Now that I am putting my fingers on keyboard to communicate with you through our Sunday bulletin, I would like to thank you for your prayers for me on my 15-year anniversary of my Ordination and for Fr. McCullough on his birthday.   As your shepherds, we are so grateful for being among you, for your generosity and for your love for us. Each and every day with you, you teach us to be priests. Thank You.   For me, the way you celebrated my Ordination anniversary truly brought me back to 2003, specifically on the day of my Ordination. Our ordination day is a special moment in our lives as priests and in the lives of our parish family as well. Everyone who comes in contact with a priest benefits from the gift of priesthood that the Lord himself gives to his Church. PLEASE CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

Our Sunday celebration of Mass involves the commitment of so many people; we are particularly grateful for those who assist as Liturgical Ministers. At this time, we would like to renew our call for Servers and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, particularly for the 4:30 pm Mass at St. James and both 4:30 pm and 9 am Masses at St. Matthias. Please consider signing up if you attend Mass at any of these times. Sign-up sheets are also in/outside the sacristy. You will be contacted to schedule a time for training. We greatly appreciate your assistance as we keep our Masses prayerful, reverent and joyful celebrations.

Ordinarily I am a big fan of picking one theme and developing it as best as I can; I always try to stay focused on making just one point and sticking to it, whether it’s in the bulletin or in a homily. However, it seems that this is just one of those weeks where I have a bunch of little things to put out there, so I apologize in advance as I invite you to meander through my stream of consciousness. Please click title to read more.

St. James of the Valley will celebrate the Feast of St. James this Monday, July 23. The St. James Men's Prayer Group will sponsor a dinner at 6 pm, followed at 7 pm with selected scripture readings and reflections in the Church.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends His disciples out two by two to preach repentance, drive out demons, and heal the sick. He sends them without much in the way of material assistance, but rather expects them to rely on each other and on the formation they received while they were with Him. This should be an example for each one of us. I imagine that everyone often feels like they aren’t holy enough, or smart enough, or that they don’t know enough about the Faith to go and preach to their family, friends, and communities. But Jesus wants us to make the time to go out into the world, even if we don’t feel completely prepared or are occasionally overwhelmed, and speak the word of God’s love to a world that needs it. Please click title to read more.

There will be a volunteer meeting this Tuesday, July 17, at 7:00 at St. Matthias. If you can’t make the meeting but still want to help, please contact Dave Nissen or follow the link below to volunteer. VBS is scheduled for 9:30 am –12:30 pm, July 23-27 at St. Matthias. You can register your children or to volunteer at: https://wintonwyomingpr.org/vbs.

There’s really not much that I need in life, and what I would most appreciate is your prayers. I would love it if the parish were to pray for me and Fr. Lambert on this celebration of both my birthday and his priestly ordination, for two reasons. First, because priests are constantly in need of prayers in order to grow closer to Our Lord and to carry out His ministry faithfully with our lives. We would be nowhere without the tremendous support of those who have prayed for us over the years. Secondly, because praying for each other is the gift that keeps on giving. We, as parish communities, are called to enter more and more deeply into a relationship with God in prayer, and one of the easiest pathways into a true interior spiritual life is spiritually lifting up those we love. Praying for the two of us not only benefits us in our ministry, but it also accomplishes our goal as a region of growing closer to Christ. Please click title to read more.

OLR Rummage Sale Saturday, July 7, 8 am ~ 1 pm This is a buyers-take-all year. We are aiming for a sell out! The school building will be empty when we are done! If your child is going to college in the fall, then this is the place to stock up. Give Mike Day a call at 513-543-0479 if you can volunteer to help.