Mass at the Center on Morehouse Road
Notre Dame of Easton is a Roman Catholic parish at 640 Morehouse Road in Easton, Connecticut, in the Diocese of Bridgeport. The parish is known for putting the Eucharist at the center, studying Scripture together, forming children and adolescents in the faith, and sending members into service. Those priorities shape the parish calendar, from the Mass schedule to Bible study, age-specific formation, choir, men's and women's fellowships, and lay caring ministry.
Weekend worship: Saturday's 5:00 PM Vigil Mass is followed by two Sunday Masses at 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM. Mass is also celebrated at 7:30 AM Monday through Thursday, and Confession is offered Saturday from 4:00 to 4:45 PM, before the evening Mass. The worship, classes, and meetings described at Notre Dame are conducted in English. The resulting weekly pattern includes a clear weekend rhythm, a short weekday Mass, and a regular evening gathering for Scripture at 6:30 PM on Wednesdays.
Mass itself follows the Catholic two-part pattern described by the parish. In the Liturgy of the Word, the congregation hears Scripture, responds by singing the psalm, and listens to the homily. It then professes the Creed and offers the prayers. In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, bread and wine are brought forward, the presider invokes the Holy Spirit, and the congregation receives the Body and Blood of Christ. The celebration ends by sending people forth to proclaim the Good News.
The rhythm of the parish year
The parish's worship follows the universal liturgical calendar: Advent leads to Christmas, Christmas continues through the Baptism of the Lord, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and the Triduum centers on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the Easter Vigil. Easter leads through Pentecost to Ordinary Time, which concludes with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Feasts and memorials are also observed throughout the year.
The Eucharist: Word, Table, and Sending
Pope Leo XIV describes the Eucharist as “the source and summit of our Christian life,” a gift in which Christ gives himself and invites people to become gifts for others. Notre Dame teaches that the risen Jesus is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist. Through the priest's ordination and the action of the Holy Spirit, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus, a change the Church calls transubstantiation. This sacramental life centers on the sacramental ritual while strengthening faith and expressing it in a community.
Receiving Eucharist both signifies and effects the unity of the community, strengthening the Body of Christ. The parish's teaching connects that belief with reconciliation: Reconciliation is the sacrament in which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven and relationships with God, self, and others are repaired. It follows the four steps of contrition, confession, absolution, and a commitment to live as a Christian. These are not treated as isolated ideas; they are connected to the community gathered for worship and to the way people are sent back into ordinary life.
Prayer also has a practical shape at Notre Dame. It may be public or personal, spoken or silent, and it includes the Psalms sung as communal prayer. The Mass is the Church's central communal prayer. Personal prayer can include silent meditation, reading Scripture slowly and reflectively in the manner of Lectio Divina, and keeping a prayer journal for needs, thoughts, and reflections.
A Parish That Receives and Then Shares
At Notre Dame, parish life begins with reception rather than construction: “A parish is not first something we build. It is something we receive.” The parish understands itself as a place where God meets people and where the life of faith begins with God's action, not human initiative. This leads to a deliberate emphasis on receptivity, especially for mercy, truth, and the presence of God. Belonging is described as standing before God as one is, rather than arriving with everything already in place.
The same reflection insists that what is received cannot remain private. Grace moves outward, faith becomes visible in charity, and people accompany one another so that the life of Christ becomes recognizable in ordinary circumstances. This explains why the parish pairs Eucharistic worship with practical service. Catholics are taught that the Church is the living Body of Christ: ordained ministers have a distinct role, while all the baptized share responsibility for spreading the Gospel and ministering to people in need.
Faith Formation Built Around Children and Adolescents
Children and adolescents have a clear formation pathway. Elementary formation for grades one through five meets Tuesday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:00 PM in Sabol Hall, with bus service available from school. EDGE, the program's ministry for grades six through eight, meets Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 PM in the same hall. The schedule keeps elementary students in afternoon formation and offers older students an evening option.
First Penance and First Communion preparation is offered in third grade and above on scheduled Sunday mornings from 10:00 to 10:50 AM, immediately before the 11:00 AM Mass. That immediate preparation is in addition to weekly elementary sessions. Confirmation preparation for students in seventh grade and older, with parents or sponsors, is offered on scheduled Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, also in addition to weekly EDGE participation in grades six through eight. The sacramental preparation is therefore tied to both parish worship and the longer course of family formation.
Parental and sponsor participation is not incidental in this structure. Confirmation sessions explicitly include students and their parent or sponsor, while first-sacrament preparation is scheduled around Sunday Mass. The parish presents these stages not as isolated lessons but as preparation that continues through the elementary and middle-school years, culminating in the sacraments of Penance, Communion, and Confirmation.
Wednesday Scripture and Ways of Serving
Scripture is not confined to Sunday worship at Notre Dame. Bible Study meets on Wednesday evenings throughout the year at 6:30 PM in Deacon Sabol Hall. The group reads the Scripture readings for the upcoming weekend, discusses their meaning, and considers how those readings relate to life.
Other ways of serving are explained simply. Lectors proclaim Scripture at Mass and other services. Ushers assist people to their seats when needed and take up the collection. These roles place Scripture, hospitality, and practical assistance within the worship of the parish rather than treating them as unrelated tasks.
Lay Caring Ministry: Eucharist at the Door
Lay Caring Ministry is one of the clearest examples of the parish's outward movement. Parishioners visit people who are ill or unable to attend Mass, and the group's particular responsibility is to bring the Eucharist to those who cannot come to receive it in person. This ministry joins ordinary parish membership to a sacramental form of care: the community does not limit the Eucharist to those able to enter the church building.
That care is consistent with Notre Dame's teaching on the Anointing of the Sick. The sacrament is available to anyone struggling with illness and is intended to give strength and support. Its healing is not limited to physical healing; it recalls God's presence in human suffering. The Church presents the sacrament ideally as a communal celebration, joined by prayer and fraternal attention. These teachings frame the parish's care of the sick within a wider understanding of mercy, consolation, and the community's responsibility to accompany people.
Women of Notre Dame: Fellowship That Reaches Others
The Women of Notre Dame gathers for a free luncheon on one Tuesday each month from September through June in Deacon Sabol Hall. The monthly rhythm includes fellowship, guest speakers, opportunities to become involved in parish life, and time to grow in faith and friendship. The ministry welcomes women who have been parishioners for many years and those who are new to Notre Dame. Membership runs from September through June, though new members can join at any time.
Service is concrete. Members collect unopened, nonperishable food for the food pantry at Blessed Sacrament Parish, leaving items in the church kitchen. The group's year-round traditions include the parish cookbook, raffles at the Parish Feast, Christmas Dinner and Spring Dinner, bake sales, and a Christmas Giving Tree that benefits Caroline House and families at St. Charles Borromeo and St. George parishes. They also take up Lenten loose change, set up and take down the Creche, collect and assemble Easter baskets for children at Blessed Sacrament, bring Santa to the Christmas tree lighting, and organize pilgrimages and trips to local shrines, churches, and places of interest.
Together, these activities combine fellowship with direct support for families, children, and other parishes. The Women of Notre Dame describes its work in three words: faith, fellowship, and service. That phrase captures a ministry in which conversation and shared meals lead into charitable action and connection to the wider Catholic community.
COR Men's Ministry: Faith, Fellowship, Brotherhood
COR Men's Ministry meets on the first Thursday of each month from 7:00 to 8:00 PM in Deacon Sabol Hall. It offers men a straightforward, low-pressure setting for conversation, connection, and Catholic faith. Members are encouraged to grow in prayer, ask honest questions about daily life, and build friendships anchored in Christ. The ministry presents its welcome without requiring deep theological expertise: men are simply asked to bring themselves. Its stated pattern is faith, fellowship, and brotherhood, with prayer and conversation serving as the setting for both.
The ministry's gathering schedule has included a Holy Hour of Adoration and Evening Prayer, giving its fellowship a distinctly Catholic rhythm of prayer and conversation. Deacon Rick Scinto serves as the contact for participants who want to learn more about the monthly gathering.
Festival Choir: Every Voice Adds to the Song
The Festival Choir brings together parishioners who want to share their musical gifts and enrich worship through song. All voices are welcome, and the choir is described as a low-commitment way to share talent, grow in fellowship, and serve God through music. It sings at special Masses and celebrations throughout the year, making music part of the parish's larger pattern of communal participation rather than a separate activity. Rob Gilmore, Director of Music, directs the choir and handles inquiries after Mass.
The emphasis is on joining the community's song and helping particular celebrations become more meaningful. The choir's work supports the liturgical calendar and the major celebrations of the Church year while giving parishioners a concrete way to share their talents with the worshiping community.
Becoming Catholic, Returning, and Finding a Parish Home
Notre Dame welcomes people who are visiting, looking for a parish home, returning to Catholic practice, or curious about the Catholic faith. Parish registration is handled through a household form, while separate pathways support returning Catholics and people preparing to join the Church. The parish presents a Catholic community as a spiritual family where people can grow, put faith into action, and use their gifts as disciples of Christ.
The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, called OCIA, is a communal process that unfolds over weeks and months. It begins with a period of inquiry and reflection, continues through the Catechumenate for learning, Scripture, shared stories, and Church traditions, and reaches the Rite of Election, when candidates are chosen by the bishop and community for initiation at Easter. At the Easter Vigil, newly elected members receive Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation as appropriate. The period of Mystagogy that follows is a time of reflection and celebration as people deepen their understanding of the mystery of the faith and carry it into service. Adults or older children who are already baptized in another Christian tradition prepare in a similar way for Confirmation and Eucharist. Sponsors and the wider community support people throughout the process.
For Catholics who have been away, the parish's message is one of welcome. Returning Catholics are encouraged to reconnect with the Church's liturgical and sacramental life, and the invitation extends to people seeking a deeper relationship with God and a more authentic spiritual identity.
What Notre Dame Believes
Notre Dame's beliefs begin with God as creator and the human person as possessing dignity. The Church confesses the Holy Trinity, believes that God became human in Jesus Christ, and holds that Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection stand at the center of Christian life. Its teaching also names the communion of saints, especially Mary, the Mother of God, as models of faith whose lives are held up as examples. Catholics are united with the saints and angels, pray for their intercession, and look forward to resurrection and new life.
Belief is joined to a way of living. The parish emphasizes stewardship of time, talent, and treasure; care for the poor, sick, and vulnerable; responsibility for the environment; just working conditions; and equal treatment. The Church's corporal works of mercy include feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead. Its spiritual works include sharing knowledge, offering advice, comforting the sufferer, forgiving, correcting with care, and praying for the living and dead.
The sacraments mark the stages of that life. Baptism begins the sacramental life by cleansing from sin and welcoming a person into the Christian community. Eucharist nourishes the baptized with the Body and Blood of Christ. Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace and renews baptismal promises. Penance reconciles the person with God and the Church; Anointing of the Sick offers strength in illness; Marriage is a covenant of lifelong, faithful love; and Holy Orders continues the mission entrusted to the apostles through the ordained ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons.
Pastor Christopher Ford and Diocesian Leadership
Pastor Rev. Christopher J. Ford, PhD, is also the Diocese of Bridgeport's Episcopal Vicar for Education and Formation and Director of Seminarians. A Naugatuck native, he completed his priestly formation at St. John Fisher Seminary and St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie, and his doctoral research in administration and supervision focused on the formation and Catholic identity of Catholic school educators. He has a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John Paul II, both of whom shaped his vocational discernment and seminary formation.
The parish is also served by Deacon Rick Scinto and Deacon Gerald Sabol. Deacons share in the Church's ordained ministry, while Deacon Scinto is the named contact for the COR Men's Ministry. Rob Gilmore serves as Director of Music and is the contact for the Festival Choir. Together, pastoral care, diaconal service, worship leadership, formation, and the work of lay members are all visible parts of the parish's life.
Stewardship That Extends Beyond Sunday
Stewardship is also expressed through financial support. Notre Dame offers secure online giving with one-time or recurring gifts, future scheduling, and 24-hour account access. Donations are credited to the year's tax statement unless made anonymously, and the system is designed to support the church even when someone cannot attend a service. The practical point is continuity: a contribution can be connected to the parish's worship and service regardless of the giver's physical presence.
That continuity fits the parish's wider pattern of turning worship into service. The Women of Notre Dame collect food and support families, the Lay Caring Ministry brings the Eucharist to those unable to attend, and the men's, women's, youth, choir, Scripture, and sacrament-preparation ministries each contribute a distinct form of participation. Together they express a simple conviction from the heart of Notre Dame's parish life: what is received in the Eucharist is meant to become a gift for others.
That is the shape of Notre Dame of Easton: a Catholic parish centered on the Mass, the Word, the sacraments, family formation, and active care for people within the Diocese of Bridgeport.