From Father Benn
Welcome
Welcome to Saint Lawrence !
Welcome to the WEB site of St. Lawrence Parish! I am Fr. Walter J. Benn, Pastor of this wonderful parish, located next to the Delaware River among the rolling hills of Upper Bucks County. If you have visited the area, you have discovered that this is unadulterated farm country. Many of the farms in the area have been within the same families for many generations. Historically, the Catholic community here has been small but growing. Initially, the spiritual needs of Catholics in the area were addressed by neighboring parishes, which were themselves small. Eventually, the Catholic population grew to the point where a small church was built as a Mission Church in order to accommodate the growing number of Catholics in the Riegelsville area. That wooden church served the needs of the people until 1958 when the present church was built. St. Lawrence became an independent parish in 1974. While the majority of our parishioners are Pennsylvanians, you’ll find a large number of parishioners who are originally from Northern New Jersey and New York city. In order for you to get a sense of our parish, I would encourage you to visit the various “Tabs” on our WEB site. They will give you a sense of what we are about and what we are striving to become. WEB sites can be helpful in many ways; however, nothing will give you a better sense of St. Lawrence Parish as a personal experience. If you are a person or family, who is looking for a community in which to establish your spiritual roots, I would encourage you to include a few personal experiences of St. Lawrence Parish before making your decision. Come among us and take the time to experience our parish. When you do, you will discover a group of believers who are proud of their parish and proud of their Catholic Faith. Fr. Walter Benn
Saint Lawrence Catholic Church © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY
Our Pastor, Fr. Walter Benn
Advent Information
Advent & Additional Information from Pastor Benn
St. Lawrence Parish
November 26, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
It has been a long time since I checked in with you, and want to use the occasion of Thanksgiving and the start of the season of Advent to check in with you. In general, everything here at St. Lawrence has been going smoothly. As with you, the Coronavirus Pandemic has affected everything in the life of the parish; yet, despite the limitations and inconveniences it has created for us, we still keep chugging on. I am so impressed with the cheerfulness & faith with our people’s effort to make the best of these times. Initially, attendance at the weekend Masses was about 30% of what it normally was. This matched the experiences of most parishes throughout the Country. By the end of this summer, I would say we were hitting about 70% attendance. However, in the last 2 weeks, with the number of coronavirus cases spiking, attendance has dropped. I strongly encourage you to check in on our parish website regularly. Information on it doesn’t change every day, but we do keep it as current as possible. In addition, we broadcast our weekly Live Stream Mass {9 AM – Sunday}. Also, you will find spiritual programs such as Formed: Daily Reflections & Enrichment for Advent. Listed below are some other items that you can find on our website. Happy Thanksgiving! Fr. Walter Benn
- Tentative Schedule of Social events scheduled in St. Lawrence for 2021.
- The church’s new Video System has finally been installed. Since we have only had it for 3 weeks, we are learning how to use this wonderful system and are experimenting with “shooting Mass” from various locations in church. Tell us what you think. Viewers should find the audio & video quality improved. Go to https://www.facebook.com/riegelsville this will take you directly to our page. In Fact, you can view every Live Screen Mass, which we've celebrated since Palm Sunday on this site.
- Personal Advent programs: As noted above, you can take advantage of Formed: Daily Reflections & Enrichment for Advent. You can also find a connection to Lectio Devino-Advent. This provides the individual with 10-minute reflections related to Advent & Christmas. It can be a great starting point for your personal prayer during Advent.
- Confessions: In addition to Confessions being heard on Saturday afternoons {3:30PM – 4:30 PM}, an additional opportunity to seek out Our Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available on Monday 12/21/20 7PM – 8PM.
- Collections: I am so grateful to all of you, who have continued to support the parish in the weekly Collections, including those of you who aren’t attending in person. Keep in mind that you can also make electronic donations through Support Our Parish. This too can be found on our website. 100% of your donations go to St. Lawrence. You might consider this convenience.
Fr. Walter Benn
Helping People Find Their Way Back to God
Our wonderful parish is located next to the Delaware River, among the rolling hills of Upper Bucks County. If you have visited the area, you have discovered that this is an unadulterated farm country. Many of the farms in the area have been within the same families for many generations. Historically, the Catholic community here has been small but growing. St. Lawrence became an independent parish in 1974.
Come with us and take the time to experience our parish. When you do, you will discover a group of believers who are proud of their parish and proud of their Catholic faith.