St. John’s Parish Mitcham 494 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham 3132

(Postal: P.O. Box 95, Mitcham 3132) Email: Mitcham@cam.org.au

Website: www.stjohnsmitcham.com.au Phone: 03 9401 6366 Fax No. 03 9872 4316

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 9 2020—Year A

Courage, it is I. Do not be afraid

When you fear for the future of your children, and wonder will the make it safely through life.

Do not be afraid

When you fear that love may not last and your commitment will run dry.

Do not be afraid

When you fear in teenage years that you won’t find friends and you will be left alone.

Do not be afraid

When death is close and you feel confused and anxious. Do not be afraid

When God seems distant and you can’t find consolation.

Do not be afraid

When faults take over and you wonder can God ever really love you

Do not be afraid

In all the moments of life when it seems like walking on water, in our fears and anxieties, our despair and our hopelessness, in mourning and sadness, and also in joy and hope, love and peace, when the water is calm and life seems to support us,

we hear the Word of God:

Courage, it is I. Do not be afraid

Sunday Reflections—Donal Neary SJ

“St John’s Parish community, committed to the Victorian Child Safe Standards & acknowledges that Child Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility”

Parish Information

Faith Formation, Social & Others

Normal Weekend Mass Times at St. John’s Saturday Vigil, 6pm, then 8.30am, 9.45am, 11.15am, 5pm 9.30am St James Vermont

Parish Priest

Fr Dispin John Supported by Fr Michael Kelly, CSsR Parish Office

Visitation and Communion to the Sick & Housebound: Office hours: Closed until further notice please call for assistance

Co-ordinator: Cath Brindle 0423 065 825 Monday-Friday 9am-4pm Ph: 9401 6366

Bereavement Ministry & Pastoral Care: Monika Bredhauer Parish Secretaries: Martine Giles (Monday-Wednesday & Friday)

Schools Elisa Kelesidis (Tuesday-Friday)

St John’s School, 494 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham, 9874 1575 Principal: Mrs Verona Gridley St. James School, 51 Centre Road, Vermont, 9874 1830 RE for Government Schools:

Principal: Mr Dave Mutimer Andrew Puls—0407 352 706

Services: St Vincent de Paul Shop 2/82 Maroondah Hwy Ringwood 9870 9124 - St Vincent de Paul Furniture Pick-Ups 1800 621 349 The House of Books (house next door to the Church) 9401 6306 - St Vincent de Paul Welfare Assistance 1800 305 330

Scripture Readings for week Mon: 2 Corinthians 9:6-10 John 12:24-26 Tues: Ezekiel 2:8-3:4 Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14 Wed: Ezekiel 9:1-7;10:18-22 Matthew 18:15-20 Thur: Ezekiel 12:1-12 Matthew 18:21-19:1 Fri: Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63 Matthew 19:3-12 Sat: Feast of the Assumption Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6,10 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 Luke 1:39-56 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaish 56:1, 6-7 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28

AMONGST OUR PARISH FAMILY

We ask for the grace and peace of Eternal life for those who have recently passed away, Eileen McCaffrey (sister of Mary McManus) and for those whose memories are sacred to us at this time especially, David Anderson, Myrna Anderson, Beth Coombe, Mary Bateman

The Travelling Rosary will be held at the home of Maureen Donnellan from Sunday 9 August—Friday 16 August. We encourage you to say the Rosary in the safety of your own home during this time.

Inspiration for the coming week from the Compassion and Friendship Group

Patience, and God will reward you all the more in the end.

St Mary MacKillop

How you can support your Parish through CoVid Lockdown Details are: 1st Collection: Account Name: St John’s Presbytery Account BSB: 083343 Account No. 515 469 035 2nd Collection: Account Name: St John’s Church Account BSB: 083347 Account No. 676 841 942 Reference field: Must have Envelope number and Surname (please contact the Parish Office if you don’t know your envelope no.) You can mail a cheque, mentioning the split between the 1st and 2nd collections. Please mention your name and envelope number. If you have any questions about this, please ring the Parish Office 9401 6366 or email: mitcham@cam.org.au. During stage 4 we will not be able to pick up envelopes with cash, just keep them with you :)

PARISH OFFICE CLOSED Please call 94016366

or email Mitcham@cam.org.au

As a result of the stage 4 restrictions the Parish Office will remain closed. This is consistent with the Victorian Government guidelines.

If you need to contact Fr Dispin urgently, please call him directly on 0413 683 153 or if you would just like a friendly chat

Email any recent death or anniversaries to be included in the Newsletter and prayed for in the Sunday Mass. If you would like anything included in the Newsletter please email by Thursdays.

Please celebrate with us our Parish Masses posted on our parish website stjohnsmitcham.com.au or on our Facebook page.

Faith Formation, Social & Other

Nothing can Separate us from the Love of Christ It is encouraged to continue active participation in the life of the Church, through activities such as time in personal and family prayer, reflecting on the Scriptures and making a spiritual communion.

Please be aware that you can access the parish website to view the video of Fr Dispin’s Homily and Gospel of the weekend https://www.stjohnsmitcham.com.au/ or you can participate in a Mass online via http://bit.lyMassOnDemand, or www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass

Masses are livestreaming from St Patrick’s Cathedral Monday—Friday at 1pm, Saturday 8am and Sunday 11am. This is available to view on demand until one hour prior to the next scheduled Mass https://www.cam.org.au/mass

Catholic Social Teaching—What Can I Do About it here and Now?

The House of Books is now closed until further notice—We regret the inconvenience but am sure you can appreciate that it is done as a matter of health and safety of us all

REMINDER TO ALL VOLUNTEERS A WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK IS ESENTIAL

Any parishioner who kindly volunteers in any capacity in the Church is now required to have a current Working with Children Check in place. Could you please ensure to advise the Parish Office with details in order for the data base to be accurate. If you don’t have one unfortunately you will not be able to volunteer in any capacity. If you would like assistance with applying for one please contact Elisa Kelesidis via Mitcham@cam.org.au. Thank you for your continued support of our parish community.

A Healing Mass will now be recorded on Tuesday mornings and will be available online on our parish website. Special prayers will be offered at this Mass for the healing of the sick followed by a Novena of Saint Mary MacKillop. This Mass aims to offer a gentle reflection to help us along during the week. If you know of someone who might need our special prayers or to be added to the Novena List please email the parish office mitcham@cam.org.au and leave a message for those you wish to be prayed for by Monday afternoons. Keeping you in my prayers. Dispin

Could you make some face masks for people in our area? The Saint Vincent de Paul team in Mitcham are asking for volunteers who could assist in making face masks. We will distribute these to people in need who contact us for help through our Call Centre. Our team would like to provide 3 layer masks which can be washed after use and then re-used. We can provide you with instructions provided by the Victorian Department of Human Services explaining what materials can be used and how to sew the masks. We can arrange to pick up any completed masks from your home. Please contact Ross Hancock on 0419 117 343 if you can assist us with this. Please click on the link below for instructions on how to make a mask: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202007/Design%20and%20preparation%20of%20cloth%20mask_0.pdf For those parishioners who do not have access to the internet and would like a copy of the instructions on how to make a mask please contact the Parish Office 9401 6366 who will arrange a copy to be posted to you.

Attention All Parish Group Leaders Bereavement Ministry - Bus Drivers – Catechetics – Childrens Liturgy, St James Communion to the sick (St Johns & St James) - Fete Committee – House of Books Sunday Cuppa – Children’s 11.15 Mass - Parish Leadership Team - RCIA – Piety Stall St Vincent de Paul The Parish is currently updating our list of volunteers. It would help greatly if you could assist by emailing us a current list of volunteers in your group . You response by August 21 would be appreciated. Many thanks !

Email : mitcham@cam.org.au Att: Elisa Kelesidis ( or phone Parish office : 9401-6366 )

Faith Formation, Social & Other

VINNIES WINTER APPEAL 2020

As we are unable to hold collections at the Sunday Masses this year, here are three ways you can donate to our Winter Appeal. Thank you for your support. 1) Mail a cheque to the Parish Office at 494 Whitehorse Road (PO Box 95)

Mitcham 3132 marked Vinnies Winter Appeal including your name and address so that we can send you a receipt.

2) If you use internet banking, Vinnies bank details are as follows:

BSB 063-003 1008-1787. This is a bucket account for all Conferences in Victoria so on the details line please enter Agent 446 which identifies Mitcham Conference.

Then email mitcham.conf.tres@svdp-vic.org.au with details of your payment (your name does not appear on our bank statement) and the name in which you would like your receipt to be issued. 3) Credit Card or Paypal Payment. You can phone 131 818 and follow the prompts or; log on to Vinnies.org.au and fill in your details. If you would like your donation to be directed back to Mitcham Conference section please enter St Johns Mitcham 446 in the comments section of the online form. Vinnies Head Office will issue receipts for all credit card donations.

Christian Meditation by ZOOM

It is proposed that Parish meditation gatherings resume—on Zoom. Just think, you could join our dedicated group of meditating parishioners in the enticing quiet of your own home; all you need is a computer, laptop or smartphone. We would meditate fortnightly. Zoom instructions and coaching are available if needed. You are most welcome to join us.

Consistent meditation is known to help with everything from raised blood pressure to depression; even practised occasionally, it helps calm our busy minds. If you are interested in deepening your spirituality, or want to strengthen your connection to God, you must try this. Free of charge.

To indicate your interest: leave a message with Chris Ryan on 9874 5940. Please indicate either your phone number or email address to enable Zoom contact. Further details will follow after interest has been gauged.

Micah Do Justice Together has initiated a campaign to #EndCOVIDForAll campaign and encourages Australians to sign the pledge click on signed the pledge to show your support for vulnerable nations from COVID19. By signing the pledge this will assist the campaign to increase our assistance to poorer neighbouring countries where our aid budget has been reduced. For further information please go to www.micahaustralia.org or contact Helen Thomas on 9874 7024. Your support is greatly appreciated to help support each other in

these challenging times.

It’s Time to Lift Our Spirits

We invite you to contribute to our new initiative eg Household tips, Gardening Tips, Simple recipes, Sharing Stories of Hope. As I write this introduction to our Inspiration section, we move towards a very tough 6 weeks to try and combat this dreadful virus. We are assured this very strict stage 4 lockdown will bring about a promising reduction in cases and deaths. We hopefully will see our way out of this very worrying and stressful time. Through this next 6 weeks we need to strengthen our

faith and spend time in prayer. A calming and peaceful way to do this is in God’s indoor garden. It is cold and wintry outdoors, so we need to find a space that is safe and contemplative, and spend time in prayer and meditation. Create a space at home where you can spend time alone in conversation in a natural environment with God. Light a candle. Pick some lovely lush green foliage from the garden and place in a vase. This brings about a tropical feel of warmth inside our homes. This will also create a feeling of wellness which is so important to our bodies and minds. Spending time meditating will also assist us spiritually and calm us during these times which for some of us may lead to loneliness and helplessness. When using our imagination, we can create all sorts of imagery to guide us especially with nature. Take a few moments and take some deep breathes: Eckhart Tolle tells us “One conscious breath – in and out – is a meditation.” We can visualise walking through a forest and being out amongst nature; wandering along pathways through dappled light filtering through the tree canopy; crossing bridges and hearing the trickle of the stream meandering along the forest floor. The distant rumble of a waterfall beckons us to venture closer and admire its beauty. We hear birds chirping; and other wildlife calling out. Our imagination is very powerful when we spend time with it in a natural and calming setting. When we spend time in meditation, this prepares us and brings us closer to our relationship with God and prayer. We hope you will stay positive, keep well and look after yourself. As St Francis de Sales wrote:

“Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself”

Please take care over the next 6 weeks and keep in touch with one another. We ask you to please share your experiences and thoughts with us. Feel free to email the Parish Office or call Monika on 0438 220361.