5th April 2020 Dear Friends, Greetings to you all during this Holy Week: I will be praying for you all this week, that even as we are parted, may you remain safe and enter into the drama and holy story of Christ’s passion, through your reading, prayers, worship and loving practice. I want to begin by saying a thank you this week to all those who have joined together in prayer during this time. I have heard from some of our parish who are using the daily prayers that were sent out in our first mailing and I know many others have been able to join me online for Compline (Night Prayer) Monday-Friday at 8pm. If you have a facebook account you can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/StJamesDundas Please note there will be no night prayer on Maundy Thursday) As we begin Holy Week, please note: Our Palm Sunday Gospel can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La_AFoMIdwI&t=28s And Palm Sunday Prayers with Bishop Susan are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKBBq9gpQdE Our Podcast can be accessed directly from the front page of our website www.stjamesdundas.ca You can also join Bishop Susan for Maundy Thursday 7pm and Easter Sunday 10am on the Diocesan Facebook feed: https://www.facebook.com/niagaraanglican/ These services will be posted on the Diocese youtube channel later the same day. It is exciting that we are joined on Easter Sunday by our Primate, Archbishop Linda Nicolls as our preacher. The Good Friday Service, which will be posted on both youtube and facebook at 9am on Friday is a pre-recorded video worship experience to help us all spend time in reflection on that most sombre of days. TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF: Please take extra steps to tend your own well being at this time. Here’s some tips: Routine: Decide on a routine and stick to it. Get washed and dressed even when you don’t feel like it. Clean something every day. Sleep: Make sure you get enough sleep. Diet: Eat regularly, plan meals ahead so you can shop minimally, aim for healthy options. Limit alcohol intake. Exercise: Each day, move, walk around your home, up and down stairs if you can, use exercise equipment if you have it. Go for walks in the fresh air. Pray: Spend some time each day being still, praying for those in need and for those you miss and name your own anxieties and worries before God. Be thankful and pay attention to the good things in life. Active Mind: Do puzzles, read books, solve crosswords and where possible indulge in your hobbies, be creative. LIMIT MEDIA: Limit how often you watch / listen the news, it can be overwhelming and depressing. Knowing what is going on is important, keeping balance is vital. Stay in touch: Make sure you stay in touch with your friends and networks of support and care. Love others: Do something for others- shopping for the isolated, donations to a food bank….. Lastly, stay home, wash your hands, be safe. We stay apart now so that, when we are reunited again, no one is missing. OTHER NEWS: Thank you to all those who have gone out of their way to make donations to the church at this difficult time. As well as dropping cheques and offering envelopes into the mail slot, you can go to our website and link to our Diocesan ‘givings’ portal to make a gift via credit card. Please remember to select ‘Dundas-Saint James’ as your intended recipient. CHANGE OF EMAIL Please note that our main parish email is now stjamesdundas@outlook.com Please change your address books to this immediately. A Prayer at the Beginning of the Day. O God, I find myself at the beginning of another day. I do not know what it will bring. Please help me to be ready for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. If I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. I pray just for today, for these twenty-four hours, for the ability to cooperate with others according to the way Jesus taught us to live. “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May these words that he taught us become more than words. Please free my thinking and feelings and the thinking and feelings of others, from all forms of self-will, self-centeredness, dishonesty, and deception. Along with my brothers and sisters, I need this freedom to make my choices today according to your desires. Send your Spirit to inspire me in time of doubt and indecision so that, together, we can walk along your path. Amen. -J. Veltri, S.J. I pray that you will have a blessed and peaceful holy week. Pax, Mike