We Pray for the Repose of the Souls of
CHRISTINE WISE RIP who died on 21st January. Her body will be received into the Church on Thursday, 16th March at 5pm and her Requiem Mass will take place on Friday 17th March at 9.30am followed by burial at Hall Road Cemetery.
MARIA FITZAKERLEY RIP who died recently. Her funeral will take place on Friday, 10th March at 10.15am at Sutton Road Cemetery Church, followed by burial at Sutton Road Cemetery.
ROY BUCK RIP who died on 13th February. His Requiem Mass will take place on Wednesday 26th April at 2pm followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
MARTIN COVENEY RIP who died on Friday, 17th February. Funeral details to follow.
Requiescant in pace
Dates for your Diary
Monday 27th February—Journey in Faith-RCIA continues
Saturdays 13th & 20th May—First Holy Communion Masses 10.30am
Sunday 28th May—Pentecost Sunday—Confirmation Mass 11.30am
Sunday 11th June—Corpus Christi Procession 4pm
Saturday 8th July—Flower Festival
Deanery of Southend Lent Talks 2023
Wednesday evenings at 7pm—Eastwood Parish—St Peter’s
59 Eastwood Road North, Leigh on Sea SS9 4BX
Questions & Answers facilitated by Fr Jeff Woolnough
March 1st Fr Graham Smith
The Gospel According to John
March 8th DVD Presentation
Dr Scott Hahn—The Eucharist in Scripture
Part One—The Lamb’s Supper
March 15th DVD Presentation
Dr Scott Hahn—The Eucharist in Scripture
Part Two—The Fourth Cup
March 22nd DVD Presentation
Dr Scott Hahn—The Eucharist in Scripture
Part Three—Consuming the Word
St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) 'Awareness Month'
‘Awareness Month’ is our Society’s annual opportunity to highlight the SVP’s presence in our parish and community and to promote an understanding of our work. This in turn can help people in need of support to know how to contact us and for those considering joining the Society to take their interest further.
Founded in Paris in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam with a group of companions, and taking St Vincent de Paul as their patron, the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is a Christ-centred organisation made up of almost 10,000 volunteers across England and Wales. While every local group or ‘Conference’ is unique, our mission is essentially the same:- To seek and find those in need, to help them in the spirit of justice and to tackle the causes of poverty where we can.
With Christian Truth at our core, members of the SVP work in a variety of different ways including visiting and befriending the lonely and housebound, supporting locally (and in strict confidence) individuals and families in financial need, as well as supporting SVP Conferences in developing countries through disaster relief efforts and the education of their young people. If you would like to know more about the SVP or consider joining us, please contact Francis O’Brien on 07845874331. You can also support our parish Conference financially via the SVP button on the parish website.
Lenten Reading
At the back of church the Catholic Truth Society stand has a range of small books on prayer and the spiritual life which can be helpful for Lent.
Fire Marshal
We need to recruit a Fire Marshal for each Mass, this would include a one hour training once yearly and would only be required in the rare occurrence of a fire.
We need a good mix of people that attend different Masses. For more information please contact Andy Harris on 07742433589.
Flower & Craft Festival - Saturday 8th July 2023
We have begun the planning for this year’s Flower and Craft Festival. This year the theme is Parables, Miracles, and Proverbs.
We are hoping that more people will be able to take part this year, especially those who can sew or craft! The book of Proverbs and the miracles and parables of Jesus gives you a very wide scope to choose from. We have already had volunteers for flower arrangements for Jesus calms the Storm, The Feeding of the 5,000, The wedding at Cana, and the parable of the Sower.
If you would like to take part or would like more information or ideas contact me on 01702 474062, or email mcronan@btinternet.com
We would love to fill the church with flowers and crafts.
Jo Ronan
Repository
The Repository is situated at the rear of the Church in the old Baptistry and will be open following the 5.30pm Vigil Mass and after the 9.30am and 11.30am Masses on Sundays.
We have a small selection of cards this week for St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Easter. Arriving in the next 2 weeks we should have a good selection of cards and gifts for First Holy Communion. If you can’t see what you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to ask. After Easter, cards and gifts should be available in time for First Holy Communions and Confirmation.
Repository Volunteers
We are looking for more volunteers to help with the above. With enough people we can then form a Rota so that individuals need only help out on a 2 or 3 weekly basis. If interested please leave your name and contact details at the Parish Office or speak to Cynthia.
Serving the Homeless
Our next event is a Quiz Evening in St Margaret's Church Hall on 11th March, 7pm for 7.30pm. The cost is £5 per person, bring your own drinks and nibbles.
If you wish to book a table (up to 10 people) or a place with another team, please ring any Committee member or Linda Wall on 01702 558217.
Parish Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who supports the 200 Club. The results of the December draw are as follows:
1st Prize £150 199 Mrs F McEvoy
2nd Prize £100 68 Mrs K Franklin
3rd Prize £75 118 Mrs C Haldenby
4th Prize £25 75 Mrs M Whines
We are still looking for new members. The subscription is £5 per month, either by cash, cheque or direct debit. If you would like to join, please fill in a form which can be found at the back of the church or ring Linda Wall on 01702 558217.
There are a number of 200 Club winners' cheques which still have to be paid into a bank account. If you have been a winner within the last five months, can you please check that your winning cheque has been paid into your account. If not, can you please take it to your bank as soon as possible.
Bereavement Support Group
The Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month in the Parish Centre (Bernadette room) at 2pm. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 21st March.
We are aware that this time may not be convenient for everyone who feels they need support following the loss of a loved one. We are therefore considering a possible change of day and time. For example Saturday morning or afternoon or a weekday morning or evening might be more convenient for people.
The Group is open to people who have experienced loss and bereavement and who feel they might find sharing their experience with others in a confidential and caring environment. We try to ensure that nobody is under any pressure to talk but participants are gently encouraged to express their feelings supported by other Group members and experienced Counsellors. If further information is required please contact the Parish Office or phone Cynthia on 07783 094312 with your name and contact number.
If interested please give your name, contact details, and preference of day/ time to the Parish Office. Thank you.
OLL Ladies Group
Our next Meeting is on Thursday 2nd March in the Parish Centre from 10am. All ladies in the Parish are welcome with a sub of just £1.00 per week plus a Raffle. There is no charge for teas and coffee.
As we are now in Lent we leave it to individuals to decide whether to bring cake or not!! We are planning a repeat of one of our popular mornings of favourite poems, but this time we are including books. So come all you book worms and share some of your favourite books/authors! No problems if nothing to share, just come along and enjoy the company.
CAFOD Family Fast Day Friday 3rd March - Lent Appeal
This Lent, your donations to CAFOD’s Family Fast Day Appeal will help families fighting the climate crisis and ensure that our Church network can quickly respond to emergencies, like the recent earthquake in Syria and Turkey. Give today using the envelope or via electronic payment (both at back of the church), or at cafod.org.uk/give and please join us in praying for CAFOD’s development and emergency response work all over the world.
Missio Red Box Holders
National Novena to St. Joseph 11th - 19th March 2023. See Poster at the back of Church.
If you would like to receive a Novena booklet, email novenamhm@gmail.com or send to Novena Director
6 Colby Gardens Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 7GZ. Joan Caunce, Secretary 01268 757505
World Day of Prayer Friday 3rd March
This year’s World Day of Prayer Service takes place on Friday 3rd March at 10.30am at St Alban’s Church, St Johns Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7JY, followed by tea/coffee. Car parking is available at North Road and Cliffs Pavilion car parks.
All are welcome to this years Service which is prepared by the women of Taiwan on the theme ‘I have heard about your faith’
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School & Nursery
If your child is eligible to attend Nursery, please clink on the link below to find more information about Our Lady of Lourdes School Nursery
Earthquake Relief Charities
Please donate via Aid to the Church in Need or CAFOD websites.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lent is almost upon us once again!
Dear friends in Christ
Lent is almost upon us once again! On Wednesday the Church will extend the annual and ancient invitation to us: Repent and believe the Gospel! Over the next forty days of Lent we shall enter the spiritual battle using the weapons of prayer, penance and works of charity. One of the good and positive aspects of information technology is the huge array of good Catholic material available to feed and nourish our faith and piety. Choose and use these resources wisely, since not everything that purports to be Catholic is so. As a basic starting point, we should all be aiming to read from the Bible regularly; know the basic content of the Catechism of the Catholic Church; keep up-to-date with the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church; and be abreast of Catholic news as furnished by such reliable sources as Vatican News Service, EWTN and Aleteia.
When it comes to the area of penance—there are many more things we can sacrifice than wine and chocolate! We could examine how much time we spend on social media and reduce it; how do we keep guard over what we say—gossiping; try to see someone who is lonely; give time to others; keep our homes/rooms in a orderly way. In matters of charity and almsgiving, we don't need to look very far to realise that we can give easily to those who are suffering right now: in Ukraine and as a result of the recent earthquake. Details can be found in this Newsletter of how to donate through Catholic Aid Agencies.
As Lent comes around again, we have the opportunity to become a new person—this is the meaning of Lent—that we enter a new springtime for our soul. We can live these days ahead of us like any other time, or we can choose to let these waters of Lent renew and refresh us. Even if we feel we may fail by the second day, we can begin again and again! We listen again to the words of the Prophet read on Ash Wednesday: Now, now it is the Lord who speaks—come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.
May God bless you and give us all perseverance in following Him in this Lenten season.
Msgr Kevin Hale