JUST IN

		
		Saint James Parish Goal

        To deepen our own faith in Jesus Christ in order to 

		bring it to and share it with others.

		
		
		DYNAMITE!  

		
		The 
		current issue of the Catholic Update focuses on how we as the Church are 
		meant to be a light to the world, a light that shines forth with energy 
		and brightness and the power of dynamite!  This CU entitled “Being 
		Catholic Today” is written by Fr. Robert Barron who suggests that if we 
		understand the great story of our faith, we will be better Catholics 
		filled with the dynamic power of the Gospel of Christ and able to light 
		a fire on the earth.    Pick up a free copy of the CU each month 
		from the table in the narthex or contact Sr. Zoe Ann for a copy.  Read 
		it and see what you think. 

		
		
		VOTING 

		
		The 
		current issue of the Catholic Update deals with the moral challenge of 
		voting.  The CU entitled “Faithful Citizenship: The Challenge of Forming 
		consciences” is a summary of the U.S. bishops recent statement to 
		Catholics about forming their faith properly before making political 
		decisions.  As is always the case, the bishops do not tell Catholics how 
		to vote, but rather they encourage Catholics to develop their 
		consciences based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to not be 
		single-issue voters.  Pick up a free copy of the CU each month 
		from the table in the narthex.  Read it and see what you think.  

		
		
		ORGANIC PRODUCE 

		
		The 
		Villa Greenhouse is now open for the summer on Monday through Saturday 
		from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Flowers, hanging baskets, flats, herbs, and 
		organic vegetables are available.  All proceeds help in funding the 
		primary mission of the Villa Farm – to donate fresh organic produce for 
		those who are poor in the Youngstown and New Castle area.  For more 
		information contact John Moreira at 724-964-8920 ext. 3385.

		
		BOOK CLUB

		Interested 
		in joining a monthly Book Club to review current books of fiction from 
		the New York Times’ best sellers list?  Meet the second Wednesday of 
		each month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Mother Madelaine Room at the 
		Villa.  Books may be purchased at a discount at the Villa Shoppe.  
		Refreshments will be served, no fee, but registration is necessary.  For 
		more information contact Sr. Barbara Lenarcic at 724-964-8920 ext. 
		3223.     

		CONGRATULATIONS

		ALLELUIA! A 
		special and joyful WELCOME and CONGRATULATIONS to our 6 newest 
		Catholics.  Christine who was baptized as a child was sealed with the 
		Spirit and then fed at the Table of the Lord.  The other five, our 
		neophytes (newly baptized) celebrated all three Easter sacraments of 
		Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.  We are so happy that they were 
		chosen by God to be initiated into our church at the Easter Vigil this 
		year!   We celebrate our kinship with them in Jesus Christ!   ALLELUIA!

		

		CHRISTINE 
		BENSON 

		JOHN BENSON

		JOHNNY BENSON

		ERIC BENSON

		DAVID DeJOHN

		MICHAEL KOHNEN

								
								BIBLE DONATION

								
								Recently 
								a generous parishioner made a monetary donation 
								to St. James Parish in memory of Mary Phillian 
								asking that we buy various translations of the 
								Bible and make them available to the 
								parishioners.  Mary was involved in the 
								prayer and Bible study group that meets on 
								Friday mornings.  In honor of Mary who 
								loved the Scriptures, 6 books were purchased.  
								One of the new books is a comparative Bible 
								which gives each passage of Scripture laid out 
								on a page with four different translations side 
								by side for easy comparison.  You may be 
								interested in reviewing some of the books which 
								are housed for the time being in a specially 
								marked box in the narthex or in the Social Hall.   

								Hi St. James 
								Parishioners,

									
										
													As 
													you probably know from the 
													bulletin articles, there is 
													a Food Cupboard at St. 
													Joseph Parish in New Castle 
													that is supported by the 
													parishes in Lawrence Co.  
													So now when people come to 
													us at St. James with 
													requests, we can send them 
													to St. Joe's for food.  
													Anyone from our area who is 
													in need of food can go there 
													for help.  

													

													We are grateful that St. 
													Joe's is willing and able to 
													provide this wonderful 
													ministry, and we want to 
													support them so that this 
													can continue.  Thus, we 
													send monetary and food 
													contributions to the Food 
													Cupboard.  

													
													Each month we at St. James 
													are collecting a specific 
													food item to donate.  
													This month it is 
													
													CANNED VEGETABLES.  
													So when you are shopping 
													this week or see a good 
													sale, remember to throw a 
													few extra cans into your 
													grocery cart for the Food 
													Cupboard. 

													
													Then when you come to Mass 
													this weekend, remember to 
													bring your cans and put them 
													in the containers in the 
													narthex.  Thank you 
													for reaching out to others 
													in this way and helping to 
													feed Christ present among us 
													today!    

									

								
								
								ST. JAMES PRAY-ER

								
								A 
								designated Sister at the Villa prays each day 
								for the parishioners of St. James!  One of 
								the special ministries of the Sisters of the 
								Humility of Mary is “the Ministry of Prayer.”  
								This simply means that each and every HM Sister 
								and her ministry have the support of daily 
								prayer, usually a holy hour, offered by another 
								Sister who is “retired” or semi-retired from her 
								own active ministry.  Sr. Ruth Wolfert is 
								Sr. Zoe Ann’s special “pray-er,” since she prays 
								for her daily and hence, for everyone at St. 
								James, too.  Sr. Ruth, who lives at the 
								Villa, wouldn’t mind us telling you that her 
								89th birthday was February 6 and that this year 
								she is celebrating her 70th jubilee as a 
								Humility of Mary Sister.   Many of you 
								will remember Sr. Ruth who, up till just a few 
								years ago, had been active at St. James as one 
								of the leaders of our weekly prayer group.  
								She continues to enjoy relatively good physical 
								health and still has not learned to slow down 
								and just walk.  Any parishioner who has a 
								special prayer request is always welcome to ask 
								Sr. Ruth to include that intention in her 
								prayers.  Sr. Zoe Ann will be happy to pass 
								the requests on to Sr. Ruth or you can send a 
								card to her at PO box 505, Villa Maria, PA 
								16155. 
								

								
								
								MARRIAGE MINISTRY

								Following are some contacts for marriage 
								ministries sponsored by the Diocese of 
								Pittsburgh.  For more information on any of 
								them, call the number listed or contact Sr.Zoe 
								Ann.

								

								
								Engaged Encounter 
								Marriage Preparation Weekend for engaged 
								couples Contact Brian & Nancy Stevens at 
								412-861-0262

								

								Marriage Encounter (Inspirational Weekend 
								Experience for Married Couples)Contact Mary & 
								Lou Locante at 412-635-7775

								

								Retrouvaille (Help for Troubled Marriages) 
								weekend experience: private time & 
								confidentiality Contact Eric & Vicki John at 
								1-800-470-2230

								Natural Family Planning Contact numbers 
								for information on NFP include the following:

								Jacki Pleska 724-747-2470; Dolores Shipe 
								412-732-0502; Micha Peters 412-766-4053

								
								
								VILLA SHOPPE

								
								There 
								is a gift shop at the Villa which is now open to 
								the public each day from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM 
								Monday through Saturday.  The shop features 
								traditional items, e.g., sweatshirts, cards, 
								jewelry, crosses, rosaries, books, CDs, as well 
								as many unique gifts, e.g., prayer bowls, 
								handheld labyrinths, fair trade coffees and soup 
								mixes, original art prints, holiday baskets and 
								the Villa Cook Book.  Call ahead for 
								evening hours.  724-964-8920 ext. 3279.

								
								NEW ADULT CATECHISM

								Many of you are probably aware that there is a 
								new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.  
								There have been articles about it in the 
								newspapers and in the Pittsburgh Catholic.   
								Based on the universal catechism, the book was 
								developed by the U.S. Conference of Bishops.  
								It is written with a very reader-friendly format 
								including lots of stories, sidebars, and summary 
								boxes.  Copies of the new catechism are 
								available at St. James for purchase at the 
								discounted price of $16 rather than the list 
								price of $25.  Anyone interested in 
								purchasing a catechism should contact Sr. Zoe 
								Ann or sign up on the sheet in the narthex.  
								Checks can be made payable to St. James. 
								

								BIBLES FOR SALE

								$10 for paperback copy. The New 
								American Catholic Bible. Contact Sr. Zoe Ann or 
								The Religious Education Committee

								NEW RCIA GROUP

		We are presently forming a new 
								inquiry group for the RCIA process. If you know 
								of someone who may be interested in learning 
								more about the Catholic Church and is discerning 
								the possibility of becoming Catholic, please 
								contact Sister Zoe Ann by calling the parish 
								office at 724-964-8276.

								HOSPITAL & NURSING HOME 
								STAYS 

		
								A 
								recently enacted law has affected the 
								longstanding practice of hospitals and nursing 
								facilities of providing information to parishes 
								about parishioners who are patients or 
								residents. Because of the new law, the priests 
								and the staff of the parish may not promptly 
								learn or may not learn at all, that a member of 
								the parish has been admitted to the hospital or 
								nursing home. If you, or a member of your family 
								are hospitalized or enter a long-term care 
								facility or assisted, independent living 
								residential facility and you want the parish 
								office to know, please personally or through a 
								family member contact the church office 
								promptly. We will do our best to obtain 
								information about our parishioners, but we are 
								limited in the information we can obtain. Thank 
								you for your attention to this important 
								matter. 