Every child should grow big and strong. Family Fast Day is Friday 11th March, a day when we eat simply and give generously to support mums around the world, like Amie in Sierra Leone, with expert training in growing and making healthy food.
Your small act of love this Lent will make a big difference to many communities affected by extreme hunger and children suffering from malnutrition. You can donate in church using a CAFOD envelope or by visiting the CAFOD website (cafod.org.uk/lent).
“For the Love of God”
For the love of God. These five words provide a great focus for this moment. At this time the word “dreadful” so often fits the scene; people battling with bad health, loss of loved ones, the constant crisis that has been the coronavirus, and now the crisis in the Ukraine.
Last week’s focus was on six words. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The life of God in heaven and the light of God’s family life on earth, the family home in Nazareth. It is only light that can dispel darkness, and because there is no magic in God, one of the most frequent signs that I turn to is the crucifixion ……. and to be honest, still remains for me a great mystery… hope remains in the words “no cross, no crown”.
Rightly there is a great outpouring of sympathy for the victims with a constant cry for help for the people from Ukraine. Pope Francis leads the appeal from our church with requests for novenas, fasting and prayer. Please God, we will make a good response.
Following up on last weeks expression “Lent means Spring”, at the core of our parish there is a great need for our response for Spring. As the contingences that were put in place for the pandemic are being lifted, a return to life is now very possible ….. but it is a very different situation. Age has certainly taken its toll, so unless we have a new generation, there is no magic, we will be at a great loss. I return to something important that I will continue to say. The only thing that we can rely upon for the future from the fruits of the harvest, is the seeds that we sow. A great thanks to those who are sowing new seeds. I am truly grateful, particularly those at work with our children’s liturgy.
Also a great significance is the work that is being done for the Synod, and the hope that new core groups will begin to take shape. To develop and grow must become a real desire. The great emphasis on convenience and being able to go to mass has had its day. The realization that all the seminaries were closing , the amount of Catholic teachers that are available from our Catholic schools are very few, with the amount of children making First Holy Communion, but it is also their last time. We have a great ray of sunshine from St George’s church with a very good programme of preparation for confirmation getting underway, a ray of hope, with the return of our communities to our Sunday Mass.
Together with Dr Larch Maxey, a prominent climate speaker and activists Rev Sue Parfitt and Rev Mark Coleman, we are hosting a zoom meeting on Sunday 27th February 3pm-4.30pm. This will give Christians who are aware of the awful reality of the climate crisis and care about everything on God’s earth, the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the forthcoming ‘Just Stop Oil’ campaign. Register using this link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/our-responsibilities-as-christians-at-this-time-online-tickets-268091507917
Polegate Town Council are using our hall at St George’s on Saturday 5th March from 2-4 pm to talk about land they have bought in Polegate and wish to turn into a wildlife haven. It is a fantastic community project which will benefit schools, wellbeing and mental health. PTC are open to ideas and offers of support so if you love wildlife, nature and being outdoors this will be of interest to you.
On Saturday 12th March at 11am a family friendly Stations of the Cross will take place in St George’s Church. All parishioners are encouraged to join us, and especially our younger ones (any age). Following the Stations we will enjoy a Lent soup lunch in the hall. There will be three soup options to choose from and plenty of bread and butter. The lunch will be to help the children raise money for Tiny Tickers, our chosen Lent charity. To help with catering please can you message Sandra on 07791627368 confirming your name and both adult and child numbers attending or email [email protected], We very much look forward to this event. All Welcome.
On Sunday 6th March, 20th March,3rd April, and 10th April there will be Stations of the Cross in St.George’s at 3pm. On Passion Sunday, 10th April, Stations will be followed by Benediction.
Pope Francis said that his ‘heart ached’ in response to the situation in Ukraine, with the Pope encouraging people across the world to observe Ash Wednesday, 2 March, as a day of fasting and prayer for Ukraine.
The ashes of Edna Andrews have been rescheduled to be buried in St George’s Memorial Garden on Thursday March 3rd after the 10am Mass.
Save the Date, Saturday 13th August 2022 when there will be a special Mass with Bishop Richard to celebrate 100 years since the first Mass here at St Wilfrid’s.
A “webinar” with Bishop Richard, Wednesday 9 March at 7.30pm.
Hopefully you all know that a two-year synodal process is taking place across the Catholic Church and our Parish has already sent its responses to the Diocese. That was the first stage.
The second stage is for Bishop Richard to prayerfully engage with the responses submitted and to discern, with the help of the Holy Spirit, how he will compile this into a document to be sent to the Bishops Conference of England and Wales for the next step in the journey. It was decided that, in the spirit of dialogue, it is really important for participants to hear what is being forwarded onto the national level, and have the opportunity to provide feedback.
To enable this to happen, the Diocese will be hosting a live webinar, where Bishop Richard will present the document. This will be recorded for those unable to see it on a computer, and, afterwards, the Parish will arrange to show it locally. Details later.
If you would like to watch the live webinar then you should register your interest by visiting the Diocesan website https://www.abdiocese.org.uk/synod and click on the words indicated.
