Author Archives: adminstmarysloughborough

Gathered for our weekly celebration of communion with one another (koinonia) and for the Breaking of Bread, let us ask God to breathe his Spirit into us that we may be Spirit-filled, joyful and enthusiastic disciples of Christ. With thanks: We thank all of you who contributed to the celebrations of Holy Week and the Triduum.  The dignity and reverence of those liturgies moved our hearts and minds and spoke eloquently to our senses, strengthening our faith and confirming us in our vocations as Christians. From Father Philip.

And a big thank you to our priests for the beauty of the liturgies, their inspiring words and generosity of spirit. The children say thank you, too, for the Easter eggs.

From the PPC on behalf of the parish Communications: New look newsletter this week as our regular helper Marion is on holiday. Note that support in the parish office is intermittent so apologies if your messages do not always get through.

Please check out the new parish website and let us have your feedback. Contact details above.

Special collection: Family Fast Day for the Kwediboma Health Centre. The annual Fast Day for Kwediboma will take place Friday, 12 April. 2013. Envelopes are available this weekend, 6\7 April and they will be collected next weekend 13/14 April. Please remember that you can use the yellow MISSION FUND gift aid envelopes to make your donation. The yellow envelopes can be found at the Repository or near the Suggestion Box at the back of the church.  Thank you.

Dates for your diary Diving Mercy – blessing of the image of Divine Mercy, Sunday at 2.30pm followed by Mass, celebrated by Bishop Malcolm, at 5pm. Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Leicester.

Loughborough Group for People with Disabilities – Club night. Tuesday, 9 April. 7-8.30pm

Senior citizens – Wednesday, 10 April. 2-4pm in the hall

Living Stones – parish forum – Wednesday, 10 April at 7.30pm. With cheese and wine. Please come to contribute to discussions about our future parish life. Speak, listen and be heard. Parish hall

RCIA – Thursday, 11 April. 7.30pm, front room. Liturgy group meeting – Thursday, 7pm

NEW! St Mary’s Choir – ‘more Gareth Malone than Handel’s Messiah’. No auditions needed. Come and sing your heart out and have fun.  Rehearsals in our church at 5.30pm on Thursdays as follows: 18, 25 April; 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 May, 6, 13, 20 June. Speak to Catherine Brady, Jane Monaghan, Maura McAllister or Marie Leaney for details.

Children’s First Holy Communion meeting – 18 April, 7.30pm. Parish hall. Parents must attend this meeting.

Rosmini Centre: Listening to God in my life: A deepening exploration of prayer. Tuesday evenings. 9, 16, 23, 30 April. 19.30 – 21.00. £5. Father David Tobin IC. Please phone: 01509 8130798. Website; Google ‘Rosminicentre’.

Mass to celebrate our mothers – 11am, 4 May. Light lunch at 12 noon. Tickets on sale from next weekend. £7 each. All proceeds to parish funds.  Bring your friends, of all faiths, to honour their mothers. Everyone welcome.

Adverts De Lisle needs a Music teacher to cover maternity leave. See their website for details

Special plea Homeless charity, Exaireo, needs a double bed. Please contact the parish Office if you can help.

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PALM SUNDAY is also known as Passion Sunday. Today we are invited to recall three key features of Jesus’ ministry: His kingship as Lord and Saviour of all mankind, as he fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and Zechariah when he entered the Holy City amidst cries of acclamation, praise and worship and how He did this, not as a warrior seated on a horse, surrounded by his troops, but as a humble servant, seated on a lowly colt. Then, in the context of the Institution of the Eucharist, we recall how Jesus presents Himself as “one who serves”, and how He is calling us to imitate Him in this. Finally, as the Passion narrative unfolds we learn much about His loving and gentle attentiveness to those around him – (e.g. the way He affirms the disciples and was sympathetic towards them when they were sleepy, the way He reassures Simon Peter and how He forgave His critics and executioners).

 Let us begin this most holy of weeks by pondering the message and example of our Lord and Saviour and strive to put it into practice in our own lives.

Fr. Philip Sainter

 Warning:

 Please do not believe those who are saying:

          – that the Catholic Chaplaincy at Loughborough University is being abandoned

        – that there will be no more Sunday evening Masses at 6.00pm.

 These and similar alarmist statements should be ignored as they are not contained in the Proposals Questionnaire recently disseminated.

 For Online Synoptic Gospels in Parallel see: www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/meta-4g.htm

 ANNUAL YOUTH PASSION: enactment of the events of Holy Week, presented by young people (age 10 to 16) from both parishes at 6pm on Palm Sunday.  Suitable for all ages.  Do come if you can – a lot of effort has been put into preparing this. Many thanks to The Knights of St Columba who organise this every year.

 PENITENTIAL SERVICE: Tuesday 26th March, 6pm. Write on a piece of paper those things that are weighing you down and are preventing you from journeying forward in life, and leave them with the Lord who loves us, forgives us and heals us.

 ST. MARY’S HAS A NEW WEBSITE! When contacting us regarding items you wish to have inserted into the newsletter, please send them to: newsletter@stmarys.org.uk by Wednesday at the latest (the earlier the better). Our heartfelt thanks to Sunday Eleode for his invaluable help.

 CHILDREN’S FIRST HOLY COMMUNION: The parents’ meeting will take place on 18th April at 7.30pm in the Church Hall. Please don’t miss it – it is vitally important for children wishing to receive their first Holy Communion that their parents attend this meeting.

 CHRISM MASS: will be celebrated by Bishop Malcolm at Nottingham Cathedral at 11.30am on Wednesday 27th March, with the Blessing of the Oils and the Priests and Deacons’ renewal of their dedication to their devotion. You are all invited!

 LOUGHBOROUGH CHURCHES PARTNERSHIP invites you to take part in 2 activities on Good Friday. The first, to stand next to a cross for a half hour slot between 10.00am and 2.00pm and to talk to passers-by about the cross and its importance in our own journey. Secondly, to join a Procession of Witness assembling at the Carillon Tower in Queen’s Park at 11.15am.

 PRE-EASTER CLEAN FOR THE CHURCH: Easter is nearly upon us and this is a wonderful opportunity to show our love for our church by supplementing our marvellous volunteers who clean the church, with more helpers so that we may have a church fit for the risen Lord. If you can offer a couple of hours during Easter week, please give your contact details to the parish office or to one of our priests.

Preparation of the statues for Holy Week and the Passion will take place on Wednesday, 27^th March at 7.00pm, when there will be a team working in the church covering the statues.

 ST. MARY’S EASTER CARDS for sale. All images from our church interior. £0.60 each, 4 for £2. All profits to our church funds. The following are also available at the Repository: Lent Extra £1.50, Children’s Activities Poster £0.50, and ‘walk with Me’ £1.00. Do have a look after all weekend Masses.

 LIVING STONES: Please don’t forget that the revised date for St. Mary’s update on Living Stones is now Weds. 10th April, at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall. Please come along and hear about the progress made so far and our plans for the future.

SAME SEX MARRIAGE: The Report Stage of the Bill approving this will be debated in May in the House of Commons. SPUC has asked its branches if they could leaflet the voters in constituencies where they believe the MP could be swayed to oppose the Bill if enough of his/her constituents contact him/her.

 ANNUAL SPUC YOUTH CONFERENCE: 22-24^th March in Derbyshire. Please contact Arthur Clarke if you would like to go, or if you know of anyone under 25 who might be interested. Loughborough branch will pay all expenses.

CHRISTIAN AID LUNCH: This will be TODAY, Palm Sunday, 24th March, at the United Reformed Church in Frederick Street, Loughborough, at 12.30pm

JOHN AND DEBBIE ROBINSON wish to thank parishioners for the generosity of their gifts and for the many messages of goodwill received.

LEICESTER FAITHS SUPPORT GROUP for Asylum Seekers and Refugees seeks voluntary secretarial help. Also more (paid) situations vacant. See board.

CONGRATULATIONS to Kellan Cafferky on his Baptism last weekend.

PARISH VOICE: on sale after all weekend Masses on 23/24^th and 30/31^st March.

EASTER EGG DESIGN COMPETITION – please see our noticeboard!

COLLECTIONS for February amounted to £2,339 (non gift aided) and £3,273 (gift aided). Thank you very much. There will be a Family Fast Day on 12^th April in aid of Kwediboma. Envelopes will be distributed after all Masses on the weekend of 6/7th April & collected on 13/14th. Baby clothes urgently needed for Kwediboma.

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