Dear St. Joe’s parishioners,

As we enter a Thanksgiving long weekend during which we may not be able to gather with our loved ones in the ways that we did in past years, parishioner John Mark Keyes offers us a reflection, on video and in person at Mass, on the Sunday readings. Exploring the readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time from the perspective of the vineyard, a central concept over the past weeks, John Mark reflects: “Today’s Gospel has much in common with those we have heard about the vineyards. The readings are not so much about vineyards or feasts, as about responding to someone’s call — God’s call. The marvelous thing about these parables is that we can relate to things going on in them. Our world still has vineyards and feasts. The Parables endure the passage of two thousand years…” For the full video reflection, see below:

Liturgical Material

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 11 2020 – Liturgy of the Word for use at home

READINGS FOR THE 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

READINGS FOR CHILDREN – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2020 – Prayers of the Faithful

Mission Prayer

Parish Update

• For Thanksgiving this year, the Women’s Centre and the Supper Table partnered up to provide over 100 Thanksgiving meals to those in the community. We would also like to send a big thank you to Gavin Lumsden for his incredibly hard work and donations to this event. We appreciate all who joined us and helped to provide these meals.

  

  

  

• Our St. Joe’s volunteer gardeners are featured in the current issue of IMAGE Sandy Hill. Thanks for the article, Pat! Click on the following link to read the piece and see the photos: Image_Supper_Table_article
• OMRA Update: OMRA has accepted the third new family since Covid-19 began. She is a young, recently arrived Eritrean refugee woman who speaks excellent English and studied radiology for three years in the Philippines. She plans to resume her studies here and find a part-time job. Housing Crisis in Ottawa: Her very tiny basement bachelor apartment costs $800.00/month. The government monthly housing allowance for a single person is $590 the first year and $390 the second year. The OMRA rental subsidy is necessary for her to survive. Possible Actions:
  • 1) Write to your provincial MPP and City Councillor asking for rent controls and larger housing allowances for those on assistance.
  • 2) Become part of the monthly OMRA grocery card program. We all buy groceries so it costs you nothing to join. OMRA gets 5% from the stores for bulk orders. Contact donnarietschlin@hotmail.com for more information.
  • 3) Give a tax-deductible donation through OMC – donate@ottawamennonite.ca to help OMRA increase the number of rent subsidies we can provide.  Note that the donation is for OMRA rental subsidies.
  • Thank you so much for all the support you give to OMRA to enable us to offer rental subsidies to refugees.
• Sunday Offering for October 4, 2020: $5,335. Thank you for your continued generosity! If you are attending Mass this weekend and would like to make a donation, you will find a Sunday offering basket near the main entrance of the church. You can leave your donation here at either the beginning or the end of Mass. If you are not yet returning to St. Joe’s for Mass this weekend or will be away, please consider using Canada Helps. You may choose the Parish fund of your choice through this form: http://www.st-josephs.ca/about/donations/.
• Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI shares the following reflections on Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti: “the encyclical has eight chapters within which Francis describes what he calls the darkening clouds over a closed world; the displacement of people around the world and the world’s struggle to deal with this; the need for a new vision for solidarity for our world; the need to open our hearts in a new way to make this vision a reality; the need for a better politics; the need for dialogue at all levels; the paths through which this dialogue can happen; and how all religions, not just Christianity, are needed to bring about a new order…In essence, Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti – On Fraternity and Social Friendship, tries to lay out the reasons why there is so much injustice, inequality, and community breakdown in our world and how in faith and love these can be addressed.” For the full reflection, which focuses on the Oblate community, see here.
• An Oblate Vocations reflection from Oblate Associate Serena Shaw: “I pray that we continue to make the time to reflect further on what we may have started. My hope is that through more reflection we will discern what is truly important to us in our lives, as well as how God calls us to live out our lives in the hope of the resurrection. Let us all be thankful for the gifts we have received during this time of pandemic and always.” Read the full reflection here: Vocations Reflection – Thanksgiving

Many blessings and best wishes on you and your loved ones this Thanksgiving weekend, as you celebrate the bounties of the harvest!

Chris

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Christopher Adam
email: cadam@st-josephs.ca