Mass attendances last Sunday were 674.
Sunday  21/4/13	4th Sunday of Easter 6pm – Maria Moody RIP (Marie & Bill Morley) 9.15am – John & Teresa Lynch RIP (Mrs Jackson) 11am – People of the Parish
Monday 22/4/13	Feria of Easter 9.30am – Nellie McSweeny RIP
Tuesday 23/4/13	St George 9.30am – Ernest and Rosina Simmonds, RIP (S Simon)
Wednesday 24/4/13	Feria of Easter 9.30am – Doll Tyler RIP (Brid Fitzgerald)
Thursday 25/4/13	St Mark 9.30am – Eileen O’Shea RIP (Anniversary)   (E Gibson)
Friday 26/4/13	Feria of Easter 9.30am – Doris Marshall RIP (BD)
Sunday  28/4/13	5th Sunday of Easter 6pm – Aloysius Ng RIP (Mary Sands & Family) 9.15am – Trevor & June Christmas 40^th Wedding Anniversary, thanksgiving. (J & T Sands) 11am – People of the Parish
Monday 29/4/13	St Catherine of Sienna 9.30am – Young Victims of the War (CWL)
Tuesday 30/4/13	Feria of Easter 9.30am – Theresa Saunders RIP (Teresa West)
Wednesday 1/5/13	Feria of Easter 10.30am – Requiem Mass for Christopher Cosgrave
Thursday 2/5/13	St Athanasius 9.30am – Welfare of Peggie & Mai Linehan
Friday 3/5/13	Ss Philip and James, apostles 9.30am – Welfare of Teresa Linehan
Sunday  4/5/13	6th Sunday of Easter 6pm – Lilly O’Connor RIP (Scott Family) 9.15am – Agatha Yee RIP (Victor Brittain-Wong) 11am – People of the Parish

With this double edition of Briefly you will find the parish accounts for 2012.  Please study them carefully and come along to the Parish Forum on Thursday May 2^nd at 8pm and ask questions.  The accounts will be received at this meeting, and there will also be an important short presentation as to how we intend to maintain the whole of our parish plant (i.e. church, hall and presbytery) over the next 5-10 years, and how we might fund this.

We have now received an official condition survey and this will act as a blueprint for all future developments.

Do remember that every penny of our funding comes from ourselves!  There simply are no other funds or ‘bail- outs’!  We should be immensely grateful to our Finance Committee who wisely steward our funds and who spend many hours each week managing our finances.  I should also like to thank the many people who have signed up recently to our Gift Aid scheme.  This is a tremendous financial help to the parish.  If you have not already done so, I do encourage all UK taxpayers to give in this way.

I do hope that every family in the congregation will be represented on May 2^nd.  We are all members of one another, we are all, together, the Body of Christ in this place, and we should all own responsibility for the life of the church in the parish.  There are no passengers on the liner of the church - we are all crew!

Many thanks to those who lovingly dedicate so much time and effort in their service of Christ in and around St. James’. So much has been achieved.  There is so much more to achieve, and in God’s strength, we shall.

Today (Sunday):

2^nd collection for Ecclesiastical Education (for training future priests and deacons).

Kainmari Curry Evening at 4pm (sold out).  This promises to be a remarkable event and will be supporting, through CAFOD, a poor village in Bangladesh.

Wednesday 24^th

Justice and Peace Group at 7.45pm (hall).  New members most welcome.

Saturday 27^th

Church cleaning (parents of children in reception year please) 10am-11 am.  The new rota is in porch. Please take your turn when it comes round. (school year groups are not just St James’ School parents but any in this category!).

Gardening (preparing for our LiveSimply Prayer Garden).  Please sign up for an hour between 10am and 4pm and come in togs etc.

Wednesday 1^st May:

Requiem for Christopher Cosgrave, RIP, 10.30am. I know many parishioners will wish to be at this Mass.

Thursday 2^nd May:

Parish Forum (see above) at 8pm.  We are hoping for an attendance of around 200 people: please make the effort.

Sat May 4^th/Sun 5th

Traidcraft goods will be on sale after all Masses.

SECURITY:

Churches are public places.  Do take great care of your personal belongings in and around church.  There has been a minor theft (cash and a phone) in the past week.  Please do not leave things lying around.  All monies/valuables should always be placed in our safe.  Please keep your eyes and ears open.

Celebration of Marriage:

If you are celebrating a special anniversary this year (e.g. 10, 25, 40, 50, etc.) you are invited to a special Mass in the cathedral on Saturday June 15^th, when you will have the opportunity to renew your marriage vows.  It is always a lovely occasion and several couples from St James went last year. Please sign the list on the porch table and the cathedral will contact you with details.

Rotas are online. Do remember to find a substitute if you cannot manage a particular day when you are on duty - thank you.

Parish Library (back corridor) is open every weekend after all Masses. Do use it!! Or at least have a browse.  The entire stock will soon be on-line and I am very grateful to the Library Team.  Details soon.

‘Healing’

A poem for Easter season by Ann Lewin.

What if pain does not go,

What then? Scars can be

Touched to raw response in

Unexpected moments

Long after the event which

Caused them, nerve ends twitch

Perhaps for ever after

Amputation.

Healing is not achieved

Without some cost. It

May not mean the end of

Pain. Healing can hurt

Just like fresh wounds,

As pockets of poison are

Lanced, or lesions cut to

Allow more flexibility. For

Healing is not going back

To what one was before,

It is a growing on

To a new stage of being,

Through many deaths and

Resurrections being set free.

Every blessing for this fourth week of EASTER, Fr Bryan.