Thank you for your offerings last week of £1,343 and for the Catholic Youth Service of £582.  Mass attendance was 741.
Sunday 27/11/16	First Sunday of Advent 6.00pm Joanna and Dennis Ashton RIP (K. Griffin) 9.15am People of the Parish 11.00am Desmond Ryan RIP (G & B Ford)
Monday 28/11/16	Feria 9.30am Deceased Members of the CWL (CWL)
Tuesday 29/11/16	Feria 9.30 Margaret Jackson RIP (Howell family)
Wednesday 30/11/16	St Andrew, Apostle 9.30am Holy Souls (Sister Ursula) 10.45 – 11.45am  Eucharist Adoration
Thursday 1/12/16	Feria 9.30am All Those Who Lost Their lives in World Wars I and II (the Parish)
Friday 2/12/16	Feria 9.30am Charles McCauley RIP 1916 (Helen Denham)
Saturday 3/12/16	Vigil Mass 6.00pm Renate Kiely (C. Kiely)
Sunday 4/12/16	Second Sunday of Advent 9.15am  People of the Parish 11.00am Michael O’Sullivan (L. O’Sullivan)

Confessions heard Saturday 5.00-5.45pm or by appointment.

Morning Prayer: Takes place Monday – Friday at 9.10am.  All are welcome to attend.

RCIA – Journey in Faith at St James’

The Journey in Faith (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) will start with a welcome session on Sunday 27^th November, 3 – 5 pm in the Church.

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.

Eucharist Adoration

Every Wednesday after 9.30am Mass

Eucharist Adoration will take 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 after Mass will be a time of silent prayer and quiet music.  Everyone is welcome for all or part of this time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

First Friday of Month

In addition, Eucharist Adoration will take place on 1^st Friday of each month from 7.30 pm – 9pm and will conclude with Benediction.  Everyone is welcome for all or part of this time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

“Drop-In” – Evening Surgery

The next Surgery will take place on Tuesday 29th November 5.00–7.00pm.  Please call at 281a Crescent Drive.  No appointments necessary.

Second Collection Next Week

Next weekend on 3^rd-4^th December, there will be a second collection for our Parish overseas project to help St Helen’s parish in Peru with paying for the cost of building a chapel at the family centre in their parish.  Please give generously if you can.

Fr David writes…

The only way to secure the future is to care about the present.  Some of us live in the future in order to escape the pain or the boredom of the present.  In this way we are not mindful of what is happening in the here and now of our lives.  We become immune to what is required of us to do.  We only wait for something exciting to happen in the future in order to take us away from the despair of the present.  When the future arrives, we are already dreaming of something more exciting to look forward to in the future.  To be awakened to the present is to be mindful.  For some time, “Mindfulness courses” have become very popular for the spiritually minded within the secular world in a particular way.  You don’t need to be religious in order to realise that to live healthily in our current world, we need a spiritual dimension to our lives.  Our lives are so much driven by expectations and pressures that it is very easy to live our lives as semi-comatose beings.  We live our lives reacting to the next crisis or stimulation.  The daily routines of preparing ourselves for work, waking up the children for schools, commuting on trains –feeling stressful and anxious, constantly drives us all to numbness and become automatic machines.  If we are not careful, it is very easy to fall into despair.  However if we are lucky enough, one day, we might awaken to the reality of our existence and ask – is this it?  Is this what life is meant to be like?  A sense of futility grabs us.  With this awakening, we definitely would need to do something.

“Mindfulness” in the secular world seems to have become a way in order to answer some of these questions.  Mindfulness is about being present to yourself first and foremost.  Present to your body, helping you to be in touch with the present feelings, feeling comfortable in your own skin and in silence being at peace with your core and all the world around you in the present moment.  Organisations have encouraged employees to go to these sessions because they have the added benefit of helping them to focus on what you do at work and so gain better results.  It is a way of helping you to be awake.

Although I truly believe in the benefits of these kinds of approaches, we need to remember that our Christian tradition had for a long time advocated for meditation practices and contemplation as a form of spiritual awakening.  Unfortunately, to say the whole truth, the hierarchy within the Church did not encourage its members to be awakened for fear of losing control.  However in saying that, there have always been people whom we call mystics who had challenged the church to look outside the box.  They could do this because through their spiritual practices, they could see beyond what was being portrayed to them.  Mystics were considered dangerous for the established institutional church.  The Mystics were seen as loose cannons.  They could not be easily contained and controlled.  They were led by God’s spirit and they helped others to be awakened in the meantime.  They were considered as rebels to the establishment.

Today we have embarked into Advent.  Within this period of the liturgical year, we are especially encouraged to live our lives awakened.  This is the driving dynamic of Advent – the hope for new life.  Waiting for a child to be born who would bring justice and peace to the world and who would heal the rift between humanity and God.  The gospel today provides us with tough images: floods, capture, thieving.  These are frightening, life changing events.  We have one life and it is precious and fragile.  What we fear today is not an impending flood like Noah, but the less certain threats of terrorism and the outcomes of climate change.  Noah built the ark to ride out the disaster of the flood.  We are not sure what the outcomes of the environmental damage we have been causing will be.  But there is much we can do today to be prepared and to make changes in our lifestyles so that we do not make matters worse.  And we can do much to witness to the love of our Lord by working to show that love, peace and justice truly are greater than violence.  So our prayer for this advent is: Lord make me present to your daily appearances in my life.  Help me to wake up and see you working in my family, my friends, at work and the world.  Help me to make a difference in the world around me today.  So let us all try every day to take some minutes out, in order to silence the many voices in our lives and focus on what really matters.  Maybe for our own wellbeing, it is time to take up Christian meditation or mindfulness.  Let us live our lives in an awakened state this Advent.

Holy Baptism

This weekend we welcome through Holy Baptism: Ben Amura and his parents Hayley and Steven; Max Bowden-Brown and his parents Anita and Neil; and Jessie Rose Taylor and her parents Andrea and Jacob.

Parish Pastoral Council

Evangelisation Pillar

First Holy Communion 2017

If you would like your child to take part in our parish programme for First Holy Communion, please send an email to the Parish Office with all relevant details, child’s name, date of birth, school, names of parents, address and contact details. 

Candidates must be in Year 3 or above.  All preparation classes are held on Saturdays from 4.30 to 5.45 and will run from January to June.  Dates for First Holy Communion are 10^th and 17^th June 2017.

Advent Spirituality Programme

Please join us for a series of special events for Advent:

Wednesday 30th November: Geoff Whelan SJ, Contemplating Mercy through Art and Scripture

Advent Reconciliation Service

There will be a special Advent Reconciliation Service be on 5^th December at 8 pm. 

Wednesday 7th December: Sr Marie Christine, For you, O Lord, my Soul in Stillness Waits

Wednesday 14th December: Mike Ford, Henri Nouwen and the Wounded Healer

Monday 19th December: Fr David Camilleri, Prepare the Way of the Lord (a time of quiet reflection)

All talks will take place in the Community Centre at 8pm and will be followed by refreshments.  Please see flyers and posters for more details or contact sue.david@stjamespettswood.org.

Liturgy Pillar

Children’s Liturgy

If your 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.

NB We regret to inform parents that there will be no Children’s Liturgy running on 11^th December due to the setting up the Community Centre for the Christmas Market.  We apologise for this.

Calling Children to Read and Sing at Mass

We are inviting children who have made their First Holy Communion and those who are older to become readers/singers at the 9.15 am Mass on Sunday mornings.   We are hoping to start a Children’s Mass once a month at 9.15 am when the children do the Readings but also the singing and serving.  Please let the Parish Office know if you are interested.

Pastoral Care Pillar

Invitation to all Parishioners

Henri Nouwen – ‘The Wounded Healer’ – 14^th December

On Wednesday 14^th December, BBC religious journalist Michael Ford will be coming to St James’ to give a talk about Pastoral Care and the internationally renowned Priest and author of  ‘The Wounded Healer’ Henri Nouwen.  This will take place in the Community Centre at 8pm and all parishioners are invited.  A number of Henri Nouwens’ books will be available for purchase afterwards.

Social Pillar

A Social Evening on Saturday 26th November

All parishioners are invited to drop in to the Social Club for a drink on Saturday 26^th November just to meet and mingle! Do come along and join us!

Start the festive season with a special Family Christmas party at 7pm on Saturday 10th December in the Community Centre featuring the amazing sounds of Iron Mountain.  Come and enjoy a glass of Prosecco on arrival, a delicious curry supper followed by live music.  Book your ticket early to avoid disappointment.  Tickets will go on sale after Mass from this weekend and will cost £15 per adult and £5 per child with a 10% discount to all members of the Friends of St James’.

Get ready for Christmas at the Friends of St James' traditional Christmas market, taking place from 10.30am on Sunday 11th December.  There will be festive stalls with gifts, crafts and delicious delicacies from around the world, as well as exciting activities for children, mulled wine, Irish coffee, a winter barbecue and grand raffle.  We welcome any donations of homemade Christmas delicacies, foods from around the world or bottles for the tombola as well as any knitted Christmas decorations.  Tickets for the raffle will be on sale at the front of the church after each mass.  What better way to get into the Christmas spirit?!

New Year’s Eve Party!

This year’s New Year’s Eve party is being planned so keep the date in your diary.  Tickets will be available soon.

Parish Groups

Catholic Women’s League – 28th November

The CWL will hold their monthly meeting on Monday 28^th November at 8pm in the Community Centre.  Please come along if you would like to learn more about the League.

Parent & Toddler Group

A Parent & Toddler Group meets every Friday during term time in the Community Centre from 1.30 – 3pm.  Parents with babies from 0 up to age 5 are welcome to attend.  Do come along and enjoy the companionship and the fun.  Refreshments provided.

Wanted: Father Christmas lookalike!

On Friday 16th December, the St James’ Parent & Toddler Group will be celebrating the festive season with a Christmas party.  Unfortunately, the real Father Christmas will be making last minute preparations for Christmas, so is unable to attend.  Instead, we are looking for a Father Christmas lookalike with a Santa costume too, who will be free to hand out gifts and spread good cheer.  If this is you, or you know someone who fits the bill, please contact parent.toddler@stjamespettswood.org

DAD & Me – 17th December

The next meeting of Dad & Me will be held at the Community Centre on Saturday 17^th December at 10 am – 11.30 am.

St James’ Preschool

St James’ Preschool would like to employ a Key Worker for 2 sessions a week (days tbc).  The candidate must have a full and relevant Level 2 childcare qualification.  Please email your CV to stjamespreschool@live.co.uk marking it for the attention of Natasha.  The Closing date is 11^th December 2016.

Foodbank news - Christmas is coming!

We have heard from the Foodbank organisers that they are trying hard to build up their stocks of Christmas food to provide for those who need support at this special time.  Christmas hampers will be given out in mid-December so please donate what you can, placing items in or around the box at the back of church.  The priority items are: Christmas cake, Christmas biscuits, Christmas sweets/chocolates, and longer dated mince pies (dated into 2017 if possible and certainly after 25th December).  The J&P Group will make sure your gifts arrive at the Foodbank in good time.  Thank you.

Rotas for next week

	3 Dec 6.00pm	Sun 4 Dec 9.15am	Sun 4 Dec 11.00am
Welcomers	Martin Gallagher	J-P Samuels Lisa Foster	L. McDonald Sarah May
Readers	Jan Bajorek Mary O’Mahony	Cheryl d’Souza Chris Hairs	Rosa del Guercio David Ducat
Ministers of Holy Communion	Jan Bajorek Helen Rothon Monica Cahill Chris Cahill Jim Callinan	Ken Chan Will David Brigid d’Arcy Teresa Forde M. Howell	Ken Evans Angela Evans Phil May Rosa del Guercio Zosia Bajorek
Coffee		L Lynch Sheila Barradell	Christine D’Arcy Teresa Lowe Carmela Battista
Bar	N Long Brian Meehan
Tellers Church Cleaning	Liz Delamain Mark Edwards CWL, Sue Ingle, Indi Hutchins, Patrick Driscoll, Vaida Kavaliauskas

Reminder for Parents – Food & Drink should not be brought into the church for consumption during Mass.  Thank you for your co-operation.