Thank you for your offerings last week of £1,541.  Mass attendance 649.  Poppy Appeal raised £177.32

 

23rd December (Saturday Vigil)

Fourth Sunday of Advent

 

6pm           Monsignor John Elliott RIP (F Simon)

 

Sunday 24th December

 

9.15am      Francesca Sio RIP (Sio Family)

 

11am         People of the Parish

 

6pm           People of the Parish

 

11.30pm    People of the Parish

 

Monday 25th December

The Nativity of The Lord

 

9.15am      World Peace (CWL)

 

11am         People of the Parish

 

Tuesday 26th December

Saint Stephen

 

9.30am      David Kelly RIP (M Kelly)

 

Wednesday 27th December

 

 

Saint John

 

9.30am      Barbara Bridle (Howell Family)

 

10.45am    Eucharistic Adoration

 

Thursday 28th December

The Holy Innocents

 

9.30am      Jessie De Clozets RIP (J Craen)

 

Friday 29th December

Saint Thomas of Canterbury

 

9.30am      Mary Lowe RIP (Lowe Family)

 

Sunday 31st December

 

(Saturday Vigil)

The Holy Family Of Jesus, Mary & Joseph

 

6pm           Carmela Battista RIP (R Del Guerio)

                  Amanda McIsaac RIP (The Deasy Family)

 

 

 

9.15am      Francesca Sio RIP (Sio Family)

 

11am         Terence Quinlan RIP (E Quinlan)

 

Monday 1st January

Mary, The Holy Mother of God

 

9.30am      Maurice Ingledew RIP (M Ingledew)

 

Tuesday 2nd January

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

 

9.30am      Deceased members of the Butler Family

 

Wednesday 3rd January

 

Feria of Christmas Time

 

9.30am      Paul Southyby RIP (Bridle Family)

 

Thursday 4th January

Feria of Christmas Time

 

9.30am      Corinne Fell RIP (B Bridle)

 

Friday 5th January

 

Feria of Christmas Time

 

9.30am      Mary O’Leary RIP (A Hawkins)

 

7.30pm      Eucharistic Adoration

 

Sunday 7th January

 

(Saturday Vigil)

 

 

The Epiphany of The Lord

 

6pm           Dr Margaret Evelyn Ledger

 

9.15am      Francesca Sio RIP (Sio Family)

 

11am         William Ashton RIP (K Griffin)

 

Confessions heard Saturday 5.00-5.45pm 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.

Sunday Mornings in the Community Centre

Every Sunday coffee and tea is served after the 9.15am and 11am Masses.  Please join us for a while and get to know each other over a cuppa!

Christmas offerings

As usual the collections from the Christmas Masses go directly to Fr David.  Thank you in advance.

Fr David writes…

As I reflect on my early childhood, I remember with keen awareness how much Christmas meant to me in my upbringing.  Christmas for me is about childhood memories.  It evokes in me memories of the transformation of our home from a familiar place into a mystical beauty which captured my imagination.  The lights, the crib created by my father and aided by yours truly, the decoration of bambin (Baby Jesus), Christmas music, smells of baking of Christmas logs, puddings and cakes including the panettone of course made the experience of Christmas a magical one.  I can also recall how it was almost impossible to go to sleep on Christmas Eve because of the anticipation of what Christmas Morning would bring.  When I look back today in my fifties, I feel the need to reconnect with the feeling of a six year old in order to enter into the magic of this extraordinary time.  However, life experienced as adults somehow taints the wonder and the feeling of awesomeness of children.  I am very much aware this year of the many people within the parish who are going to find Christmas hard because they have experienced a significant loss in their lives during the year.  It’s their first time without their beloved ones.  Others have experienced upheaval in their lives because of breakdown of their family or serious illness.  Life is not the same now.  Somehow the shouts of the culture outside to be jolly and merry clash with the cry of the broken hearted.  I am aware how much for some, Christmas is not the magical feast that people look forward to, but it’s a feast that many unfortunately dread for one reason or another.

The beautiful narrative of the annunciation on the 4th Sunday of Advent portrays to us a young woman on the threshold of adulthood, whose life is turned upside down by an Angelic encounter.  God enters into her life and disturbs her plans completely.  From now on, Mary is no longer in the driver’s seat.  It reminds me of our lives.  We try our best to build our lives on plans.  We construct strategies to achieve our dreams and those of our families.  We somehow believe that we are in control of our destinies.  And we need to be positive and have dreams and make plans to achieve them.  However, we need also to make allowances that sometimes life does not turn out the way we had desired.  We need to learn to be adaptable and adjust our plans according to the needs and the circumstances that come our way.  We cannot surely be so attached to our lifestyle that if something goes wrong then we collapse.  In conjunction with her ability to surrender her plans, for those which were being asked of her, Mary was courageous to accept a very unclear journey ahead.  We find her questioning and frightened initially.  As an intelligent woman, she had her own mind and queries.  God’s angel Gabriel, reassured her – do not be afraid!  The engendering Spirit did not enter her without her consent.  God waited.  God awaited a yes from a human being.  Mary models the way of the heart.  Mary was not just a passive being.  Mary was a woman of courage who notwithstanding that she did not understand fully what was being asked of her, she trusted.  She trusted the God of love that God will not let her down or abandon her.  Without the yes of Mary, there would be no Advent, no Incarnation.  Her yes in darkness brought new life in her and to the world.

In our own lives we have our own annunciations.  Those moments that we are invited to think differently, that our lives are disturbed and turned upside down because of one thing or another.  How do we react in such moments?  I am sure like Mary we do ask questions.  We do grapple and have sleepless nights of worry and anxiety.  It is only normal for an intelligent human being to struggle with difficult decisions and discern what is the best way forward for us and for those dependent on us.  It is not easy.  Yet sometimes we do not realise that these upheaval experiences can be opportunities of new life for us.  Sometimes we find it so difficult to make difficult decisions even though deep down we know that things are not working out either at work or in our relationships or church communities.  And yet we persist.  Until something happens, and we cannot be passive any longer.  We need to stand and be almost pushed to make the move.  Like Mary we are invited to let go of our plans and go with the flow of what is being offered to us – sometimes in the dark.  It is scary.  If Mary stuck to her original plans, we would have never got to hear about her.  God’s plan for her opened for her horizons of opportunities she would have never imagined for herself.  Her courage to say yes repaid her a hundredfold.  We also need to remember that sometimes what we are being asked to do, might be a remarkable opportunity for us.  We need to trust our guts and intuition.  And pray that what we are grappling with, is coming not completely from our “Ego” but from the One who wants to give us life and life to the fullest.  As they say we need to let go, and let God.  Easier said than done.  I know.

I would like to wish each one of you a Blessed Christmas and may this time be a time of reconciliation, recreation and fun.  May we also be sensitive to those around us who are not in the mood to celebrate this year.  May they find us safe and pastorally sensitive to their needs.  God bless you all and thank you for all your support and prayers during this year.  I truly feel blessed by being here amongst you.

“Drop-In” Evening Surgeries

There will be no more Drop-in Surgeries until the New Year.

Holy Baptism

On Saturday 30th December we welcome, through Holy Baptism, Nathan Addo and his parents Henry and Mairead.

Liturgy Pillar

Eucharist Adoration - takes place for an hour each Wednesday shortly after the morning Mass starting at 10.45 am and finishing at 11.45 am.  This Devotion to the Eucharist is a time of silent prayer and quiet music.  Everyone is welcome for all or part of this time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Evangelisation Pillar

First Holy Communion 2018

The First Holy communion programme for the parish will start on 13th January 2018.  Your child will need to be registered.  Therefore, please return your completed registration documents to the parish office by 4th January 2018.  If you wish your child to make their Communion at St James and haven’t registered to date please contact the parish office as soon as possible.

Pastoral Pillar

Dementia Café

On Saturday 6th January at 10.30am, a meeting will be held in the Community Centre to discuss bringing together the Dementia Café which we are planning to start here at St James in the early part of 2018.  We already have a number of people who have expressed a wish to volunteer but if you were unable to attend the initial meeting we had in November and would like to be part of this initiative it’s not too late.  You will be very welcome to come to the meeting and we will be delighted to see you.

'Dementia Friends'

On Saturday 13th January from 9.30-10.30am Nikki Fishman, Community Development Worker for Bromley Dementia Support Hub, will be returning to St James to talk to us about the work of ‘Dementia Friends’.  All are welcome and if you know of anyone outside St James who may be interested, please invite them to come along.  The meeting will take place in the Community Centre.  We look forward to seeing you.

Monday Craft Club

The next Craft club will be on Monday 8th January 2018.

Justice and Peace

Foodbank thank you

There are no specific requirements from the Foodbank this week.  We know that food stocks are good, so please consider toiletries and household goods instead.

The Foodbank organisers have sent us a Christmas card with their thanks and this is on display above the donations basket.  A special thank you to the parishioner who donated £50 worth of Tesco gift vouchers.  Each £5 voucher will be added to a client’s supplies, giving them a chance to select something they particularly need from the supermarket.

Thank you for the wonderful support in 2017.  We have delivered 1,807kg of goods this year which is a record.  J&P Group.

Seeing a Chaplain if You Are Admitted to Hospital

·         Protecting personal information (data protection) is really important when you become an inpatient in hospital.

·         So please specifically ask hospital staff to pass on your details to the hospital’s Roman Catholic chaplain as soon as you are admitted if you would like a Chaplain to visit you.

·         Fr David would always be very happy to visit you too, so please ask a relative or friend to let him know about your admission.  You, or they, can email Fr David on father.david@stjamespettswood.org, or phone the parish office on 01689 827100.

 

Christmas Mass Rotas: Please see the tables below for our usual Sunday Services Thank you for helping

 

Christmas Eve 24th December

Mass

6pm (Vigil)

Midnight Mass 11.30pm

Welcomers

 

A Huntington

Readers

J Johnson

R Lim

C Hairs

R Del Guercio

 

Bidding Prayers

K Rogerson

 

Ministers of Holy Communion

H Rothon

P Driscoll

K Chan

P Cantopher

J Callinan

T Troy

K Evans

A Evans

C Wakefield

D Hairs

 

Altar Servers

N Cracknell

L Delamain

A & D Poulton

O & J McCabe

Paulina

M Laurence

J Lench

J Monaghan

J Sriskanthara

A Sriskantharaj

P Marshall

 

 

Christmas Day 25th December

Mass

9.15am

11am

Welcomers

 

J Callinan

Readers

Children’s Mass

 

Bidding Prayers

Children’s Mass

 

Ministers of Holy Communion

A ward

M Smith

B Babb

T Babb

A Bunage

R Del Guercio

P May

V Terry

 

Alter Servers

E Molloy

R & F Norman-Brown

A Lynch

P Marshall

F Ikenye

Paulina

Z & E Teare

Rotas for the following week:  Thank you for helping.

Saturday 30th December

Cleaning the Church

S Ingle, P Driscoll, J Rogerson, M Mitrovic (Tuesday Team – 2nd January)

 

 

Wednesday Coffee 3rd January

T Forde, E Cushman

 

 

31st December

Mass

Saturday 6pm (Vigil)

Sunday 9.15am

Sunday 11am

Welcomers

A Delamain

L Delamain

K Drabowicz

M Howell

M Cooper

K Edwards

 

Readers

K Salter

K Lams

C Hairs

A Coughlan

Z Bajorek

D Ducat

 

Ministers of Holy Communion

H Rothon

M Cahill

C Cahill

J Callinan

P Crosland

W David

B D’Arcy

T Forde

M Smith

M Howell

P Murray

V Terry

N Longhurst

Z Bajorek

R Mwansa

 

Altar Servers

F N-Brown

D & A Poulton

O & J McCabe

J Sriskanthara

A Sriskantharaj

J MacFadyen

J Lench

J Monaghan

P Marshall

 

A Lynch

Paulina

M Lawrence

Z & E Teare

Coffee

 

L Lynch

S Barradell

P Flockhart

A Huntington

S Ingle

 

Bar

P Cosgrave, R Monaghan

 

Tellers

L Delamain, M Edwards