St. Joseph’s Newsletter – 25th June 2017
Bonus Ball Winner: 48 – Maureen Ludden, Eileen Smith
Offertory £1709.98 (inc. standing orders)
CAFOD – £40
Sanctuary Lamp
Ken Aizlewood (RIP)
Marian Candle
Fr. Richard’s Anniversary
Of His Ordination
Lately Dead
Arthur Graley, Paul Heron, Lois Quinn, Ken Aizlewood, Cynthia Maguire
UCM
Line Dancing - Wednesday 28th June (8-10pm) – Irene McGuirk and Jane Ryan
Money raised from June Bingo - £135.00.
In light of the violence seen in the UK over the last few weeks. Lynn Pester OCV, would like to hear from anyone interested in forming a parish rosary group to pray 20 decades of the Rosary once a month in honour of Our Lady Queen of Peace. Anyone interested please contact her on: 01925 263905.
Ladies Day at Pontefract Racecourse
We are thinking of organising a coach trip to Pontefract Races on Ladies Day on Wednesday 9th August. If you would be interested in going, please sign the list at the back of Church.
A Date For Your Diary
Margaret’s Tea Party is planned for Friday 14th July at 1.30pm. Further details to follow.
Wirral Coastal Walk for CAFOD’s Syria and Yemen Appeal
Congratulations to Dave and Trish Cooper and Gordon Moss who completed the walk on Sunday 18th June in very hot weather! They will be at all Masses over the next two weekends to collect any outstanding sponsor money. Well done once again, and please remember to pray for this good cause.
St Joseph’s Parents & Friends Association would like to invite you to our Summer Fair on Saturday 1stJuly from 11am until 3pm. We will have a licensed bar, Bottle, Jar & Sweet Tombolas (no general tombola), Raffle, Games, Children’s performances, Peppa Pig appearance, Cake Stall, Football games, BBQ and a selection of external stalls selling various goods. The Police and Fire Officers have also promised to call in too. If there are any bakers out there we would be so grateful for any cake donations either on Friday 30th(if they do not require refrigeration) or on the Saturday morning from 9am. Bottles, filled jars (eg sweets, treats, stationery) and any bagged sweets would be gratefully received for our Tombolas too. Raffle tickets will be available today at St Joseph’s after each Mass. Should you require further information please contact Dawn on 07768 300875. Thank you so much for any support you can give.
Grandparents Group
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 27th June at 7.30pm in the small meeting room in St. Joseph’s Parish Centre. All are welcome.
We welcome today the Warrington Circle of the Catenians for their annual Presidents Sunday. The motto of the Catenians is Strengthening Family Life through friendship and faith. Today they are at the 10.30am Mass to cover the faith aspect and will later on be having a Sunday lunch together in an act of friendship. We wish them a good day.
UCM Walsingham Pilgrimage – Monday 3rd July
The coach will leave St. Joseph’s car park at 8am. Don’t forget your packed lunch!
Any queries please ring Angela on 728763.
Gospel Reflection for the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Walking the Plank
A plank is placed along the pavement. It's a wide sturdy plank with a prize placed tantalizingly at the far end. You are asked to walk along the plank and pick up the prize. Easy! You could run along the plank. You could probably hop along the plank backwards and blindfolded. Now you are asked to repeat the task, but this time the plank is raised eighty foot above the pavement level. It's exactly the same plank but somehow the prize is suddenly not worth the collecting. We are disabled by risk and by fear.
We are capable of doing great things, but most of us don't come anywhere near meeting our potential. We are afraid to step out of the comfort zone of our well-worn lifestyles, jobs and homes. We are afraid of the unknown, we are afraid of failure, we are afraid of ridicule, disruption and discomfort.
In the face of a sometimes hostile and sceptical world, Jesus asks us to have the courage of our convictions. The Church today is built on the courage of those who refused to compromise their beliefs. We are asked to speak out against injustice; keeping a cowardly silence is a denial. Today's gospel urges us to be courageous. "Fear no one," Jesus advises us. Why fear those who can make life temporarily uncomfortable when God has our everlasting interests at heart.
Of course, that's all very well; we would surely heed Jesus' advice to take courage if we had anything to offer in the first place. After all, it takes a very special kind of person with very special kind of skills to rush around changing the world. Surely it takes a very special kind of person to stand up and campaign for human rights. We convince ourselves that we are born with less worth than others, and by convincing ourselves that we are worth less, it is all too easy for us to rule ourselves out of the equation altogether allowing others to take the risks. Today Jesus convinces us that we each have a special value in God's eyes. Even the sparrows that are two a penny have worth in God's eyes, so how much more worth have we. We have an individual worth to a God who has counted each and every hair on our heads. We all have something to offer …. no excuses; no exceptions. We all have to walk that plank.
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
26th June
“Illicit drugs destroy innumerable individual lives and undermine our societies. Confronting the illicit trade in drugs and its effects remains a major challenge for the international community.”
Kofi Annan
The Feast of Ss Peter and Paul
‘Wanted – Fearless Christians’
29th June
The Church exists because Peter and Paul, and fearless Christians like them, acted out their faith despite hostilities and persecution. Christians all over the world still face cruel persecution. In our own nation we face different sorts of problems. We face lethargy, conflicting secular values, and the complexities of scientific debate. Wherever we live, the Church cannot be silenced. Fearless Christians like Peter and Paul are still needed to carry the baton. The messages of love and non-violent peace making are more relevant than ever.
Speak Up Week of Action
1st- 9th July
Big things are happening this summer: people in all corners of the country are preparing to Speak Up on climate change and renewable energy to their newly elected MPs from 1-9 July.
The Speak Up Week of Action is your opportunity to make sure that the concerns of the world’s poorest people are one of the first things on your MP’s agenda, just a few weeks after they have been elected. From nature walks to tea parties to a picnic after Mass, there are no limits to how you can start those first conversations about renewable energy. Visit www.cafod.org.uk to see what is being organised and to fire some ideas.
Bitesize
Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death.
Harold Wilson - (1916 - 1995)
Mass Intentions for week commencing 26th June 2017
Monday 26th 9.30am Peter Finegan
Tuesday 27th 9.30am Maureen Chatterton
Wednesday 28th 9.30am Matthew Kenny
Thursday 29th 10.30am Martha Connolly
7.30pm Una Redmond
Friday 30th 9.30am Gerald Smith
Saturday 1st
Sunday 2nd 8.30am Molly Clough
10.30am Margaret Blundell
4.00pm People of the Parish
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will take place at St. Joseph’s on Wednesday and Friday this week from 10.00am until 12 noon.
There will be a Funeral Mass for Arthur Graley on Tuesday, 4th July at 1.15pm at St. Joseph’s Church.