Newsletter- 30th Week of Ordinary Time
This coming week I am taking a short break in Cheshire from Sunday afternoon 23rd October until Wednesday 26th October. This will mean that there will be No Public Worship on Tuesday 25th October. I am grateful to Andrew for offering a Service of Word and Holy Communion on Wednesday 26th October at 9.30 am. Outside of this liturgy the church will remain closed during my absence. Please note that we shall offer the Funeral Requiem Mass at 11 am on Thursday 27th October for the late Maria Stasinski, this will replace the usual Mass at 11 am that day.
This Sunday is World Mission Sunday (30th Sunday in ordinary Time). There will be a second collection at all our Sunday Masses this weekend to help support the important work of Missio. World Mission Sunday is vital to the growth of the Church and the spread of the Gospel in predominantly impoverished and remote areas overseas. The funds raised from all our parishes this Sunday go to help to build much needed infrastructure, from chapels and schools to orphanages, clinics, and dispensaries. The support from Missio helps to transform lives in many areas of the world which are in greatest need currently. World Mission Sunday is one of three Papal collections especially chosen by our Holy Father Pope Francis to support the mission of the Church around the world.
Aid for Chad and Peru: after the Sunday Masses on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of October we will welcome two parishioners from St Joseph’s Oakham who will set up stalls in the Link Room where you will be able to buy a selection of beautiful hand-crafted items made in the shantytowns of Lima. I feel sure you will want to help to support this tiny but important charity in helping to fund their important work. One of the ladies who helps to run this charity and who will be present to sell the hand-crafted items in our church is Mrs Elizabeth Keogh and she writes:
“Aid for Chad and Peru is a tiny, registered Charity supporting two bush Missions in S. Chad, Benoye and Mberi. 38 years ago, we saw the terrible famine in Ethiopia on our TV screens. A few weeks later we received a begging letter from Sister Dominique in S. Chad whose people were also starving and so “Aid for Chad” was born. The very night we became a registered Charity, we received a call from Lima, Peru begging for help for the very poor there ….and so “Aid for Chad and Peru” was born! As a charity we provide daily food, purchase medicines, and build wells for drinking water. We are in direct contact with the Sisters who work out there and every penny we send them is used to help the very poorest people who are in the greatest of need. It is only through the generosity and kindness of people like yourselves that we have survived as a charity and are able to continue to support the work of the Sisters in Chad and Peru. All the proceeds from the items purchased by you will go directly to help support their work in Chad and Peru.”
Looking ahead to November: ‘Month of the Holy Souls’ – November Dead List Envelopes and Sheets – these have been put out now in the entrance to church. I would ask please that you fill out a form with the names of your deceased family members and loved ones whom you would like me to pray for at Mass and put this along with your offering in one of November Dead List (Holy Souls) envelopes. Please return the envelopes to me or drop them through the letter box of the Rectory. The names of your deceased relatives and friends and all for whom you wish me to pray for at Mass will then be placed in a basket close to the Altar throughout the month of November and at the end of November I will divide these names up into special Masses for the intentions of ‘The Holy Souls – November Dead List.’ These Masses will be offered throughout the year.
In addition, on Sunday 6th November, at 2 pm we shall have the yearly Blessing of Graves. I invite you to come to Grantham cemetery as we bless the Catholic graves that afternoon. We will offer a simple liturgy of prayer and blessing with holy water of all our Catholic graves in our local cometary. Please meet at the stone archway as you enter the main cemetery gates.
First Holy Communion Preparation resumes January 2022: I am very grateful to Catherine Pritchard for taking on the role of lead catechist for this coming year, and to all our previous catechists for so kindly agreeing to continue in their roles. It will be very important though that in addition to our catechists we have some volunteer helpers to assist our catechists drawn from the parents of those children who may be seeking to make their First Holy Communion next year. The involvement and support of family members along with members of the parish community and our catechists is very important in helping our young people in their journey of faith and it is all our responsibility to support them in preparing to make their First Holy Communion. If you are a prospective parent and can help, it won’t be too arduous! Please get in touch with Catherine Pritchard, her contact details are to be found in this week’s Sunday Bulletin, along with the details of how to apply for a place for your child on our next First Holy Communion Preparation Course.
With my prayers for you this coming week,
Your parish priest and friend,
Father Jonathan
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2022 23rd October – Newsletter – Download