a list of times offered by the parishes in our Diocese for Confession, which can be found here.

Dear friends in Christ, on this Second Sunday of Advent, our attention is turned to the great figure of John the Baptist.  Hohn calls us out to the desert, proclaiming a time of repentence and renewal, for the day of the Lord is at hand. As we light two candles on the Advent wreath, let us prepare ourselves through prayer and penance.  Let us open a way for the Lord to come into our lives. (c) 1988, OCP, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR, 97213.

Dear friends in Christ, today we begin the season of Advent.  It is a time of watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord. The Advent wreath reminds us of our yearning for God.  Its circular shape tells us of God’s everlasting love and faithfulness.  Its evergreen branches tell us of eternal life and of God’s desire for us to live with him forever.  The four candles remind us of the passing of time, our human history into which God has entered through his Son, Jesus. This is a time of grace, a time for a new advent of Jesus into our lives. ​​​​​​​On this First Sunday in Advent, we focus on the Lord’s second coming.  Let us heed the Gospel words of Jesus, “Be on guard; be prepared.”  As we light the first candle on the Advent wreath, may its flame bid us to be always ready for the coming of the Lord.

Parents and youth at our parish recently had the opportunity to volunteer at the St. Andrews Food Cupboard.  They delivered and sorted 8 SUVs filled to the brim with donations received at OLQP & STM at our annual food drive for Thanksgiving. Thank you for your abundant generosity!  While the donations of food for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday were plentiful, the youth quickly understood that these needs exist every day for people experiencing food insecurity.  One of the things that they learned was that basic items, like toiletries and cleaning products, that many of us purchase regularly without a second thought are not covered by SNAP or WIC.  The director of St. Andrew's Food Cupboard shared an anecdote about a client of the cupboard who was met with a difficult choice that most of our children have not had to face.  He was instructed that he may select EITHER a bottle of dishwashing soap or a stick of deodorant.  Sadly, these items are expensive and the cupboard cannot stock them in enough quantity to allow clients to select both. This is a great reminder that we must take nothing for granted, and that one small act of generosity can have a BIG impact.  As a result, during December we are collecting dish soap and deodorant for St Andrew's Food Cupboard in response to both the needs of our community at large as well as the desire of our youth to serve this particular need.  You can drop off your donations at the collection boxes at either OLQP or STM when you come for Mass, or you may bring them to Faith Formation, Youth Group or the Christmas Party for Faith Formation families on December 17th.  Thank you for supporting our parish and community!