weekend Message Jul 8

Our Lady of Victories

St. Pius X,                                               & St. Alphonsus,

Narborough                                        Lutterworth

 

Dear friends,

 

Retirement As I mentioned in last week’s message, Bishop Patrick has accepted my resignation, and I will be leaving Narborough and Lutterworth parishes. Bishop Patrick has appointed Father Joel Nwalozie, currently parish priest of Melbourne and Castle Donnington, as parish priest in my place.

 

Father Joel will take up the responsibilities of care for you all in October. I will leave on or after Monday 3^rd October, and Father Joel will arrive on or before Friday 7^th October. Please do pray for Father Joel as he prepares to take on these new responsibilities.

 

Parish Accounts (St. Pius X Narborough) For many years now I have taken on the responsibility for keeping the parish accounts. This is not an ideal situation. Father Joel will need someone suitably qualified and/or experienced, willing to keep the parish accounts in Narborough. If you are suitable qualified and/or experienced, and willing to take on this role, please let Father John know.

Ideally Father Joel will also like someone to bank the money.

 

I am very grateful to Michael Lester who has generously audited and certified the annual accounts for many years, and to Liam Collopy who discharged that responsibility before Michael. I am also very grateful to the members of the Parish Finance Committees in Narborough and in Lutterworth who have given me considerable advice and help during the whole of my time as parish priest, and to June and Paul who have kept the parish accounts in Lutterworth and audited them, and to Nora who has agreed to start keeping the Lutterworth parish accounts..

 

Altar Servers We have been delighted to celebrate First Holy Communion with nine of our young people in the past two weekends. Now I ask these young people: would you be willing to help the community on a regular basis by becoming altar servers, learning how to assist Father John and Father John Jo, and Deacon Kevin as they celebrate Mass? I hope at least some of you are willing. Just let me know, and you can be kitted out in an alb and start to learn what is involved.

 

Lost Property After the First Holy Communion celebration in Narborough two weeks ago some keys were handed to me in the Parish Hall. Any claimants?

 

Coronavirus Restrictions Having taken advice and having listened to the views of those of you who have responded, I think that the time has come for us to remove the need for masks and face coverings in Church, and the need for sanitizing benches and so on after every service. I will still use a face covering while distributing Holy Communion. Kneeling should now be permitted, but please be aware that those in front of you may not wish to have you breathing down their necks! So if you wish to kneel, do try to do so away from other people. We will still open windows at all services. In Christian charity, please do not attend Church if you are feeling unwell or are likely to spread infectious diseases such as coronavirus or flu.

 

Welcomers at Mass and other services I think that it is still very important that there should be parishioners available at or near the Church entrance to greet people who are arriving for Mass or for other celebrations. We may need to institute a rota; but for this to be possible we will need to know who is willing to be on the rota, and be committed to standing at the entrance regularly. Are you willing to be a welcomer? Please let me know

 

Confirmation I have met with some of our young people who are preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, and I am very grateful to them and to their families for the work they are undertaking. If there are any others who wish to receive the sacrament of Confirmation this autumn, please make contact with me as soon as possible.

 

Parishes’ Trip to Marlow: Important news for those who have booked a place on the coach. It will leave at 8am on Saturday 6^th August, from Our Lady of Victories’ car park (there is plenty of parking space), and return at 7pm. If anyone who has booked to go on the trip needs a lift to and from Lutterworth to catch the coach, please let me know. The coach is now full.

 

Father John Udris looks forward to welcoming us at St. Peter’s Church in Marlow at 11am (or shortly afterwards). He will give us a tour of the Church, after which he has invited me to celebrate Mass there. After Mass, there will be free time until 4pm, when he will talk to us (in the hall) about GK Chesterton becoming a Catholic – it will be just 100 years since his conversion. The coach will leave at 5pm and we expect to return to the car park at Our Lady of Victories, Lutterworth, at about 7pm.

 

Please bring a packed lunch, or, if you wish to eat in a cafe or restaurant, it is advisable to book – August in Marlow is likely to be busy. We hope that the weather will be good, and there are walks along the river Thames for us to enjoy. Father Udris has booked the Parish Hall for our use, so if the weather is against us we can eat our packed lunches under cover. If eating outside, please be aware that the birds are known for swooping down and taking your food!

 

Coffee Morning and Book Sale 10.30am until 1pm on Saturday 16^th July at St. Pius X Parish Hall. All welcome – there is a good selection of books, and we hope to have other items available for sale as well.

 

Feast of St. Pius X (Sunday 21^st August) Shared table in St. Pius X Church grounds (weather permitting – otherwise in the Parish Hall). More details later.

 

Parish Handbook I will be trying to prepare a parish handbook for both parishes over the next few weeks. To do this I will need to include:

• Names of members and officers of the parish committees
• Names of members and officers of the parish finance committees
• Names of those who prepare young people or adults for sacraments or help with explaining the gospel or the faith to them
• Names of those who visit people who are ill or housebound, and those who care for the poor
• Names of those who administer – compile the newsletter, keep accounts, count money, bank money, pay bills, administer the websites,…
• Names of those who arrange the rotas for readers, singers, Church and/or hall cleaners, flower arrangers, provide refreshments after Mass and at other times, compile bidding prayers, Eucharistic ministers, welcomers, and many other ministries

I’m sure there are many others who should also be included in the handbook. Please let me know who should be included from each of the parishes.

 

A reminder that our Bishops have decided that the ‘Sunday Obligation’ to attend Mass is in force again from the Feast of Pentecost (5^th June)

 

• All are encouraged to be fully vaccinated (double vaccination and booster).
• Hand sanitizers are available to 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.
• Anyone who feels unwell or tests positive for covid-19 should not attend Church or any social activity in the parish.

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 ‘social distance’ can still be kept; and Mass on Saturday rarely last longer than 45 minutes. There are also (usually) 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 hope that everyone will feel able to celebrate Mass again in our Churches.

This Sunday is the Fifteenth Sunday of the Year  

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:

At St. Pius X, Narborough:

• 10am Saturday 9^th;
• 9.30am Sunday 10^th
• 10am Monday 11^th.
• 10am Saturday 16^th;
• 9.30am Sunday 17^th
• 10am Monday 18^th.

 

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

Times of Mass this week & next weekend:

• 5.30pm on Saturday 9^th;
• 11am on Sunday 10^th.
• 10.30am Tuesday 12^th;
• 10.30am Thursday 14^th;
• 5.30pm on Saturday 16^th;
• 11am on Sunday 17^th.

 

Mass Intentions: At Narborough the intentions for Mass this week will be Saturday (9^th) Kitty Corr RIP; Sunday (10^th) Deceased members of the Mears family; Monday (11^th) Deceased parishioners & benefactors.. Wednesday People of the Parishes, Thursday Ethel Jones RIP; Friday Frank Scanlon RIP. Next weekend Saturday (16^th) Father Simon Nolan RIP; Sunday (17^th) Jim Kelliher RIP; Monday (18^th) Intentions of Eve Zankar.

 

At Lutterworth the intentions for Mass will be Saturday (9^th) Holy Souls; Sunday (10^th) People of the Parishes. Tuesday (12^th) Holy Souls  Thursday (14^th)) Private Intention. Next Saturday (16^th) Holy Souls; Sunday (17^th) People of the Parishes. Tuesday (19^th) Gordon Siner RIP.

 

Prayers for the living and the dead:

 

Please pray for Gerald Bolsover, Malcolm Lowe, Eileen Copp, and for all who have died recently.

 

Please also pray for Stephen Janssens, Chris Joy, Michael Tingle, Angelina Kilbane, Maria Matkovits, Tara Viljoen, John Mather, Cathy Mansell, Vivian Kettle, Ann Spurrier, Beulah Blomfield, Diana Coughlin, Tony Thorlby, Hayley & Kaci Dunnill, John Southern, Monica Teeling, Peggy Merrell, 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.

 

Second Collection this weekend  for the Apostleship of the Sea. Please remember when you buy some shoes in the Summer sale to keep any shoe box for the Seafarers Christmas shoe-box collection to go to the Apostleship of the Sea mission at Immingham.

 

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

 

EVENING OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS St Peter’s Church, Thursday 14th July. Adoration 6.00pm Mass 7.00pm The Diocesan Vocation Directors, Fr Neil Peoples and Fr Liam Carpenter will be in Leicester to encourage us to pray together as Jesus commanded ‘that the Lord of the Harvest will send labourers into his harvest’ (Matthew 9:38).PLEASE COME ALONG

 

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

 

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

 

Tools With A Mission is a charity which has succeeded in transforming the lives of many people in Africa, offering them the means to support themselves and their families. But the charity needs lots more volunteer tool collectors. To find out more please visit their website www.timefortwam.uk or contact the volunteer co-ordinator Paul Daley by email pauld@twam.uk

 

Our Lady Queen of Peace Pilgrimage to Walsingham Monday 29^th August, led by Father Anthony Meredith IC. A coach will leave St. Patrick’s, Beaumont Leys Lane, at 8am. Cost £15. Contact Paul Spencer 077 1056 7183 for more information and to book a place.

 

Scrabble Group:  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 Sixteenth Sunday of the Year   

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 blessing, Father John