Category: Saint George’s latest news

A heartfelt “thankyou” to all our friends at St George’s Church for a wonderful surprise  breakfast party last Sunday. The hall looked beautiful, and the food was delicious, thanks to a number of skilled cooks, bakers and planners, who worked so secretly!  We were presented with  beautiful gifts and cards, for which we thank you all.  You welcomed us warmly when we arrived here 19 years and we have enjoyed warmth, true friendship and love from the whole congregation and Father Rory; leaving you all is hard, and we are moving only to be closer to our family  in Newick, which  not  far away, so we can look forward to seeing you all again, both in church and on more social occasions.  We will carry your love and friendship in our hearts.  Margaret and Charles

Miss Holycheek, the Catholic Sunday school teacher, had just finished explaining the feast of the Assumption to her class.  “Now,” she said, “let all those children who want to go to Heaven to see their Heavenly Mother raise their hands.”  All the children raised their hands except little Marie in the front row.  “Don’t you want to go to Heaven, Marie?” asked Miss Holycheek.  “I can’t,” said Marie tearfully. “My mother told me to come straight home after Sunday school

St Wilfrid’s Celebration Mass and Visit to our Garden of Remembrance where we had a very moving service:

Thank you Father Rory for making this celebration so special, Teresa and Annette for the Altar display and everyone for joining in and singing, something we have missed in lockdown.

Then after Mass into our hall for refreshments, beautifully set out and organised by our excellent team.  It was so good to get together at last and enjoy ourselves in the company of our fellow community members.  The adult tombola was well stocked and great fun.  The money taken went to funding the food.  The children’s tombola was great fun too, no profit was made as we had to pay for the prizes this time.  Thank you everyone who contributed in anyway to our wonderful happy and successful day.  Here’s to the next one, now we are up and running, still observing the COVID rules of course.

It was lovely to see so many returning parishioners and welcome new members to our community at St George’s on Sunday. We are almost back to normal but continue to tread with care in keeping everyone safe. So good to see Alan serving on the altar again and great to chat with everyone afterwards too. A thanksgiving and remembrance event is planned for September. Details to follow.

The following was written by Peter Riordan in 2008.

My life has been a good news story. I think of myself as having been extremely blessed. I grew up with the loving care and guidance of great parents and grandparents. My twin brother has always been my best friend, so there was always someone with whom to share the adventures of youth. The rest of my family are also precious to me and to one another. My parents sent me to great schools where I learned values and attitudes I cherish. I am married to a wonderful wife and have two terrific children, a son and a daughter who are also great friends to one another. I live in a prime location where my neighbours are also my friends. I count my blessings and thank God for them. My work is my chance to pay God back, to share the gift of God’s love. At work I enjoy the loyal friendship of staff and the company of students whom I treat with respect and with sensitivity for their feelings. I try to call each by name so that I know each as a person. My parents were both teachers. I guess that was part of the reason I also felt called to teach. But does this mean there has never been, or never will be, upsets, problems, or disappointments? Of course not. No matter how blessed our lives may be there will always be challenges along the way.

What do we do about them? It seems to me we have a very clear choice. Either brood about them, and be angry, bitter, and resentful, or get on with life. Sadly, I meet people who do not cope well with ‘knock-backs’, and who seem to accumulate the baggage of bitterness and lingering hurt. So my attitude is never to fret about what went wrong, what I missed out on, what could have been. I can do without carrying the burden of past disappointments. It is far better to face each problem and either turn it into an opportunity or to look for the next opportunity. Look forward, not back. It is much easier to progress if we face where we want to go.

Meal at the Treacle Mine:  We were down in numbers as many of our friends were child minding or on staycation, as it was the holiday month.  Something I had not realised at the time of booking.  ‘Oops’, nevertheless 12 of us came, plus Fr Rory of course and mostly our friends from St George’s.

It was lovely to catch up on various news items and gossip, as we had not been able to mix for so long, we all appreciated the freedom to see each other and chat.  We agreed to meet up each month for a lunch together.  The next date will be Thursday 9th September, we hope you can make it.

The manager at the Treacle Mine is very happy to accommodate us in our special space away from the other diners and we are treated very well.  This venue is between both parishes and so we will book our tables there again.  Watch this space for further details nearer the time.

Fake £5. Notes:  Please be aware there are fake £5 notes in circulation at the moment.

St George’s is gently and carefully returning to normal. It is no longer necessary to book into the weekday Masses on Tuesday and Thursday. It is preferable to book Sunday, but not absolutely necessary anymore. For those who would like some space around them, this can be accommodated. Music has made a welcome return and singing, with a mask – which is perfectly possible – is positively encouraged. Every care is being taken to make our church a safe place for all. We look forward to welcoming everyone back into our parish family and have plans for a thanksgiving Mass and social in September – more details to follow.

Last Friday August 13th the Psalm was no.136. We only had 4 verses read to us. It is remarkable as it contains the phrase, “for his mercy endures forever” 14 times in those few verses. If you read the whole of the Psalm then the phase occurs 26 times. Psalm 136 is a psalm of thanksgiving for the work of God in creation and his faithful love through Israel’s history. It shows us God’s goodness and the importance of this for us. Yes, we should remember that God always loves us – never forget this. In fact we should all do more than this we should do what the Psalmist says many times in this psalm. He says “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever,” So I suggest that we adopt this phrase as a reminder for us during August. Try to remember to say it every day and not forget it during the day.  Keep it in mind and surely it will help you in everything you do each and every day. 

There is a special Mass on 15^th August (the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) at 10.30am to remember those who have sadly experienced losses during the past lock downs. The Mass will be held in the church and will include the participation of the children of the parish to represent the Future. The memorial garden will also feature in our service, in special remembrance of three people, representative of our community and will encompass a period of quiet reflection.

Following the Mass, “Tea and Tombola”  (A sit-down tea of sandwiches, savouries and cakes and the chance to win prizes in the tombola!). We URGENTLY need helpers to manage this event throughout and welcome anyone over 16 and under 70 to volunteer their services.

We need help with cleaning and preparing the hall on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning (13^th/14^th).Saturday afternoon requires setting up of tables and chairs and laying up the tables with crockery and cutlery.

Sunday morning (before Mass) we will need  people to distribute prepared food to tables and also help with the preparation of  beverages and some of the food.

After the event, clearing and cleaning of the crockery and cutlery etc. washed (dishwasher or hand wash as appropriate), dried and stored. Chairs and tables will need to be stored; hall kitchen and wash-rooms cleaned, floors swept and washed. Disposal of all rubbish.

All food will be provided by the hall management committee and the cost recuperated by the proceeds of the tombola hopefully. (Any other monetary donations will also be gratefully received but there is no obligation). Please help us to make this a pleasant and memorable occasion.  For further details of the actual work involved please contact: Lesley: 01323 841011;  Maeve: 01323 449131; Loretta; 01323 844890; Jean: 01323 842824.

There will be a meeting after the 10.30am Mass this Sunday.  If you can come and help please do so, as this will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all.