St. Joseph’s Newsletter – 20th August 2017
Bonus Ball Winner: 54 – Jessie Whitfield
Offertory - £1889.64 (inc. standing orders)
CAFOD – (Next week)
Sanctuary Lamp
Frances Cain
(Anniversary Remembrance)
Marian Candle
For the victims and families of the
Barcelona terrorist atrocity.
Lately Dead
Doreen Brodin, Michael Cassidy,
UCM
Thursday 31st August extra meeting.
UCM Annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham 2018
Monday 2nd July – Wednesday 4th July. If any member would like to join this Pilgrimage, please telephone Angela or Joan ASAP. Non-refundable deposit of £15 due before the end of August.
“The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning”
For Macmillan Cancer Care. All help gratefully accepted, whether it’s cakes, helpers, raffle prizes or donations. Date is confirmed as 29th September. Please sign the form at the back of church in St. Joseph’s if you can help in any way. Thank you in anticipation. Bernadette Doyle.
Centenary Players present “The Ladykillers” at the Brindley theatre. 16 tickets have been reserved for Thursday 14th September at a cost of £13.30 (plus coach fare) The seats are in the stalls and if you are interested, please see Bernie after the 10.30am Mass at St. Joseph’s (by the side of the organ) or contact her on 01925 694919.
PILGRIMAGE TO KNOCK
A fully escorted 5 night Pilgrimage to Knock Shrine,
Ireland, 15thOctober 2017. £699.00 p.p sharing. Priceincludes flight with 15kg checked in bag, all taxes, luxurytransfers, 5 nights in Knock House Hotel with full Irishbreakfast and 4 course dinner each evening. Allentertainment, excursions and guided tours included. There will also be visits to Ballintubber Abbey, Westportand Foxford Woollen Mills. Wheelchair accessible rooms in the hotel. Limited singlerooms at supplement of £60. Groups and individual
bookings welcome. Contact Patricia on 01268 762278 or07740 175557. Email
Knock Pilgrimages is fully protected by ATOL T7613.
Afternoon Tea Event – Oaks Centre, Stocks Lane
Wednesday 30th August 1pm-4pm
Featuring Ukulele Band, Community Choir, St. Mary’s Boy Band and other entertainment. Tickets £4 per person available in advance from the Oaks Centre or Pay on the Day at £5 per person. All funds raised to go to St. Paul’s Church Building Fund. For more information call 01925 486955
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)
Parish Rosary Group
Will be meeting on Tuesday 22nd August at 7pm at 130 Meeting Lane. For more information please contact Lynn on 01925 263905
Gospel Reflection for the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Is God’s Salvation for Us All?
Just when we thought that Jesus’ love was all embracing and all compassionate, he shocks us by behaving in a way that can only be described as harsh and unfeeling. In today’s gospel Jesus is approached by a Canaanite woman, who pesters him to cure her daughter. ‘Canaanite’ was the name given to the older inhabitants of Israel who were dispossessed as unclean by Jesus’ own people. Jesus would not have been expected to fraternise with such a woman. True to expectation, Jesus does not respond to the woman, explaining that he has been sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel … this woman is therefore not his problem! Could Jesus really have held this harsh opinion, or was he testing his disciples?
The Canaanite woman continues to pester. She has great faith that Jesus will eventually give in and cure her daughter. Again Jesus responds harshly. “It is not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs…” In other words, only Jews had a right to be treated as ‘children of God’. The Gentiles on the other hand are likened to ‘dogs’. This opinion seems even less like the Jesus we know! Much more likely is the notion that Jesus is stretching his disciples’ understanding of God’s boundaries, or rather, lack of.
When we first read the Bible we get the feeling that God is simply there for the ‘Children of Israel’ or the Hebrew Nation, but the truth is that God does not limit his promises to just certain categories of people. The story finishes with Jesus rewarding the woman’s faith with a cure. At first it might appear that Jesus is giving in to ‘pester power’, though it is much more likely that Jesus had decided from the very outset that he would help this woman. In awarding a cure, Jesus is showing his disciples and us, that faith has the power to melt boundaries and prejudice. Even today we probably imagine God’s salvation is for a select few, but today’s story teaches us that salvation is there for anyone and everyone who places their trust in God.
Exam Results
When you look at the people who make the world go round, you may be surprised at the exams that they did or didn’t manage to pass. As you get older you realise that it isn’t the exams in themselves that were important but how you moved forward from that point. This of course is difficult for teenagers to believe when the importance of exams has been drummed into them from the earliest youth. We offer our prayers this week for our younger parishioners who have just received or just about to receive exam results. We praise their efforts, and we support them in whatever they want to do next.
UK Volunteering Opportunities with Vinspired
Vinspired is the UK's leading volunteering charity for 14 - 25 year olds. Vinspired helps young people to make their mark on causes that they care about, whilst learning new skills and talents along the way. Check it out at
Slavery Remembrance Day - 23rd August
This day is all about commemorating the transatlantic slave trade, but it’s also a day to combat modern day slavery.
You might not think you are well placed to combat the slave trade, but in fact your daily shop is a perfect place to start. The problem of trafficking and overcoming it can be so overwhelming, but if we start small, we can slowly empower ourselves to be educated. Choose one or two things you consume the most, and simply do your research on the companies that provide those products or services. It’s easier than you think. Start your research at
Fairtrade Recipe for a Perfect Summer Evening
- Download the Fairtrade Cookbook at
- Involve the family in putting together a simple fairtrade pasta salad.
- Toast a glass of Fairtrade wine.
Bitesize
You can find inspiration from others but determination is solely your responsibility.
Dodinsky
Mass Intentions for week commencing 21st August 2017Monday 21st / 9.30am / John Barnes
Tuesday 22nd / 9.30am / Harry Crawford
Wednesday 23th / 9.30am / Gordon Kerr
Thursday 24th / 9.30am / Jim & Esther Sweeney
Friday 25th / 9.30am / Edel Quinn
Saturday 26th
Sunday 27th / 8.30am
10.30am
4.00pm / Andy Inight
People of the Parish
Jackie Atkinson
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph’s will re-commence on Wednesday 4th September.