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We have been given quite a few to sell, plus good items donated by Ann and David Hoad that belonged to their daughter “Hannah” a “larger than life” character to all who new her.  She has been a sad loss in our community and in her honour they have given us toys and teenage items to sell and the money raised will go to the “Lourdes Fund”, so more children can go to this “special place” that Hannah loved and looked forward to every year.  The goods and teddies will be on sale in our hall after Mass this Sunday.  Please take the time to pop in and purchase something “Christmas is coming” in her honour.  Thank you.

Advent Penitential Service and First Confession for our 7 candidates on Saturday 11th December at 5 pm.

Rehearsal for Nativity Mime at Christmas Eve Mass will be Saturday 18th December at 11 am, Children from St Wilfrid’s and St George’s are all welcome to take part in this special part of the Mass. 

This short quotation said a lot to me. I hope you like it! 

Eyes to See by Frank Topping

Lord, give me eyes to see in the light you shed upon the world. Let me see the magic of common place things. Let me see the mystery of creation in the sky that goes on being endless day after day. Let me see the wonder of creation in the families of birds that have flown for thousands of years across endless miles of sea, guided by what? Let me see the whole of creation in a blade of grass, and the reason for it all in an act of kindness.

The Pope says that the Synod represents the main road for the Church, called to renew herself under the action of the Spirit and by listening to the Word.
The ability to imagine a different future for the Church and her institutions, in keeping with the mission she has received, depends largely on the decision to initiate processes of listening, dialogue, and community discernment, in which each and every person can participate and contribute.
Our Diocese is starting this listening process during December 2021, with a number of questions shared directly with  parishes. The Diocese will also share the Synod questions on its website https://www.abdiocese.org.uk/synod

The Synod provides us with an opportunity to be creative about who we engage with; are there people who are housebound you could talk to over the phone? Could you use the Diocese’s upcoming Junior Synod resources to engage the children of your parish and help them feel included? Perhaps you could set up your own group, using the materials to be provided soon by the Diocese?

Please God, for this weekend.  It is the Feast of Christ the King, youth weekend; but normally known as the 34th week of the year, and the end of the churches year.  So next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent.  I have long believed that this Sunday should evolve to become one of the Great Feasts like Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost, and in the end, the greatest Feast of all when “Christ returns in glory”.  This Sunday we will celebrate it to the best of our abilities with a special celebration of First Holy Communion at St George’s, a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now it is important to highlight events for Advent.  After harvest time, the most important gift we are left with is seeds, to be sown to provide for the year; and years to come.  Pope Francis has called for a special Synod, to respond to the life of the church at this time.  The time for this consultation has been extended and its importance is really great.  Through real prayer and effort I hope we will address this

For the Four Sundays:

First Sunday:  “Call to Synod”.  Ideas on how we might address this most welcome.

Second Sunday:  “The ministries of the church”.  How they enrich and develop the life of our church.

Third Sunday:  “Be reconciled to God”.  Confession as I knew it and spent hours at this time in the confessional box when I was first ordained.

Fourth Sunday:  “Hope, Aspiration, Visions”.  For the community, local church ecumenism and gracefully challenging those who have high office in the life of the church.

Thursday 25th November, 2pm, Afternoon Tea & Fun in our hall.  Homemade cakes/scones, sandwiches, plus “French gourmand”, fancy “bite size cakes/biscuits in English”, all for £3.  We have a small raffle, 50p per ticket.  Do come and join us.

Christmas Lunch at Kings Head – Horsebridge:  Thursday 9th December, in the function room, 12noon.  Three courses plus tea/coffee, mince pies and crackers, £18 including tip.  Please pay the £18 when booking, I will give you a copy of the menu so you can make your choice, to make it easier on the day for the chef and us.  I have had many bookings already and so advise you to book soon.  Our friends from St George’s are invited of course and many have booked already.  Lets make it a jolly good Christmas lunch enjoyed by all of us from both parishes, plus our non catholic friends.  If transport is a problem please contact Joan 07873390944.

Thursday 30th December, 2pm in our Hall for Afternoon Tea:   We have decided to make this a pre New Years Eve Party, special homemade food, music, games suitable to our age group!!  Crackers, goody bags and special raffle.  The cost for this will be £5 and I can assure you it will be worth every penny – come on lets party!

All these events are open to St Wilfrid’s and St George’s plus any friends are most welcome of course.  Please contact Joan 07873390944 or after Sunday and Wednesday Mass in the Hall.

1: “You’ll wish you were Jewish!!”  A Protestant minister and a Catholic priest enjoyed teasing their Jewish rabbi friend, continually asking him when he was going to convert to their Faith.  When the Holidays rolled around, the rabbi sent them a card with the following: “Season’s Greetings!  Roses are reddish, Violets are bluish; When the Messiah comes, you’ll wish you were Jewish!!”

2: The Second Coming. A Sunday school teacher asked his class, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the Church, would that get me into Heaven?  “NO!” the children all answered.  “If I cleaned the Church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?”  Again, the answer was, “NO!”  Again the teacher asked, “Well, then, if I were kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my wife, would that get me into Heaven?”  Again, they all answered, “NO!”  “Well then how can I get into Heaven?”  A five-year-old boy shouted out, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!”  Good insight for a five-year old!

3: Somnambulist or Methodist? “Be constantly on the watch!  Stay awake,” Jesus commands.  The signs-of-the-times are such that, clearly, this is no time for somnambulists.  A somnambulist, as you know, is a person who walks in his sleep.  On the eve of his wedding, a young man decided to confess all to his fiancée.  He went to her and said, “My love, there is something I feel I must tell you before we are married; something you must know. It may make a difference in your feeling toward me.  You see, I am a somnambulist.”  The young lady thought for a moment, then replied, “Oh that’s all right.  There’s no problem.  I was raised a Methodist.  We can go to your Church one Sunday and to mine the next.”

Time moves on quickly, and the request from Pope Francis it is time for; and of great importance to the church that we have a Synod.  It is now time to get this underway.  Two key questions for us as we begin A) Why:   Why do we need a Synod?  B) How:  How do we achieve the best outcome possible?, and the steps for us to take to do this.

The latest instalment that we have received is this:-

Synod of Bishops 2023 – not just for Bishops!
Pope Francis has said a synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together:” He asks us “How is this “journeying together” happening today in your particular Church?”

The Pope is asking us to dream what the Church could be, and to walk together into God’s future, where that Church becomes a reality.
Let us pray that we can listen to, and journey together with as many of our communities as possible, so that together we help to build up the Church and pass that message, loud and clear, to the bishops of England and Wales, and then to the Pope himself.

Synod Prayer
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts: teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful.  Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.

Joan Quarrell’s Ashes will be buried at St George’s on Thursday 11th November after Mass.

During the month of October our sales table raised £60.  This will be kept for a future parish celebration.