New Mass Times for St. James beginning December 20, 2014

As we draw closer to the Mass of Dedication with Bishop Malloy on Thursday, December 18th,
many have asked about the new Mass times for our new church. Since the Dedication Mass will be the
first in our new church, the new Mass times will come into effect beginning December 20-21st and
thereafter. Mass times for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be published through a mailing as
well as the bulletin.
Since Mass times affect the whole parish, I have prayerfully considered the various pastoral
needs of our community. I intentionally considered things such as times for Confessions on Saturdays,
weddings (with time for pictures), the time of day with winter months in mind, Religious Education
classes on Sundays, Baptisms, and the amount of people who attend each Mass so as to reflect peoples'
preferences. Not everyone will be happy with the new times but it will be a blessing to worship
God together with parishioners whom we may have never met because of the varied Mass times previously
offered.
Saturday evening Mass will be at 4:00 p.m. This time is more popular than the 5:30 p.m. time
and allows some daylight in the winter months for parishioners for whom that is important. Weddings
will remain at 1:00 p.m. with pictures from 2:00-2:30 p.m. Confessions will be heard from 2:30-3:30
p.m. so that the priest has time to vest for Mass at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday morning Masses will be at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. We tried to accommodate those
who wish to worship early in the morning by combining the previous 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. times, but
without being too early for the many extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to visit the homebound
after that Mass. The new 10:30 a.m. time combines the 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. times into one.
This will be an adjustment for some who prefer a later Sunday Mass. We may move English Baptisms
to 9:15 a.m. on the 3rd Sunday as to allow family members to go to Mass either before or after the Baptism.
The previous 3:00 p.m. Baptism time was inconvenient for those who should worship God on
Sunday as He commands.
The Spanish Mass will be at 12:00 noon, combining the two afternoon Spanish Masses into one
at an earlier time. We will continue to offer Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament all day on Thursdays
in the new church with Confessions from 5:30 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. followed by Benediction and Spanish
Mass at 6:30 p.m. Spanish Baptisms will remain on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00
a.m.. Daily Mass (every morning, including Saturday) in English will remain at 7:30 a.m..
To summarize (beginning December 20-21st and thereafter):
Saturday: Confessions 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Mass 4:00 p.m.
Sunday Masses: 8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m., Spanish at 12:00 noon
Thank you very much for your cooperation in adjusting your schedules around the new Mass times. It
will be a blessing to see the many wonderful parishioners come together to worship the living God in our
new church.
God bless you,
Fr. Geary