<strong>Twenty Eighth Sunday of the Year, 2022</strong> – St Edmund of Canterbury
St. Edmund of Canterbury & St. Thomas More
Dear Friends in Christ
This Sunday we have listened to the beautiful ‘Priestly Prayer of Christ’ from St. John’s Gospel. Jesus, recognising his own fate and his eventual death, prays earnestly for the Apostles. Those men whom he called and prepared for the future work of the Church, he now entrusts to the Father, that he will look after each one of them. Jesus knows that they will be challenged because of him, but he also knows that they will will have the strength and courage to continue with the work of Evangelisation. They will eventually take the Gospel message to all known quarters of the world.
As we have just celebrated the Ascension of the Lord, now the work of the apostles must begin. In the Acts of the Apstles we have been listneing to all the events of the early church; the teething problems that the aposltes faces, and the various trials they had to encounter is sharing the Good News. But Jesus promised to be with them untiil the end of the age. And through the gift of the Holy Spirit they had great courage and strength to continue this work that the Lord had begun. So the ongoing story of Jesus Christ continues today through you and me!
We look forward to the outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit promised by the Lord to the Apostles. The Spirit who is that guiding force of love within the life faith and the Church, who is forever present to each one of us.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Next Monday we will see the next phase of the Government plan to slowly open up the courntry and the economy once again. Obviously, they have been extrmely cautious over the past months, and with many variants still taking root in this country, they are even more vigilent with regards to everyone’s health & safety. This has been a difficult year in so many different ways, and has affected everyone! But there is that desperate desire to resume some semblance of normality once again.
As you know I have tried to do everything that the governmental & diocesan guidelines have allowed throughout this Pandemic. Manifestly, Health & Safety have always been at the forefront of my mind, and I believe we have certianly catered for the spiritual wellbeing of the whole parish community. There are still a large number of parishioerns who have not returned to the weekly practice of the faith, and I earnestly encourage them to return to regular practice of your faith. I truly would like to have beleieved that this Pandemic has focused the mind, and helped each one of us evaluate the whole of our lives. To be able to give thanks to God for bringing us through, thus far, is fundamental to who we are as Catholic Christians.
Please contine to be vigilant in the forthcoming weeks. Hopefully by 21st June we should see a lifting of most restrictions, and possibly even social distancing. Being sensible is fundamentally at the heart of ending this pandemic. Continue to keep yourselves safe and well. Fr. John
KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE: As of Monday 17th May, the Governmental Guidelines on Covid 19 are allowing more than 30 to attend a funeral service. It is being left to the parishes to decide how many people they can accommodate, manifestly, continuing to use social distancing, face coverings and hand sanitisation. Here at St. Edmund’s we would comfortably accommodate about 100 persons for a funeral. Hopefully by 21st June there may be an update with regards the full opening of the church with few restrictions. I pray that we will be able to return to the celebrations of all the sacraments very soon, including Baptisms & First Holy Communion Programme. Thank you all for your patience.
May God Bless You All This Week,
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME: Our final session in the Programme will take place on Wednesday 19th May at 7.30pm (all candidates should be present at this session). My Thanks to our Director and Catechists for all the hard work that has been achieved throughout this programme. As our Bishop is not able to attend the Confirmation ceremonies, delegation has been given to Fr. John to celebrate the Sacrament as the extra-ordinary Minister. In preparation for the Sacrament a Penitential Service will take place at the Church on Wednesday 2nd June, also a brief rehearsal for the celebration. The Confirmation dates are as follows: Wednesday 9th June: Groups 4,5,6. Thursday 10th June: Groups 1,2,3. Please pray for our Confirmandi. I would like to see all candidates for Confirmation present at Holy Mass over these next weeks in preparation for the reception of the Sacrament. Sadly, some candidates haven’t been present at all throughout the whole programme. I would ask them to think very seriously about the Sacrament before they receive it!
WEEKLY OFFERTORY: My sincere thanks to those who are making their weekly contribution of Gift Aid envelopes and through the banking system that has been set up through the Diocese whereby your Offertory can be paid directly into the Parish Account, details below:
Or you can use Parish Bank Account: Using Online Banking
HSBC Sort Code 40-13-22
Account Number: 11019651
PARISH REPOSITORY: We have a large selection of gifts for the Sacrament of Confirmation: Beautiful cards, medals, candles, Confirmation crosses, and various other items that would be suitable gifts for Confirmandi. There are also some beautiful new Mass Cards for all occasions. There are a large number of Cards for young people who are taking exams at this present time. Thank you to Teresa & Steve Wallace for looking after the Repository and keeping it well stocked during the past year of Pandemic. I’m really pleased that so many parishioners have made use of the Repository.
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS: If you know of anyone who may be interested in learning more about the Roman Catholic Faith possibly with the view of receiving the Easter Sacraments in 2022, please contact Fr. John at the Presbytery on Tel No: 020 8508 3492. The programme usually commences in September. If would be wonderful to have a number of enquirers. We follow a systematic programme of instruction, covering all aspects of Catholicism. Please spread the word about this programme. Thank you!
EPPING FOREST FOODBANK DONATIONS: Thank you to all parishioners who continue to generously donate items for the Foodbank during these difficult times. The Foodbank are truly grateful for the generosity our parish has shown throughout the pandemic and our donations are still needed desperately as more and more people in our community are finding it hard to make ends meet. The Foodbank have asked for support with the following items: Long-life fruit juice, tinned tomatoes, instant mash, tinned fish, tinned peas, tinned carrots, tinned potatoes, small jars of instant coffee, small or medium bags of rice, sponge pudding, snack bars, chocolate bars, chocolate spread and savoury crackers Thank you! You can also keep up to date with the Foodbank news via their facebook page: www.facebook.com/EppingForestFoodbank/
WEEKLY OFFERTORY ENVELOPES: There are still a number of Gift Aid envelopes which have not been collected by those who belong to the scheme. The table will be outside the Church again this weekend for collection, and then placed in Fr. John’s garage throughout the week. As stated, the HSBC bank will be closing on 13th August, it would be good for as many parishioerns as possible to go over to the direct giving through your bank. If you wish to join the Gift Aid Scheme, please see Fr. John or Maria Mosquera. Thank you for your ongoing support to the Parish.
POSTPONEMENT OF JUBILEE: I have decided to postopone my 40th Anniversary Jubilee celebrations until a later date. With ultimate restrictions not being lifted until the latter part of June, it really doesn’t give enough time to send out invitations, and also for many friends who wanted to come from abroad to attend. I will celebrate Jubilee Thanksgiving Mass on Sunday 11th July at 11am with only my Parish Family.
DIARY APRIL 2021
PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE SICK IN OUR PARISH
Margaret Baldwin, Evelyn Bearne, Brian Beveridge, Karl Britz, Carlos Camacho, Jane Downs, Steve Dalgliesh, Pat Fenn, Veronica Godsave, Bernadette Hall, Ann Hawkes, Claire Howes, Pamela Houghton, Noel Johnson, Shaun Keel, Angela Long, Lilian Mothersole, Sheila Murphy, John McKernan, Rosemary O’Rourke, Kathleen Pomeroy, Geraldine Taylor, Vera Taylor, Mary Witten, James Wright. And all our loved ones.
ANNIVERSARIES: Jim Kavanagh RIP, and for all whose anniversaries occur at this time and for all of our deceased loved ones, Requiescant in Pace.
OFFERTORY COLLECTION: With continued thanks for your Weekly Offering. If you would like to join the Gift Aid Scheme, there are application forms in the Church Porch or ask Fr. John for a form. If you forget your envelope, there are spares in the Porch. Thank you!
SACRAMENTS CELEBRATED DURING ALERT LEVEL 4 RESTRICTIONS: In accordance with Government & Diocesan Guidelines, we are allowed to celebrate Funerals with 100 people present, strictly observing social distancing. 12 people are allowed to be present at a wedding. Baptisms are allowed to take place in the context of a Sunday Mass setting. These are really difficult times, and many couples were disappointed last year not being able to celebrate their marriages. We are hoping with the advent of the vaccine, that things will change dramatically this year. If there are any couples who are thinking about getting married, please notify the parish immediately. Thank you. Obviously until restrictions are lifted all of the above applies for the foreseeable future.
MASS SCHEDULE FOR MAY 2021
| Sat 15th | 10.00am | Special Int (Maree Kavanagh) |
| Vigil Mass for Sunday: Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 15th | 6.00pm | Joseph Nganda’s Int’s. (John O’Rourke) |
| Sun 16th Sun 16th | 9.00am 10.00am | Joe & Cathy Daly (40th Wedding Anniversary) People of the Parish |
| Sun 16th | 11:00am | Robert Edom RIP (Parish Choir) |
| Mon 17th | 10.00am 10.30am | Teresa Coyle RIP (Marie Fleming) Holy Hour with Exposition of Bl. Sacrament |
| Tues 18th | 10.00am | Carlos Camacho (get well) (Stewarding Team) |
| Wed 19th | 10.00am | Maureen Dumont RIP (Steve & Veronica Short) |
| Thurs 20th | 10.00am 10.30am | Letitia Fletcher RIP (Nancy Ironside) Holy Hour with Exposition of the Bl Sacrament |
| Fri 21st | 10.00am 10.30am | Michael Barass RIP (Monica Maycraft) Holy Hour with Exposition of Bl. Sacrament |
| Sat 22nd | 10.00am | Anthony Rattigan RIP (Maureen Rattigan) |
| Vigil Mass for Sunday Confessions 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 22nd | 6.00pm | Tess Bowles RIP (Margaret Spiers) |
| Sun 23rd Sun 23rd | 9.00am 10.00am | Maura McDonald RIP (Fitzmaurice & Norgueira) People of the Parish |
| Sun 23rd | 11:00am | Patricia Reid RIP (M Ryan) |
Please kindly be patient with your mass requests. I will try to accommodate your requested dates, but there have been a large number of requests recently and we celebrate masses in the order in which we receive them.
St Edmund of Canterbury 