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

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 26 2020—Year A

St John’s Parish Community Fete 2020—Important Announcement Dear Parishioners, It is with great sadness that I have accepted a recommendation from the Fete Committee to cancel our 2020 Parish Fete that was scheduled for 21 November 2020. After many months of continuous planning the recent reintroduction of lockdown restrictions in Greater Melbourne has thwarted any hope of being able to confidently conduct a safe event. Even if not until November. Following consideration of the potential restrictions that are expected to be in place it was unanimous that those restrictions and the associated compliance would be well beyond the capacity of a volunteer group. Given that the safety of all, volunteers and patrons alike, is paramount the only practical and responsible option was to cancel this 2020 event. I have asked the Fete Committee to give thought to overseeing a Parish community celebration day in early 2021, COVID 19 permitting. I would like to thank the members of the Committee for their courage and leadership in making this recommendation without external prompting. Whilst this is just another disappointment for our community I cannot wait for us all to celebrate together. God Bless Dispin

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

PARISH LEADERSHIP TEAM MISSION STATEMENT To lead and empower the people of our parish to work independently and use their skills

and gifts to grow the life of our faith community now and into the future.

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: Jeremiah 13:1-11 Matthew 13:31-35 Tues: Jeremiah 14:17-22 Matthew 13:36-43 Wed: 1 John 4:7-16 John 11:19-27 Thur: Jeremiah 18:1-6 Matthew 13:47-53 Fri: Jeremiah 26:1-9 Matthew 13:54-58 Sat: Jeremiah 26:11-16 24 Matthew 14:1-12 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:1-3 Romans 8:35 37-39 Matthew 14:13-21

AMONGST OUR PARISH FAMILY

We ask for the grace and peace of Eternal life for those who have recently passed away, and for those whose memories are sacred to us at this time especially, Ron Wain, Patricia Brown, Barry May, Lilian Flentjar, Adam Tokarski.

The Travelling Rosary will be held at the home of Marg Coghlan from Sunday 26 July—Friday 31 July. 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

“Do all you can to assist and love one another”

St Mary MacKillop

Giving—Our Parish needs your support Details are: First Collection: Account Name: St John’s Presbytery Account BSB 083343 Account No. 515 469 035 Second Collection: Account Name: St John’s Church Account BSB 083347 Account No. 676 841 942 Reference field: Envelope number and Surname (contact the Parish Office if you don’t know your envelope no.) You can also 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

UPDATE ON PARISH OFFICE

As a result of the new restrictions in place the Parish Office will no longer be available for face-to-face enquiries. This is consistent with the Victorian Government guidelines encouraging the community to limit their day-to-day activities outside their homes. For general enquiries please contact the Parish Office on 9401 6366 or alternatively email mitcham@cam.org.au and a member of the Parish Team will respond to your query. If you need to contact Fr Dispin urgently, please call him directly on 0413 683 153. Fr Dispin is also very happy to have a casual chat with any parishioner who so wishes. The Parish Newsletter will be posted on the parish website each week, please feel free to email any parish news, recent deaths, anniversaries of loved ones that you want to share. Please celebrate our parish masses posted on the parish website stjohnsmitcham.com.au

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

CHILD SAFETY

To view our Safeguarding Children & Young People Code of Conduct, go to stjohnsmitcham.com.au

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 at the parish office 9401 6366. Thank you for your continued support of our parish community.

Unfortunately the St Vincent de Paul Drive By Food Drive has now been suspended due to the current restrictions. The St Vincent de Paul Team are most grateful for the many donations made by so many generous parishioners. This indeed helps the needs of the community greatly. As soon as restrictions are lifted we will advise when donations can resume.

A Healing Mass will now be recorded on Tuesday mornings from 28 July 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 or phone 9401 6366 and leave a message of those you wish to be prayed for. Keeping you in my prayers. Dispin

St James Feast Day—Wishing all parishioners especially the St James families happy celebrations in celebrating the Feast of St James on Saturday 25 July. The Feast Day Mass is now available online via the parish website.

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. Your contributions will be included on our parish website. If you would prefer, your contribution can remain anonymous.

Please send your contributions to the parish office via email: mitcham@cam.org.au or by post or please call Monika on 0438 220 361 for any queries. We still find ourselves locked down, now covered in our masks and need to try to stay positive and keep our sense of humour during this dreaded time. We need to bring some comfort into our lives by way of some delicious warming winter dishes. Dispin has very kindly shared his Dhal recipe with us this week. A recipe full of wonderful fragrant spices and very healthy. Please remember to send us your ideas, thoughts and recipes etc.

South Indian Lentil Curry

Paruppu (lentils/dal) is a popular South Indian dish that is made from boiling lentils. It can be had with (Lebanese) bread, naan, rice or even by itself. This recipe is simple and uses ingredients that you can get in most stores, including Coles and Woolworths. Ingredients 1 cup masoor dal (red lentils) 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp chili powder (may be less, if you can’t tolerate this) 2-3 cloves of garlic 1/4 inch of ginger 1 green chilli (optional) Salt to taste (or chicken stock cube for a better flavour) For seasoning Mustard and cumin seeds Curry leaves (few, and if available) 1 small chopped onion 2 to 3 black pepper corns (optional) The Method Start by boiling in water 1 cup of masoor dal (red lentils) along with 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, quarter inch of chopped ginger and one green chili that has been sliced into four parts, quarter teaspoon of turmeric powder and half a teaspoon of chili powder. Boil this till the lentils are soft. It’s still moist but does not have too much water. Add salt/stock cube to taste. In a separate pan, on low heat, fry in oil, a pinch of mustard and cumin seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to pop add curry leaves and chopped onions. Wait till it gets a bit of golden colour on low flame then turn off the flame. Pour all the contents into the boiled lentils and mix it well. You can also omit the curry leaves if you can’t get any alternatively, contact me; I have plenty. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: if you add too much chilli and have issues the following morning the chef is not responsible.