St Thomas the Apostle Parish Newsletter

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
25 July 2010

Mass Times
Mon:	Mass & Night Prayer 8.00pm preceded by Adoration at 7pm and Reconciliation at 7.20pm
Tues–Sat:	Reconciliation 12 - 12.30pm; Mass - 12.35pm (Bring lunch!)
First Fri:	5.30pm Mass, Convent, Reserve St.
Public Hol:	9am Mass
First Sat:	Healing Mass 12.35pm
Saturday:	Vigil 5.30pm
Sunday:	7.30am, 9:30am & 6.30pm

Parish Office Hours:- Wed -8:30am to 12:30pm, Friday- 8:30am to 12:30pm

BLESSING ON OUR SPECIAL MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST:
May our dear Lord guard you & bless you as you bring His Eucharist & our love to our brothers & sisters who are unable to be with us today at Mass. Amen.

SANCTUARY LAMP This Week’s Sanctuary Lamp Candle burns for Robert Barich. If you wish to dedicate a candle put the details & $10 in an envelope & put it in the collection basket.

Feast Days
26 July - St Joachim and Anne
29 July - St Marthai
30 July - St Peter Chrysologus
31 July - St Ignatius of Loyola

Monday Nights at St Thomas – Holy Adoration continues at 7pm with silent Adoration, Evening Prayer and Benediction. Mass and Night Prayers conclude the evening at 8pm. PLEASE COME.

Farewell – Deacon Francis leaves this week for Busselton. He has been not only a grand help around the parish but has inspired many. He will be sorely missed. After each Mass, there will be a small social so that you may express your thanks to Francis and wish him well!

“Only the Heart that can count Blessings can be Grateful because Gratitude is the memory of the Heart.”
Thank you very much! – Deacon Francis

Parish Council – It is time to replenish the Parish Council – Please Volunteer! The Council meets every other month and is divided into 4 parts : 1) Finance, Buildings and Grounds; 2) Youth; 3) Social and Outreach; 4) Liturgy. All four revolve around evangelisation: “depthing” Catholics; chasing up the lapsed; bringing the Lord to those marginal to God, Jesus, Church. The term is for 2 years – it takes that long to know the ropes and see jobs done to completion. So all 17 to 100, email the parish or ring me (9384 059) to say you’ll serve. Thanks! Fr Charles.

Winterville Film Festival – Next Sunday after the 6.30pm Mass, there will be dinner (possibly curries) and the (7.45) screening of the classic The Scarlet and the Black – Gregory Peck, Christopher Plummer, Sir John Gielgud – the true story of a courageous Irish Priest working in the Vatican during the German occupation. Come – bring a drink!

The Kid's Mass and sausage sizzle on the first Saturday of each month is one of our many Parish highlights. There is a very healthy roster of families running the Sausage Sizzle but we need someone to coordinate. If you can help please contact Silvia or Marg on 0429065842

Collections – The collections from Mass are to come form the assembly as a collective. Thus, to symbolise this, let’s try to pass the baskets amongst us – across one pew and down and across the next. Thanks.

Towards Catholicism – A fun introductory course for people curious about becoming a Catholic begins on Thursday 26 August at 7.30pm. The first 6 weeks of this course, Towards Catholicism, is at the Parish Centre, Holy Rosary, Thomas Street, Nedlands; the next 6 weeks is held at St Thomas, College Road, Claremont. It will be conducted by various priests in the Claremont Zone of Priests. If you know of people who may be interested, please pass on this information. Be brave, you may bring a friend, come so that you may be received into the Church for Christians.

Anniversaries & Birthdays – If you are having an anniversary (of any kind) or birthday, etc., please let the parish know, and we can put it in the Prayers of the Faithful – and help build our community. Thanks!

TAX receipts- 15% of Contributions to the Planned Giving Program are eligible as taxation deductions. If you require a statement of your planned giving contributions, please email your request or contact Kim in the Parish Office or email claremont@perthcatholic.org.au

Reflection

‘To whom can priests turn for their daily hug?’

I am a wife, mother, grandmother, psychiatrist, academic and former policy-maker. For me, one of the most important issues in the Church in Britain today is the role of women and how it relates to that of priests. Despite myriad social, cultural, scientific and other changes since the time of Jesus, his teaching remains remarkably relevant today. People who resist these many changes are often unhappy people, struggling to cope with the demands of today. Women’s lives and opportunities have almost certainly changed more than those of men, but I come across some women who are confused by their identity and role as women today. They feel cheated by society’s expectations that they will become more like men, with their womanhood not fully respected and understood. The Church also resists change, which can sometimes be comforting, but it can often be unhelpful to its members who have to face change in their daily lives.

Could a greater focus on the lives of girls and women of all ages help them to make the most of our current age? Women could take on many more leadership and organisational roles within their parish community, but there is often awkwardness in their relationship with the priest. Is there anything we can do about it?
In some parishes, the church members seem little more than attendees at the celebration of the sacraments. That priests are men emphasises a male dominance in the life of the Church, which needs to be rebalanced if aspirations for the parish to be more like a family are to be achieved.

There is a danger that priests can become lonely and isolated in the present parish structure in the UK. They are not helped by a lack of recognition that priests have more human need for social and intimate relationships than the Church usually acknowledges. As a psychiatrist, I have worked with troubled priests in therapy who yearn for human intimacy. I would not suggest marriage as the solution, although I am sympathetic to that possibility. A study of predictors of better mental health identified the “five things we should do every day”, and one of the five is a daily hug. So to whom can priests turn for their daily hug? St Luke’s Gospel (7:36-50; 8:1-3) tells of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair before anointing them, suggesting that he was comfortable with such physical intimacy. Understanding and being understood by women, particularly if it involves friendship, risks being seen as an occasion of sin or scandal, but could help a priest meet some of his own needs for interdependence. This would require a priest to be comfortable with who he is and his life choices. And that means seminaries need to address these issues and need to consider how women can be invited to help them.

Sheila Hollins is professor of psychiatry of learning disability at St George’s, University of London, and a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Tablet

Other Things on
Caritas Australia’s ‘Be More’ Walk for Water – Family Fun DayBe a part of change for the better! When: Sunday 1st August 2010, 11.00 am – 1.00 pm. Where: Lake Monger, Lake Monger Drive, Leederville. Meet at Dodd Street car park, near the Speech and Hearing Centre (walking distance from Glendalough train station).Please come prepared for the weather, bring buckets, and remember to bring plenty of tap water to keep you hydrated. There will be a walk around the lake in solidarity with the millions living without access to clean water, a sausage sizzle, live music and fun family activities.All welcome. Register at www.bemore.org.au/weekend.

The 2010 Claremont Christmas Carnival is fast approaching and preparations are already under way. We are currently seeking expressions of interest from those wanting to be involved in the 2010 Claremont Christmas Carnival. If you and/or your organisation/group would like to be involved simply send back your completed expression of interest form by Friday 20 August 2010. For more information on the 2010 Claremont Christmas Carnival and how you can get involved please contact Laura Kendall or Betina Lay at the Town of Claremont on 9285 4300

Do you know what is at the heart of the YCW’s PHILOSOPHY OF WORK? Are you aware of your WORK RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES? Would you like to be able to CHANGE THE CULTURE OF YOUR WORKPLACE? The Young Christian Workers is running a series of workshops centred on young people’s experiences of work, their work rights and responsibilities and how this is all connected to their spirituality. Through this we aim to challenge young people to take affirmative action in their workplaces to improve the culture of Australian workplaces. When? Tuesday 3rd, 10th and 17th of August commencing with dinner at 7pmWhere? St Mary’s Parish Centre, 40 Franklin Street, Leederville. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Marie 0422 510 816 or Michelle 0412 539 427.

4 Week Psalmist Training Course – Thursday 12 August, Thursday 19 August, Thursday 26 August, Thursday 2 September. Offered by the Centre for Liturgy with Chris de Silva. Venue: St Mary Star of the Sea Parish, Cnr Stirling Hwy and McNeil Street, Peppermint Grove. To book contact Cottesloe/Mosman Park Parish on 9384 2421.

The Allegri Chamber Orchestra

The Allegri Chamber Orchestra continues to celebrate its 10th year with another exciting concert programme. The performance will begin with Bach’s 3rd Brandenburg Concerto for Strings, followed by the popular Symphony 25, ‘The Little G Minor,’ by Mozart. It was this music that famously began the action in the film ‘Amadeus’. The concert concludes with Mozart’s wonderful Sinfonia Concertante, featuring Allegri’s music director, Jacek Slawomirski on violin and local well-known teacher and soloist, Tzvi Friedl on viola.Venues: 3pm August 15th at The Cottesloe Civic Centre, Broome Street, Cottesloe OR 3pm August 22nd at St Patrick’s Church, Mt Lawley, cnr Beaufort Street and First Avenue. Tickets: BOCS 9484 1133 or at the door. Contact: Gail Owen 9383 3647, gail.owen15@bigpond.com

St Thomas SVdp Update

Hello all It certainly has been cold and we have had a request from the Depot in Osborne Park for supplies...

Single beds and bases
Tables and Chairs
Wardrobes
Chest of Drawers

If you have any of these PLEASE phone the Osborne Park Depot - 9444 5622 and they will arrange to come and pick them up.
Remember the Quiz Night...Friday 27th August, 7pm. @ John XX111 College
Thank You everyone as always..........SVdP Team

Small Ads

Treadmill – Free to good home: one industrial strength running machine, can set speed, gradient etc - ring Fr Charles 9384 0598

Lucy Chanda is a member of the African Choir, and is looking for a cleaning Job. Her details are chandalucy@yahoo.com, mobile number 040 181 2316. She is available on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30pm to 5:30pm and Saturdays from 8:30am to 13:30pm.

(If you have any ads you would like to post here please email Kim at claremont@perthcatholic.org.au)

Calling all Year 10, 11 and 12 students...
A Day in the Life of a University Student is a FREE event held on Friday 16 July, 9am-2pm at Notre Dame in Fremantle. This day has proven fun and informative for students wanting to pursue study beyond high school. They get a real feel for university life by attending the following activities:

Mini-lectures across a range of disciplines
Presentations from current Notre Dame students
Tours of the Notre Dame campus
Interactive demonstrations

Morning tea and BBQ lunch with current students

For more information please contact the Prospective Students Office on (08) 9433 0533 or future@nd.edu.au

NEW PARISHONERS and THOSE NOT SO NEW (who haven’t filled in our Parish Census): Please put your name and phone number in the space below and drop it into the collection basket or hand to Fr Charles. Thanks!

NAME:____________________________________________________ PHONE(S):_____________________________________________