Welcome to Immaculate Conception Parish!

If there is a Winter Weather Warning, or the Ithaca City Schools close, the office will be CLOSED. 7:30am Masses will be cancelled, but 12:10pm Masses will still be held. Check the MyParish app as all updates will be listed. You can download the parish app by going to the app store on your cell phone and search for MyParish App. Once it is loaded, search for Immaculate Conception Church, Ithaca. Click on the parish and you are all set.

You may notice some reserved signs on certain pews in church. These are for Handicap Seating. Please DO NOT REMOVE these signs from the pews. Your understanding is appreciated!

We are in need of Lectors to proclaim the Word of God , especially for the Saturday 4:30pm and Sunday 10:30am Masses. Training will be provided. If you feel you could serve in this Ministry, please contact the Parish Office 607-273-6121. Scheduling is based on each person’s Mass preference and personal availability.

We are currently looking for several people to assist with the monthly Mass at Cayuga Ridge Nursing Facility. The Mass is
held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 11am.
Assistants would arrive at the facility at 10:30am and assist with getting the residents to and from their rooms for Mass. We usually finish up by noon or 12:30pm. If interested,
please contact the parish office (607-273-6121) or Jan Nye ([email protected])

We will be working diligently on the End of Year Statements which will hopefully come out the end of January. If you do NOT need your annual giving sent to you, please contact the office. 607-273-6121.

The deacon is a man of faith, who is called from the community that already recognizes his dedication to service. He makes a lifetime commitment to serving the People of God by proclaiming the Word, assisting and presiding at liturgies, and ministering in the areas of charity and social justice. A deacon gives witness to his availability to the community by addressing present and emerging needs of the Church.

 The Diocese is inviting interested men of strong and active faith, who can demonstrate a record of service in the communities in which they live, work and worship, who may wish to explore a possible call to ordained ministry as a permanent deacon, to first speak with their pastor for an initial conversation. They may also contact Deacon Edward Giblin, Director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate, at [email protected] for additional information.

A potential candidate must be at least 35 years of age and no older than 62 years of age at the time of ordination after a five (5) year period of formation. He must be in good health, emotionally mature, have stable relationships and must have the wholehearted support of his wife (if married) and family to enter the phase of inquiry.

Because the parish is the primary experience of Church for most inquirers, the parish community is asked to invite from among its members men who exhibit strong faith and a spirit of service and encourage them to consider a possible vocation to the permanent diaconate. The Diocese anticipates that the next formation class will begin in Fall 2027.

We wish to extend a profound thank you to all parishioners who have already participated in making pledges and payments to the 2025/26 Catholic Ministries Appeal campaign. We have made good progress so far, and look forward to having
everyone participate. The CMA funds important work in the diocese to keep our ministries alive and functioning.

As of January 26, we were at about a 27% participation rate
raising 69% of our goal. Any amount given is important and
100% participation is the only way for us to reach our goal. We hope to have this complete before Lent begins.

If you have any questions, you may contact the parish office or a member of the finance council.

May God continue to bless you and your families.
Asante sana.

See these options:

Visit the Secured Donation Portal or scan the QR code on the envelopes. Text GIVECMA to 585-502-9124 to donate from your phone or just call the number and select ext. 1298. Send a check made payable to CMA using the available envelopes.

If you prefer to make an anonymous donation, make your checks payable to Immaculate Conception, designate it for the CMA and the funds will be forwarded to the CMA as anonymous. Consider using part of any mandatory distributions from retirement funds to support the CMA for a tax benefit.

Please consider all the ways God has blessed you and your family and how the church has brought goodness into the lives of many. Pray for the success of and join our appeal to give back what you can so that we remain strong and able to do God’s work.

CMA Goal: $68,000
Current Status
Donors: 25%
Percentage: 65%

About the CMA

The Catholic Ministries Appeal does important work in our diocese. Remember we are part of a bigger church and that we are citizens of the kingdom of God and what it means to practice Catholic stewardship. What benefits the greater church benefits us individually and as a parish. The budget allocations for the 2025/26 campaign are as follows:

9%. Serving the needy through Catholic Charities which helps people meet basic needs, advance economic security, and strengthen their families. Our local Catholic Charities office helps the needy in many ways some of which are the free clothing closet, providing personal care items and emergency financial assistance.

32%. Providing diocesan wide services to our parishes and related institutions through liturgical, urban, rural, and multicultural programs and ministries; hospital, nursing home and jail chaplaincies, and pro-life ministries to name a few.

6%. Support training of seminarians, deacons, and pastoral leaders. Rick Burgess one of our parishioners, was ordained a deacon in June of this year. He is now serving in Ithaca.

35%. Fund the operation, maintenance and capital improvements associated with the Pastoral Center which houses diocesan offices and ministries and computer support services.

4%. Educating our youth to fulfilling and faith centered lives through Catholic schools, campus ministries, sacramental preparation, and other programs. In the last few years two of our Cornell grad students who were active parishioners are now Brother Cassian (Dante Iozzo) and Brother Paul (Zack Huber) and are studying for the priesthood.

4%. Administration of the CMA campaign including professional expertise, gift and data processing, promotional materials, and postage.

CMA Challenge

The 2025/26 Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) is offering a participation challenge, featuring three ways for parishes to earn financial rewards:

Grand Prize $5,000

For the parish with the greatest percentage increase in number of donors over CMA 24-25

$2,500

For 4 parishes with the greatest percentage increase in number of donors over CMA 24-25-in their size category. – Size categories are: – Up to 450 households – 451-750 households – 751 to 1,500 households – 1,501+ households

$1,000

For every parish that increases the number of donors by 10% over CMA 24-25 Every donor family counts! If you did not participate in last year’s CMA, please consider doing so this year, which will help our parish in possibly more than one way.

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

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.

Please be sure to pick up any gloves, hats, glasses from the pew before you leave. If you left something behind, be sure to check out the Lost and Found basket in the rear of the church, on the Seneca Street side. We are getting quite a collection of items.

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 607-273-6121 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.