Confession will be available half and hour before the Masses in St. James’ each day (apart from before the 11am Mass on Sunday), and will be heard in the church hall for the time being.

Confession will be available after Masses in St. Matthew’s

God bless you, Fr. Martin

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY:

In accordance with diocesan guidance please turn up for Holy Mass at least 15 minutes before Mass is due to begin in order to assist the stewards in their job of allocating places and explaining procedures. Face masks / coverings must be worn in church, hand sanitiser is available, children under 5 and adults with health conditions are / may be exempted from wearing a face mask.

You will be allocated a seating place according to the bookings that have been made, and are asked to go to the specific seat(s) which has/ have been pre-allocated to you. Kindly respect the instructions of those volunteers who are helping to enable us to open our churches for public worship. If instructions are given by stewards or the priest you are respectfully asked to observe those instructions.

Please find below the times available for Holy Mass this week. If you wish to come along please book a place directly with Fr. Martin, and please do so as soon as possible to avoid disappointment – bookings need to be made every week. Contact Fr. Martin either on: 01577 863329 or 07540534480 (text or phone) or Fr.MartinPletts@gmail.com. Give your name, your contact postal address, and specify which day/date you would like to come rather than being vague, please.

Wednesday 5th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 10.00a.m.

Thursday 6th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 10.00a.m.

Thursday 6th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 7.00p.m.

Friday 7th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 10.00a.m.

Saturday 8th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 12 noon

Saturday 8th August Holy Mass in St. Matthew’s at 4.00p.m.

Sunday 9th August Holy Mass in St. Matthew’s at 9.00a.m.

Sunday 9th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 11.00a.m.

Sunday 9th August Holy Mass in St. James’ at 3.00p.m.

I have noticed that the least attended Masses are those at St. Matthew’s. If you are able to travel I would encourage you to think about going to St. Matthew’s Church which has the greater capacity of the two churches, this will also mean that those unable to travel and who live in Kinross will have an opportunity to attend in St. James’. We are one community of faith and so it would be good if parishioners from the Kinross area would consider travelling to take up spaces at St. Matthew’s, it will mean that you will have more of a likelihood of securing a place at Holy Mass when there is greater demand.

God bless you, and I look forward to seeing you again soon at Holy Mass,

Fr. Martin Pletts

The parish landline has now been fixed, you will be able to call now on 01577 863329 should you need to. God bless, Fr. Martin

Dear parishioners, I have been greatly encouraged over these past weeks, despite the ongoing issues regarding Covid-19, to see the positive response that people have made to return to Holy Mass. I know that many may still be hesitant to come to Mass, because they have been struggling even to leave their homes out of concern for their health. Your concerns are understandable given the immense impact that this situation has had upon us. In the midst of all of this I continue to encourage you to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to ask Him to give you the grace and strength you need at this time. We rely upon Him for all things. Please pray for all who remain at home, who are shielding, or who are very wary because of age or infirmity – they remain very much united to us in the Body of Christ and as they support us with their prayers, we too should support them with ours.

Do not hesitate to be in touch with me if I can be of any help to you, or if you require prayer support from the Parish Prayer Group, or material support from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Our parish of St. Matthew’s and St. James’ is a family of faith, and as a family it is not only our duty but also our joy to be able to show love and sincere concern for each other.

Mass attendance is still limited at the moment, I would ask your prayer, then, that this situation will soon change, so that more people will be able to access the Sacraments with greater regularity. What I have sensed from those who have been able to attend so far is their great appreciation of being able to receive Our Lord again in Holy Communion, many literally moved to tears. I have taken great encouragement from this, seeing the desire that people have to be with Jesus, just as I have taken great encouragement from what I can only describe as a tangible intensification of personal prayer during the time of “lockdown” and the suspension of public Masses – you have continued, I know, to seek the face of the Lord by praying with ever greater devotion in your own homes, and by “virtually” coming together through modern technology to join with each other in prayer.

Now we are able to come to the altar of the Lord in reality, the Lord who fills us with joy, now we are able to be united with Him once more in the great Sacrament of His Love – what a privilege – one that we appreciate now perhaps more than ever!

Please look at the weekly timetable of Masses as they stand currently, and don’t be shy to ask about booking a time for Mass, I will try to give everyone an opportunity and would rather deal with the greater demand than having people be concerned that they might be preventing others from coming.

God bless you and keep you, and may Mary Immaculate, Our Mother, pray for you,

Fr. Martin

Please note, although advertising these times at the moment, I will only take bookings for them from this Friday (24th), so please wait until then before being in contact with me. Given that the landline is yet again out of action I’d ask you to contact me for bookings only by text message on: 07540534480 or by e-mail on: Fr.MartinPletts@gmail.com. Bookings must be made to me directly, please, and do wait for confirmation of your place(s). God bless you, and so wonderful to see so many now being in touch to book a place for Holy Mass!

Wednesday 29th July at 10.00a.m. in St. James’ – 6 places

Thursday 30th July at 10.00a.m. in St. James’ – 6 places

Thursday 30th July at 7.00p.m. in St. James – 6 places

Friday 31st July at 10.00a.m. in St. James’ – 6 places

Saturday 1st August at 12 noon in St. James’ – 6 places

Saturday 1st August at 4.00p.m. in St. Matthew’s – 14 places

Sunday 2nd August at 9.00a.m. in St. Matthew’s – 14 places

Sunday 2nd August at 11.00a.m. in St. James’ – 6 places

Sunday 2nd August at 3.00p.m. in St. James – 6 places

Remember to bring your own face-covering which must be worn in church, social-distancing measures are in place, children under 5 years of age are not required to wear a mask. Further instructions for your well-being will be given on entry to the church and before Holy Mass begins. Hand-sanitiser is available at the door. The churches are cleaned/disinfected prior to each celebration of Holy Mass.

Sadly, the parish landine is not working again, until the problem is sorted please use the parish mobile number to get in touch with me: 07540534480.

God bless, Fr. Martin Pletts

Please find listed below the possibilities for attendance at Holy Mass in St. James’ and St. Matthew’s from Wednesday 22nd July to Sunday 26th July inclusive. As before all bookings need to be made through Fr. Martin directly, and should be made every week so as to allow a fair opportunity to all parishioners for attendance at Holy Mass in the current restrictive circumstances. You can contact Fr. Martin in one of the following three ways to apply for a place at Holy Mass. Please use only these methods as messages by other means may not be received. You must give your name and your postal address in any communication applying for a place at Holy Mass, this is for the sake of “track and protect” measures.

E-mail – Fr.MartinPletts@gmail.com

Landline answer machine: 01577 863329 (currently not working)

Text Message: 07540534480

A reminder that you must await confirmation that a place has been reserved for you.

Wednesday 22nd July 10.00a.m. in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

Thursday 23rd July 10.00a.m. in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

Thursday 23rd July 7.00p.m. in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

Friday 24th July 10.00a.m. in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

Saturday 25th July 12 noon in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

Saturday 25th July 4.00p.m. in St. Matthew’s, Auchtermuchty – 14 places

Sunday 26th July 9.00a.m. in St. Matthew’s, Auchtermuchty – 14 places

Sunday 26th July 11.00a.m. in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

Sunday 26th July 3.00p.m. in St. James’, Kinross – 6 places

We are still looking for volunteers to help with pass-keeping and cleaning, the pass-keeper will not be included in the allocated number for the day, which means that if you are the pass-keeper/cleaner you will be guaranteed a place at Holy Mass. Please think about helping. Your assistance will mean that other parishioners will have the chance of coming to Mass, without help we will be even more restricted in what we can do.

You will need to bring your own face-covering, observe distancing regulations, use hand sanitiser provided, and strictly follow instructions given by the pass-keeper and priest for the sake of the safety and well-being of all attending.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING VERY CAREFULLY:

The following are the Mass times available for booking in St. James’ & St. Matthew’s from Wednesday 15th July to Sunday 19th July inclusive. The limit remains for six people in St. James’ at any one time and fourteen people in St. Matthew’s at any one time. Social distancing requirements stand as does the necessity of wearing a face-covering / mask when in the church (only to be removed when receiving Holy Communion). Hand sanitiser will provided at the door as has already been the case.

You will be required to contact Fr. Martin directly in order to book a place at Holy Mass and this should be done either by e-mailing Fr.MartinPletts@gmail.com or texting 07540534480 or leaving a message on the parish landline: 01577 863329. I ask that you use only these methods as it is sometimes difficult to track messages via Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, etc. I will not take bookings for future weeks, as this may prohibit others who want to come being able to come, bookings will only be taken for the dates listed here. It is important when you book, each time, that you provide me with your name, your contact number and your address – for purposes of contact in the unlikely case of there being an outbreak. You will not be guaranteed a place until you have heard back from Fr. Martin to confirm that your place has been booked.

Masses will remain brief for the moment, and there will be no ‘sign of peace’, no singing or music, no hymn books or Mass sheets, no Holy Water at the door, and people may be instructed when they may come forward to receive Holy Communion. In other words this will be very similar to how things were immediately prior to “lockdown”.

Despite all of these restrictions at the moment it will be wonderful that we can come together for Holy Mass, to join in Christ’s sacrifice, to be nourished with His Body and Blood, and to be able to worship the Lord as He has commanded us to do: ‘Do this in memory of me’.

I have chosen to allocate the earlier times on Sunday to Auchtermuchty and to give a Saturday afternoon/evening time to St. Matthew’s because this church has the greater capacity for people to come and these are generally the busier times. St. James’, of course, will also have opportunity for Mass throughout the week, which St. Matthew’s will not. I encourage people from both churches, then, to be flexible in travelling in order to attend Holy Mass.

For the foreseeable future the Bishops of Scotland have chosen to continue to suspend the Sunday Obligation, so that we incur no sin by not attending Holy Mass on Sunday for the moment. This means that we can come to Holy Mass any day of the week that is available.

These, then, are the available days and times for Holy Mass:

St. James’ Church: (6 people at each Mass)

Wednesday 15th July – Masses at 10.00a.m. & 7.00p.m.

Thursday 16th July – Masses at 10.00a.m. & 7.00p.m.

Friday 17th July – Masses at 10.00a.m. & 7.00p.m.

Saturday 18th July – Masses at 10.00a.m. & 12 noon

Sunday 19th July – Masses at 11.00a.m. & 3.00p.m.

St. Matthew’s Church: (14 people at each Mass)

Saturday 18th July – Mass at 4.00p.m.

Sunday 19th July – Mass at 9.00a.m.

Please stick strictly to the ways of booking requesting above, as failure to do so may result in your request not being received and a place not being booked. Please also keep looking at this website and at the parish Facebook Page in order to keep up-to-date with what is happening, and do pass this information on to other parishioners.God bless you, Fr. Martin

You will be aware by now, I’m sure, that public Masses may be celebrated from next Wednesday (15th July), whilst still observing hygiene and distancing precautions. In the next few days I will advertise Mass times and be taking bookings for places at Holy Mass in the same form as I have been taking them for personal private prayer. For the time being the Sunday obligation remains suspended by the Bishops of Scotland. I envisage, then that we will have Masses next Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but at the moment have not decided the times. Please pass this information on to others, especially those who may not have access to the internet. No bookings will be taken until I have formally issued a list of dates and times.

This is perhaps the most positive news that we have had in a long time, so I encourage you to do all that you can to make an effort to attend public Mass once again when the times have been issued.

God bless you and keep you,

Fr. Martin Pletts

Society of St. Vincent De Paul (June)… Although the Church has been in lockdown the Society members, where possible, have been helping those in need while observing the restrictions. I would like to thank all parishioners and members for their continuing contributions of food for the local food bank. I would also thank those parishioners who have been donating money for this purpose. All of this is very much appreciated. Each week two members have been using these funds to purchase items which are in short supply at the food bank. While St. Vincent de Paul would normally be supplying food directly, during these exceptional times when visits to homes and to those in need are difficult we have felt that one way we can continue our charitable work is through donations of food to the food bank. Hopefully, as we go through the phases coming out of lockdown we will be able to undertake this work ourselves. However, this does not mean that we cannot help those in need, if anyone is aware of parishioners or others who are in need please feel free to contact us either thorough the church or via a member of SSVP directly.

Yet again the generosity of parishioners has been wonderful and we have received a substantial amount of money in donations, much of which has been given specifically for the purpose of providing groceries. Therefore I cannot thank you enough, as I also in fact thank all of the brothers and sisters in the parish Conference for their ongoing prayers and support. I would especially like to recognise Geraldine and Wilma for their work in doing the shopping and collecting the items left at the church and delivering these to the food bank, and Ann who has arranged for collection of food in and around Glenlomond: to date they have contributed over 40 bags of food, toiletries etc., which have been passed on, and, of course Sid has also been most helpful in co-ordinating the effort in terms of ascertaining what is needed each week. The need has varied from extra supplies of meals, tinned pies, and tinned vegetables, to other weeks where it is something as simple as fruit juice and cordials.

As some of you may have seen Broke Not Broken thanked the parishioners of St. James’ and St. Matthew’s in the June edition of the Kinross Community Newsletter.

Another area which has been brought to our attention for the future, perhaps: need for school uniforms for some families who have been furloughed and therefore may be living on significantly reduced income. We will of course look at these cases as they arise as well as looking to contact schools in case they have a bulk deal? This has yet to be discussed as to how to progress this if the need arises.

I would also encourage members and parishioners who are able to try and make it to private prayer at St. James’ and St. Matthew’s which takes place before the Blessed Sacrament. Details of times and the booking system can be found on the parish website. Due to the arrangements reached by the Conference of Scottish Bishops and the guidelines from the diocese in line with advice from the Scottish Government on social distancing, places are severely limited with currently St. Matthew’s having 14 places and St. James’ 6 spaces. Masks must be worn at all times and parishioners need to provide their own. Places must be booked in advance through contact with Father Martin directly. Many thanks to you all.

God bless you all,

Bob Corrieri, President, St. James’ and St. Matthew’s SSVP Conference