We invite you to become a part of the music ministry at St. Bede! Choir rehearsals begin on Wednesday, September 5th from 8:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m in the church. We are hoping to increase our ranks and welcome new members. Please come and speak with us after Mass if you have questions or contact Jennifer, Carla, or Gerard (their phone numbers are in bulletin) for more information.
Last Sunday we had 150 people attend the St. Bede Parish Picnic and Ice Cream Social with Irish Music! What a remarkable day to see our front lawn packed with people and great food, games for the kids, and of course wonderful Irish Music.
We all know that the spirit of God is not limited to any one of us at any time in our lives. No matter where we are and where we have been, or how far we may have strayed from the Lord, His spirit can always be with us. Both Moses and Jesus emphasized this in today’s reading and Gospel.
Teresa Maynor, Director of the CCEEP Religious Education Program met with Fr. Burke and Fr. Taylor to discuss and plan beginning the Home School Program. It is in the planning stages. We are hoping to get the program up and running in the next month or two, but we need to identify the student (s) needing home schooling and a reason why they cannot attend the combined CCEEP program.
While I was on vacation last week I read a book by Fr. James Mallon titled “Divine Renovation – Bringing your parish from maintenance to mission.” In the book, Fr. James focuses on building community, letting go of barriers, and inviting the lay people to help the Pastor build up their parish. He gives insights on his various assignments bringing his parishes together in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The book was very informative to read on how we can be renewed when we work with one another.
The first shall be last and the last shall be first. As we can see the priorities of our Lord can be different from human priorities. The disciples who made a commitment to follow Jesus don’t fully grasp the importance of what they are called to do. It is easy to make commitments and decisions but the proof of them come to being able to carry them out and making the sacrifices.
There seems to be a contradiction in the messages found in today’s readings. James teaches that the way of righteousness leads to peace, while the author of Wisdom describes a conspiracy plotted against a righteous one. In the Gospel, Jesus first informs his disciples that he will be the victim of just such a conspiracy, and then he subverts their standard for judging importance. What are we to make of this?
Many of our ministries are looking for new people bringing new ideas to join with them in keeping our parish vibrant and active. We welcome you to any meeting in our weekly schedule or to see the information still available on the table in the Chapel closest to the Mulberry St. doors. There is something for everyone from decorating, socials, liturgy, music, knitting, and social media. If you have a talent or interest we have a way for you to share it!
The reading from the prophet Isaiah and also from the Gospel of Mark remind us of the anticipated passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The disciples do not understand the ramifications of this. It is always easy to follow someone when things are going well and you can be uplifted.
Each year we honor and thank all our parish volunteers that make St James such a wonderful parish to be a part of. They take care of so many things that we take for granted and their effort and time is appreciated. We call this Stewardship Sunday, But it is also a time to call all our parishioners to find their place in the ministry of St. James.
In both today’s Gospel and also the reading from Isaiah we learn that God is a healer who really wants to be involved in our lives. We know that healing, seeing and speaking are important elements of communication. We have to open our ears, eyes, and voice to communicate with others and also to share our care and compassion for them. We learn so much from other people by hearing their stories and being able to have our own reaction to them.