Thank you for your offerings last week of £1491. Second Collection for Catholic Youth Services £543. Mass attendance 825.
Sunday 3^rd December (Saturday Vigil)	First Sunday Of Advent 6pm In Thanksgiving (D Marshall)
	9.15am Francesca Sio RIP (Sio Family) Mrs Florence Broderick (A&L Sands) 11am People of The Parish
Monday 4^th December	Feria 9.30am Holy Souls (Enda Blacker)
Tuesday 5^th December	Feria 9.30am Deceased Members of The Clark Family (M&J Clark)
Wednesday 6^th December (Whole School Mass)	Feria 9.30am Michael Golding RIP (The Bridle Family)
	10.45am Eucharistic Adoration
Thursday 7^th December	Saint Ambrose
	9.30am Margaret Thompson RIP (J&M Clark)
Friday 8th December	The Immaculate Conception Of The Blessed Virgin Mary 9.30am Margaret & Kenneth Jackson RIP (Jackson Family)
Sunday 10^th December (Saturday Vigil)	Second Sunday Of Advent 6pm Relatives & Friends of Fyson Family
	9.15am Francesca Sio RIP (Sio Family) 11am Anthony Olivelle RIP (M Olivelle)

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!

Second Collection

Next week’s second collection is for the Maintenance Fund.

Christmas items in the Repository

Religious advent calendars, Christmas cards and the like are now on sale in the repository and from the stall in the church porch after all Sunday Masses.

Fr David writes…

Going through the train station’s gates, during rush hour in the city of London is a terrifying experience for any novice. It is not for the faint hearted. What you actually observe, and experience, is an ocean of individuals stampeding with very blank but focussed faces passing you or pushing behind you. One must be quick otherwise you are doomed to fall back and lose your turn, praying that your oyster card or debit card would work and allow you through instantly. There is no time to think. Its go go go! Most of the faces tell a story. They are faces of people who are on their way. Stressed but relieved that their long day’s work is over and finally they can go home. However, their minds now are geared in another direction. Wondering what is awaiting them at home. What chores are awaiting them still before they go to sleep. The preparation of the children’s meals, the assignment they must prepare for the next day. Financial worries, mortgages to be paid at the end of the month. Then literally falling asleep and after a restless night, start all over again in the same routine the next day.

Life can make us comatose and it is very easy to lose the sense of it all. One can easily forget the magical moment of the awesomeness of seeing a new born child for the first time and the powerful feeling of tenderness that that elicits in us. We also forget easily the vulnerability and the dependence of a child on us which demands of us to be present and mindful. The expectations and pressures of work and bringing up a family sometimes makes us even harsher beings, protecting ourselves by creating time tables and making sure that we follow rules for time management. Sometimes the never-ending activities at weekends after a full-on week’s work, become more chores and we miss out on quality time together as a family. We trade off family life with more activities. We stop questioning the reasons behind all this madness. We just do. Unfortunately, the only time we tend to wake up drastically is when something major happens to us – an illness or bereavement.

Advent comes along and invites us to change gears. It reminds us that to wake up we need to acknowledge first and foremost that we are burying our heads in the sand – we are running ourselves in the ground and for what? Why are we allowing ourselves to be on this very demanding merry-go-round? Advent invites us to stop rushing like headless chicks and wait. And waiting is the very thing that we loathe the most. To be current demands of us to be with it – to be connected constantly and to be aware instantaneously of what is happening around us within the global village. Otherwise we feel lost and disconnected and obsolete. To be counter cultural in today’s world means to be able to think differently. It means having a different way of looking at what matters most. Waiting demands of us to experience vulnerability as we feel out of control. Waiting invites us into the space of uncertainty. And in this place, we can encounter ourselves – it is an uncomfortable place. And yet it can be the place where we most encounter God and our true self. A God who dreams for us a life which is far beyond our imagination. If only we learn to wait without trying to control. Advent is the time to wait for the unimaginable. To wait for the one who draws out in us new life, new beginnings. Not in an extraordinary way but through the power of utter vulnerability.

In today’s first reading we get a glimpse of the difficulty people face when their waiting for God seems to be in vain. The exiles have returned from their captivity in Babylon, spurred on by fresh hope that God will adopt them again as his people. The only thing the people can do to renew their hope is to remember what God actually did for them in the past and to hold on to their relationship with him. The memory of God’s love for them is life. It gives the people a reason to wait. They remember to hope. In the gospel, we are invited to stay awake and to keep on waiting. The story of Jesus has become the sacred story of our Christian Tradition, a memory that we pledged to keep alive until he comes again. It is a memory that we hold on to. We remember the first coming and we await the second. In a world that sometimes comes across as cruel and frightening, we need to remember God’s reassurance that He is with us. We await in hope. Let us remember at the beginning of this year’s Advent those who are waiting anxiously for medical results, for all prospective mothers waiting the birth of their child, those who wait for the return of loved ones from war and those who live afar. Let us remember those who are waiting for love and those whose lives have been shattered because they risked loving through betrayal or loss. May this Advent be a time where we stay alert and allow ourselves to step off the treadmill that we have created for ourselves and risk to think differently focussing on living a more balanced and healthy way of life.

“Drop-In” Evening Surgeries

The next Drop-in Surgery will take place on Wednesday 29th November between 5–7pm. Please call at 281a Crescent Drive. No appointments are necessary.

Primary School Supplementary Information Forms (SIF)

If you are applying for a place at a Catholic Primary School and need me to sign your SIF, could you please ensure that all paperwork and a family photo is handed in (to me or the Parish Office) by Thursday 7^th December at the latest. Thank You. Fr David.

The Parish Pastoral Council

The next meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council will take place on Wednesday 6^th December at 7.30pm in the Community Centre. Parishioners are welcome to raise any relevant issue using the PPC mailbox which is ppc@stjamespettswood.org

Or by completing a form and posting it in the suggestion box at the back of the church.

Christmas Day Lunch with Fr David!

I would like to invite adult parishioners, either individuals or couples, who are on their own this year to join me for Christmas Day lunch in the Community Centre. Transport can be provided to collect you and bring you home and there will be great food, good company and the Queens speech!

We have 40 places available, so if you would like to join me, please phone, visit or email the parish office as soon as possible. Places are available on a ‘first come first served basis’ and we must know final numbers by 14^th December. Please contact Juliet Cracknell on juliet.cracknell@outlook.com for offers of help or gifts.

Regrettably, we won’t be able to accommodate young families with children at this event.

Advent and Christmas

Advent Reconciliation Service

Will be held here in the church on Monday 4^th December at 8pm.

A Reflection with Michael Ford

on the life of Fr Mychal Judge (Victim 0001 in Twin Tower attack) on Wednesday 13^th December 8pm.

Advent Carol Service

Will be held here in the church on Sunday 17^th December at 4.00pm. Our Advent Service is an opportunity to pause in the busy preparations leading up to Christmas. Through readings, prayer and music, we will reflect on the Christmas story and how it relates to our lives today. All parishioners are invited to come and share in this special service to start their Christmas week focussed on Jesus.

Give your heart a Home

Wednesday 20^th December at 8pm - quiet reflection to prepare for Christmas with Fr David Camilleri.

Decorating the Church for Christmas

We are meeting to decorate the church for Christmas on Saturday the 16^th at 10.00am. Anyone who has an hour to spare to help us decorate the church is more than welcome.

Christmas Crib – Poinsettias Needed

If you would like to donate some poinsettias for the crib this Christmas, they would be gratefully received. Please drop them off at the Church on the weekend of 16^th and 17^th December.

Christmas Rotas – Readers and Welcomers

For the Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Masses, we are putting up a ‘please sign up’ list at the back of the church asking for Readers and Welcomers to volunteer for the Mass times that suit. Please complete the form on the table at the back of the church. Thank you in advance.

Christmas Day Children’s Mass

The 9.15 Mass on Christmas Day is a Children's Mass. We are looking for kids aged 6-12 who would like to join the choir. There will be 3 rehearsals - Dec 9th (Sat), 16th (Sat) and 21st (Thurs) from 12.00-12.45pm. If you are interested, please give your names to jennifer.baracho@gmail.com. We are also looking for two children readers for that Mass. Please complete the form on the table at the back of the church.

Liturgy Pillar

Children’s Liturgy – 10^th December

Children’s Liturgy is cancelled on the 10^th December due to the setting up of the Christmas Fayre. We apologise for any inconvenience.

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.

Christmas Choir

As we prepare to enter the Advent season, we invite singers to join in our Christmas choir which sings in four-part harmony. The Advent service is on the 17th of December, Sunday at 4.00pm. On Christmas Eve, we will start off with carols at 11.30pm followed by Midnight Mass. Rehearsals will be held every Thursday from 7.30-9.00pm starting on the 16th November (followed by Nov 23, 30, Dec 7, 14, and possibly another rehearsal just before Christmas if needed). This is a lovely way to participate in the parish festivities so if you enjoy singing, please come along to the first rehearsal on the 16th. Hope to see many of you there.

Evangelisation Pillar

First Holy Communion 2018

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 9^th and 16^th June 2018.

Pilgrimage to The Holy Land

22nd – 30th November 2018

We are organising a pilgrimage to The Holy Land for next year. This pilgrimage will be an opportunity to re-invigorate our faith as it will be rooted in prayer and biblical experiences and it will also provide opportunities for us to grow in fellowship. We need to establish the level of interest and potential numbers. You can find full details on the parish website with a form to complete and return to the parish office by 29^th November 2017

Catholic Education

Do you support Catholic schools and the right of Catholics to send their children to them? Then we need you to make your voice heard.

The Government is making a critical decision on whether to overturn the admissions cap which prevents Catholic schools from allowing all Catholic pupils to attend. They have acknowledged that this policy discriminates against Catholics and promised to abandon it, now we need you to tell them not to u-turn on their promise to Catholics.

Visit catholicnews.org.uk or search for ‘Catholic Education’ in your search engine to write to the Government and urge them to drop their policy which bans new Catholic schools.

Church Sound System

We are looking for a volunteer with some knowledge in sound systems to take over the running and upkeep of the system. This isn’t an onerous task and guidance will be given of the current system within the church. Please contact the parish office if you can help. Many Thanks.

Justice and Peace

Food Bank Supporters

The organisers report that the current needs are: tinned ham, tinned salmon, small jars of coffee, toilet rolls, toiletries (especially ladies’ deodorants), washing detergents and washing-up liquid.

Pre-School

The Pre-School would like to invite the parishioners to the dress rehearsal of their Christmas nativity play on the morning of the 8th December at 11am. All welcome.

The Christmas Fayre

Sunday 10^th December after the 9.15am and 11am Masses.

The Friends of St James' Christmas Fayre will take place in the Community Centre, featuring festive stalls with gifts, crafts, delicious delicacies from around the world as well as mulled wine. Any children dressing up in costumes will get a prize and adults, please wear your Christmas jumper! There will also be exciting activities for children, including a guest appearance from Santa.

Donations of homemade Christmas delicacies (candied fruits, sweets, biscuits and cakes), foods from around the world, and bottles for the tombola (anything from alcohol to sauce to shampoo and olive oil but also in date and full!), CDs, DVDs and computer games (in excellent condition please). Volunteers are also kindly asked to come forward to help set up, clear up and man the stalls. Please sign up on the lists at the back of church or email the Parish office.

Raffle tickets (for our gorgeous Christmas Hamper and giant teddy bear) will be on sale at the back of the church after each mass and will be drawn at the market.

SNARL Afternoon Tea

Saturday 16^th December at 4pm

Come and join us at St James’ Community Centre for an afternoon of delicious homemade cakes, sandwiches, tea and coffee. £12.50 per person (tickets must be bought in advance). This event is to raise money to help SNARL, South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty, as they work tirelessly to catch the serial cat killer.

Please email chariteapot@hotmail.com, to buy tickets.

CYM Bromley Deanery Choir 2018

As part of the ongoing programme of initiatives for young people in Bromley Deanery, we would like to explore the possibility of starting a choir and/or youth orchestra in the coming year. We would like to hear from anyone who is interested in getting involved and specifically from professional musicians/ musical directors who would like to be part of this exciting project.   For general enquiries and for more details email: susan.longhurst@bromleydeanery.org or Rogf16@btinternet.com.

Lost property

A purse has been found in church. Please contact the parish office for details.

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.

Weekend Rotas: Thank you for helping.

Saturday 9th December
Cleaning the Church	O Clutton, M Mathews, R Blanco, R Mwansa, D Delf

Wednesday Coffee 13^th December

T Forde, E Cushman

10^th December
Mass	Saturday 6pm (Vigil)	Sunday 9.15am	Sunday 11am
Welcomers	L Ruber	F Mace L Thomas	Uniformed Groups
Readers	P Dabrowski A Prifti	A Coughlan R Lim	Parade Mass
Ministers of Holy Communion	M Cahill C Cahill J Gribben P Crosland C Wakefield	D Hairs M Howell S Cotta A Ward D Hairs	R Mwansa K Chan K Evans A Evans P May
Bar	A Barradell, M Horner
Coffee		L Lynch S Barradell	C D’Arcy T Lowe
Altar Servers	R Norman-Brown F Norman-Brown A Lynch O McCabe J McCabe J Sriskanthara A Sriskantharaj Paulina J Monaghan P Marshall	L Delamain J MacFadyen *Can any servers change from the 6pm to the 9.15 Mass Please*	E Molloy F Ikenye V Marcolina M Lawrence

Tellers

C Delf, M Troy