Our Lady of Victories News
FR CHRIS WRITES
As Lockdown finishes it will be good to welcome people back to Mass starting this Friday 4th December. Prayers answered but keep them up!! As before booking will be necessary for the Weekend Masses. But not for weekdays. Please keep an eye out on the times for weekdays as they will vary a little bit as we settle in and due to my prison commitments. I encourage those people who can, to come on weekdays so others can come at the weekend.
We are looking forward to sharing an Advent Mass with the school on Wednesday 9th December at 10.00am. Some of year 6 will come to read etcetera and the Mass will be streamed to the School in their classroom “bubbles”.
For Christmas there will be four Masses: Christmas Eve 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm, Christmas Day 8.30 am and 10.00 am. Of course, we will be limited as before due to social distancing, even if we use the De Trafford room as well. This is sad. However, I remind people that Christmas is celebrated over 8 days finishing with Mary the Mother of God on 1 January. We call it the Octave, so aim to come on one of those days.
God Bless you all and especially all who are isolating.
Please pray for the repose of the Soul of Robin Bullock whose funeral I am celebrating on Monday 11.00 am. Our Prayers go to Mary, his wife and their eight children.
Those of you with internet please print off a copy of the Newsletter for Parishioners who do not have the internet. Paper copies are available at church.
May God bless you all.
Fr Chris
NB ESSENTIAL:
It is absolutely essential to pre book your intention of coming to Mass. Unless you have previously booked, and all places are filled to our limited capacity, it will not be possible or permissible for us to let you in. It goes without saying that this disappoints and hurts us as much as it does you, and especially so the stewards who have the responsibility to implement the very strict rules and regulations imposed on us by Government Law, together with our Church Compliance and implementing of those laws. Also please note that nobody should, or can enter the Church for Mass without being greeted and taken to a seat by one of the stewards.
Who do I contact to reserve a place?
For those wishing to come to the 6.00 pm Mass on Saturday please ring Angela Wade on 01858 462293 between 5.00 pm and 7.00 pm on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
For those wishing to come to the 9.00 am Mass on Sunday please ring Jo Shellard on 01858 440983 between 5.00 pm and 7.00 pm on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
For those wishing to come to the 11.00 am Mass on Sunday please ring Stephen McGlone on 01858 465939 between 5.00 pm and 7.00 pm on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Please only ring on the above stated evenings and times.
Reminders
Don’t forget to bring and wear a Face Mask.
Please follow the stewards requests at all times.
Sanitise your hands on entering and leaving the Church.
Please remain seated or standing during Mass. Do not kneel.
Remember the Church must be cleaned and sanitised after every service.
Please remember also that all toilets WILL NOT be in use.
Your help and cooperation in everyway is required and expected.
You must book beforehand to come to Mass because of limited places.
Because we are observing the distance of a metre plus, face Masks must be worn by all from the moment you step inside the Church door, to the end of Mass when you step outside the Church door.
If you happen to forget to bring your mask, we have some disposable ones available for you to purchase at 60p. each. We would request that children of 12 years and upwards, wear a mask during Mass.
Both Church doors will be open. Those wishing to sit on Our Lady’s statue side of the Church, please enter through the front door entrance on Coventry Road. (See update above now that the colder weather is with us.)
Those wishing to sit on the Sacred Heart Altar side, please enter by the side doors on Fairfield Road.
After you have sanitised your hands, you will be taken to your seat by a steward. During Mass, you can remain seated or stand as you wish, but please do not kneel. You will leave the Church through the door you came in through.
Whilst our car parks will be opened, you will have to walk around the outside to enter the Church. You will not be able to come through the Hall doors as you normally will have done.
Also please be aware that the toilets will not be in use.
With every good wish to you all, and God’s blessings to you and your loved ones.
Fr Chris
ALSO PLEASE NOTE:
A) All Face Masks must cover both mouth and nose.
B) Exit via Church door you entered through.
C) Please try your utmost to social distance within the Church, whilst exiting and outside the church doors.
D) DO NOT KNEEL during Mass, so as to avoid less contact with pew fronts and also to regulate and control the social distancing.
E) Try to follow the directives of the stewards and cooperate with them all the way.
F) As the church itself and all contact points within the building that might have been touched have to be sanitised immediately after every Mass it is essential that the church is emptied as smoothly and quickly as possible after every service.
G) Make sure you sanitise your hands on entry and exiting the church.
H) Mass books or any kind of handout are not permitted on entry.
I) Thanks to our stewards and thank you to all for your great understanding of the need and your cooperation.
SOME LINKS FOR FOLLOWING MASS ONLINE
There is a good website: www.churchservices.tv with regular Masses from all over the country.
St Barnabas Cathedral will be live streaming Mass accessed at:
Also Walsingham is very popular at: https://www.walsingham.org.uk
Bishop Patrick tends to stream his Mass on Sundays via: www.youtube.com/channel/UCaf7upUMsn3Kl8GD79FotjQ/featured
(This can be found by searching for 'Bishop Patrick McKinney' on YouTube)
FOR OUR LITTLE CHURCH AGE GROUP AND YOUTH:
CAFOD also have Children's Liturgy activity resources on their website. Please see the link:
There is also https://video.ewtn.com/kids/ which has videos for children including Stations of the Cross.
Also St Mary's Parish and School Derby have a podcast channel - https://www.mixcloud.com/DerbyCatholic/ Sundays 9 am - Children's Liturgy.
Also check out our Youth Service NDCYS for their live streaming on you tube: https://ndcys.com
NDCYS (Nottingham Diocese Catholic Youth Service) have a "YouTube" Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP-_eQ-lNxAhDYRhy8KdP8Q
ADVENT RESOURCES:
Walk with me Booklets are available at church. They have a meditation for each day based on the readings for Mass each day including the Christmas period. They are a great resource to help us pray in this special season. Also there is a advent and Christmas calendar for children with a little though for each day.
Praying with Our Lady through Advent – We invite you to pray one extra Hail Mary each day in Advent, asking for Our Lady’s prayers to help all of us as a diocese, open our hearts and minds to welcome Jesus afresh this Christmas. She was the first person to welcome Him into her life and her intercession can help us to draw closer to Him and feel His presence with us anew this Christmas. Every other day you will be able to watch people from our diocese pray the Hail Mary in different languages on the diocesan social media sites, search for Diocese of Nottingham or Bishop Patrick McKinney on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Living Advent Podcast – Living Advent is a weekly podcast series throughout Advent exploring the virtues of Hope, Love, Joy & Peace with people from across the diocese and how we can live them out. We speak to a young husband and father, a musician, a retired social worker and a police officer. You can find it on your usual podcast service by searching ‘Living Advent Podcast’ or visit www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/podcasts for links on how to stream or download it.
DIOCESAN CAROL SERVICE
Carol services are a wonderful family tradition of our Advent and Christmas celebrations, and often are a great opportunity to invite those who are not regular Churchgoers to connect with our parish or chaplaincy community. This can be quite challenging to do this year so we are offering a virtual diocesan carol service.
We will celebrate a short online carol service on Friday 18 December at 6 pm on Bishop Patrick’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/BishopPatrickMckinney) with readings, music, prayers and reflections. Please join us as a family and invite others to join us too. After the service grab a mince pie, something warm to drink and join us on zoom for our family Christmas Quiz (6:45pm-7:15pm). The link and access code will be given out during the service.
ALTAR SERVERS:
Hi guys and gals, I wanted you to know you have not been forgotten. Fr Chris and I have spoken on several occasions about the possibility of Altar Servers returning to the Sanctuary. We are both very keen to include you in the Mass, but at this strange Covid time it is just not practical. We have discussed having one server on a rota basis, the social distancing required, the cleaning of the Sacristy etc. Sorry to say the restrictions and the risk of infection is just too great up till now. However, it would be brilliant to see our younger people taking part at Mass. Please be sure Fr Chris and I will be talking and if possible, getting our Servers back and involved in the service of our Holy Mass as soon as possible.
Let’s look forward to Advent and the Christmas festivities and hope we can be seen contributing to Fr Chris’s first Christmas services at Our Lady’s. Thank you all and please stay safe.
Dave Percival
VOCATIONS CAFÉ:
The Diocesan Vocations Team are holding a Zoom Café for men and women on Tuesday 1st December at 7 pm to chat about vocation and what it means. If you would like to meet the team, ask any questions or simply just listen in, email Diane at: vocationsadmin@dioceseofnottingham.uk for the link and password to enable you to join them on your device with your drink and cake. Find out what it means!!!
PRISON FELLOWSHIP ANGEL TREE PROJECT:
The local Prison Fellowship group will be running the Angel Tree project this year at HMP Gartree and would like your help.
Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions please would you kindly consider making a donation of £15 to Prison Fellowship (Angel Tree). This is instead of purchasing a gift for a child whose parent is in prison. A member from Prison Fellowship will buy a gift and post it to the child on your behalf. Thank you for your support.
For more information on how to make a donation please contact Maureen Douglas on 07966 515115
MARY’S MEALS:
“So much can be asked of us at this time of year. It may be hard to always say yes. Mary said yes to being the Mother of Jesus and as a young, unmarried girl this must have been a terrifying moment for her. Yet her “yes” brought Jesus into the world and changed lives forever. Throughout this year of many challenges, thanks to our generous supporters, Mary’s Meals has continued to say yes to feeding desperately hungry children with a daily meal in a place of education. Now we are delighted to share with you a new opportunity to say yes and provide 43,000 hungry children in Bong County, Liberia, with a life-changing meal at school. From 2nd November until 31st January 2021, donations made to our Double The Love campaign will be matched by the UK government, up to £2 million. Please consider setting a place at our Big Family Christmas dinner table or buying a Christmas gift card on our website. More information on how to support us can be found at www.marysmeals.org.uk/doublethelove Thank you.
GRAPEVINE:
Grapevine is the Diocesan Newsletter for Adult formation , Justice & Peace and Caritas in our diocese.
This week there are various bits of news and events.
Please click :
https://mailchi.mp/daab0861138d/grapevine-1-news-from-adult-formation-justice-peace-and-caritas-5322698?e=506fad16c4
There is an address on Caritas by Bishop Patrick amongst other things. Also please see:
Mondays from 30 November, 7.45 pm - 9.00 pm
Introducing Laudato Si' You are invited to an Advent series of online talks on Laudato Si', Pope Francis' encyclical on care the Earth our common home. The series opens with Paul Bodenham on Reading Laudato Si' with heart, head and hands, and closes with Sr Margaret Atkins OSA from Boarbank Hall in Lancaster Diocese.( https://stgregorys.org.uk/laudato_si/)
JUBILEE FOODBANK:
The Most Useful Foods: Rice Pudding, Tinned Fruit, Custard,
Tinned Chicken, Sandwich pastes and spreads, Tinned
mushrooms, Jam & Marmalade, Toothbrushes, Fray Bentos
tinned meat pies. The following supermarkets are still kindly collecting for us: Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, B&M and both Coops. Refill Revolution at the Eco Village is our newest donation point. Lidl is on board now too! Thank you to the supermarkets and the work of their teams!
We do not need: Beans, tinned tomatoes, tinned fish, soup, fizzy drinks, pasta & meatballs, pasta sauce, rice, cereal, tins or large/family size packets of
biscuits.
FR CHRIS: THOUGHTS ON THE READINGS:
For the Readings for Sunday 29 November 2020 please click: Readings or see below.
As we begin the Church’s year, we look forward to celebrating our Lord’s birth. There are many themes to Advent: longing, expectation, alertness, hope and joy. All these are contained in the very word Advent which means arrival or coming. For us it is the coming of the Saviour in three ways. He who came, will come again and comes to us in the present. Today our readings touch on the longing of Israel for God to come and Jesus coming at the end of time. I will give a few thoughts on the first.
The prayer of Israel in Isaiah is one of my favourites: Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down! – at your Presence the mountains would melt. In a literal sense it is a prayer of Israel in exile longing for a New Exodus and return to the Promised Land, remembering the great theophany of God on Mount Sinai, when God made the Covenant with them. They need God’s intervention once again to bring them home and rebuild themselves as his People. But it also reflects a deeper spiritual awakening that we see happening in the great prophets such as Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Israel is the chosen people blessed with the Covenant that makes them the People of God. Blessed in so many ways with God’s favour. Yet they realise that again and again they have been unfaithful to the covenant. They are awakening to the fact that they cannot keep the covenant by themselves through their own will power. They need a new intervention of God to change their hearts and hence the wonderful prayer calling on God to come down. This gives birth to hope and with hope joy. Little could they know how God would answer that prayer.
But we know! That God himself would take on our nature and our sins and show how he indeed is the redeemer of his people. This prophecy is fulfilled with the birth of Christ and in a specific sense at the Baptism of our Lord which ends our Christmas season when the heavens are torn open and the Holy Spirit is seen to descend on the chosen one(cf the Psalm). It makes me think on how God always goes beyond any expectations or prayers we make. For indeed that same Holy Spirit that came on Jesus is given to us. Each day we should ask for the Holy Spirit to come down on us that he will shower his gifts on us.
Like the People of Israel, we must recognise that we cannot keep the New Covenant by will power alone. Indeed, without God’s grace we would be without hope. Sin withers us like the leaves in Winter as Isaiah says today. We need to invite Jesus to come down to us and melt the hardness of our hearts. We cry out with the Psalmist today to be saved from our sins.
There are some lovely prayers in today’s Psalm which we can pray individually or as a community seeking God’s help: God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved…….. O Lord rouse up your might, O Lord, come to our help. …Give us life that we may call upon your name. Over all we have the great Advent prayer: Come Lord Jesus come……Come into my heart, into my soul, into our family, our Church our world….Come Lord Jesus come. Then hope will be born in us with joy following. May you all have a Blessed advent in preparation for Christmas.
God Bless
Fr Chris
READINGS FOR SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2020 - First Sunday of Advent
Entrance Antiphon
Cf. Ps 24: 1-3
To you, I lift up my soul, O my God.
In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame.
Nor let my enemies exult over me;
and let none who hope in you be put to shame.
____________________
Collect
Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,
the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ
with righteous deeds at his coming,
so that, gathered at his right hand,
they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
____________________
First Reading
Isaiah 63:16-17,64:1,3-8
O that you would tear the heavens open and come down
You, Lord, yourself are our Father,
‘Our Redeemer’ is your ancient name.
Why, Lord, leave us to stray from your ways
and harden our hearts against fearing you?
Return, for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance.
Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down!
– at your Presence the mountains would melt.
No ear has heard,
no eye has seen
any god but you act like this
for those who trust him.
You guide those who act with integrity
and keep your ways in mind.
You were angry when we were sinners;
we had long been rebels against you.
We were all like men unclean,
all that integrity of ours like filthy clothing.
We have all withered like leaves
and our sins blew us away like the wind.
No one invoked your name
or roused himself to catch hold of you.
For you hid your face from us
and gave us up to the power of our sins.
And yet, Lord, you are our Father;
we the clay, you the potter,
we are all the work of your hand.
Commentary
Each Advent Sunday begins with a reading from Isaiah, for Isaiah is the great prophet of the Messiah. This reading is taken from the latest part of the Book of Isaiah. After the return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon the Jews were passionately awaiting the coming of the Messiah. They were conscious that they had sinned and deserved their punishment, but still longed for the liberation from foreign interference which the Messiah would bring. After the coming of Christ we are in much the same position of waiting for the fulfilment of the sovereignty or kingship of God. Jesus brought the pledge of this kingship by his miracles of healing, his welcome to sinners, his teaching about the Kingdom, and above all by his Resurrection from the dead. We no longer have any reason to fear death. We are conscious of our own failings, of our co-operation with evil, and long for the strength and fidelity which whole-hearted membership of God’s Kingdom would bring us. How do I need to change to become a fully committed member of God’s Kingdom, to welcome the Messiah into my life?
HW
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord, come to our help.
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again;
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
____________________
Second reading
1 Corinthians 1:3-9 ·
We are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.
I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ. I thank him that you have been enriched in so many ways, especially in your teachers and preachers; the witness to Christ has indeed been strong among you so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.
Commentary
This reading from the opening of Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians is full of the excitement of the Spirit. The young community of Christians at Corinth was full of the activity of the Holy Spirit, not just extraordinary things like speaking in tongues, but healing and teaching and guidance. Even being a good member of a family (husband, wife, parent, child) is an activity guided by the Spirit. All this was preparing for the final coming of Christ, for all Christian activity, no matter how humdrum, is given life and vitality by the Spirit of Christ. There was a freshness and enthusiasm which is sometimes lacking in our Church today. Paul does not hesitate to tell them that they were ‘richly endowed with the Spirit’. So, of course, are we. But he is going to go on and tell them that their squabbling is damaging their service of the Lord. Let us ask at Christmas for a new infusion of the Spirit which will help us to burst the bonds which keep us back from full service to the Lord.
HW
Gospel Acclamation
Ps84:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy
and give us your saving help.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark 13:33-37
If he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. It is like a man travelling abroad: he has gone from home, and left his servants in charge, each with his own task; and he has told the doorkeeper to stay awake. So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming, evening, midnight, cockcrow, dawn; if he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!’
Commentary
This brief parable of the master returning unexpectedly is typical of Jesus’ vivid way of speaking. The message is typical, too, for Jesus was constantly stressing that there is no time to lose. In the gospel of Mark especially there is a feeling of hurry: in chapter one alone there are 14 instances of ‘immediately’! When Jesus came in his earthly ministry he again and again challenged his hearers to make up their minds NOW, to change their ways NOW. He challenges us to do the same. We can hear the rattle of the returning Master’s key in the lock. There is no time to hide the contrabands, to pull our uniforms straight before greeting the Master at his entry. Even if we do not think that the world’s end is imminent, even if death is not threatening, every moment counts, every decision is for or against Jesus. Saints are rumoured to have said that, if they received the news that they were to die that night, they would carry on doing what they were doing anyway.
Is this really a Christian attitude? If we need to put things a bit more in order to prepare for the Lord’s coming, is there any valid reason to delay? The four weeks of Advent are anyway a good time to clean things up for the Lord’s coming.
HW
____________________
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we pray, O Lord, these offerings we make,
gathered from among your gifts to us,
and may what you grant us to celebrate devoutly here below
gain for us the prize of eternal redemption.
Through Christ our Lord.
____________________
Communion Antiphon
Ps 84: 13
The Lord will bestow his bounty, and our earth shall yield its increase.
____________________
For practical reasons, the readings at Mass are relatively short while the First Readings in the Office of Readings are longer. Here, for your private study, are passages from the Office of Readings that contain the readings you have just heard at Mass.
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Divisions among the faithful
I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.
I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ. I thank him that you have been enriched in so many ways, especially in your teachers and preachers; the witness to Christ has indeed been strong among you so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.
All the same, I do appeal to you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to make up the differences between you, and instead of disagreeing among yourselves, to be united again in your belief and practice. From what Chloe’s people have been telling me, my dear brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: ‘I am for Paul’, ‘I am for Apollos’, ‘I am for Cephas’, ‘I am for Christ’. Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul? I am thankful that I never baptised any of you after Crispus and Gaius so none of you can say he was baptised in my name. Then there was the family of Stephanas, of course, that I baptised too, but no one else as far as I can remember.
For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.
Copyright © 1996-2020 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.
PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL COMMUNION:
I recommend that you pray this prayer every. morning.
A “Spiritual Communion” encouraged when we are unable to receive Holy Communion Sacramentally. This prayer was composed by St Alphonsus Liguori:
My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since this moment I cannot receive you sacramentally, I embrace you as being already there and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
WANTED: WANTED:
Your foreign coins and used or unused stamps - all can be sorted and valued, with profits to our Bazaar fund.
See Fr Chris or Mick Crook for further information.
DATA PROTECTION:
All data is stored securely on computer and access is limited to the Parish Priest and a small number of people authorised by the priest, to assist with parish administration. The Diocese remains the sole Data Controller (i.e. has responsibility for the use and control of this data), even where processing is carried out by parishes. The Diocesan Policy can be found at http://www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/data-protection-policy
WHO SHOULD REGISTER?
All who are associated with the Parish in any way are invited to register. When completing the form please use BLOCK CAPITALS and complete all relevant boxes. If there is not enough room on the form for any information please use the reverse. Thank you for your co-operation.
FAIR TRADE:
Market Harborough Fairtrade Town are promoting a bag of Rice can change a life in September and October. If they can sell NINETY one-kilogram bags of Kilombero rice then: ONE Malawian rice farmer can afford to send ONE of his/her children to secondary school for ONE year. Kilombero rice £2.99 will be available from The Oxfam Shop, The Growing Tree in Manor Walk, Anita Beer 07910 073436.
WE NEED THEM!
Yes, don’t forget to bring along your used postage stamps and foreign or old coins. We can use them. Just pop them into the box marked for that purpose in the cloister.
HAVE YOU BEEN AWAY? WANT TO CATCH UP ON PARISH NEWS?
If you have been away and want to catch up on what's been happening in the parish you can now read the Parish Newsletters for the previous four weeks. Click the "Newsletters" button at the top of this page. You can also download a copy of this week's Newsletter.
JUBILEE FOODBANK:
We are grateful for your generous support and would ask you to continue with your donations please. The following items are urgently required:
· Fruit Juice· Tinned Sponge Puddings· Tinned Meat Pies· Tinned Meat
All non perishable donations will be appreciated. There is also an urgent need for more volunteers to help at the Foodbank. Those interested can leave their details at the Congregational Church Office on 01858 462376 or via email at jubileefoodbankmh@gmail.com
ACTIVE GROUP FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA:
Great news for Market Harborough. In addition to the Carers Support Group there will now be an Activity Group for people with Dementia. We are looking for people who would like to volunteer for the Activity Group on a Friday morning from 9.30 am - 12.30 pm. You will be involved in welcoming people with dementia and their carers and helping people with dementia to take part in a variety of discussions and activities. Please contact Alison Chaplin of Alzheimer's Society on 0116 231 1111
THE THIRD WORLD GROUP
sell clothes on e-bay to raise funds for their charities. Last year, thanks to your very generous donations, we raised £1,000 in this way. Life is busy and we have had very few donations recently. This is a gentle reminder that we still use this method to fundraise and are most grateful for your donations. When the weather breaks and you get out your winter wardrobe please remember us. Clothes can be left in our box in the cloisters. Thank you.
GOING INTO HOSPITAL FOR ANY REASON!
If so please ask your family, or if you are well enough to do so yourself, to let the Catholic Chaplain know that you are there. Otherwise you will not have a visit from the Catholic Chaplaincy or be able to receive Holy Communion. Under the Data Protection Act, the hospital staff can no longer reveal to any chaplain, or to anybody else enquiring, the religion of any patient in their care. The same applies to Residential Homes and other places of care. The onus is now on the patient or their family to inform the Chaplain.
COMMUNITY COMPANIONS - Supporting Older People back into the heart of their communities:
Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) has been offering a befriending service in the Harborough District for over 14 years and are keen to recruit more volunteers who could visit an older person for 1 - 2 hours a week. Training and ongoing support are given, and travel costs are covered. If you could volunteer, or you would like a befriender to visit you, please contact Rohini Corfield (Community Champions Project Manager) or Jenny Young on 01858 439262. More information is available at www.VASL.org.uk/our-projects/community-champions
SUPPORT FOR CARERS:
The Market Harborough Carers Support Group facilitated by Alison Chaplin meets on the first Friday of every month at 10am at the Coffee Lounge of the Methodist Church on Northampton Road. This group gives carers an invaluable opportunity to share some of their experience of caring for a loved one with dementia. There is also an opportunity to hear about the latest news from Alzheimer’s Society and to look at books and leaflets about dementia, including many written from a Christian perspective. If you or anyone you know is in a caring situation, do let them know about the group. Contact Alison on 0116 031 1111 (alison.chaplin@alzheimers.or.uk). Or just turn up on the day and Alison will be thee to welcome you.
Alzheimer’s Society is also looking for volunteer befrienders in Market Harborough and area. The volunteer befriender enables a person with dementia to participate in an activity they would like to do in the community - perhaps going out for a cup of tea, shopping, going for a walk, doing a sport or taking a class. The befriender needs to be available for a session of up to 4 hours a week between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm Mondays to Fridays. It is useful to be able to drive too. Volunteers will receive induction and ongoing training and support from the Befriending Manager. If you would like to hear more, please contact Alison as above.
BOWER HOUSE:
The Bower House Christian Counselling Service offers counselling and help to people of the local community. We are open from 9 am to 9 pm and need Support Worker volunteers to offer hospitality within the house as well as some admin. such as answering the phone and taking referrals. We have a lovely band of volunteers but could do with more help. How will you be spending your time this autumn and winter? Could you offer a three hours slot once a week or once a fortnight? If you are interested please ring Jadz Bower, Chris Hodgson or Jeanette Payne on 01858 469257 or drop in to see us between 9 am and 5 pm.
TORCH BOOK GROUP:
The Torch Book Club requires sighted people to be part of their group. They meet at the Congregational Church room on 1st Friday of the month from 2 pm - 4 pm. Book of the month ‘Faith like Potatoes’. If you are interested in becoming a member or would like to find out more please contact Angela Butlin 01858 467419.
AFRICAN CHURCH NEEDS ROSARY BEADS:
The developing Church in Africa is in need of Rosary Beads. If you have a surplus Rosary, or part of a Rosary, beads, or crosses and centre pieces surplus to requirement, please hand them to Vanessa, Lisa or Fr Chris.
USED CLOTHES FOR THE THIRD WORLD:
Just a reminder that the Third World Group eBay’s clothes in order to raise funds, so if you have been sorting out you wardrobes after incorporating all the Christmas newbie’s please pass your cast-off’s onto us. We do get money for rags, so everything is most welcome. Please mark bags clearly with “For 3rd World”. Thank you for your continuing support.
THE LIFE GROUP:
wish to thank each and everyone for their gifts to the “LIFE SHOP”. When bringing in goods for the LIFE SHOP, can they be clearly marked with “LIFE” on the outside of the plastic bag. Small items of furniture will also be welcome, but please contact the Life Shop direct for collection. Please DO NOT place small furniture in the Cloister for collection.
INTERPRETING THE LAW:
Our Diocesan advisors have informed us that legacies left in wills, directly to the parish, should really be directed to the registered charity. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham is the registered charity. The advice given, is to encourage parishioners contemplating leaving a legacy via their will to their parish, and to make sure the parish will be the beneficiary , is to direct the legacy to the Registered Charity - the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham with strict instruction that it is (in our case) for the parish of Our Lady of Victories, Market Harborough.
VOLUNTEERS FOR TORCH:
Torch Trust is an international Christian Mission that aims to help people with sightless to discover faith in Christ and live fulfilling Christian lives. They are continually developing their service for blind and partially sighted people and as a result the volunteer needs are also changing. Perhaps you know someone who has recently retired and is looking to use their gifts and skills, honed in the workplace, in a new avenue. Or perhaps you know someone who has been long termed unemployed, volunteering can help to raise self esteem and build new skills that can go on the CV with a view of getting back into work.
Further information on what volunteering roles are available can be found on the poster on the notice board.
"The Lord's Day" -
Weekly Newsletter of the Watermead Apostolate: http://www.watermead-apostolate.com/lords_day.html
NEWS ITEMS FOR THE WEBSITE:
This webpage is updated from the Weekly Newsletter. Sometimes due to shortage of space it is not possible to include everything in the weekly Parish Newsletter. If you would like an item published on the website please email any items to newsletter@olvic.com
We can only publish items which meet the criteria for inclusion in the weekly Parish Newsletter.