Dear Parishioners and School Families,
Maria Saldana, who handles our Thanksgiving Program will be away and will be back by March. All inquiries regarding Thanksgiving will be handled as soon as she returns from her annual leave.
Dear Parishioners and School Families,
Maria Saldana, who handles our Thanksgiving Program will be away and will be back by March. All inquiries regarding Thanksgiving will be handled as soon as she returns from her annual leave.
Thank you on behalf of us all at St James for your involvement and response.
Please collect your Box of Giving Envelopes (in which the Acknowledgement Letter is enclosed) from the Narthex today. Acknowledgement Letters for direct debit/credit card givers are also available.
Please note that new pledge commitments take effect from Sunday 25 December.
Thank you for your assistance.
Follow-up contact is still being made with some parishioners, therefore we will finalise our Program soon.
Confirmation letters and new sets of envelopes (where applicable) will be available at Mass next weekend: 17/18 Dec. Please note all new pledge commitments will take effect from Sun 25 Dec.
It’s not too late to complete a Pledge Card!
Thank you to Parishioners who returned their Pledge Commitments and Parish Ministries Form either at Mass last weekend or to our Parish Office. As follow-up contact is being made with some parishioners, we will finalise our Program soon.
Confirmation letters and new sets of envelopes (where applicable) will be available at Mass on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 December.
All new pledge commitments take effect from Sunday 25 December.
We thank you once again for your response.
Our focus this weekend is on ENGAGEMENT in parish life. We are blessed by the many people who give their time, talents and enthusiasm in so many ways – on our journey together in daily life – helping us to be a community where people are welcome, cared for and supported.
Today we will hear from members of our community who will share with us how being actively involved in OUR Parish has nourished their faith and positively affected their lives. We invite you to play your role, so please take some time to look at the Groups and Ministries form available at Mass this weekend and on the parish website. See how you can make your contribution to our special community – there is something for everyone!
THOUGHTS FROM OUR RENEWAL PROGRAM TEAM
Why is it important to be actively engaged in our
Parish Groups & Ministries?
“I find that by being actively engaged in ministry gives me purpose and an opportunity to live out of the Gospel by sharing my time and talent with others.”
“Being actively engaged in our parish groups and ministries is for the purpose of personal growth and learning from others who share my faith, and using this to enhance our parish groups and ministries.”
“Our parish groups and ministries give us the chance to serve our community. We can be His hands on Earth and His work done through us. When we feed the hungry, we feed Him. When we clothe the poor, we clothe Him. We becoming the living word of God in our community.”
“Like a family, a parish community only works when everyone commits to contribute their love and support for all the family members. Being active in the parish is a way to “walk-the-faith”, better understand self (grow) and work with others to create a parish atmosphere that is alive with people who care for and support each other and have common vison for a life of love of God.”
“By our baptismal promises, we are all called to share our gifts and talents for the building of our Church. Active engagement in our parish ensures us to fulfil our baptismal promises as the body of Christ, and also helps us to provide the services and ministries which allows us to minister to others. As an organisation, a viable parish can only function with the support of volunteers as we cannot afford to have paid staff (other than the current parish office staff). How healthy our parish community is will be measured by the strength of our ministries and parish groups .”
POPE FRANCIS SAYS…“It is not enough to say that we are Christians. We must live the faith, not only with our words, but with our actions .”
This weekend is the LAUNCH of our Program – we would love you to be involved! The Program is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a member of our parish community. Over the next three weeks we will consider themes central to parish life. You will hear from speakers, receive weekly updates via email or SMS, with materials uploaded to the parish website and Facebook page.
Don’t forget to collect a copy of the Program brochure before you leave Mass today.
THOUGHTS FROM OUR RENEWAL PROGRAM TEAM
Why is celebrating our faith as a parish community important to you?
“Our Christian faith by tradition is faith lived within community and faith in community (Church). Faith cannot be lived alone but always in the context of a community, whether that be our parish community or within another community. Our parish community is welcoming and inclusive, and provides an environment wherein I can authentically be myself and where I can see and be Christ in the world.”
“We celebrate as a faith community because WE are the church. ‘For when two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them’.”
“Being part of parish community is a key aspect of being a Catholic. Such a community comprises people with who you can share in the love, strength, joy and hope that comes with faith in God. Being catholic is akin to being a pilgrim travelling through life and what better way to do so than walking and sharing life with a group/community to proclaim our faith and make the world a better place.”
POPE FRANCIS SAYS…
“The Church must be a place of mercy, freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.” Evangelii Gaudium 114
Dear Parishioners of St James,
This year we will be embarking on a Parish Stewardship Renewal Program. It is the second such program we have conducted since 2016.
We are inviting you and existing parishioners to help create a vision for the future and reignite our connection with the church through the launch of our Stewardship Renewal Program.
Stewardship refers to embracing the common vision and putting together a plan on how to take care of the church in the future resulting in a spiritually vibrant, highly engaged and financially secure Parish. St James, like many community groups and organisations across the world, has been significantly affected by the pandemic, as we have been unable to gather for our usual Masses and events until more recently.
St James has always been a vibrant, friendly and welcoming community, but we understand that after a couple of challenging years, some people have become disengaged.
Now as we begin to recover from Covid, we have an opportunity to create a fresh start and plan for our future by looking for ways to increase engagement and improve the stewardship of our Parish resources and faith development. But we can’t do it alone.
We are calling on all our previous and existing members, as well as any new or interested members, to help us to reinvigorate the spirit of our community and have a say in how we can best serve the community moving forward.
This process consists of three steps:
Step 1—Launch of Program starting with new Census in August
Step 2—Engagement Weekend in early November
Step 3—Commitment Weekend in mid November
As part of this process St James is inviting people to complete a new Parish Census which will be conducted over the next two weekends (06/07 and 13/14 Aug).
Personal information will not be made public and any information gathered will be stored safely in accordance with the Parish’s Privacy Policy and the Australian Privacy Act (1988).
This is a particularly important initiative after the last two years dominated by Covid-19. Your assistance is very much appreciated.
We thank you once again for your generous contributions to St James the Apostle Thanksgiving Program.
Receipts and Thanksgiving 2021 Envelopes will be available this weekend of 11/12 December at the Narthex. If you have fallen behind please try to bring your account up to date.
We would like to thank you all for your moral and financial support especially due to the large loan we have taken for our church renovation. We do appreciate the generous donations of parishioners who have asked how they may contribute. There are three methods – Envelopes, Credit Card Deductions or Direct Debit from a nominated bank account. Simply fill in a pledge card for envelopes and credit card, If you wish to do online payment method, Direct Debit Forms are available at the Church Narthex. You can drop this Form at the Parish Office during business hours: Mon–Fri 9:30am-2:30pm. Alternatively, you can drop it off at the After-Hours Drop Off Chute outside, next to the Parish Office Entrance under the window.
We thank you once again for your generous contribution to St James the Apostle Thanksgiving Program.
Receipts and Thanksgiving 2021 Envelopes are now available at the Play Plaza this weekend and next weekend.
Receipts for parishioners who are contributing through Credit Card and Direct Debit will be sent via email before the year ends. School Families will receive their Envelopes at the start of the School Term next year.
If you are interested in helping to support St James Parish through the Thanksgiving Program, Please get in contact with the Parish Office on 9401-6367 or email hopperscrossingnorth.stewardship@cam.org.au
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