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Thank you for your offerings last week of £1323.21 and £628.34 for the Parish Project. Mass attendances were 716.
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Sunday 26/6/16 |
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
6.00pm Newcomers to the Parish
9.15am People of the Parish
11.00am Thanksgiving Mass for Elizabeth Vass
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Monday 27/6/16
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Feria/St Cyril of Alexandria
9.30am First Holy Communicants (CWL)
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Tuesday 28/6/16 |
St Irenaeus, Bishop & Martyr
9.30am Sr Paul Farra (Sr Ursula)
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Wednesday 29/6/16 |
Ss Peter & Paul
9.30am Dorothy Robson (Foundation) Whole School Mass with St. James School here in Church
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Thursday 30/6/16 |
Feria/The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church
11.00am Requiem Mass for John Mulvey (please note change of time)
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Friday 1/7/16 |
Feria/St Oliver Plunkett
9.30am Kay Livingston RIP (A Bunnage)
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Saturday 2/7/16 |
Vigil Mass
6.00pm In Loving Memory of Joshua Canning (Canning Family)
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Sunday 3/7/16 |
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9.15am People of the Parish
11.00am Elena Lams RIP (Lams Family)
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Confessions heard Saturday 5.00pm-5.45pm or by appointment. |
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Morning Prayers - Takes place Monday – Friday at 9.10am. All are welcome to attend. |
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Pondering the Word (Lectio Divina)
A quiet reflective look at the following Sunday’s Gospel. Mondays 11-12 noon here in the church. All welcome.
Fr David writes…
One of our basic needs as human beings is to have a home. A place where we can be ourselves, a place where we can feel secure and loved. This on the other hand will give us the strength to go into the world and make a difference. Without the stability and security of a home, we would find it difficult to be creative. For some of us the value of security and stability becomes of the utmost importance. Without it they feel disoriented and do not function well. Homes are not always places of security or stability unfortunately as we know. So for some of us, we might feel trapped in a home. Our desire is to fly away and escape somewhere else. And sometimes circumstances push us to take these drastic decisions for our welfare and the wellbeing of those who are dependent on us. Perhaps most of us are somewhere in between these two groups. We enjoy both the security of home and the adventure of travelling. If something happens on our travels, it is good to know that there is a home which is waiting for us. And when things become difficult at home, it is good to know that we have the option to go away from home to gather our thoughts and hopefully return home more refreshed and focussed. But what happens when we feel called to something that calls us away from the world of the familiar? What happens when we are invited to make a choice that means leaving those we love?
These questions bring us to the heart of the Gospel of today. Jesus himself came to a point in his life that he felt he was invited to leave home, his loved ones and follow his mission. Actually his mission became all-consuming for him. His mission dictated for him a new lifestyle without any security or stability. His only security was God’s providence. He was single minded on what he felt he was called to do on this earth. At the beginning of today’s gospel is the turning point of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus had started down a road that will lead to the ultimate challenge of his mission – the Cross. If Jesus is to be faithful to his mission, he cannot turn back. On the journey, he and his disciples encounter the lack of hospitality of the Samaritans who did not regard Jerusalem as the Holy City. The disciples wanted to destroy them but Jesus’ response was one of keeping moving and not be distracted from his ultimate goal: Jerusalem. As the journey continues, Jesus meets three prospective disciples and is questioned by them. And he basically tells them that to follow him means to be radical in their choices. There should not be any attachments to things or loved ones – they need to experience detachment from everything and everyone and focus on the journey they were invited to lead. There is a dramatic urgency in Jesus’ challenge; the disciple needs to decide which has priority, loyalty to family or loyalty to mission. As we know he had done it before them. To be freed for mission the disciple must be freed from past ties. For the sake of the kingdom the disciple must be prepared to sacrifice security, duty and affection. At first Jesus’ response seems very harsh, but we must appreciate that Luke is presenting the radical requirements of following Jesus as Jesus begins his own journey to Jerusalem. The commitment of the disciple must be single minded because all disciples must face their own road to Jerusalem. Through Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is seen to warn all disciples that it will take enormous courage and resolve to keep travelling along a road that leads to hardship and trial. He hopes that his disciples will have the resolve to keep on going.
In a way he is also telling us – that our lives are not journeys plotted by maps, although we try as best as we can to control our lives. And to a certain point, we do succeed but we cannot assume we can control the whole landscape of our journey ourselves. Life has its own turns and twists and we need to be courageous enough and creative enough to be flexible and adjust to new challenges that we are faced with. The journey which Jesus is talking about though is the inner journey that is plotted through our experience. As I grow older I am realising more the things that matter and the things that are not as important. The dance between attachment and detachment is a lifelong dynamic that we need to go through. May God give us the wisdom to discern which are the things that are worth our energies to attach ourselves to and which are those that we need to let go in order to fly even higher. Have a good, safe and blessed week.
“Drop-In” – Evening Surgery
The next Surgery will take place on Tuesday 28th June, 5.00-8.00pm. Please call at 281a Crescent Drive – no appointments necessary.
After Mass on Sunday
Please do come in to the Community Centre after both the 9.15am and 11.00am on Sunday for a coffee. All are invited.
Second Collections
This weekend the second collection will be for the Maintenance Fund.
1st Holy Communion
This weekend the children will be presented with their certificates at the 11.00am Mass. After Mass they will be attending a 1st Communion Breakfast in the Community Centre.
Summer Prize Draw – all Cash Prizes: 1st - £500, 2nd - £250 & 3rd £100
Please support this draw which will take place on Sunday 17th July. Tickets are being sold after each Mass at the back of the church. Please ensure that all completed ticket stubs and monies are handed in to the Events Team after Mass or to the Parish Office.
Parish Group Activities
CWL Meeting
The Petts Wood Catholic Women's League will be meeting in the Community Centre on Monday 27th June at 8.00pm. At 8.30pm Linda will talk about making greetings cards and there will be a selection for sale with all proceeds going to charity. Please come along and join us if you are interested in learning more about the CWL or card making.
Traidcraft Stall Next Weekend
Stock up on your favourite items, next stall not until September. In addition to aiding poor producers all profit from the stall will go to our Parish Overseas Charity.
Discussion Group
The next discussion sessions will take place on 5th July at 8.00pm in the Community Centre.
Sharing our Faith
If you are a catechist, would like to find out more about being a catechist or just want to know a little more about sharing your faith please join us on Saturday July 9th, 10am-2.30pm in St James' Community Centre. Mary Crosby from St Joseph's will be spending the morning with us, giving us some ideas about how we might share our faith. After lunch we will discuss how we can develop opportunities to share our faith within the Parish.
You will have the opportunity to discuss your thoughts and ideas, but there will be no pressure on you to join any groups or become a catechist if you do not wish to. Coffee and tea will be available, but please bring a packed lunch. If you would like to join us please email the Parish Office so that we have an idea of numbers. If you would like any more information about the day please contact Sue David (sue.david@stjamespettswood.org)
Parish Social Evening
the next Social Evening will take place on Saturday 9th July after Mass in the Community Centre.
Discussion Group
We do hope you can join us for our next discussion group focusing on the "Year if Mercy". It will be at 8pm on Tuesday 5th July in the Community Centre. The passage we will be discussing is Mark 1: 40-45. Everyone is very welcome.
Clergy Support Fund Campaign
If you have received an invitation to attend the presentations and have not yet responded would you please do so soon. Thank you.
1950s Vintage Tea Party on Sunday 17th July Between 3-5pm.
The Friends of St James’ invites you to come and celebrate St James' Feast day - 1950s style! We’re organising a tea party with afternoon tea (or coffee), scones, cakes, and music, and you are also invited to dress in 1950s styles if you want to. We will need to know numbers for catering so tickets will be available at the back of the church from each weekend until 10th July. Tickets will cost £5 per adult and £2.50 per child. 10% off for members! Do come along for afternoon tea - and some rock and roll – (well maybe!). See you there!
Youth Ministry
The next meeting will take place on 29th June at 7.30pm in the Community Centre. All young people who have been confirmed are welcome to attend.
The Passage
Please support the excellent work which The Passage does for homeless people in Central London, by attending The Passage annual Garden Party in the beautiful and historic College Garden, Westminster Abbey on Friday 15 July, from 6.00 pm to 8.30 pm. Tickets at £35 each, include wine, soft drinks, buffet supper, prize raffle, and live music.
Tickets are available from The Passage, St Vincent’s Centre, Carlisle Place, London SW1P 1NL. Tel: 020 75921856. Email: tickets@passage.org.uk. See also www.passage.org.uk. It will not be possible to purchase tickets at the Abbey. All proceeds in aid of The Passage.
Foodbank shortages this week
They have particularly requested tinned tomatoes and tinned meat, e.g. stewed steak, minced beef or chunky chicken, rather than spam or corned beef. Thanks to those who donate regularly using the box at back of church. It is much appreciated. J&P Group
Red Mission Boxes
Please bring in your Red Mission Boxes if they haven’t been emptied for a year or more. Please leave them in the Repository after Weekend Masses and ensure all boxes are labelled with your name and address. Thank You.
Changes in the Parish Office
This is just to let you know that we will be advertising for a Parish Administrator following agreed changes in the Parish Office. Please see the notice below.
St James’ the Great Petts Wood Parish Administrator
We would like to appoint a Parish Administrator to work 20 hours a week in our Parish Office.
You will need very good secretarial skills, people skills and the ability to work on your own. This role is very central within the Parish so you will also need to enjoy lots of contact and enquiries from Parishioners and others, such as suppliers and people who provide services to the parish.
If you are interested in applying for this role and would like a job description please email the parish office – parish.office@stjamespettswood.org
Applications should be submitted in the form of a CV and should include two current references.
The closing date for applications will be Friday 1st July, interviews will be held on Thursday 7th July and the successful applicant will be subject to a DBS check.