Call Fr. Andrew at 516-794-5189 for more information. God bless your generosity!

Seating is limited to 80. Please call for reservations, leave your name, phone number and the number of adults and/or children in your party (note each child’s age & sex so St. Nick can bring an appropriate gift).

Tickets are $15 for adults and $6 for children.

Monday, September 5th, this holiday is in honor of laborers. Please say a prayer for all workers, that they be treated justly and be paid fairly for their work. Remember too all those who work for our common good as civil servants, fire fighters, police officers and similar professions. Our summer season now comes to a close and schools re-open. Drive Carefully!

Patriot Day

Sunday, September 11th, marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States. Come to a beautiful, moving, free sunrise memorial service at Town Park Point Lookout at 7:30 a.m. on September 11th. Find closure…Pray for those victims, pray for their families, our nation…Pray for Peace!

Blessing of Animals and Fall Anniversary Dinner

The date for our Fall Dinner and Anniversary celebration is set for Sunday, October 2nd, at 3 p.m. The day before our dinner, Saturday, October 1st, we will conduct our annual “Blessing of the Animals” at 1 p.m. All are welcomed!

Sunday, April 17, 2010 at 9:00 am – Palm Sunday Procession & Mass

Thursday, April 21 at 7:00 pm – Holy Thursday Mass

Friday, April 22 at 7:00 pm – Good Friday Liturgies

Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 pm – Blessing of the Baskets

Bring your eggs, cooked foods, uncooked foods, baskets or not, covered with a white linen cloth (or not)… Father Andrew will bless your Easter foods in a short, cheerful service.

Sunday, April 24 at 8:30 am – Easter Resurrection Mass
Easter Celebration Breakfast follows our Resurrection Holy Mass

Come, you are invited, family and friends of St. Francis Parish, to attend our traditional “Easter Celebration Breakfast” held in the Parish Hall, after Easter Sunday Mass. Come, let us REJOICE together!

Its a squeaky clean fundraiser supporting the Churches that serve the East Meadow Community: United Methodist, St. Francis Polish National, and Open Hand of God.

Your host Stevie GB aka “Groucho” and special guests Les Degen, the cleaniest guy in town and Al Isaacs & Scott Baker of the Improv Group “Some Assembly Required”

A Fun Time You Won’t Soon Forget…

Saturday, April 2nd at 7:30 p.m. on the BIG stage at the United Methodist Church 470 East Meadow Ave., East Meadow NY (next to the EM post office). Doors open at 7 p.m. for light refreshments.

For tickets please phone: (516) 794-5855 or 794-5189

Produced by Gary Smith

Tickets are $15 for Adults and $6 for Kids under 12. Reservations are required. Please call Carol at (516) 546-2535.

Stations of the Cross ‑ will be held each Sunday following Mass, during the season of Lent. Come join us, as we follow in prayer and devotion, the suffering, death, and burial of Our Lord, Jesus Christ! Renew and enlarge your sense of all our Lord has done for us…

Our Christmas Tradition continues. Please join us in the Parish Hall after Shepherd’s Mass for our special time to share a meal together, listen and care for one another. Let us know what food/dessert item you’d like to contribute (so far we’ve got: cold cuts, rolls, kielbasa, sausage bread, borsch soup, babka & chrusciki).

Christmas Day, Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord, December 25th… Holy Mass will be held at 9:00 a.m.

Solemnity of the Humble Shepherds, Sunday, December 26th… Holy Mass will be held as usual at 9:00 a.m.

The holiday spirit was bustling in East Meadow on Sunday at the St. Francis Polish National Catholic Church. The congregation held their annual Christmas fundraiser dinner. There were approximately 80 members in attendance, making the event full and joyous.

The congregation adopts a family in need every year. St. Francis fundraises through this dinner to provide necessities for that family.

“We have three dinners a year, but this dinner is meant to fundraise for the family that we adopt,” Reverend Andrzej Koterba explained.

The evening was full of festivities. Throughout the church hall, there were smells of homemade Christmas dinner, sounds of happy chatter and children running around, excited at the thought of meeting Santa Claus.

Giving is definitely a sentiment that the church members were comfortable with. The congregation held a raffle where almost all members participated. A donation box for the adopted family was brimming with dollar bills. The church also had a “wish list tree,” a tree filled with cards on ornaments that list an item that the church needs. Churchgoers are able to pick any ornament that they want, and then they can purchase and donate that item to the church. Everyone was so willing to give generously, which contributed to the true Christmas spirit felt throughout the evening.

St. Francis also gave out Polish wafers. The wafers are used at Christmas dinner on Christmas everyone breaks off a piece of the wafer, symbolizing peace for the year to come.

The children, especially Natalie, 5, and Adam, 4, were more than happy to chat with a newcomer. They both eagerly explained what they wanted Santa Claus to bring them: a Lego jet, Batman, a glowdome and a remote control helicopter.

Before digging in to the wonderful home-cooked meal, Reverend Koterba delivered a beautiful blessing on the food.

A surprise visitor came in the middle of the raffle, ringing jingle bells and jollily greeting the children – it was Santa Claus! He gave a gift to each of the children in attendance, who were delighted to sit on his lap and smile for a lovely picture.

The night offered a sense of family and home that is rare. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and loving.

“We welcome everybody and we appreciate greatly the generosity of our congregation,” Joni Blenn, the vice president, said.

View photos of the celebration at EastMeadowPatch.