St. Joseph’s Newsletter – 3rd September 2017
Bonus Ball Winner: 38 – Jean Phelan, Christine Hope
Offertory - £1515.98 (inc. standing orders)
CAFOD – £59.10 (3 wks)
Sanctuary Lamp
Howard New
(8th Anniversary Remembrance)
Marian Candle
George &Mary Guy
(60th Wedding Anniversary)
Lately Dead
Jeanne Large, Stephen Goulding, John Harding
UCM
Thursday 7th September – UCM 25yrs Birthday Mass at 7.30pm
Bingo – Monday 11th September at 1.30pm.
Christmas Day Out – Mill House Hotel on Thursday, 7th December, three course meal and coffee. Price £20 per head. £5 non-refundable deposit by 28th September. Thank you.
URGENT REQUEST
We have had several requests to take Communion to our sick and housebound parishioners living in Penketh and Great Sankey. If any Eucharistic Ministers from St. Joseph’s would be willing to help, please call the Presbytery on 722105. Thank you.
The Legion of Mary is holding a Conference at Liverpool Cathedral on Saturday 9th September. It starts at 9.00am with Mass and finishes at 4.00pm. Lunch will be a shared table. The Conference will be divided into 3 sessions with refreshments. Car parking charges will be waived for people attending the Conference with a car pass. If you would like a car pass, please contact Frances Lewis on 01925 728992. Auxiliary members most welcome.
The ‘Ladykillers’ Thursday 14th September. Mini bus will leave St. Joseph’s car park at 6.30pm. Cost £3 per head.
RACE NIGHT IN AID OF CAFOD
Friday 15th September at 7.30pm in St. Joseph’s Parish Centre. Tickets available from the Presbytery and Piety shop at £3.00. Refreshments available. Please come along for a fun night whilst raising money for a much needed cause.
Job Vacancy
A person is required to clean the Loreto Centre for one hour a day, Monday to Friday during term time only. For more information please contact the Parish office on 01925 722105.
Responding to the Call - Vocation Discernment Group
To support those exploring Vocations to the Priesthood in our diocese, a monthly day of recollection has been organised for the first Saturday of each month. These days will help men who feel called to ordained ministry to discover more about diocesan priesthood and meet others discerning a call to priesthood. There will be an opportunity to talk with and hear from priests who minister in the diocese, and also a time for prayer and discussion. The next day of recollection will take place on Saturday 2nd September at St. Charles’ Presbytery, 224 Aigburth Road, Liverpool. For further information, please contact Fr James Preston, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Liverpool, at or telephone: 0151 727 2493. Regular updates will be posted on our Facebook page: Archdiocese of Liverpool Vocations
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY
Friday 13th October. Dance the night away to “The Humbuckers” a foot tapping duo playing 60’s and 70’s music. Tickets will be £6 each. Bring your own food.
If you’ve got any ‘bell bottoms’ ‘penny rounder’ shirts, or ‘platform shoes’, get them out of the loft and get dressed up for the occasion! (This is optional J)
Starts 7pm till midnight!!
Southport Trip
Wednesday 13th September. Coach departs from St. Joseph’s at 10.30am, leaving Southport at 4.30pm. Cost £10 return. For more details please ring Angela on 728763.
Rosary Group will meet again at 130 Meeting Lane on Tuesday, 19th September at 7pm. For further information please call Lynn on 01925 263905.
Aileen Dunn would like to thank everyone who kindly sponsored her for the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon. A grand total of £1137.06 was raised for the ‘Forget Me Not ‘ Garden Appeal (Dementia ward) at Warrington Hospital.
PANTO 2018
Yes, it’s that time already! If you are High School age or over and would like to join St. Joseph’s Panto Group in any capacity, please come along to the Loreto Centre on Thursday 7th September at 7.30pm. (Please note – for this first meeting school age children must be accompanied by an adult)
St. Joseph’s Toddler Group (from birth to school age) returns after the summer break on Thursday 7th September. Starts at 9.45am until 11.30am.
All very welcome, cost £1.50. For further details please ring Angela on 723951.
VACANCY
MARRIAGE PREPARATION COORDINATOR
The Archdiocese of Liverpool is seeking to recruit a Marriage Preparation Coordinator in the Pastoral Formation Department at LACE. This is a newly created post. To apply, contact Human Resources 0151 522 1073. Closing Date: 12 noon, Thursday 7 September. For more information see the notice board at the back of church.
Gospel Reflection for the Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Accepting Our Crosses
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering and death at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes. Peter took Jesus aside, “This must never happen to you,” he said. Surely Peter only had Jesus’ best interests at heart. Imagine how mortified he must have felt to hear Jesus reply, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
What kind of deal is it to get everything you want in life but lose your soul? So often when we finally get what we want in life, the euphoria is short lived. We might feel elated for a few days at achieving one of our closest held ambitions, but then we are left with that hollow, ‘what next?’ kind of feeling. Today Jesus is talking about the necessity for suffering and dying. But why does Jesus see accepting the cross as a necessity? Why does he not stop to consider the alternative that Peter suggests?
As Christians we are asked to live life differently from those who struggle to fill life with pleasure and enjoyment. There is a well-known saying that goes, ‘It is better to die a meaningful death, than live a meaningless life.’ As Christians we have to transcend, self-interest, self-preservation and ego trips. The person who tries to indulge in every enjoyment may find him or herself chasing impossible rainbows. Could this be Satan’s favourite trick? By trying to make life perfect by our own human agendas, are we in danger of reaching the end of life only to realise we have not lived life at all?
Peace Actions for September 2017
· 10th September is ‘Education Sunday’. This is a good opportunity to support our own Catholic Schools, but it’s also an opportunity to get children around the world out of child labour and into school.
· September is the month of harvest festivals and reverence for God’s earth. This month renew your commitment to supporting a climate changing charity.
· Pray for those who work in the media that they may be guided by honesty and justice. (28th September is St Gabriel's Day)
Pope Francis’s Prayer Intention for September 2017
We think of being a missionary as someone who takes the Christian message to far flung parts of the world. But being a missionary begins here at home. Pope Francis suggests that being a missionary starts by demonstrating our faith and charity from within our own parishes. There are hundreds of ways to do this. Here are a couple of starting points:-
· Take the church newsletter round to someone who is housebound.
· Involve our children and grandchildren with a group such as the CAFOD or SVP Youth.
· Give somebody a lift to church on a weekly basis.
· Share Church activities and fundraising efforts on your Facebook page.
We are asked to join in Pope Francis’s monthly prayer intention, “….That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen”
Fairtrade Vanilla
In Madagascar, Fairtrade vanilla farmers are fighting child labour and doing their best to provide decent work to support families in the country. Roughly 80% of the world’s vanilla is produced in Madagascar but this industry has been identified as high risk for goods produced with child labour.
To support change for the better, choose Fairtrade vanilla for your summer baking.
For Our Teachers and Children
This week, most of the schools across the country will be opening for the autumn term. Some children will moving up into new schools and some children will be starting school for the very first time. We pray that our children will feel happy, confident and cared for. We pray for our teachers, particularly for their wellbeing in a job that is increasingly demanding and stressful.
Next Sunday is ‘Education Sunday’.
Creation Time
From September 1 to October 4, Christians around the world are praying and caring for creation. It’s the “Season of Creation” celebrated by Christian churches around the globe. From Miami to Manila, churches are uniting with one purpose: to steward the Earth. This month is we are given extra incentives to save our planet.
Bitesize
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
Author unknown
Mass Intentions for week commencing 4th September 2017Monday 4th / 12 Noon / John Hankinson
(80th Birthday)
Tuesday 5th
/ 9.30am / Gordon Graham
Wednesday 6th
/ 9.30am / Jackie Atkinson
Thursday 7th / 9.30am
7.30pm / Rosemary Harvey
(Birthday Remembrance)
Celebrating 25yrs of UCM
(In Remembrance of past UCM members)
Friday 8th / 12 Noon
St. Alban’s / Pastoral Area Mass
Saturday 9th
Sunday 10th / 8.30am
10.30am
4.00pm / Ruth and Andy
George & Mary Guy
(60th Wedding Anniversary)
Eric & Lou Priestley
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph’s will re-commence this week on Wednesday and Friday from 10.00am until 12 Noon.
Funerals
There will be a Requiem Mass for Jeanne Large at St. Joseph’s on Friday 15th September at 10.00am.