PARISH FAMILY NEWS:

WELCOME HOME! The Ilaqua’s and the rest of the parish welcome back Patrick Power from his turn of duty (seven months) in Afghanistan with the military.

DID YOU KNOW:
The white lily, the symbol of the Resurrection, is the typical Easter flower. The white lily stands for purity and artists have, for centuries, pictured the angel Gabriel coming to the Virgin Mary with a spray of lilies in his hand, to announce that she is to be the mother of the Christ child. The white Madonna lily was used for years as the Easter Lily.

How did a plant that naturally blooms in summer in most of this country, become a symbol of Easter? Mrs. Thomas Sargent who was visiting Bermuda in the 1880’s loved the flowers blooming naturally in the spring, and brought some bulbs back home to Philadelphia. A local nurseryman, William Harris, began growing them, forcing them into spring bloom, and selling to other florists. Many began buying this flower for Easter, as they do today. It is now a mainstay of Easter floral arrangements and church decorations.

ST. JAMES ARCHIVES:
I will be maintaining a photograph album for the archives which will contain photos of people and events involving St. James. Now I need your help. If anyone has photos (digital or otherwise) you can get them to me in various ways.
- Hand them to me or a Warden on Sundays.
- Drop them off at the Parish Office.
- Attach digital photos by e-mail at shirleydickenson@sympatico.ca.
- Call me at 613-674-1878, or leave a message with Barbara to call you, if you need any more information.

Photos should be marked on the back with dates, names and other relevant information, or have this information on an attached letter. Once I have a few pages in the album filled it will be available in the small hall after the
11:00 am service.
Shirley Dickenson

THE BREAK-IN AT ST. JAMES.
Judging by the huge outpouring of sympathy from the community at large, this terrible crime has hurt far more than just our congregation. Just to update you on where we are at: the S.Q. have been given all the information on our losses, including colour photographs of the items stolen, but to date there is no definitive news from them. Discussions are underway with the insurers to establish a settlement cost in the likely event that the articles are not recovered. The estimated value is not just $5000 as reported in one of the local papers, but exceeds $30,000. However, it is not so much the monetary value as the loss of so many pieces which were donated to our church with love and in memory of those since departed. It is our hope that replacements, where necessary, can be re-dedicated in memory of them, and that this might help to ease the pain of our loss.
Should you be visiting auction rooms or antique stores at any time, look out for our lost treasures but don’t draw attention to them before notifying the police or one of our Wardens. Pictures of them are being displayed on our notice board inside the side entrance to the church halls.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER:
Friday 7 March 2:00 pm – Wyman United Church

World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year. It is a movement initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions. It is symbolized by an annual day of celebration, the first Friday in March, to which all people are welcome. It is a movement which brings together women of various races, cultures and traditions in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year. It is a time for women to affirm their faith in Jesus Christ and share their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, their opportunities and needs. This year the service is written by the women of Guyana and a special invitation is extended to any teenage girls who would like to attend. Refreshments will be served.

DROP-IN CENTRE:
A reminder that the "Drop-in Centre" at St. Mary's Parish Hall for Moms and Tots (0-5yrs.) has started up again as of Jan. 8th and will continue every Tuesday morning from 9:30-11:00am.
Georgia Jared

LENTEN PROGRAM: WEDNESDAYS in LENT 2008
Missions of our Churches
Everyone is invited to attend the ecumenical program
Wednesday evenings St. Mary’s Hall
(273 Main Road) 19: 30 p.m.
Prayer, presentation, discussion and coffee.

Wednesday 5 March
Donald Quane and Fr. Roland will talk about their involvement in mission work in Peru.

Wednesday 12 March
Guests will talk of their involvement in a program called “Suitcases for Africa”

PALM CROSSES:
... will be made starting Tuesday 11 March in the small hall at St. James at 9:30 am.
Many hands makes less work. Please join us.

TThe Parish Pulse Editorial Team is actively looking for your articles. Please feel free to contact any of them with your ideas or suggestions for an article. (Mary Vipond, 514-488-3485, maryvipond@gmail.com; Paul Brierley, 450-458-1750, paul.brierley@future.ca; Wilf Hall, 450-458-7913, wghall@sympatico.ca).

Deadline for the next issue-Wednesday, March 19th, 2008. The publication will be at the end of the month.
Submissions should be directed to Mary Vipond through: maryvipond@gmail.com or parishvaudreuil@ca.inter.net, drop off at the Parish Office, fax to the Parish Office at 450-458-8802, or mail to The Parish of Vaudreuil, 642 Main Road, Hudson, Quebec, J0P 1H0.