Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 29th 2009

Valerie Flessati, vice-president of Pax Christi, was the guest speaker at both weekend masses. She came to tell us about the experience of jubilee in her parish in London (St Mellitus in Finsbury Park). She was available to speak to parishioners after mass. Valerie was the second of three guest preachers visiting the parish this year to mark our 50th anniversary.
Today will also be a special day for those children making their First Communion. They will be
having their own 'last supper' meal this afternoon with a short service in the church.
It was a lovely sunny morning, though numbers were a little down, as the clocks had been put forward during the night. Interestingly, numbers were reported as being up on Saturday night.
As we move towards Palm Sunday and the Easter Triduum, there will be a final Lent lunch this Friday.
There will be a fundraising concert at Sacred Heart on Saturday April 25th at 7.30pm by Rugby Male Voice Choir, supported by parish folk group The Withered Arm and our youth worship and. Tickets are £5. See Hugh Potter or Macziek Hulme.

Parish Calendar

4th Sunday of Lent, March 22nd 2009

Today we marked the 30th anniversary of the Sacred Heart branch of the UCM. From this picture, you can see a new banner which was blessed today by Father Ted. The artwork is excellent. Congratulations to all involved. Come along and have a look at the banner.
Many parishoners had enjoyed the new musical, 2020, performed at St Marie's Junior School over the weekend.
There were prayers and flowers for mothers as it was Mother's Day. The children returned from their liturgy with presents for all the mums.
We also had an appeal today from the Survive-RIVA charity which raises money for missionary transport.
Don't miss mass next weekend when we will have a special guest to speak about the parish jubilee.

The Third Sunday of Lent, March 15th 2009

Beautiful sunshine greeted us this morning, and there is a definite sense of spring in the air. There were not quite as many people at mass as last week, but still a very healthy attendance including plenty of youngsters. Today we had a letter from the Archbishop on the subject of Mother's Day and people with disabilities.

A service of reconciliation has been announced for the Tuesday of holy week. It will be at 7pm.

After mass there was a tasty treat courtesy of the Mahon family. A cake sale was raising money for Laura's trip in aid of the Joshua Foundation. She is one of three teenagers in the parish planning trips to help others. Good luck to all of them.

Lent lunches continue on Fridays throughout the season. Please come along at 12.15pm for some soup and a roll.

Next Sunday, Mother's Day, the UCM will have their new banner blessed to mark the 30th anniversary of their foundation. Congratulations! Tickets will also be on sale for the traditional Easter basket. Always tempting.

Meanwhile, keep an eye out for a missing pair of spectacles. They belong to Trudie White.

Second Sunday of Lent, Year B, March 8th

For some reason, and no one seems to know, there was a huge turnout for Sunday Mass today, including a large number of children. All very welcome, of course. Deacon John preached today about how we cope with bad news.

Lent lunches are taking place every Friday, with Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings.

There were prayers for Meg White who died during the week. We pray for her, for her husband Steve and their family. May she rest in peace.

Next Sunday, there will be a cake stall after both masses. This will be organised by Laura Mahon and will raise funds for the Joshua Foundation.

Volunteers are needed to help with the tea and coffee rota after weekend masses. This is a very important role and the more volunteers we get, the less frequent they will be needed. Please call Mary Cook on 334240.

Don't forget to bring along your old mobile phones. Each one can raise £3 for Cafod.

First Sunday of Lent, March 1st 2009

So we have arrived at the beginning of Lent, and there was a large turnout for Sunday Mass. There will be Stations of the Cross in the church on Friday at 7pm, and Lent lunches each Friday at 12.45pm.

Today was also a special day because it was the start of our Jubilee celebrations. Sacred Heart parish will be 50 years old in August this year. Parish council chair Brian Davies spoke at both masses this week about the meaning of jubilee. He also distributed a card listing all the main events taking place during the year to mark the event. These cards are available in the narthex, and most of the information is also on the parish website.

Last night, the first of the events took place - parish quiz night attended by about 70 people, with Father Ted as questionmaster. It was an excellent event, well organised and a fun evening. Well done to everyone involved. There are plenty of other social events planned for the year.

Lent groups begin this week and the parish council meets on Thursday at 7.30pm. Everyone welcome. New members are needed to welcome people to church, and to help make the tea - both vital ministries, and your support would be appreciated. Please call Mary Cook.