Bulletin Weekly Notices
Please see the Church Bulletin and Porch notice boards for further notices of events and dedications in our parish.
A message from Fr Bill
Dear Parisioners,
You will be dissappointed to hear that the weekend Masses are cancelled
again and this may continue and applies to weekday masses as well.
Please continue to pray that the medical experts, in the immediate future,
will find the means to destroy the corona virus.
Please keep yourselves as safe as possible. I include you and your private
mass intentions in my daily Mass which I celebrate every day. God bless
you and keep you safe.
This week we celebrate the Feast of The Holy Trinity. Some people are intimidated
by the mysteries of the Blessed Trinity. This is a pity and we should see
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as friends to whom we can relate and talk
to in prayer. The Russian Iconographer, Rublev, painted a beautiful icon
of the Blessed Trinity. The image depicts the three divine persons sitting
at a table. On the table there is some food and a vacant place at the front
of the table, and that place is meant for you, it is meant for each one
of us! This is Gods' invitation to us to share in the life of the trinity.
God doesn't keep us standing at the doorstep, he invites us in, to sit at
table with him and share his life. So, we should see the Father Son and
Holy Spirit as friends, with whom we can speak in prayer. We're not strangers
or outsiders, we are Gods' children, part of his family. He wants us to
have a place at his banquet on Earth, the Eucharist. He has already prepared
a place for us at the banquet of eternal life. It is only at Gods' table
that we can find the nourishment our hearts are hungering for. God id a
God of love, our response must be one of trust in God and of love towards
each other.
Fr. Bill
Deacon Richard adds to this saying :
Hope you are all well.
As the lockdown is eased I think we can start to hope that the church will
be re-opened for private prayer in the not too distant future. (not for
public worship). There is message from Bishop Robert within the attached
communication which explains that even this partial re-opening will be done
very gradually and after much preparation....
Re-opening of Churches: A Message from Bishop Robert
At present, there is no change in the Government regulations which means
that all churches and other places of worship remain closed and public acts
of worship are forbidden. The Bishops of England & Wales are working
with the Government to prepare for the gradual reopening of churches for
private prayer, and later for public worship. Our Diocese has begun planning
for the reopening of some of our churches when that is approved by the Government,
taking into account:
The safety of parishioners, volunteers, staff and clergy to be the highest
priority
The plan is that the five churches listed below, one from each Vicariate,
will open as soon as is practicable following all necessary risk assessment
and health and safety considerations. Then, hopefully, after a short trial
period others would follow:
· St Aidan’s, Ashington
· St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle
· St Patrick’s, Consett
· St Mary’s, Sunderland
· St Joseph’s, Hartlepool.
A full risk assessment will be carried out on each church by the Diocese
to ensure health and safety.
The Diocese will provide the necessary equipment for a deep clean of the
churches, and for essential regular cleaning.
Volunteers will be needed for church cleaning, and as stewards to ensure
social distancing when the church is open.
Full compliance with Diocesan health and safety regulations and procedures
will be required by clergy, employees and volunteers before a church is
opened.
The Bishop has instructed that no action is to be taken until further guidance is received.
A diocesan Day of Scripture
Join us on Friday 19 June 2020 for a diocesan Day of Scripture, as part
of our 2020 Year of the Word celebrations. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of England and Wales have declared 2020 to be a year of special focus on
the Bible. This marks the tenth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic
Exhortation, Verbum Domini, (The Word of the Lord) and the 1600 years since
the death of Saint Jerome – who translated the Bible into Latin.
Join us on www.rcdhn.org.uk from 10.00am on Friday 19 June 2020 for the
beginning of the full programme which is as follows:
The timing of the day is as follows:
• 10 am Welcome and introduction, Canon Chris Jackson
• 10:10 Office of Readings, Sophie Taylor & Margaret Taylor
• 11:00 Lectio Divina, Bishop Robert Byrne CO
• 11:30 Scripture for children, Dr Medi Volpe- Ayres
• 13:30 Visio Divina, Sister M. Michael RSM
• 14:30 Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible; Nick McTernan
• 15:30 The scriptural Rosary, young people of our diocese
• 16:30 The Lindisfarne Gospels; Emmet O’Leary
• 17:30 Promoting a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
• 18:00 Bible, Belief and Belonging: Professor Karen Kilby
• 19:00 Closing prayer: Imaginative Contemplation, Fr Mark Millward
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Broadcast of Mass by the BBC
BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship will broadcast Mass, celebrated by the
Cardinal in Westminster Cathedral, on Sunday 14 June at 8.10am. As an accessible
radio broadcast, this is good news for the Catholic community. Please share
news of this broadcast with any isolated parishioners who may not have access
to the internet and therefore have been unable to attend online Mass services.
200 Club
Due to the current situation it has not been possible to do the monthly
200 club draw. As soon as public Masses resume, the draws for March, April,
May and June will be made. As I am unable to collect the subs for July to
December, these draws are cancelled. All the people who have already paid
their subs for July to December will have their monies transferred over
to January to June 2021. I hope you all understand this decision. Anne W
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Bible Alive
Kathleen Turnbull has received copies of June’s edition of Bible Alive for
distribution but she is unable to deliver them as she is shielded. If anyone
would like their copy please contact Kathleen on 5840344 to arrange to collect
it or to have it collected on their behalf.
During the time of Isolation and Lockdown
Some parishes’ Masses throughout the diocese have a live-stream facility
for privately celebrated Masses and details of these can be found on the
diocesan website www.rcdhn.org.uk
and follow the link on the Home Page. Fr Bill continues to celebrate Mass
privately every day and he says “every parishioner is in my heart and prayers
as I celebrate the sacred mysteries”.
If you find yourself in need spiritually, or need to speak about a personal
or family illness or bereavement, please continue to contact Fr Bill on
0191 5842142
National Mass for the Sick
Each Thursday at 7pm one of the Bishops of England and Wales will celebrate
a Mass which will be live-streamed for the Sick and their Families, NHS
Front-Line workers and those working in Social Care. This week’s Mass will
be celebrated on Thursday 11th June by Bishop Patrick McKinney from the
St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham. You can access the live-streaming of
this Mass by visiting the Bishops’ Conference Webpage (cbcew.org.uk) and
following the appropriate links or on churchservices.tv
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Hearing Mass over the Phone
During these times when our churches are closed and Masses are being streamed
online, the Diocese of Middlesbrough have set up a system to allow people
who do not have internet access to listen to Mass over the telephone. If
you know of someone who would like to access Mass in this way, please let
them know the telephone number to call is 01642 130120. Whenever you dial
this number you will hear a Mass from the beginning. Calls are charged at
local rate and free if in your included minutes.
Helping our Neighbours . this time of uncertainty, we need to be concerned
about the most vulnerable members of our community and do all that we can
to help. Many of us will already be caring for family, friends, neighbours
and fellow parishioners who need a helping hand and no doubt will continue
to do so as long as it’s necessary.
I know many parishioners are reaching out to others by phone calls, texts
etc and would I like to thank them for doing so, it is very important to
support each other and sustain community during this difficult time. As
a parish, we would like to offer help to those who would like some help
whether it is in collecting shopping, prescriptions, etc., or just a phone
contact to check that all is well. If you are able to offer support, or
if you know of someone who would welcome support please contact Deacon Richard
at mclaughlinrm@aol.com
or on 07977 179 106 and we will do our best to put them in touch with someone
who can help them.
Helping our Neighbours.
At this time of uncertainty, we need to be concerned about the most vulnerable
members of our community and do all that we can to help. Many of us will
already be caring for family, friends, neighbours and fellow parishioners
who need a helping hand and no doubt will continue to do so as long as it’s
necessary.
I know many parishioners are reaching out to others by phone calls, texts
etc and would I like to thank them for doing so, it is very important to
support each other and sustain community during this difficult time. As
a parish, we would like to offer help to those who would like some help
whether it is in collecting shopping, prescriptions, etc.,
or just a phone contact to check that all is well.
If you are able to offer support, or if you know of someone who would welcome
support please contact Deacon Richard at mclaughlinrm@aol.com
or on 07977 179 106 and we will do our best to put them in touch with someone
who can help them.
Keeping in Touch
We would like to be able to keep in touch with as many people as
possible and in the current climate the easiest option to do so is on-line.
However, we also know there are some in our community who do not have access
to the internet and so we would ask that if you know of someone who may
not be on-line but would like to be kept informed please pass the message
on. If you have e-mail and would like to receive any further updates please
let us have your e-mail address (send to mclaughlinrm@aol.com)
and we will ensure you receive any updates directly. Your e-mail address
will only be used to forward any updates during the time of the Covid-19
crisis
Sacraments During the Lockdown
Under normal circumstances we would be celebrating the First Holy Communions
at this time of year. Due to the restrictions in place these celebrations,
which are celebrations for the whole community, cannot take place until
we are able to gather again as a community. Please keep the children and
their families in your prayers. In addition, some couples have had to postpone
their weddings due to the restrictions and it has not been possible to celebrate
the Sacrament of baptism. Please keep all the families affected by these
restrictions in your prayers.
Baptisms
Baptisms will also be deferred until the Government announces the restoration
of public gatherings. In case of necessity, baptisms will be celebrated
with all the necessary hygiene precautions.
Matrimony
The Sacrament of Matrimony is deferred until the time when congregations
are permitted to gather. Only in the most pressing of circumstances will
a marriage take place and will then be restricted to the celebrant, bride
and groom and witnesses and immediate family, and if necessary, the legal
Registrar.
Funerals
During the enforced closure of the church funeral services will only be
conducted at the graveside or crematorium, subject to the conditions laid
down by the cemetery or crematorium authorities. Arrangements will be made
for memorial Masses to be celebrated later when congregations are allowed
to gather again.
Charities during the Lockdown
Many charities rely on fund raising events and collections to support the
work they do. Sadly, during the lockdown such events will not be taking
place and this will impact on the important work they undertake.
Two such charities, which have been generously supported by our parish,
are The Little Sisters of the Poor in Newcastle and the Diocesan Justice
and Peace Refugee Project.
Details of the particular problems being encountered by these two charities
can be found on the Diocesan Website (www.rcdhn.org.uk)
together with details of how we can help. Please help if you are able.
Northern Cross
DUE to the COVID–19 pandemic, April's edition of Northern Cross is only
available online this month. You can read it, free of charge, by visiting
the Northern Cross website.
Please spare a moment to Pray the
Rosary every day in this time of great need and also for Priestly
Vocations.
There are link and more reflections on Vocation Sunday on teh
Diosocean website
PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR OUR CURRENT SIUATION TO IMPROVE IN THIS PARISH, COUNTRY AND THE WORLD.
