Weekend message April 29

Dear friends,

The Safety of everyone who comes into contact with our Churches or our parishes must always be our priority

We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; that he came for the salvation of all people. We are called into his body, to be ministers of that salvation. That must include the welfare, and therefore the safety, of all people who come into contact with us. I wish to write about two aspects of this need to keep everyone as safe as we possibly can.

Safety during the pandemic I am often asked why we still wear face coverings or masks while in Church, when so many places have abandoned the practice, and no longer try to keep safe distances. My answer is that I want everyone to feel safe in Church, and while there may be people who are still very nervous about being in an enclosed space such as the Church for an extended period of time – at least half and hour, perhaps an hour – then I think we should ‘go the extra mile’ for them. If we continue to take safety during the pandemic very seriously, hopefully more people will feel able to come and worship with us again.

Some may well wish to avoid the greater crowd of people who attend on Sunday, and the longer time that Sunday Mass lasts. So I still celebrate Mass in Narborough on Saturday morning (10am) and at Lutterworth on Saturday evening (5.30pm) – those celebrations being less well attended, so greater distances can still be kept; and Mass on Saturday rarely last longer than 45 minutes. There are also weekday celebrations – 10am on Monday at Narborough, and 10.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Lutterworth, for those who wish to have more space and a shorter time still, usually no more than 30 minutes.

I would hope that we have reached the point when everyone could feel able to worship in Church.

· All are encouraged to be fully vaccinated (double vaccination and booster).

· All (except those who are exempt) are still required to wear masks or face coverings, to protect themselves and others.

· We are now permitted to sing; however, masks or face coverings must be worn during singing.

· Hand sanitizers must still be used on entry into the Church or hall.

· The windows must be open for ventilation whenever the Church or hall is being used by a number of people.

· It is no longer necessary to take the names of all who attend (and advance booking is also not needed).

· Holy water may be provided at the entrance once again – but needs to be refreshed at least once a week.

· Anyone who feels unwell or tests positive for covid-19 should not attend Church or any social activity in the parish.

Please think very carefully about whether you should attend Church if you are feeling unwell; and please do not attend if you may be infectious or if you have been in contact with anyone who has had a positive Covid test.

Parish Safeguarding Representative Rosemary Baxter has been fulfilling this role for almost 15 years, and now wishes to hand on this particular baton to another. The parishes need a volunteer to take on this role. The diocesan safeguarding officer has provided the following information regarding this essential post.

Diocese of Nottingham:

Job title: Parish Safeguarding Representative

Responsible to: Diocesan Safeguarding Co-ordinator

Purpose of Role: The Parish Representative should be identified appropriate to local needs. This may mean that a Parish may identify more than one individual to undertake this role or share aspects of it.

The Parish Representative will be appointed by the Diocesan Safeguarding Co-ordinator, after discussion with the Parish Priest concerned, to undertake the following:

1) To be the link between the Parish and the Safeguarding Coordinator

1) To take responsibility for promoting good and safe practice in all activities involving children, young people and adults.

2) To provide advice on child and adult safeguarding matters within the parish

3) To have a sound knowledge of national policies and procedures relating to matters of safeguarding and to ensure they are appropriately followed in everyday practice within the parish.

4) To know who to contact if a concern or allegation is raised.

5) To have a key role in the administration of the safe recruitment process including facilitating the DBS disclosure process at a local level. This will involve meeting with all prospective voluntary workers within the parish who come into contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults within the context of their ministry. The parish representative ensures that each prospective volunteer is issued with the relevant paperwork, takes up references and submits to the safeguarding office in a timely way in accordance with National Safeguarding Procedures.

6) Keep accurate records of all volunteers with a DBS check and to be responsible for communicating with them when a three yearly check is due.

7) To liaise with the Safeguarding Coordinator and promote safeguarding training, providing support when training takes place in the parish.

8) Attend training and meetings organised by the Diocesan Safeguarding Coordinator.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA FOR THIS ROLE:

a) To be reliable, trustworthy and of integrity.

b) To have good communication skills and the ability to demonstrate tact and diplomacy.

c) To be able to demonstrate and act upon a clear understanding of the role within the Parish community.

d) To be able to effectively manage the boundaries of this role, in liaison with the Parish Priest.

e) Have good knowledge of Catholic Safeguarding Policies and Procedures.

f) To accept supervision and support as necessary from the Parish Priest, and the Diocesan Safeguarding Co-ordinator.

Please would you consider whether you could take this role – or if not, whether you could suggest someone else for the role? It is essential that such an appointment be made.

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Eastertide

Confessions: I will hear confessions from 9 until 9.30am on Saturdays at St. Pius X, Narborough; and from 4.30pm to 5.00pm on the first Saturday of the month at Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth.

At St. Pius X, Narborough:

Times of Mass this week & next weekend:

· 10am Saturday 30th;

· 9.30am Sunday 1st May;

· 10am Monday 2nd.

· 10am Saturday 7th;

· 9.30am Sunday 8th;

· 10am Monday 9th.

At Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth:

Times of Mass this week & next weekend:

· 5.30pm on Saturday 30th;

· 11am on Sunday 1st May.

· 10.30am Tuesday 3rd:

· 10.30am Thursday 5th;

· 5.30pm on Saturday 7th;

· 11am on Sunday 8th.

A prayer for Ukraine

Loving God, we pray for the people of Ukraine,

for all those suffering or afraid,

that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,

for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world that in this moment of crisis,

we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice

become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world. Amen.

The following link is for the Leicester Ukrainian Community website set up to advise how to help:

https://linktr.ee/KalynaHome?fbclid=IwAR1276GMobH47ddWizyn5Mj6vlP89le1XB5JNuhoHjS1p5r0J0Or_Lji0jQ

Caritas Social Action Network: 1. Poverty Challenge Following the pandemic, many households now face new hardships as prices rise. Caritas Social Action Network, the Catholic agency addressing poverty and injustice in England and Wales, has released a new booklet to increase awareness of Catholic Social Teaching on poverty, and to inform local responses. This can be downloaded from www.csan.org.uk

2. Refugees from Ukraine CSAN is in close contact with the UK government on responding to the war in Ukraine. Guidance on how Catholic households and groups can support refugees from Ukraine is available on the CSAN website and updated as new information becomes available. www.csan.org.uk/ukraine

Mass Intentions: At Narborough the intentions for Mass this week will Saturday (30th) Doug Murray RIP; Sunday (1st May) Deceased friends & relations of R Coates; Monday (2nd) Emmanuel Armeni RIP. Wednesday Doug Murray RIP, Thursday People of the Parishes. Next weekend Saturday (7th) Patrick O’Kane RIP; Sunday (8th) Thomas McGoldrick RIP; Monday (9th) Holy Souls.

At Lutterworth the intentions for Mass will be: Saturday (30th) Alan Reed RIP; Sunday (1st May) People of the Parishes. Tuesday (3rd) Jennie Reed RIP. .. Thursday (5th) Holy Souls. Next Saturday (7th) Holy Souls; Sunday (8th) People of the Parishes. Tuesday (10th) Holy Souls.

Prayers for the living and the dead:

Please pray for Adam & Jennie Reed, Bernadette Stean, David Janssens, Margaret Pugh ,Ashley Adams, David Sygrove, Noreen Merrion, Marie Almey, and for all who have died recently.

Please also pray for Cathy Mansell, Vivian Kettle, Ann Spurrier, Beulah Blomfield, Diana Coughlin, Tony Thorlby, Hayley & Kaci Dunnill, John Southern, Monica Teeling, Peggy Merrell, Jane Bolsover, Suzanne Foxon, Jim Oxley, John Burns-Sweeney, Tom McDermott, Dave Knapper, Teresa Maugham, Mary Dunne, and Juanita Zaman and for all who are ill.

Please let me know of any others who have died, or anyone who is ill and asks for prayers.

Next Weekend Second Collection for the clergy formation fund – this fund pays for the training of new priests and deacons, and the continuing education of those already ordained priest or deacon. Please be generous.

Scrabble Group: Will restart meeting on 9th May. Mondays 2pm – 4 pm for relaxed scrabble. At Lutterworth Catholic Church Hall. No winners, beginners welcome, just fun playing scrabble; cake and hot drink. Please contact Jo 01455 554298.

Evergreens: Bingo on Tuesdays from 1.30 pm until 4pm approx., in St. Pius X Narborough Parish Hall. Entry £2. All welcome.

Next Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide

Bishop Patrick wishes our two parishes to become a single parish. Please let me know if you think of any advantages or disadvantages of merging the two parishes into a single parish.

In the meantime there are some steps that we must take:

· We need to compile and publish a combined ‘parish handbook’ for our two parishes, detailing who is responsible for the various aspects of parish life;

· We need to arrange a joint meeting of the two parish finance committees, to review our finances and resources, and to consider the spending priorities over the next five years (this should take place when the accounts for the current financial year, just ending, have been finalized);

· We need to consider how to form a parish committee covering both parishes.

· A parish trip will be arranged for members of both parishes this summer. (We would be very welcome to make a trip to Marlow in August – it is on the banks of the Thames, and if the weather is good I am told a very pleasant setting) Please let me know if you are interested – if so we can make a provisional booking

· Possible difficulties were raised concerning the idea that telephone contact would be made with those unable to join us at Mass at the present time. Consequently, this idea will have to be delayed for a while until those difficulties can be dealt with.

Parish Priest’s contact details address 52 Leicester Road, Narborough. Leicester. LE19 2DF; telephone (0116) 2863676; email johnhadley1971@gmail.com

With my prayers for every Easter blessing, Father John