Thank you for your offerings
last week of £1,692. Mass attendance was
748
|
Sunday 18/09/16 |
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 6.00pm Patrick Meehan RIP (Meehan Family) 9.15am Josephine Dobbin RIP ((Munro Family) 11.00am
People of the Parish |
|
Monday 19/09/16 |
Feria 9.30 Relatives & Friends of James Porter |
|
Tuesday 20/09/16 |
St Andrew Kim Tae-gon 9.30 Sr. Anne
Cecilia |
|
Wednesday 21/09/16 |
St Matthew Apostle and Evangelist 9.30am Anne Scripture (M. Kelly) |
|
Thursday 22/09/16 |
Feria 9.30am Woctaw Yakubowicz (L. Yakubowicz) |
|
Friday 23/09/16 |
St Pius of Pietrelcina
(Padre Pio) 9.30am Sheila Simon RIP (Owen Family) |
|
Saturday 24/9/16 |
Vigil Mass 6.00pm Dennis Ashton RIP (K. |
|
Sunday 25/9/16 |
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 9.15am People of the Parish 11.00am Pat Meehan RIP (Meehan
Family) |
Confessions heard Saturday 5.00pm-5.45pm or by
appointment.
Morning Prayer: Takes place Monday – Friday at
9.10am. All are welcome to attend.
Pondering
the Word (Lectio Divina)
A quiet reflective look at the following
Sunday’s Gospel. Mondays 11am - 12 noon, except for Bank Holidays, here in the Church. All welcome.
“Drop-In”
– Evening Surgery
The next Surgery will take place on Tuesday
20th September 5pm – 8pm. Please
call at 281a Crescent Drive. No
appointments necessary.
Fr David
Writes…
Money is power! There is a direct relationship between money
and power within any relationship. The
one who has the control of the money is the one who has the power within the
relationship. I remember in the
religious congregation which I was part of, it was very obvious to us who
really had the power and control. And it
was not the superior of the community most of the time. It was the bursar. A good bursar was one who, although took good
care of the finances of the community, he used his skills and knowledge to help
the community to see that it lacked nothing and also reassured us that although
we were certainly not rich, but we lived comfortable lives and made sure that we
had the right financial resources to continue developing our ministries to
serve others. He made use of the
finances to serve us and our mission. We,
on the other hand did not feel controlled by him. We did not feel totally dependent on his
benevolence. We did not feel
disempowered. On the other hand, I
remember others who used their position as bursars not to serve but to control
us. This created discontent within the
group. Also, it encouraged us not to be
transparent in our dealings with money within the community. That was the way we had to behave to re-gain
some kind of independence, power and control.
I remember myself feeling being treated quite in an infantile way. There was such an imbalance in the
relationship.
So money in the hands of an
insecure person is dangerous because he or she would use that situation as a
means to bully and coerce. In doing so,
they would create a very dysfunctional way of relating. For some, for many reasons, money becomes a
mini god. They spend their lives selling
their souls for money. This could be
fuelled by a desire for security. The
desire for security would give a licence to some in order to do anything even
illegal to gain money. For others the
motivation for money would be in order to possess. This can become an addiction. Possession of goods
resulting in possession of people.
Money can be the result of success and achievement. There is nothing wrong in possessing money in
order to make sure that you and your family are comfortable. The problem lies when your priorities are
turned upside down. Money becomes the
priority and the rest including ones relationships take a secondary position. So there would be an imbalance in your family
life for example. One question which one
might be encouraged to ask is whether gaining money through honest work is
hindering you to build loving relationships with your family or is it just
another ego boost.
On a global level, Pope Francis
keeps on reminding us about the unethical stance between the rich countries and
the poor. The power
imbalance in the world between affluent countries and those countries which
struggle to have a basic decent standard of living. He keeps on challenging our societies about
the social injustices that are also present within our affluent countries. Amos in the first reading,
confronts the vast concrete problem of social injustice. What is the point of impressive liturgies
that feed the egoism of the rich and powerful while keeping the poor as the
permanent victims of an unjust system? When liturgy becomes the ally of oppression,
it becomes an affront to God. For the
prophet Amos, the best liturgical music is when justice sounds through the land. Jesus on the other hand in the scripture
today tells an unusual parable which appears to support dishonesty. In a time of crisis the steward takes firm
and immediate action to ensure his own future.
He is not praised for his dishonesty, but for his resourcefulness in
coping with an emergency with such speed.
If a dishonest man can make use of his employer’s money to ensure there
will be people to welcome him when he is out of a job, how much more should
honest people use their money in such a way that they will be welcomed into the
Parish
Groups
Youth of
the Parish
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL AND THE
Youth Retreat 30th September-2nd October 2016 – few
remaining spaces!
The Parish Youth Team are organising a retreat on the above dates at
If you could confirm your interest to the
Parish Office via telephone 01689 827100 or email parish.office@stjamespettswood.org.
Christ The King Youth Day – 19th November
The Catholic Youth Ministry Christ the King Youth Day will
take place on Saturday 19th
November here at St James’ from 12.00pm-5.30pm and will be followed by a
Youth Mass at 6.00pm. There will be
activites throughout the day and refreshments will be provided.
This event is open to all young people across the Bromley Deanery in
school years 7 and above.
Pastoral
Council- 20th October
The Parish Pastoral council are
keen to communicate with parishioners. We
have set aside half an hour before each meeting from 7.30 – 8.00 pm for you to
come along to the community Centre bringing suggestions, ideas, questions,
topics for discussion, issues or concerns.
Even if you are just curious to see what goes on, please do visit within
that half-hour. We will provide slips of
paper for those visiting to jot down anything they wish the PPC to know. Feel free to include any feedback about the
experience of coming along or observations about the process.
Thank you to the various
parishioners that have visited. We
appreciate your input and interest. Do
feel free to come along again or encourage others to take the step.
The next Parish Pastoral
Council 20th October 2016 and parishioners are welcome from 7.30–8.00pm.
Eucharist
Adoration – 7th October
Eucharist Adoration will take
place on the 1st Friday of each month, starting on Friday 7th
October from 7.30 pm to 9 pm. This
Devotion to the Eucharist outside of the Mass will be a time of silent prayer,
quiet music and conclude with Benediction.
Everyone is welcome for all or part of this time of prayer before the
Blessed Sacrament.
Justice
& Peace Group Meeting
The next meeting will be on
Wednesday 28th September at 7.45 pm in the Meeting Room of the
Parish Office (281a Crescent Drive). All
parishioners are very welcome. We shall
be starting to plan a Saturday seminar/workshop on Laudate Si’ amongst other things.
This is a fun evening for all ages from 10 years old upwards. Children must be able to play cards and join
in. Tickets cost £6
and includes a Ploughman’s Supper.
If you would like to learn how to play or practise, please come along at
7.30pm. To enable us to cater, please
phone 020 8467 3697 to book places and do remember to mention any dietary
requirement. CWL
Shoe
boxes – 19th September
Every two years, the CWL make up Christmas Shoe Boxes for children in
the Romanian Orphanages supported by the Biggin Hill Romania Group. We will be making up the boxes on 19
September from 1.30 in the Community Centre here at St James’ and would welcome
any donations or offers to come and help pack the boxes. A list of suggested items will be on the CWL
noticeboard. We have been asked to
consider boxes for older teenage boys as not so many people provide these. CWL
Readers –
19 September
Fr David would like to meet with the Readers on Monday 19 September at 8pm in the Church.
Extraordinary
Ministers of Holy Communion and Readers – 12th November
The annual day of recollection for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy
Communion and Readers for the South East area will take place at
Children’s
Liturgy
Children’s Liturgy will start back again on 18th September. If you child is 3 years old or above, they
are welcome to join us for Liturgy sessions at the 9.15 am Sunday Mass each
week. We hope you all had a lovely summer break and
we look forward to seeing you all.
Firm
Believers – Tuesdays
Our inter-church Fun-Fitness class to music will be held on Tuesdays
from 7 - 7.45 pm in the Community Centre, here at St. James.
So come and give it a try with a group of friendly ladies of all
abilities. You are welcome to just turn
up or contact us on 07904 329788 or firm.believers@stjamespettswood.org). Bring a friend if you wish. We meet every Tuesday during term time and
the cost is £5. Wear trainers and any
comfortable clothing and bring a mat or towel and get fit and trim.
Blessing
of Pets – St. Francis of
In anticipation of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Tuesday 4 October, we
are planning to hold a blessing of pets in Church on Sunday 2 October at 3pm. St Francis of
Plant a
Rose for a Loved One
In November, we will be planting roses in memory of the deceased along
the Church wall. If you would like to
have a rose planted for a family member, please let us know. The charge is £10 to cover the costs.
Cleaning
the Church – Help Needed
Please let us know if you are able to help with Church cleaning. Even if you have just one hour to spare for
this important job, either during the week or at the weekend we would be most
grateful. We will draw up a list for the
coming weeks, so do please offer an hour of your time if you can. Many thanks in advance.
Gardening
Help – 1st October
Thank you so much to those who helped clear up the garden recently, your
efforts are greatly appreciated. We would like to have one more session to
complete the work on Saturday 1 October
at 10am. Again even if you can spare an
hour to help, that would be welcomed.
A
Reminder for parents – food and /or drink should not be brought into the church
for consumption during