Third Sunday of Lent
23rd March 2014
Parish Mass Book— page 158
Mass Times and Intentions
6.30 pm Vigil People of Parish
Sunday 23 March 10.00 am Sean & Margaret Gorham
Monday 10.00 am Eucharistic Service
Tuesday 10.00 am Requiem - Selina Shippen
Wednesday 10.00 am Daniel Sykes
Thursday 10.00 am John McBride
Friday 10.00 am Stations of the Cross
7.00pm Fr Jim Lennon
6.30 pm Vigil Elizabeth Charlton & Coates family
Sunday 30 March 10.00 am People of Parish
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Friday 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm
Saturday 5.45 pm - 6.15 pm
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Friday 9.30 - 10.00 am
Friday 6.00 - 7.00 pm
Please pray for:
· all who are sick,
· Selina Shippen and all who have died recently,
· Sean Purvis, Elizabeth Charlton, and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
SVP Results of the National Raffle are posted in the Narthex. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Pastoral Visit by Bishop Seamus
This weekend we as a parish community offer a warm welcome to Bishop Seamus. We thank him for coming to visit us and we hope he will enjoy his visit. As a parish can we continue to pray for the Bishop as he leads our diocese. The social committee have provided light refreshments for after 10.00 am Mass to which everyone is welcome. The Bishop is meeting individual priests of the deanery on 8/9th April, with my meeting on 9th April.
Lent is an opportunity for us to take stock of our relationship with God and to be aware of where in our lives we need to grow in grace. Our faith is based on the belief that God has, is and will always offer the life of grace to us in Christ Jesus. How can you and I be aware of and respond to this constant and generous offer?
During Lent the following activities will be taking place:
· Friday morning 10.00 am Stations of the Cross
· On Friday evening at 7.00 pm there will be Mass. This will be preceded by:
· Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 6.00 to 7.00 pm ( I will also be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation)
· Lenten Lunches and Prayer with Churches Together
12.Noon to 1.15 pm at the Salvation Army
· Service of Reconciliation, Sunday 6th April at 4.00 pm
Journey of Faith
Please continue to pray for our candidates as they prepare to be received into the church at Easter. Over the next three Sundays, including this week, we have three important stories from St John’s Gospel; the woman at the well; the man born blind; and the raising of Lazarus. These are scriptural tests that were given to candidates to help them reflect on the significance of meeting Christ in baptism. One suitable way in which we can pray for our candidates is by reflecting ourselves on these important encounters with Christ in the gospel. The references are: John 4, 5-42; John 9, 1-41; and John 1, 11-45. Praying with these significant encounters people had with Jesus can help in our own Lenten journey.
Baptismal Catechesis in the Parish
As mentioned in previous weeks the way we prepare and celebrate the sacrament of baptism in the parish is going to be radically different. Please see information sheet about this in the Narthex. Please note that the first preparatory session will be on Thursday at 6.45 pm. So if anyone wishes to have their child baptised in the spring please contact me by Thursday if you have not done so already. I would like to thank Christine Priest and Alison Johnston for their willingness to be involved in this important work and to John O’Neill who has helped in their training.
YMT Mission to St Benet Biscop’s High School
The meeting last Thursday with Deanery representatives to explore how parishes can support the Youth Lead Mission in December was fruitful. The young people have written a wonderful prayer which will made in to a prayer card that will be made available to all parishioners and secondary aged pupils in schools in the deanery. The prayer card will be launched at the Masses on the week-end after Easter, April 26th-27th, with a short presentation from a young parishioner and an adult.
The meeting produced a number of possibilities for activities for young people as part of the preparation for the Mission. There will be a meeting with the young people after St Benet’s finishes this Tuesday, March 25th at 2.30pm in the Hall. Any pupil from St Benet’s is welcome to attend
Gift Aid and Planned Giving
There are still a few boxes in the Narthex awaiting collection for gift aid and planned giving for the new tax year starting on 6th April. If you have not taken your box please do so. If you have not got a box but would like to contribute to the parish please give your contact details ie name and contact telephone number, to myself, the parish secretary Pat Bateman, or one of the table men in the Narthex.
CAFOD Family Fast Day
The collection is still open if you have not had an opportunity to give a donation. The safes at the back of church are available for any donation you may wish to make to CAFOD.
Papal World Youth Day
My thanks to all who came to the meeting on Sunday. There was a number of ideas for fund raising expressed with the social committee wanting to give their full support to this venture. The fund raising will be launched on the weekend on 14/15th June when there will be a retiring collection for Papal World Youth Day.
Passion Play
The BBC are putting on a Passion play at Betts Park, South Shields on Good Friday 18th April starting at 11.00 am . To apply for tickets go to bbc.co.uk/greatnorthpassion and click on the link. It's being done as a random draw and you can apply for up to six tickets.
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