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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.

Bereavement Mass, Sunday 22nd August at 3pm.   We are looking forward to this taking place as it will be so helpful because for many there has been much sadness and indeed loss, so it is important to pray for one another and when we can to support each other.

St Wilfrid’s Celebration Mass 15th August 10.30 am:

This Mass is to celebrate us coming back together as a community.  After Mass refreshments will be available and there will be a tombola to help raise funds.  We are asking for items for the tombola; bottles, alcoholic and soft drinks also any unwanted gifts that are in good condition. Please at this time no bric a brac as we do not have the room to store. Please leave items in the church porch.  There will also be a children’s tombola and sales table.  An added attraction will be, Sophie is coming down from London and bringing her boyfriend, Jason.

St Wilfrid’s Church Flowers:  Have you noticed the lovely flowers in the church recently? They are all from Fr Rory’s garden (that Lulu lovingly attends) and also from some of our parishioners gardens.  This is all to help our church save money.

On Friday August 13th the Psalm is no.136. We only have 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. 

Truly important: 

Deacon John’s piece in the newsletter last week began with the sentence “In the Gospel this Sunday Jesus speaks about food”.  A requirement for life, but as he highlighted it needs an appropriate sense of discernment.  So it is very important that the quality of our prayer life, sacrament and sacramental life, but especially the scriptures, are a significant part of our diet.  In the end it is by their fruits that we know them; faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of these is charity.

More and more I am accosted with people saying “I don’t believe in religion or all these religious things”.   In my heart of hearts I have to say “I quite agree with them”.  Strangely enough the number then that say “but I do believe in God”.  Well the only thing I have to say “well I fully truly believe that there is evil”.  Then I say whether I believe in it or not it is there.  In fact at this time it is having a frightful impact upon our lives.  Its presence, its influence is shattering, even especially as it is experienced in the life of the church.

In my piece last week, which I have just re-read and I said to myself “thank God” this is a good point of reference, that it is now well worth repeating:

Now as the window of opportunity returns for a fresh start, with the help of God, we can set sail once again for the future.  It is a time to live and learn, a new generation is needed.  A fresh structure, with greater flexibility and encouragement, in one word “inspiration” is now called for.  We must work together to share, encourage and develop lives of faith, that give witness to our Christian lives which we receive at baptism.  The celebration of the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation this year gave us a tangible sense of this when the ceremonies took place using the candidates baptismal candles.  At our baptism this light symbolizing the light of Christ was entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly.  Please God, may this be at the heart of our resolve as we return to church with hope and fresh motivation.

May the Lord bless and complete our work, the work of God’s salvation for all.

A BIG THANK YOU to my family, Fr Rory, my sister Angela & brother-in-law Kenny, Sharon and all my dear St. Wilfrid’s Catholic Church Family that attended my beloved Mum’s 1st RIP Anniversary Mass IN LOVING MEMORY of my Beloved Parents on Thursday 29th July at 11:45 in St. Wilfrid’s Church.  A sincere thank you and God bless you all from Gary and his beloved RIP parents, James & Margaret Westcar❤️

St Wilfrid’s First Holy Communion Breakfast – Sunday 25th July:  First of all a big thank you to Fr Bruno for stepping in at such short notice to say Mass for us on this happy occasion.  It was very interesting to hear about a young boy who has been beatified and waiting to become a young Saint, the simple things in life he witnessed and did something about.  A good lesson for all of us.   Next we can’t thank Annette and Teresa enough for the time and effort they put in, both very busy people, in order that the 10 first communion candidates could enjoy a splendid breakfast.  My what a banquette it was.  Extra care and attention was taken of course, to abide by the rules of COVID restrictions set out by our Bishop Richard.  The children sat at small tables with their brother and sisters, each table came up in turn to the banquette table and were served by Teresa, Annette and Maeve.  The hall was beautifully decorated including many balloons, as these had to be destroyed the children had a wail of a time chasing and popping them.   The mums and dads were able to enjoy some food after the children had their fill, all washed down by a cuppa, provided by Sheila.  Thank you Gary and David for taking photo’s, not forgetting the few people who thoroughly cleaned our hall to the COVID requirements and the few people who cleared and cleaned after the event.  They know who they are and without them the First Holy Communion Breakfast could not have happened.  A lesson we have learnt from all the COVID rules, is that a lot of us are much older with health problems that prevent us from helping as much as we did.  If our community is to be a happy thriving gathering, then we must have more help in all directions now please.  There are forms available at the back of the church to be filled in by you asap and popped through the letterbox of the priests house.  God has given us all a special gift, so please use it and help us to run our special parish community.  Thank you.

On 10th July 2021, 10 children from St Wilfrid’s parish celebrated their first Holy Communion mass. After months of delays due to Covid-19, everyone looked forward to the day with anticipation and we were not disappointed. It was all perfect, the church was beautifully decorated, thank you Jean for arranging the flowers, David spared his free time and was a photographer for the day, all children wore their best outfits and knew exactly what to do. This left us, the parents and families to just sit and enjoy it. None of this would have been achieved without the hours that were put in by our three catechists, Annette, Teresa and Sophie and, last but not least, our beloved Fr Rory. They all put their time and energy into teaching and preparing the children, especially at this difficult time. So, on behalf of all the children, parents and families involved, Thank you!

St Wilfrid’s Celebration Mass 15th August 10.30 am:

This Mass is to celebrate us coming back together as a community.  After Mass refreshments will be available and there will be a tombola to help raise funds.  We are asking for items for the tombola; bottles, alcoholic and soft drinks also any unwanted gifts that are in good condition. Please at this time no bric a brac as we do not have the room to store. Please leave items in the church porch.